Part 3: What Makes MLMs Different from Other Businesses?
If you’ve ever raised concerns about MLMs, you’ve probably heard some familiar responses:
“Well, CEOs make more than employees, too.”
“Isn’t this just like affiliate marketing?”
“All sales are based on commission—this isn’t new.”
“You just don’t get it. This is my business.”
And listen—those are fair questions. Because on the surface, MLMs might look like just another way to make money. And it’s true, many types of business models have flaws or challenges around income distribution, sales pressure, or relationship dynamics.
But once you start peeling back the layers, you’ll find a business model that’s… different. And not always in a good way.
Let’s break it down.
1. The Upward Funnel: Built for the Few at the Top
Many businesses have hierarchies—CEOs often make more than employees. That’s a reality across industries.
But MLMs take this to another level. Instead of stable wages or salaries for most participants, MLM income relies heavily on recruiting others below you to make money. Your earnings often depend more on building a large “downline” than on selling products to customers.
This creates a funnel where:
The people at the top can make a significant income
Most people at the bottom struggle to break even or lose money
Research suggests that roughly 99% of MLM participants don’t turn a profit after expenses—unlike many traditional jobs where pay is more predictable and not dependent on recruiting others who recruite others.
Biblically, this raises questions because God calls us to:
Protect the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:17)
Pay fair wages (Leviticus 19:13)
Avoid exploitation (Amos 8:4–6)
While hierarchies exist elsewhere, the MLM funnel can unintentionally put many participants at risk, creating a system that often fails to protect the majority.
2. It’s Not Just Sales — It’s Recruitment
Affiliate marketing shares similarities with MLMs in that both pay commissions on sales.
But there are key differences:
Affiliate marketing rewards you for customers you directly refer.
It doesn’t require recruiting others to build a team or earning commissions on their sales.
There’s typically no pressure to turn it into a full-time job or career. ( although I’m sure you’ve heard of influencers who may tell you otherwise- that usually comes form that influencer, not the company)
MLMs blur the lines by selling both products and the business opportunity—inviting participants to recruit others to “build their empire.” This dual focus can make it hard to separate genuine product enthusiasm from business pressure. When a company rolls out new products, it often creates a wave of excitement.
For many sellers, even those genuinely passionate, it can be challenging to discern whether their enthusiasm is truly for the product itself—or if it’s driven by the fact that a new product is often easier to sell and therefore offers a better chance to make money. Sometimes, this distinction happens so subtly that participants don’t even realize if their excitement is for the product or the opportunity to boost sales.
3. Hustle Culture, Masked as Faith
Hustle culture isn’t exclusive to MLMs; it’s pervasive in many industries and entrepreneurial spaces.
But MLMs often wrap hustle language in spiritual or faith-based encouragement:
“You’re made for more.”
“God gave you this dream for a reason.”
“This is your financial breakthrough.”
While motivation and faith can be good, this language sometimes borders on prosperity gospel thinking—the idea that success is a direct sign of faith or effort.
Jesus never promised financial ease. He promised Himself:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33
Hard work and faithfulness matter, but they don’t guarantee profit or ease.
4. It Costs More Than Money — It Costs Relationships
Pressuring personal relationships for business gain can happen in many sales contexts. But MLMs often explicitly train participants to recruit from their social circles—friends, family, church groups—turning relationships into sales funnels.
This can lead to awkwardness, strain, or even broken trust. Most traditional jobs don’t require this kind of relational selling or “warm lead” pressure.
5. It’s Not Really Your Business
One of the biggest misconceptions about MLMs is that you’re running your own business. But in reality, most participants don’t own a business—they’re more like independent contractors operating under strict company rules. The parent company controls the products, pricing, marketing materials, and compensation plans. If the company changes policies, cancels your account, or discontinues a product, you have little say—and your “business” can disappear overnight. This lack of true ownership means the risk falls mostly on you, while the company holds the power. It’s very different from owning a traditional small business, where you have control and autonomy.
One Example of this, that you likely have heard of is Beach Body abruptly announcing a shift away from their MLM coach model to a single-level affiliate structure, laying off about one-third of their workforce and winding down MLM operations by January 2025.
The result?
Thousands of “independent coaches”—many of whom had poured years, money, and identity into building their “businesses”—saw commissions vanish, ranks freeze, and their livelihoods suddenly disappear: in MLMs, your “business” can vanish overnight at the whim of the parent company—even one that once felt stable and promising.
It’s a sobering reminder that true ownership is far more complex than any MLM’s marketing might suggest.
It’s important to recognize that many marketing or business models have their own flaws—some can be exploitative, manipulative, or unhealthy.
What sets MLMs apart is how multiple challenges—financial risk, recruitment pressure, relational entanglement, and spiritualized hustle—combine in one system. That makes them uniquely complex to navigate.
This isn’t about bashing entrepreneurship, ambition, or community support. It’s about asking:
Is this structure built on truth and fairness?
Does it protect and honor all participants?
Does it bring freedom or hidden burdens?
Coming Up Next:
In Part 4, we’ll explore what drives so many smart, capable, visionary people to join MLMs in the first place—and how to tell the difference between healthy ambition and hidden pressure. This one’s especially for the dreamers.
