What is a Pyramid Scheme? Too Many Are Ill Informed.

Call 425-687-0100 if you want realize what I did. BTW- I'm now at 202 lbs.

Call 425-687-0100 if you want to realize what I did. BTW- I’m now at 202 lbs.

When my wife and I made the decision to represent AdvoCare as Distributors we did it because we were so totally impressed with the products and the people representing Advocare. Our friends and AdvoCare mentors are such wonderful and impressive people, which we’ve learned even more so in the nearly one year we have been accepting their teachings and guidance. But one thing they warned us about, and others within the AdvoCare family warned us about has come to pass when I absolutely didn’t think it would. We were warned that a lot of people would outright reject Advocare without ever hearing about it because they were convinced it was a “Pyramid Scheme“. I didn’t think this was such a threat because I didn’t think there were going to be that many people my wife and I encountered who were THAT stupid.

Ok…Ok…that was mean.

Not stupid. How about ignorant?

Better…but still a little too demeaning.

Let’s stick with “ill-informed”.

Anyway, there have been a lot more of those ill-informed people that I ever thought possible.

If you’re one of those stup…errr…ill informed people you probably became that way through absolutely no research done on your part. My guess is you asked someone about Multi-Level Marketing or maybe it was because of you specifically asked someone about AdvoCare and this person being equally stup…errr…ill informed said to you, “I heard its a pyramid scheme” and that was it. You were done with AdvoCare or Multi-Level Marketing completely. You made no effort to learn from someone who knew better, you didn’t even bother to evaluate the intelligence or wisdom or experience of the person who gave you that false information. In all likelihood this person who gave you this bad, incorrect information was not accomplished in any way. But their word became your Bible, on this subject anyway.

It’s amazing how many people take the words and advice of friends and family who have no credentials, no accomplishments, no resume`, education, or bank account in which to measure their advice as worth while. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take friendships from where ever they’re offered. But in the words of Sales Trainer Tom Hopkins, “I won’t take advice from anyone more screwed up than I am”.

You, the ill-informed one, need to know what a pyramid scheme actually is because neither Advocare nor most other multi-level marketing companies are “pyramid schemes” They are closer to what “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki called “the perfect business”.

The definition of “pyramid scheme” from Wikipedia is: A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.

Bernie Madoff was busted in 2008 for operating the biggest pyramid scheme in U.S. history, totalling $65-billion dollars in fraud. He did it by taking new investors money to pay off earlier investors. And then he kept getting more and more investors, all of them paid off with money that came from newer investors. The obvious end result of this is that eventually Madoff ran out of new investors, and the stock market crash of 2008 painted Madoff into a corner in which he couldn’t escape. Investors kept asking him for their money. He paid out as much as he could, but couldn’t keep up. The dier economy left him fewer and fewer investors and eventually he was caught and arrested, December 11, 2008. Madoff made no investments. He sold no products. He just took from Peter to pay Paul.

Advocare sells products. AdvoCare sells the finest health and nutritional supplements in the world. The company has hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers; most of whom take the products and never work it as a business. And not one AdvoCare Distributor is paid a dime for signing-up another. AdvoCare is a products driven company. And it is a for-profit company. It’s been around for over 20 years and you don’t get to stick around that long by being a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is not successful in signing up famous national spokespersons like Drew Brees, Jason Whiten, Matt Hasselback, Sam Bradford, Michael W. Smith, Doug Fister, Veronica Campbell-Brown…and so many others. A pyramid scheme doesn’t sponsor NCAA football Bowl games, like the AdvoCare Independence Bowl. A pyramid scheme doesn’t sponsor Nascar races or race cars, like Advocare.

I once had someone actually tell me, regarding multi-level marketing, “I have a problem making money off the labor of others.” I told them of my previous employers. This broadcast sales company had a single owner, a General Manager, and a Sales Manager, in descending order of rank and/or responsibility. Not one of them sold anything to any customer (In truth I think the Sales Manager made a few sales every year…but not much) or made any of our products. They made money off the labors of the Sales Staff. We had a sales staff of between 40-45 people. They sold everything and were paid a wage based on how much they sold. The Sales Manager made a living based on how much the sales staff sold. The General Manager’s salary was raised based on whether the sales staff sold. The owner increased his wealth or earnings based on how much the sales staff sold. Are you beginning to get the picture?

