So yeah...I drank the Kool-Aid

Let me preface this and the next few posts I plan on, this is MY story, and while it rings true for hundreds of others if not thousands, this is NOT being written to shame anyone who is in an MLM company currently.

Ok, I admit it, I finally admit I fully accepted the MLM (multil level marketing...allllll the home sales companies you know and most likely love) lifestyle.  Hook, line and sinker folks, I did it. Let's start with a bit of reflection on how it all started...

In 1995, the year I was married, I bought my first product from an MLM, not knowing that was even a thing. I just knew I was going to cooking soon and NEEDED those cool new cooking products. And to be honest, they are fabulous and I still use them to this day.  However, that was just the beginning.  

After marriage, enter the plastics MLM that ran the world for decades and I loved everything about them.  Again, to be honest, they are fabulous products and while I've decluttered a lot of them out of my house due to age, etc...I still use some of them to this day.

That lead to hosting many more parties in my home over the years, you name it I hosted it.  Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Home Interiors, Longaberger, so much Tupperware, Premier Jewelry, Creative Memories, the list goes on...but then came Stampin' Up!  I was not only sold on this, I was so sold on it that I became a distributor. This was now 1999. Pre-Facebook days y'all...looooong time ago.

 

My first foray into the "amazing business opportunity" of an MLM.  I loved everything about it. Absolutely everything.  First, I was a first time mom and not only that, of a micro-preemie born at 1lb 6oz and all that goes with that so scrapbooking was a natural venue for me.  I've always been one to decorate photo albums anyway.  Second, it was a new way to scrapbook, with rubber stamps and all the fun items that go with that!  What? no stickers? just stamps? Sign me up!  And they did...

My husband and my dad, in particular, were not thrilled with this choice but hey, I was a Masters degree fairly well educated woman with a baby at home who had special physical needs and I needed an outlet. Match made in heaven. Or maybe not? 

I was a Stampin Up! rep for several years, I attended 3 of the national conferences, I even was chosen one year as a demonstrator, one of those who gets free stuff to make a bunch of samples for conference and then also work as a demonstrator for a make and take at the actual conference.  I was so honored and I loved the whole vibe.  I even got my sister-in-law and bestie to join up and they attended a couple of conferences too!  I mean, two trips to Vegas?? YES PLEASE!  (I love Vegas!) And to be honest, the one in Minneapolis, my first big MLM Convention, was pretty awesome too.  I loved the make and takes (this is when you get to make a card or scrapbook page or whatever the group is leading and take it home), I loved the products, I loved the environment.  

Of course now I know nothing is new under the sun...every single MLM conference is the same, just different products.  Trust me, EVERY SINGLE ONE. So much hype!  So much fun music!  So much dancing in the aisles! So much laughter!  Celebrity concerts!  Celebrity Endorsements!  Free product!  Discounted product!  New product Launches! Photos with the CEO! So many tears as you hear rags to riches stories!  So much of everything, trust me...NO CONFERENCE OR COMPANY does anything new. No MLM company is "different". 

So one of the things that really got me motivated was their "charity".  Because, as I now know, ALL MLMs have a charity of choice, this pulls at our heart strings.  Do they actually support the charity? I have no doubt that they do, but I think the reasons behind it aren't completely innocent.  Stampin' Up was not only run by a beautiful and seemingly humble woman, but they supported the Ronald McDonald House charity.  This meant the WORLD to me as we were honored to be able to stay at one for a month after our oldest was born so early.  I love everything about these houses.  They are amazing for familes of sick children, truly amazing.  So heck yea!  MY company is now supporting them?  Can I just tattoo the name of the company on my forehead in pride? (joking, sort of).

I was with SUp for several years. As were my sis-in-law, my bestie of besties and many other friends of mine. And truthfully, as I still didn't even know the term MLM or what it was, I finally left because I was convicted. I was convicted for religious reasons.  See...a LOT of companies like this are based in Utah, in fact the majority are, and while not all of them are run by people in the LDS church, SUp was.  When there was never tea at the dinners, I learned it was due to a rule they have to not ingest caffeine. Which is fine, but it was a red flag for me.  I stuck with it for quite awhile after, but it kept bugging me until finally I knew I had to let go of the "biz".  I never made a big deal out of it, it didn't resonate too deeply for several more years, because Mormons do believe in Jesus...but I truly believe in my heart they are a cult and are "in it" for the wrong reasons. All I can say for sure is the Holy Spirit has been working on me for years about this and I know it's what I'm supposed to avoid.

In between that time I joined 3 more companies.  Yep...3, but I also continued to host parties for friends and family who were alse in these businesses.  So by the time all is said and done, MLM's had me for around 2 decades.  20 years. Yall, that's a lot.

I'll end today's post here but stick with me to learn more.