Last year I had two different, and yet strikingly similar, experiences with Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). For those who don’t know, MLM (also known as Network Marketing) is a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising. In both instances, I chose not to become involved. In this article I would like to explain why.

My first encounter with MLM arose because a close friend invited me to a meeting to get my opinion on a business opportunity. As she later admitted, she was never interested in my “opinion”. Her mind was already made up about the opportunity, and this was just her way to get me to the meeting. Well she did succeed in sparking my curiosity, and since I had nothing else to do I went along. This first MLM opportunity was with a company called ACN and basically involved reselling the services of a telecommunications company.