Andrew, Debbi and everyone else who participated...
I locked this thread earlier today to stem what was quickly becoming a rather harsh war of words and opinions... it was transcending being a "discussion" filled with informed opinion and was heading down the path of an all out MLM/Anti-MLM "Armageddon"...
While I and the members of the ablakeforum enjoy and even encourage lively, spirited discussion... the overly strong feelings, bile and vitriol that were beginning to poke it's ugly head from beneath this discussion was becoming problematic...
Andrew -- you have strong "feelings" about network marketing/MLM (NWM/MLM) -- you see this world with a jaundiced eye, colored by your experiences and deep seated opinions... we can accept your viewpoint and commentary from that perspective and understand that you are only trying to share your thoughts to others that may be contemplating joining an NWM/MLM organization...
Debbi, on the obverse, responds to your opinion and commentary coming from her positive and positioned experience as a participant and consultant to the NWM/MLM community... she sees it from a completely different perspective, one which you may or may not agree with...
Unfortunately many statements were made in this thread that painted both sides of the opinion/commentary with a broad brush -- and in doing so it only escalated the impending "war"... we were quickly leaving "discussion" and heading towards something much harsher and uglier...
I created this forum when we first started developing this board because I know that in the world of "entrepreneurism" there are those that are attracted to NWM/MLM organizations... and rather than have discussions about this business/opportunity space being batted around on one of the other boards I felt that giving it a home where it could be discussed cogently and intelligently (including disagreements) would be a good feature to have -- people are intrigued by NWM/MLM and they want to find a place where they can get some answers...
I myself have "dabbled" in NWM/MLM in my past -- I built a fairly strong and profitable downline during the early days of Herbalife only to see it collapse when the FDA came knocking and trying to take the company down -- I have worked with friends who have been involved in NWM/MLM and were looking to build their downlines as well as their product sales, some were involved with good organizations, others with companies that were nothing but scams... I have even consulted with some NWM/MLM companies and have turned down others... I WILL state that I am not a fan of NWM/MLM -- it is just not my cup of tea and something that I am not comfortable with... but this doesn't mean that every company is bad and that every company needs to be suspect (but you must do homework to determine that)...
I can understand where you're coming from -- and I can understand where everyone else is coming from too...
Like anything in the "opportunity" space one needs to do their due diligence... no matter if it's an NWM/MLM company or an Internet "money-making" opportunity... in both situations there are tendencies to "stretch" the truth and inflate earnings, successes, results, etc...
I have seen some massive doozies told in the NWM/MLM arena -- claims that are laughable but yet people believed them -- I can say the same about the Internet marketing space -- I have seen income claims made by some "reputable" marketers that defy logic and upon simple investigation (which most people fail to do) does not hold up to scrutiny and are nothing more than puffery and fraud...
People Have A Propensity To Stretch The Truth, Lie And Make Things Greater Than They Are...That's the first part that needs to be understood... irregardless of which side or where it's coming from... especially when it has to do with money, money-making, sales, marketing, etc. -- the opportunity, the ability and the willingness to do it is not owned by any one single group -- it stretches across the board...
You're right... doing your due diligence before you enter
ANY opportunity or purchase
ANY marketing product is what
SHOULD be done (but isn't) -- but that cuts both ways... if you ask for tax returns of those trying to build downlines because you don't trust them then it is equally fair to ask for the tax returns from the Internet marketing product peddlers who make similar statements in their own space... You simply cannot cast one group as suspicious or "evil" without also casting a trained eye on your own group... no one is clean, no one is without sin, no one is "not guilty"...
What we need to do here on this board, within this space created on ablakeforum is to use it for positive... to "
EDUCATE" and "
ENLIGHTEN" those who are intrigued or who have questions or are looking for some kind of informed guidance... it is not and should not be used to attack, beat up or flame each other no matter which group (and this goes to ALL forums and topics)...
We have an incredible, powerful opportunity to build a community that actually delivers useful, actionable, targeted, profitable information to anyone who seeks it... that shows the
RIGHT way of doing things without obfuscation or half-truths or "bullshit"... disagreeing and discussing -- bringing to light questions and fears and challenges is one thing -- it's a "good thing" (to quote Martha Stewart)... to attack and flame and beat each other, irregardless of the side is another and is abusing the positive opportunity we have here on a forum that has been built from the ground up with one singular, powerful ideal -- to make it
the best,
most informative and
most community-inspired board on the Internet -- a
true place for 21st Century marketers to call home, feel comfortable, safe and find the solutions, answers, ideas, strategies, etc. they need to create the successes they seek...
I have invited everyone here and have thrown open the doors because I believe in all of you... because I want to hear from all of you... because a place like this (the forum) needed to be built so that we can have the lively discussions and the sharing and the learning... something like this thread should not divide us... should not make it "us against them" but should be a discussion point that opens doors to further exploration on the subject and the sharing of information, on both sides, that resolves some of the challenges both sides have with each other...
I'm not trying to preach "Kumbaya" here... but folks, we're adults... successful, purposeful, resourceful, intelligent and caring people... and that is what we need to represent...
In this thread we agree to disagree... good... done... over... spleens vented, opinions shared, rebutted, discussed, debated and now put away... we look at what each side is saying... understand the perspectives the information is coming from and use
THAT to build upon and resolve differences, ideas, presuppositions, ideologies... we use
THAT to bring us together and work towards a more positive, more successful and more agreeable future for all of us...
Success!!!
Tony Blake
Marketing Mindreader™
New Media/Content2.0™ Maven
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