Barrold,
I disagree. Getting involved with MLMs would only ensure their poverty. My JW family and friends have all been involved with Herbalife, Amway, Shaklee and a dozen others. They get sucked into them for the same reasons that they got sucked into and stay with the JWs. They are all convinced that their negative incomes from MLM are due to their not investing enough in the business. They need to convert their den or garage into storage areas for more products.
My brother (not a JW) managed to talk my JW mom, my JW sister and dozens of others into the Amway scan. Not because he was a bad guy - just the opposite - he wanted them to use their door-to-door preaching talents into door-to-door soap sales. In spite of having a downline of 20 + gullible friends that really liked and trusted him, not one of them ever made a dime and neither did he.
An amazing fact is that Amway and their clones hold conventions that are almost exactly like JW versions. Talks to encourage, talks to train and convince, and "successful" new salespeople (pioneers) who tell wonderful tales of how they managed to gain great rewards while building their business (all fluff, no facts).
I also had a couple of very close friends who tried to recruit me into the MonaVie scam - and then the long distance telephone scam. When I pointed out that MonaVie had been tested and found to be mostly made of the juices of apple, blueberry, and other seasonal berries - and little or no Brazilian or South American juices - they ended their relationship with me because of my "negativity."
You win some and lose some over time. I count their loss as my gain.
From Wikipedia:
"MonaVie manufactured and distributed products made from blended fruit and vegetable juice concentrates, powders and purées through a multi-level marketing(MLM) business model. The company had been the subject of several controversies, such as the health claims for its products had not been scientifically confirmed or approved by regulatory authorities, its chairman was previously involved in false health claims concerning another beverage company. According to Forbes, its business plan resembles a pyramid scheme. In 2015, the company defaulted on $182 million loan and went into foreclosure."
There was a website many years ago that was dedicated to many of the losers who got involved in Herbalife and Shaklee. Many JWs were into those programs and were always trying to recruit new downliners while out in service and after KH meetings. The website showed hundreds of telephone poles in Central California that were covered with "Call me about the benefits of being a Herbalife business owner."
"As of April 2008, a series of commercials featuring a large red animated fox advertising home-based business opportunities has been running on American television. The advertisements typically feature testimonials from actors playing individuals who have made sums of money between US$5,000 and US$15,000 per month as a result of participating in an undescribed business program. The advertisements direct viewers to a website that allows them to purchase a "success kit". The kit also provides no information about how the business opportunity works. These advertisements have been found to be run by independent Herbalife distributors, as a method of recruiting new downline distributors. While it is not illegal, critics of this type of advertising prefer advertisers to be up-front about their company associations." (Wikipedia)
Even now, after all these years, it is very likely that you could go into almost any Kingdom Hall and ask around to see if anyone knows someone there who sells Amway, Herbalife, or some other multi-level product. The odds are that you would.
Many years ago there was an article in a major news magazine or paper that quoted one of the original members of Nutrilite or Amway about their origins in the 1930s. I can not remember if A (JWs) saw the success of B (Amway and Hoover Vacuum Sales) or vice versa. But apparently Jay Van Andel or one of his associates took note of JWs going door to door and recruiting new members - and then getting those new members to go door-to-door with little or no effort. They were offering people hope and a better future - and coming out of the financial depression of the 1930s - Amway could do the same thing - offer hope - as long as new recruits were convinced that immediate rewards were not important - it was the long term hope of future benefits.
Yep, "millions now living will never die" as long as they keep knocking on doors and getting new recruits. It worked for JWs since the 1930s - and that same hope ("someday you will have your own business and get rich") still exists in every single person who continues to work the Amway and other MLM circuits - including the JWs who got suckered twice by both organizations.
JV