My Facebook feed is littered with posts from people who have joined network marketing companies, pushing their wares and looking to recruit new team members. The older companies, such as Amway and Mary Kay, I see every once in a while. There are also some that are very popular now, such as Herbalife and LuLaRoe, but there are many more like this that I see popping up all the time: it ranges from Le-Vel's Thrive to Plexus, LipSense to Jamberry, doTerra to Rodan + Fields. I've been invited to everything from Pampered Chef parties to BeachBody launches.

Fed the fantasy of achieving the all-elusive American dream, many people are being wooed by multilevel-marketing companies. I'm not sure why I've seen so many friends joining these companies, perhaps it's my age group or the lifestyles of my friends. I admit that I even was registered to sell Herbalife around 4 years ago, but I didn't see any revenue from it and quickly dropped out. I mostly used it for the discount on the product I was purchasing for myself, and I know from friends that many others do the same.

While I do see some people on my friend list who end up making decent money working for these companies, I see many more that do not stick around. It always starts with either a text or message from someone I haven't heard from in a while. "Hey girl, I hope you are well! I just started selling XYZ and it's amazing!!" Etcetera, etcetera. Sometimes it's an invite to a Facebook "party" where you order things so the seller can earn special rewards or bonuses. Other people post a vague status or share how the product has impacted their life to garner interest.

I've also been approached in person by absolute strangers. I worked in a coffee shop part-time last year, and a customer told me she was a makeup artist and needed photographs of clients for her portfolio. I agreed to help, but when I showed up to her apartment, it turned out it was for a Mary Kay party and she was trying to sell MK products and recruit more girls for her team.

Most of the time, the invites and posts fade away.

I always assume that the person either no longer feels like pushing the product anymore, or that they simply are no longer involved. I've also seen people work for one and either add another on or change to a new one when they hit the ceiling of how far they're able to go with it.

I think these companies can be a great source of supplemental income and I'm not inclined to put them down immediately and scoff at those who join so-called "pyramid schemes." However, I know that this isn't for me. I'm really dependent on having a reliable, steady source of income. I'm also not extroverted enough to be successful in this type of work. I do see the appeal of joining something like this; thinking that you can still work a full / part time job and bolster your income by selling products you use yourself. However, it's not as easy or magical as it's made to look. Regardless, if this is something you enjoy or excel at, go for it. Just please don't message me, I'm not interested in joining.