Hope Is a Thing With Feathers

I would like to talk about an observation I have made as of late.

I don't like blatantly saying "I am an Army Wife". That's because I am still clinging so desperately to my own sense of identity in spite of that fact. Now, I'll bet if there are any Army Wives out there, now you're pissed. That's OK. If I were invested in this lifestyle, I might be mad too. I'm not though. I go to the FRG Meetings, I joined the Spouse's Club, and I am really trying to make this work for me, but the truth is, it doesn't. I feel like a square peg, and I don't like it. I don't really want to talk about that though, since even now I feel a crying jag coming on. I needed to "come out" again as an Army Wife in order to illustrate that I'm not pulling the following story out of my butt.

Clinging to the little hope I have left. In a tree.

In the before times, I could name you exactly 4 Multi Level Marketing (MLM) schemes. The first two were Avon and Mary Kay, which I was unaware were MLMs until this week. The other two were MonaVie and Tahitian Noni Juice, both some sort of magical, cure all, fruit juice. I think.

However, since moving to my new home outside of Ft. Stewart, GA, I've encountered people selling things (for other people, selling things for other people) that I never knew were things to begin with. They call it "direct marketing". The first one that came to my attention was Thirty-One. I went to a party with some people I had just met, and all I could think was "who buys this crap, and how does anyone make money this way?". The short answers are "no one" and "they don't". Then there was Visalus, which I bought, but declined selling. It is a good product, don't get me wrong, but I didn't use enough of it to make it worth my while. I can only drink so many shakes before I get burnt out - I don't care how good they taste.

Then I started noticing more and more of these "direct marketing" businesses; so many that I cannot begin to name them all. The more of them I encountered, the more I realized that the people involved were mostly women just like me: Stay at Home Army Wives. The unique trials and tribulations that we are subjected to make it very hard for any of us to get regular jobs, much less have careers. Why would someone want to hire me if I could up and move at the drop of a hat, and there's nothing they could do about it? That's why these things are so appealing to people in my situation. You can work from home AND take your business with you when you move! 

 Not to mention, The pitch usually goes something like this:

"Hey Guys! Do you want to be your own boss and finally have financial freedom? Of course you do! So, why not start selling (make-up, bags, sex toys, kitchen ware, nutritional supplements) with my company? You can make x% commission on each sale you make. Then, once you build your team of motivated sellers, you will also get y% of every sale each team member makes. Ins't that great? It's so easy too! I only work a hours a week and I have paid off my family's debt and we're about to take a two week vacation to the Barbados. Did I mention the car? That's right! When you make b in sales each month for z, we'll give you a car! Won't you please join my team that we might all attain financial freedom?"

(x = % comission on personal sales, y = % comission on team sales, a<10, b>$1000, z = months worked to earn a free car)

As you can see this is clearly a pyramid. A pyramid scheme, by any other name, is still a pyramid scheme. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that's what these are either. So, why are all these Army wives buying into it? After giving it much thought I have come to this conclusion:

Everyone needs to believe in something. 

This could not be more true for the typical Army wife. Our lives are fraught with uncertainty and we have zero control over large aspects of our lives. We could be forced to move at any time, our husbands could be injured or die at any time, and we're just supposed to "go with the flow". Most of us have no independent income and no sovreignty. If our husbands were to die, or worse, leave us, we would be in dire straights. I know this is something that I think about quite a bit - if I had to, how would I survive on my own?

With MLM, you are made to believe that you can achieve financial success. Even if you have to stay home with a house full of kids because your husband is some Private toiling away in the salt mines that is The Middle East, you can sell this product. They tell you "it sells itself". "You just have to talk to people about it." "We will give you your own website." Let's not forget my personal favorite "You can make as much money as you want by working as little as 5 hours a week!". These "companies" are basically shilling hope to those people who need it most. I'm not going to lie - even though I know  that these "business opportunities" are nothing more than pyramid schemes, I have given consideration to a few of them. I got bills. Expenses. I wouldn't mind a little extra scratch to be laying around at the end of the month. I could totally sell some makeup for a few extra Bennys here and there. It is, after all, "all about the Benjamins". Then I remember that I couldn't sell air to a drowning man and that's the end of that.

Some people seem to be making the MLM thing work. I wonder how many aren't though? How many women out there have tried one or more of these things and found themselves no better off or perhaps worse off than when they started? I want to believe in something too, but I fear the price for hope might be more than I can afford.

What do you think of MLM? Have you ever bought anything from a direct marketing company? Have you worked for one? Do you think these companies are predatory in seeking new recruits? Let me know in the comments!