The Classic Business Pyramid

The Classic Business Pyramid

Multi-Level Marketing became tied to the idea of what a Pyramid Scheme was over 20 years ago when the U.S. Justice Department charged Michigan based Amway Corporation with being a “pyramid scheme”. Amway defended itself, and won in court. It isn’t and wasn’t a Pyramid scheme. Unfortunately though for them and other MLM’s the label stuck. Amway was a billion dollar sales company in the U.S. prior to the lawsuit and a damning 60-Minutes tv profile. They have since fell on very hard times and a bad reputation within the United States. But Amway is still one of the top 25 business companies, in revenue, in the country thanks to the fact that the reputation-damaging false charges didn’t diminish Amway’s over-seas sales.

Multi-Level Marketing companies have existed successfully in this country for nearly 150 years. The Fuller Brush Company being one of the first and longest lasting. A couple of others you may have heard about are Avon or Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Tupperware…just to name a few. Multi-Level Marketing simply means you are creating leaders who lead a sales force and get paid according to that sales force’s level of success. But unlike the Classic Business Pyramid as shown in the picture above, the sales force of a well run MLM has its own sales force under them (If they choose to.) The fact is most buyers of Mary Kay Cosmetics never sell Mary Kay Cosmetics. That includes my wife. She’s bought Mary Kay for over 20 years and hasn’t sold a single lipstick container. Nobody accuses Mary Kay of being a Pyramid scheme.

I’ve never sold Amway or any other Multi-Level marketing product/company in my life, either. But all this information is on-line and free to find for anyone who looks.

The fact is name-calling, or demeaning something you don’t know about or understand, by calling it a pyramid scheme is a lot easier than taking the time to learn about it. And that’s why stup…errr…igno…ummm…I mean ill-informed people will continue to believe Advocare and other MLM’s are pyramid schemes. They’re just to lazy to learn the truth.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won't regret it.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won’t regret it.

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May 28, 2013
Categories: Business, Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 1 Comment

You Too CAN Afford the Expense of Losing Weight

Me at 203 lbs. the day ending my last 24 Day Challenge; down from 245lbs.

Me at 203 lbs. the day ending my last 24 Day Challenge; down from 245lbs.

Since my wife and I happily became Advisors with AdvoCare the most frequent objection to trying the products has been “I can’t afford it”. And I get this objection because of my failures in properly explaining AdvoCare. I’ve trained many sales people in my 20 year sales career as owner of Total Broadcasting Service, radio advertising and video marketing; and with my previous employers. When someone tells you “they can’t afford” your product or service you are guilty of one of two things. Either you have failed to build in the mind of the customer enough value for your offering, or you have failed to show them how they CAN AFFORD your products or services.

My wife and I have enjoyed tremendous benefits from using some of AdvoCare’s more than 80 different products. The benefits are so great we’ve made them a priority in our regular spending. And that’s what potential customers need to do. They need to make their health and appearance a higher priority. And they need to do some simple math. As an AdvoCare Advisor-Distributor its my job to help them with both. So here we go…

According to a January 2013 Gallup Poll only 35.9% of Americans are a “normal” or healthy weight. Of the remaining 64.1% of you, 40.6% are obese. BTW- that’s about 1% higher than when First Lady Michelle Obama started her “Let’s Move” physical fitness campaign in 2008. So things are getting worse, not better (in more ways than one. But THAT’s another blog). That’s over 86-million Americans with considerable motivation to find the finances necessary to get into shape. And in case you were wondering, if you are 30-40 pounds heavier than when you graduated high school you are probably obese. And it’s costing you money.

Obesity leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions. Obesity may not lead to arthritis and joint pain, but I can tell you from personal experience it does make such conditions worse. According to the website diabetes.org, they surveyed medication use and cost of 128 patients (75 women, 53 men). The average patient took between 4 and 5 medications per day. The monthly cost of these drugs ranged from $80 to $115. These estimates did not include the cost of syringes or home glucose monitoring supplies. These two items increased monthly drug costs by at least $55. Thus, the total estimated monthly drug cost for these patients ranged between $115 and $170. That’s over $1380 per year. Also, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) if you have blood pressure and are prescribed one of 18 different medicines you’re spending between $65-$195 per month, $780-$2340 per year. And how much do you spend on pain medicine, for aching backs and joints caused by your overweight?

AdvoCare AffordabilityWhen you do the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge you will spend no more than $7.91 per day and you’ll need to give up a few unhealthy food choices you’ve been making. When you give up morning coffee, fast food, soda, and maybe a breakfast sandwich or other daily snack you will be saving between $12-$15 per day, which is between $288- $360 over the entire 24 days of The Challenge. Add to your savings the fact that you will probably be eating less, and healthier, and THAT will also save you money.

