Today I was reminded of the absurdity that still takes advantage of those who are weak to resist and offer too good to be true. Some things simply can not happen, but those that will benefit from you trying will surely tell you otherwise. For instance, imagine this scenerio:
“You can be a millionaire simply by sending me $19.99!”
I provide a way for interested parties to pay me, probably Paypal linked to a new and temporal bank account.
Once a payment comes in, I email back an e-book containing the secret - which is to create a site just like the site they bought the e-book from. There are laws in place to prevent this kind of deceptive scam, but if you include enough content to offset the scam nature, it becomes caveat emptor – or – buyer beware.
Now that I’ve exposed how anyone can make a million dollars (painfully important word is ‘can’), let us move on to a new scenario where everyone becomes a millionaire:
In the near future, the worlds largest outbreak of cyclic buying results in everyone having at least a million dollars. As a result, due to meteoric inflation, a candy bar which presently is valued at 90 cents soon costs $75. Your rent which is $700 a month becomes $58,333 a month - enough to buy a small home in Upstate NY at present market prices. This is based upon an increase of 8333% across the board when the poverty line of $12,000 becomes $1,000,000.
The reality is that monetary value is relative and volatile. Visit Wikipedia’s page on hyperinflation for examples of such scenarios which actually occurred in recent history. Some countries currency value diminished to the point of 1 US dollar = 1 trillion of their units. In 2006, 10 US dollars equaled 100,000,000,000,000 Zimbabwean dollars. Clearly, a million of nothing is still nothing.
The main point is that selling and idea that we all can be rich or millionaires is indeed possible, but the central point is that no one who understands the repercussions would ever wish it to be.
Now on to the ‘two years later’ portion of this post. This site was created a little over two years ago in a dramatic way attempting to warn a then close friend about the mistake he was making. Our friendship dried up around this time, so I’ve not had direct information regarding his Quixtar Amway Global successes. As far as I know, via mutual friends, Al is still sticking it out and has yet to see anything resembling profit. Now keep in mind that Al started about 6 months prior to this blog, so he has had about 2 and a half years to prove the effort and expense a beneficial exploit.
Myself, I started a company in late 2000 which existed on paper for the first five years as I geared up while working a ‘real’ job. During those five years, I acquired equipment, took some classes at a community college, and bought books relevant to the work. I also began working during the hours I wasn’t working at my day job on a project here and there. The first few projects were not profitable per se, but they did educate me better about how to deal with clients, work flows, and more importantly how to maintain profitability.
One could compare a foray in to Quixtar Amway Global to my experience. The problem with that is that it is vastly different. For starters, I am solely responsible for creating a product or service, marketing it, and collecting on it. I also don’t collect a percentage or deal with a point system to collect a paycheck. I have all the freedom that Quixtar Amway Global promises, but I also have the freedom to make as much as I want based upon how much I choose to work.
Another part of the comparison is that what I’ve purchased has improved my abilities or increased the services I offer directly. Amway Global members are given the opportunity to attend seminars and purchase tools to help them better their business. The sick part of this is that they are also being guided in to solely selling Amway products as a business. Why not contact a local bottling or distribution company and purchasing a pallet of products that are in public demand, then sell those products to your friends for a profit?
Anyone can be what Amway Global calls an IBO (Independent Business Owner), it’s called being self-employed. Why limit yourself to starving what people lovingly refer to as their ‘business’ and make it a real one? Here are some possible real business ventures that anyone can do and see a real profit:
1. Talk to your city hall about getting a year-round vendors license and sell snacks and cold drinks on street corners in busy areas of town which have been approved for street vendors.
2. Visit your local Salvation Army and pick out interesting clothes, video tapes, electronics and resell them on eBay. Do some research on eBay for what people want, buy products you can resell with confidence.
3. Choose a product of interest and sell them online. There are millions of things available to sell, and an endless amount of products that you can produce yourself.
There are a few ideas that anyone can do with a little work. Ah, the key word is ‘work’. Too many people believe in the magical money faery that will bring them a fortune if they follow a get rich quick scheme which doesn’t involve real work. Unless you already have money, you will need ingenuity or talent to make money for yourself. I’ve been working for myself now for four years and have been experiencing an increase each year in profits - thanks to my gumption and desire to succeed with a real business idea.