Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Job Trading Hours For Dollars Or Amway - Trading Hours For Losses?

One of the ways that upline diamonds would put down jobs was to toss in the phrase that a job was simply trading hours for dollars. As if it were demeaning to have a job where you got paid for your time. I believe it's all relative. Being that many IBos are young and maybe working in more entry level types of jobs, then yeah, your hours wage might not be that great. If you earn say $10 an hour, then you might be struggling financially and it may take time before your skills and knowledge increase to a point where your experience is worth more money. What if you had a job paying $1000 an hour and earned $160,000 a month? Is that a lousy deal trading hours for dollars? I think not!

Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earning less than $100 a month and you spend $200 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus a platinum is in the top one half of 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are likely losing money. How much is that worth per hour?

I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, afterall, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the end, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month groww income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month.

Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profir right away. Instead, IBos are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case I would choose trading hours for dollars.

Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would say that was my conclusion when i was in amway 30 years ago. Uplines messages were all based on what was going to happen , might happen or could happen. After getting to platinum i decided a job was more likely to get me financial freedom which for me was being debt free , mortgaged paid and enough income to not have to worry about how to pay the bills. Planes and luxury homes i can do without. Looking back i was unlikely to get what i wanted from amway. So i feel i made the right decision. I suspect in that timeframe there are probably a million or two people who also found they were better off withou amway

Anonymous said...

I would say that was my conclusion when i was in amway 30 years ago. Uplines messages were all based on what was going to happen , might happen or could happen. After getting to platinum i decided a job was more likely to get me financial freedom which for me was being debt free , mortgaged paid and enough income to not have to worry about how to pay the bills. Planes and luxury homes i can do without. Looking back i was unlikely to get what i wanted from amway. So i feel i made the right decision. I suspect in that timeframe there are probably a million or two people who also found they were better off withou amway

Anonymous said...

Joecool, the biggest problem in Amway is, in the name of education they literally suck your ability to think anything constructive. IBOs do not realise it is OK to have rest, spend family time and so on. They also do not agree for a fact that everything is measured by time and intellect value. That is the reasonwhy a part time business becomes centre of decision making. You are a hero if you do not celebrate your children's birthday but to attend a function. Such a pity....

Anonymous said...

Tl;dr.

Currently the figures are like this (in Aus anyway)

You break even at 15%, (fuel, functions, products) and you profit at 18%. at platinum you are 30k + a year plus incentive bonuses, plus free trip.

how quickly that first part comes is up to you, your work ethic, and your business strategy.

It can take anywhere from less than a month to years depending on those. If you do nothing you get nothing, and it will continue costing more than its paying.

People may lie, numbers dont.


Amway can be built by anyone, you can get out of prison yesterday and start an Amway business, you can be indited for a felony and they dont ask. It is designed to be "Equal opportunity", Am-way, short for the American Way was designed to be exactly that, give everyone the same ground to stand on regardless of education or personal situation.

Because of this though, this complete lack of screening, you get people who want to do whatever 'they think is best' and who have no clue about correct business conduct or possibly dont care about others and only their goals.

Of course, there are rules of conduct, and anyone known to be breaking those can and will have their business and right to own one removed in serious circumstances.

Thats about the worst of it.


Anyone who belittles another for what they do to provide for themselves and families is a poor character. Whether that person is talking about "Amway is better than your job because you trade time for money" Or whether that person is talking about "Amway being a scam, or an unworthy pursuit"


An Amway business is just like anything else we do, a means to an end, it isnt the end itself. I have a job so i can pay the bills and try and save enough for a house.

With a couple of hundred extra bucks a month coming in, that would make a big difference, with a couple of thousand i could afford my fiance to not have to work and could concentrate on her studies if thats what she wanted.

With a bit more, i too could afford to not have to work daily on something i do for money rather than for enjoyment or fulfillment. I could then instead build on my passions rather than building on those of my bosses.

So dont scoff, or tell me its a scam. Some people are pushy, or straight up unlikeable, and id hate to have to deal with someone if faced by that situation.


Im not like that though, and neither are anyone i deal with as i learn through my business leadership skills to help in life and with people and not just "to make money".


If you dislike amway, dont, its someone who offended you you dislike, the company is simply a company that sells products and provides a system for you to build yourself an asset.

I honestly would not waste time on an "anti amway" blog, it only serves to spend your time on something negative. The company will continue on and continue to improve and grow. (as it has done tremendously in the past 10 yrs).


I see im about a year late to the party, but google gave me it so im providing my view.