Take a look at your Facebook or Instagram feed and you’ll easily find at least one friend or family member constantly posting about the makeup, oils, supplements and even sex toys they sell to make some extra cash working from home. Most of these products and systems are provided through direct sales companies that use a sales model called multilevel marketing (MLM).

MagnifyMoney was curious about the return on investment for multilevel marketing participants and how their involvement affects their personal network of family and friends. We surveyed 1,049 multilevel marketing participants involved with at least one company over the past five years. Our conclusions show that most participants could earn significantly more money in exchange for a lot less time and money invested if they were employed in a minimum wage job.

Key takeaways

*Most participants make less than 70 cents per hour in sales – before deducting expenses.

*Fewer than half of participants made $500 in in the last five years.

*Men report earning significantly more sales than women.

*Married men and people who got money from friends and family to participate are the most likely to lie about how much they’re earning, fight with close friends and family, and even lose friendships than other groups.

Survey: Vast Majority of Multilevel Marketing Participants Earn Less Than 70 Cents an Hour