I only have a limited amount of time on weekends to work on my blog. I had intended to write about other things today when someone decided to message me on facebook. After a few lines of polite small talk, she says, “So I run my own business from home that way I can be with my kids and support them but I also am trying to help other women out who have been abused because our foundation is for abused women and it hits close for me . All I would need is ur email address to do a virtual party then I would give u the link to share that way other women can learn about use and our retreat in Utah and see what we have to offer. If ur interested great if not that’s fine too”

So I finally got her to send me a link. It turned out to be a MLM company for make-up. For those of you who don’t know, a MLM is where the real money is made by getting other people to sell the same products you do rather than actually selling the product. A google search came up with a bunch of bad reviews and scam warnings for this company. When I told her I wasn’t interested in doing an MLM, she flat out lied and said, “Oh sorry never heard of it like that. No this is a huge buissness that is going world wide to reach out to women and help change their lives. Like I said I have helped over 300 women myself. Weather it was giving them a safe place or being a listening ear or helping give them the hope back that was taken from them. Not everything is always about money it’s good to help change ppls lives just for the fact they need that and they deserve that”

The rest of the conversation went downhill really quickly

Me: “And here I thought it was about selling cosmetics and profiting off of the fact that you got others to do it too.”
Her: “It’s about giving this women their power back cuz if u were ever abused u end up feeling powerless and ashamed and guilty for what someone else did to u and that’s not right we shouldn’t have to feel that way. Going through ur whole life feeling unsafe or hopeless sucks being able to give other abused women’s lives back is amazing it really is”
Me: “Wow. So you prey on people with low self-esteem to try and get them to pay $100 each to sell make-up and you call it helping them?”
Her: “Call it what u want but ik what it is for me and other women out there who were abused like me. This is a chance for them to change there lives like I did and find their true potential and beauty. It’s a chance for them to go away on amazing vacations and just feel good about their selves Clearly u haven’t been abused and I’m glad u haven’t u don’t have have to live with it like so many of us do it’s nice to feel like we belong and have a purpose
Me: “Fuck off. You don’t know me. Yes. I was abused, but I have gotten over it enough to have enough self-esteem to see you are scamming these poor abuse victims into thinking they can make money selling shoddy make-up. Shame on you for exploiting them.”

I am very angry. This is the worst kind of marketing tactic. Let’s target the people who have had the shittiest treatment, get them to pay us money to sell our shoddy product, and discard them when they come to their senses and realize they can’t make money at this. Any abuse survivors out there: please be aware of this and please don’t fall for it! This is one of the more despicable business plans I have seen to date and I am outraged by it. This is just wrong!