Not Loving Being Married To An Ambot

Another reader shares a sad story of what its like being married to an Amway ambot.

I cannot tell you how I've appreciated reading the experiences shared on your site. My husband and I have been married for 2 years now but he's been involved in that same faction of Amway for almost 12 now.

I was initially impressed and intrigued by the (seemingly genuine) overt love and support expressed by the people I met through the business (up and crossline). So, naturally, I was active in and supportive of my future-husband's business venture.

Although I had no idea what their profit margins were like, I could only imagine by the intensity and excitement generated at meetings and events; initially I did assume that everyone was doing well financially.

I was discouraged by my husband from working the job I had in the field of mental health and talked out of pursuing my doctorate, as “the business” taught that higher education is essentially a moneymaking racket; banks and universities are taking advantage of young people and causing more harm than good; i.e. student-loan debt. I had been midway through the process of beginning graduate school but I was fascinated by this idea of "wealth mentality." I grew to learn that I suffered from what they in the business call "broke mentality" and I began to believe that not only was I more than well-educated, but I had learned that I was being taken advantage of by the system - I was not being paid what I was worth – soon I despised the policies of the company I worked for, as well as my boss. I challenged a co-worker to “pull your head out of the sand” and look around. See how we were being capitalized upon. I learned that true control of my destiny was financial freedom.

I gave up on the idea of counseling patients one-on-one and bought into the “leverage” of the Amway business vehicle. Looking at it from this perspective, you can see how I was convinced that I could actually help more people (my dream all along) by simply making more money in the business sector and allocating that money to the programs and charities I believed in. So, having little idea of what our income from the business already looked like (my husband handled the finances at this time) and with his assurance that we were making more than enough to live on from his "day job" (which was true) I quit and became fully committed to the business.

It doesn't take a genius to predict where things went from there. The Amway business model, as it is, is not sustainable in itself. As we have seen, it takes money from supplemental sales such as that of "business tools" or tapes/CD's, and profits from throwing large business conferences (rallies, meetings, seminars, master-minds, attitude sessions... I've even heard them called vacations!) in order to grow the immense wealth presented from the stage at these very events...

Unfortunately, my husband refused (and still fully refuses) to believe that the people he trusts and so idolizes on stage actually make a significant portion their profits from speaking at events and conferences as well as the sales and promotion of "business tools" (essentially, CD's they have recorded of themselves speaking at said events).

To take things one step further, my husband recently quit his "day job" as well to pursue this venture unencumbered by the overbearing burden of the 9-5, J-O-B. Despite heartfelt attempts to appeal to a rational bone in his body, my husband has never been more entrenched in the belief that if it can work for anybody it WILL work for him, and he has become bound and determined that Amway will work for him.

Despite his integrity, his persistence, and his good heart, profits via the Amway business were never there... and as you could project, they certainly are not there today. It is hard to see so many people come in and out of his life; he truly believes, and I support the notion, that there is good in an opportunity for the average American to own their own business... just maybe not a business where your largest customer is you.