(Read part 1)
Your friend is probably not aware they’re working for a pyramid scheme. Some non-judgmental information may help them make a different choice. Again, it’s important to show compassion and understanding. This is your loved one. Don’t make them feel foolish or slow for falling prey to predatory businesses. Don’t force them to quit on the spot to show they’ve learned. They may want to try to earn back their startup membership fees before they’re ready to give it up.
In traditional work environments, people are encouraged to keep their business life and their personal life separate. You can’t generally bring your kids to work. Arguments with your spouse or partner should occur off hours and somewhere else. If you’re sad about something that happened on your day off, you pretend you’re fine when you get back to work. Love it or hate it, that’s the general standard.
MLMs are different. The workplace is your day-to-day life and your friends are now potential customers. MLMs blur the line between business and personal life, to turn personal relationships into business opportunities. When your friend joins an MLM, you can ask to keep this separation. “I really value our friendship and want to keep things the way they are. I won’t be buying any products, but I do care about you and want to remain close.” Make clear you are rejecting the MLM, not your friend.
Once you’ve set your boundaries, express them clearly. That might mean, I will buy Avon products once a year from the Christmas catalog but please don’t send me promotions the rest of the year. Or it might look like, I will let you host a sex toy party in my living room but I won’t join your sales team. What matters is that they are boundaries you are comfortable with. The hard part is maintaining your boundaries when they aren’t respected. Enforcement may require a reduction in contact, at least for a time.
It really comes down to respect – respect for your friend and respect for yourself. Joining an MLM is a bad decision, and by its nature it intrudes upon relationships more than other bad decisions might. But on its own, it doesn’t have to be a reason to lose someone you care about. If you can show compassion for your loved one, while maintaining firm boundaries for yourself, then you can cope when your friend joins an MLM.
Misandry Angie 