This actually has nothing to do with my drinking habits. Rather, it's about meetings. Specifically, it's about those meetings that friends invite you to so you can join them in cashing in on the next giant opportunity.
Years ago such invitations involved soap. You had to sit through the first hour and were never given a clue that you were at an Amway meeting. The first hour was all about building a network of friends and relatives so that they too would have the opportunity to get rich. Eventually, well into the second hour you finally got a peek at the product which was about to change your life and the lives of all the lucky people that you bring aboard. Welcome to the world of multi-level-marketing.
I'm no expert, but my understanding is that MLM operations are legal while similar Pyramid schemes are not. The difference? An MLM involves selling legitimate products and payment of commissions which trickle down through several levels according to who recruited who into the network. Pyramid schemes on the other hand, involve payment of commissions simply for bringing people into the network, usually because there's a huge entry fee. Sometimes this entry fee is simply for the privilege of admission and sometimes it's the price of a over valued start up kit...like $4,000 for $1,000 worth of cheap jewelery.
In recent times these 'Opportunity Knocks' meetings have evolved and often relate to investments. You might be given the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the next big idea through an investment in a private company. On occasion these are well meaning people who sincerely believe that they hold propriety rights to the next fuel cell. Other times it involves scammers who claim to have developed a system to extract sugar from wood chips. Yup, we had one of these in Manitoba. Remember, there's no way to value an investment in a private company. If it ain't trading on the market, who's can say what it's worth? Have one and don't believe me? Try to sell it, and get back to me.
Another example involves joining a lending pool for the smartest guys in the real estate business who promise monthly returns of anywhere from 5 - 20%. Where do I sign up for that? For info about these schemes have a look at this site. I've had this in my LINKS panel for some time under the title Ponzi Schemes.
The bottom line is that if it sounds to good to be true it usually is. Legitimate investments are offered by licensed dealers after preparation and filing of a proper prospectus. Always remember...
Years ago such invitations involved soap. You had to sit through the first hour and were never given a clue that you were at an Amway meeting. The first hour was all about building a network of friends and relatives so that they too would have the opportunity to get rich. Eventually, well into the second hour you finally got a peek at the product which was about to change your life and the lives of all the lucky people that you bring aboard. Welcome to the world of multi-level-marketing.
I'm no expert, but my understanding is that MLM operations are legal while similar Pyramid schemes are not. The difference? An MLM involves selling legitimate products and payment of commissions which trickle down through several levels according to who recruited who into the network. Pyramid schemes on the other hand, involve payment of commissions simply for bringing people into the network, usually because there's a huge entry fee. Sometimes this entry fee is simply for the privilege of admission and sometimes it's the price of a over valued start up kit...like $4,000 for $1,000 worth of cheap jewelery.
In recent times these 'Opportunity Knocks' meetings have evolved and often relate to investments. You might be given the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the next big idea through an investment in a private company. On occasion these are well meaning people who sincerely believe that they hold propriety rights to the next fuel cell. Other times it involves scammers who claim to have developed a system to extract sugar from wood chips. Yup, we had one of these in Manitoba. Remember, there's no way to value an investment in a private company. If it ain't trading on the market, who's can say what it's worth? Have one and don't believe me? Try to sell it, and get back to me.
Another example involves joining a lending pool for the smartest guys in the real estate business who promise monthly returns of anywhere from 5 - 20%. Where do I sign up for that? For info about these schemes have a look at this site. I've had this in my LINKS panel for some time under the title Ponzi Schemes.
The bottom line is that if it sounds to good to be true it usually is. Legitimate investments are offered by licensed dealers after preparation and filing of a proper prospectus. Always remember...
Meetings are for Amway and Mexican Times Shares.
No comments:
Post a Comment