The Journey: Entrepreneurship The Beginning

In the late 1980s, during the peak of basic television's popularity before the internet took over, infomercials reigned supreme. These late-night commercials became a cultural phenomenon, promising everything from miraculous cleaning solutions to life-altering exercise equipment, captivating audiences nationwide.

As a pre-teen in the early '90s, there was not much to do at night on a Friday except scan the television channels.  Night after night I would see the same infomercial.  I vividly recall being drawn to an infomercial for Specialty Merchandise Corporation (SMC). The glitzy sales pitch featuring a popular actor caught my attention, and the allure of achieving a luxurious lifestyle with minimal effort seemed irresistible.  The commercial featured everyday people like myself who “easily” made it and now the “cheques just come in the mail.”  It even had people who were living out of their cars, now living in mansions.  It seemed so easy, right?

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SMC

Specialty Merchandise Corporation (SMC) was a standout company in the 1980s, known for its innovative approach to direct marketing and entrepreneurship. Established in 1947 by Abe Levine, SMC rose to prominence as a leading supplier of merchandise for small businesses and independent entrepreneurs during the 1980s.

Back then I wasn’t old enough to have a formal job so I would collect beer bottles on the side of the road and cut grass to make money. I saved for months and months watching the same infomercial weekend after weekend.  I would dream of what I would do with all the money and what I wanted to buy.  

After months of saving, I finally called the 1-800 number and took the plunge and joined SMC for the enticingly low fee of $499 CDN, opting for the higher entry price to access wholesale discounts and maximize my potential profits.

New Dreams In The Mail

I received my "WORLD OF PRODUCTS" catalog and information in the mail and went to work right away.  My first target was my immediate family.  The catalog was mostly filled with nic nacs and small house furnishings.  

As a teen, I saw nothing but dollar signs.  Looking up the catalog items and thinking to myself “if i see 10 of these for $40 each and buy them for $20 each will make $200, easy money” right?  Wrong.

As you can already tell the low effort high reward dream that SMC feeds you on the informercials was not what it seemed.  The selling was more of a challenge than I thought.  My mom bought something and I thought it was all mansions and Ferrari’s from here on, but to my dismay that was not the case.

I reached out to a few family, friends, and neighbors and did not have any success.  There were a few a la cart sales here and there, but not enough to validate the costs.

There were a few major errors here.  

Learning Experience

A few months went by and my motivation slowly died off. I guess I should have read this BLOG years earlier!  Reflecting on my experience, I realized several critical errors. My naivety led me to believe that success would come effortlessly, mirroring the commercials. I also underestimated the amount of time and effort required to achieve success. Furthermore, I was unaware that SMC operated as a network marketing company, akin to other MLM companies like Amway, ACN, and Herbalife, where success often hinges on recruiting others and earning a percentage of their sales.  I did not find this out what an MLM was until much later in my life.  Here is a little insight into what an MLM is:

MLM?

What is Multi-level marketing?, often abbreviated as MLM, is a business model where individuals earn income through selling products or services and recruiting others to join the company as independent distributors. In MLM, distributors not only make money from their own sales but also from the sales made by the distributors they've recruited, as well as from the sales made by those recruited by their recruits, and so on, forming a "downline" structure.

Participants in MLM typically purchase products from the company at a wholesale price and sell them at a retail price, earning a commission on each sale. Additionally, they can earn bonuses or incentives based on the sales performance of their downline organization.

MLM companies often promote the idea of financial freedom and the opportunity to build a successful business with minimal investment. However, critics argue that MLM can resemble a pyramid scheme, where the emphasis is more on recruiting new distributors rather than selling actual products or services. It's important for individuals considering involvement in MLM to carefully research the company and understand the risks and potential rewards before getting involved.

Pyramid Scheme

I did pay attention to this section of what some people say a MLM is, “pyramid scheme”.  I thought about this for a few weeks and sought to relate it to something familiar.  I had an epiphany “What a minute” this structure looks very similar to one i know about.  It is exactly the same as a corporate structure no?

I would say it does in my opinion.  We have 1 at the top and the pyramid structure grows as it goes down.  Why do these MLMs have such a bad name?  In my continued research I found that some companies were not exactly honest with their intentions:

LuLaRoe: CLOTHING

This clothing company skyrocketed to a billion-dollar valuation but faced intense public criticism after the release of the docuseries “LuLaRich” in September 2021. The founders, DeAnne Stidham and her husband Mark Stidham, were accused of running a pyramid scheme1.

Neora: SKINCARE (formerly known as Nerium International, LLC):

This skincare and wellness MLM was sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019 for operating as an illegal pyramid scheme. The company’s promotional video explicitly emphasized recruitment as a key business strategy

Herbalife: SUPPLEMENTS

Although not officially designated as a pyramid scheme, Herbalife has faced significant controversy. The company sells nutritional supplements and has been the subject of lawsuits that damaged its finances and reputation3..

Moving Forward

This venture served as my introduction to entrepreneurship, direct sales, and multi-level marketing. It also showed me that everyday people can make it happen.  Despite making numerous mistakes, it taught me valuable lessons about the importance of hard work and dedication in achieving success in any endeavor.  Did I stop here, no, no i did not.  When entrepreneurship is in your blood you just can’t stop.  You are always searching for the next big thing.  Unfortunately without a proper mentor, you will wander lost in the world and you will make many costly mistakes, as I am soon to find out.

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