The Difference Between MLM and Pyramid Schemes

It has been more than crystal clear to me that a majority of people seem to believe that multi-level marketing (MLM) and pyramid schemes are the same thing. Many also think that MLM is just "another word for a pyramid scheme". 

INCORRECT! Here's why: 

Here's what a pyramid scheme REALLY is: 

• You only make money by other people paying you.
• There is no product or service being sold.
• You pay a one off fee and no money is made after that.
• It is illegal.
• There is no way to earn money as there are no products or services.

Here's what MLM is: 

• You may or may not have to pay to join, but the earning potential is high and very likely. 
• Products, services or both are provided within the company/business/opportunity.
• You make either profits or commissions as generally business tends to work that way and if it didn't only one person would be making money.
• They are very likely to have offices either in one country or around the world based on how successful the company is. 
• It is legal because it does offer either products, services or both and it also has the potential for the people within the business to grow financially, unlike in pyramid schemes where there are no products or services and no ways to earn. 

Hopefully my list was able to clear up any questions you had, the only similarity between a pyramid scheme and MLM is that most of the time in MLM you have to pay for either a selling licence or for stock or both. The fact that some genuine MLM opportunities cost, is what makes people so skeptical combined with the fact that many of the skeptics believe that ever genuine MLM opportunity that costs, means that it is a scam. 

Which is just not true. 

Use this article to make an informed decision and don't dismiss opportunities simply because there's a cost involved as all businesses require some form of investment, for example Costa Coffee, Starbucks or McDonalds and the like, those all costs thousands or millions to open. 

Thinking that an opportunity is somehow fake or a scam just because there's a cost involved is how people stay poor and it's how they remain poor or middle class.