Network Marketing During a Pandemic


Well it's been awhile my friends and I have missed you all so dearly. It's been about 3 years since I last sat down and wrote up a blog post on here. In that space of time I feel I have lived a hundred different lives. So to catch up on all that would be too lengthy and frankly not very interesting. I'm starting fresh with a topic I've been mulling around during this very confusing season of life.

In January of 2020 I started a side hustle with an MLM (which I'm not going to name because I'm just not about defamation) and was thrown into a world of Zoom meetings, three-way calls, social posting, text groups with multitudes of people and a community of strong, entrepreneurial women. 

I am not a sales woman, in any capacity, which they tell you is not what Network Marketing is about. Well, I disagree with that notion. Product --> Market -->  Lead --> Conversion aka a SALE. You make a profit on that sale. You get notifications about the shipment of that sale. So I rest my case, this job is about selling. And with Network Marketing you are asking someone to purchase the good that you have. So... what happens when there is a global pandemic and millions of people have lost their job? 

Morality is a tricky thing when it comes to advertising - which I learned about in my college courses on the Ethics of Advertising. What is "moral" about projecting an image of a product influencing your life? It's a fine, fine line with this and not one that can be easily defined in my opinion. Couple that with a devastating virus ransacking the earth and well that is absolutely the definition of a moral dilemma.

Just to make things more spicy how about we throw in another caveat to conversation. What about the women in this MLM who support their families with this job? What about the women who have lost their jobs and need to pay their bills? There are people still working and there are definitely people looking for a way to make money from their homes while in lockdown. So what does the general public have to say for these entrepreneurs? "Stop working"? Well, they have bills to pay too. "Stop asking people to buy your product"? Well, people still purchase beauty and nutrition products online.

So it's not so cut and dry with the current status of the world because there are two sides to this conversation and each one has its valid points. But how do we as a collective unit identify the ethical and the unethical arguments? It's either all or none for Network Marketing because you either profit or you don't.

Changing the conversation around advertising in the current pandemic is something that needs to happen. We can't pretend that there aren't vulnerable people out there that would be desperate enough to jump head in to a business they see opportunity in. But we also can't be blind to the fact that people don't need products or opportunities marketed to their weaknesses either.

Where do you stand on the subject and what basis do you form that opinion around? I'd be curious to hear additional insight into the conversation because I, quite frankly, am at a loss as to what is appropriate behavior at this time. With that said keeping anger out of this is my main objective - I know how MLM's are viewed to most of the general public and I'm not looking for a lynching. Just a friendly "whatcha think?" answer will suffice.

HOW I BECAME A BETTER GIFT GIVER

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*This post contains sponsored links from uncommongoods.com*




Some people are blessed with the gift of great gift giving -- how's that for alliteration? Have you ever been given a present so you, so absolutely and completely you, that you think... Oh my, someone GETS ME.

I, no matter how hard I try, am just not one of those people. I am presented with the opportunity of gift giving and always end up frantically searching for something that ends up being just sort of ... meh.

I'll rummage through stores searching and scanning for a present, anything to give me that spark inside. I'll imagine giving that person a present that makes them burst into tears and applause for being just so bloody perfect.

But, my lovelies, I think I've found a cure to my poor ailment of never giving a great gift. That cure? uncommongoods.com

SHOWS & MOVIES TO PUT ON YOUR WATCHLIST



The Show : Twin Peaks
Episode Count: 38
Seasons: 3
Where to Watch: Netflix

Twin Peaks Travel Poster by Jazzberry Blue

If you haven't ever seen a David Lynch film I would suggest you watch one before giving Twin Peaks a go. He's a brilliant director and there is a ton of symbolism in every single character/plot/setting. With that being said he is not everyone's cup of tea... or coffee - watch the show and you'll get the joke.

THE HERO WE NEEDED - WONDER WOMAN REVIEW

DC



I'm either going to sound very nerdy - never a bad thing by the way - or very extra in this post. But I felt SO INSPIRED to get on here and write.




This past Friday I went to see the new Wonder Woman movie and I left feeling such a deep and honest connection to the film. I am a very big fan of Marvel films and less so with DC only because I love the brevity of Marvel's characters.


The Batman Trilogy was an exception to this sentiment but even they couldn't compare to the star-packed character ensembles of Marvel films. So, when I first heard that DC was creating a Wonder Woman origin movie I was less enthusiastic about seeing it.


If I could travel back in time and warn myself how wrong those thoughts were I would because holy-moly this film is a winner in every way, shape, and form. Wonder Woman is easily my favorite Super Hero film and it was seriously a long time coming.


Personal Time

I am a feminist in the sense that I love seeing women in empowered positions. I'm a "you go get it girl" type of person but - and that's a heavy loaded but - I am not a man basher. 


I can watch Captain America or Iron Man and feel just as elated as I would if there were a Black Widow film. It's not solely about seeing a woman dominating in this scenario that made me feel so passionate.


More than anything it's about the type of woman that Diana (Wonder Woman) is in the movie. The world of the Amazon's was portrayed as a Utopian society. They were supportive and strong, something that you don't always see in women centered films. 


They weren't afraid of their strength and I'm sure many would even qualify them as "manly." They had bodies that weren't starving but were instead jam-packed with muscle.  Being the tall woman that I am I have always struggled with appearing less feminine than the typical lady. 

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