Even when not on the Challenge my wife and I save money with AdvoCare products. For instance we drink Spark daily as a source for energy, mental clarity, and as a morning wake-up drink. We no longer drink coffee, which we used to drink daily. As Advisors with a 40% discount on the retail price of AdvoCare products we spend about $0.75 on each Spark drink or $1.50 per day. Compared to just a $3.00 latte; that saves us $45.00 per month. We were never “energy” – drink people, like Red Bull. But a lot of people are, and if you are…you’re spending over $4.50 on every drink. Spark contains no sugar and 21 vitamins and minerals and costs 1/3 of what you’re spending.

Spark is loaded with 21 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It contains no sugar. And it works!!!

Spark is loaded with 21 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It contains no sugar. And it works!!!

We also enjoy AdvoCare’s Meal Replacement Shakes daily at breakfast or lunch. We enjoy the chocolate flavor, as well as the mocha chocolate. Others like the Berry or Vanilla. The Shakes cost us $1.93 each meal. Any meal at any restaurant or fast-food sandwich is going to cost you at least $3.00. Yes, a bowl of Cheerios is a little cheaper. But it’s a lot less nutritious and far less filling. If you’re like me, when you eat a bowl of Cheerios or any other breakfast cereal you’re hungry again in an hour. That danish or donut you buy adds to your cost. Doesn’t it? And Meal Replacement Shakes contain:

Meal Replacement Shakes

* Only 220 calories
* Balanced meal for optimal nutrition and weight management
* 24 grams of easy-to-digest protein
* High in dietary fiber (5-6 grams)
* 50% of the Daily Value of calcium
* 26 vitamins and minerals
* 1:1 ratio of proteins to carbohydrates

And my family loves AdvoCare Snack and Meal bars. They have quite a variety. The new RAW flavor is a favorite. It’s a less-processed snack bar high in fiber and other nutrition. It’s great for eating on the run. And our cost is only $1.60 per bar. Snack Bar

I guess with the Snack and Meal bars, the Meal Replacement Shakes, and Spark my message is these are not expenses. They’re replacements for what you would otherwise spend your hard-earned money on and in most cases they’re far less expensive. So don’t think of AdvoCare as an additional expense. Think of it in most cases as a substitute expense, and less of it.

Lastly, most people get started on AdvoCare with the 24 Day Challenge. 24 Day ChallengeBut if you feel you can’t spend the $190 retail price (less with AdvoCare membership) then you can do it gradually. The first 10 days of the Challenge includes the Herbal Cleanse, Spark, and Omegaplex. Get those three outside the typical bundle and you only spend $76.40. Order the remaining Meal Replacement Shakes, MNS MAX, and additional Spark one week later when your next paycheck comes. You can do that for your health, your future, maybe your children. Right?

See? You can afford it.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Since June of 2012 to May 2013 Sonja is down OVER 40 lbs.

Since June of 2012 to May 2013 Sonja is down OVER 40 lbs.

May 23, 2013
Categories: Business, Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 2 Comments

The Arrogance of Young People and their BS Claims of Being Green

What follows was Copied from a Facebook post:

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.” The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment f or future generations.”

She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

English: Seven modern Dairy Crest milk bottles.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truly recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbling’s. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But too bad we didn’t do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Total Broadcasting Service. When you want marketing help that you can understand and afford.

Total Broadcasting Service. When you want marketing help that you can understand and afford.

May 6, 2013
Categories: Business, National Politics, Uncategorized, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 1 Comment

What is the One Terrific Reason to Join Twitter? | Jeffbullas’s Blog

So many of my FB friends as well as customers are not on or don’t use Twitter. It is a mistake from a business standpoint, but also from a personal standpoint. Read this blog below for a well stated reason.

What is the One Terrific Reason to Join Twitter? | Jeffbullas’s Blog.

You can follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/Totalbroadcast

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Come to our Website for videos, special deals, and inspiration.

Come to our Website for videos, special deals, and inspiration.

Click to go to our AdvoCare website.

Click to go to our AdvoCare website.

April 15, 2013
Categories: Business . Tags: , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on What is the One Terrific Reason to Join Twitter? | Jeffbullas’s Blog

Why is Visual Storytelling Important? – YouTube

Here we have a short video with several points of view on the subject of visual story telling; better known as video. If you run a business or you are a business you need to learn these important lessons.

When Total Broadcasting Service added video production to our audio production and radio advertising services 4 year ago YouTube and Social Media were still in their “toddler” stage. By now we know these vehicles of individual personable interaction are here to stay. And we’re proud to have had the vision to see it coming.

In the next 1-2 years having video, and not just one, for your marketing purposes will be as vital as having a website used to be. If you don’t have it you look like a dinosaur if you can be seen at all. The fact is you will be invisible to your customers.

We can help.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

April 3, 2013
Categories: Business . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Why is Visual Storytelling Important? – YouTube

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