In the first of our Future of Business Series - Multilevel Marketing Today, an alternative to jobs, or false hope?

Listen Now to Future of Business, MLMs?

Besides the heralding of Mayan Prophecies, 2012 has brought several new network marketing companies into our local social sphere of influence, here in Santa Cruz.. Curious as to whether such business ventures are a viable alternative to jobs in our current economic climate, we decided to do a show on the topic..

As defined by Wikipedia, 

Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. 

MLM’s have been around since 1945, the first being the California Vitamin Company (shortly afterwards to become Nutrilite).  The plan allowed Nutrilite distributors with at least 25 regular customers to recruit new distributors and draw a 3 percent commission from their sales. Unlike traditional direct selling, this was an ongoing payment whenever the customer re-ordered, allowing direct sellers to build a sales organization that could generate a residual-like income.

But are MLM’s a good approach for the future of marketing and distribution of goods and services today?  Does our internet savvy world still need a system originally designed in a time when America was a series of relatively small, isolated towns and rural areas not easily accessible to small companies,  and MLM was a useful way to let people know of and buy products or services?  And just what is the difference between an MLM an a classic pyramid scheme?

To answer these questions and others, we have invited several local entrepreneurs to the station, to see what convinced them to buy into their MLMs, and what kind of results they are achieving.

Our panel features local entrepreneurs Halle Blessing, who has been working with American Communications Network, a Donald Trump endorsed MLM selling telecommunications services, Michael Moore, with Ampegy, an alt energy-oriented MLM, and Michael Zwerling, station owner of KSCO and supporter of Youngevity, a health and supplement-oriented MLM.