Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Here's an oceanside story about how I was making money in a multi level marketing/pyramid scheme type internship while in college. I'm sharing my story, lessons learned, and how I actually met my goals of the internship. Feel free to add me on instagram: @kikoga
The Internship
Basically, I sold house painting jobs for the summer. The interns needed to market their business door to door to sell jobs. The interns would estimate the paint project and were allowed to hire their own painters to execute the work. A handful on interns were managed by a district manager and the profits of each paint job was shared up the ladder.
The Red Flags
Recruiting for the internship was not exactly an open book. People came into the large lectures and pitched a summer internship opportunity to the class and handed out flyers to sign up. They also did not disclose the name of the internship. During the interview process they did not discuss specific internship tasks, but noted the financial opportunities available for the average intern. They pitched the fact that you would be running your own business and that hustle was a big factor in what was needed to succeed which is typical in multi level marketing/pyramid scheme type companies. They didn't give what I now would consider proper training to estimate and execute house painting projects like a real painting company would. The companies operates off of their interns getting the work and selling product, and typically these interns stay on and recruit more people similar to multi level marketing and pyramid scheme type companies. The multi level marketing companies also like to use "shaming" to light fires under people's butts to feel like they need to keep doing more. And they made the interns front the costs of bad estimates or execution of the paint projects.
How I Ended Up Making Money
I luckily understood my risk at the beginning and subcontracted out my work for just a 10% cut of the sale. I didn't buy into the opportunity to get more money like some of the other interns did since I didn't feel prepared. But also on the selling side I persevered and got through a tough time when I didn't sell any jobs and changed my sales outlook from telling my potential clients what I could do for them, but rather asking what they cared about and then explaining how I was the perfect fit for their needs.
Lessons Learned
If you google a company and there's questions about whether they are a pyramid scheme or multi level marketing company they probably are. In sales its always best to find out what your customer wants before you start selling to them. Listen first, then sell. Understand your risk before reaching for opportunity. Always try to take the positives out of every situation. Making money in a multi level marketing type company is possible. Keep your goals in a place where you will be reminded every day about when you were at your highest motivation. And persevere through it, you never know if success is right around the corner.
To be clear, I'm not saying that multi level marketing companies are impossible to make a living off of or that you shouldn't do it. I just want people to know the risks and the lifestyle that may come with it and to be prepared for the environment. And if you feel like you're stuck in one now, just know you can always leave. There are people out there like me, and a lot of other people out there who can support you. Thank you for watching and supporting my channel. Aloha.
Here's an oceanside story about how I was making money in a multi level marketing/pyramid scheme type internship while in college. I'm sharing my story, lessons learned, and how I actually met my goals of the internship. Feel free to add me on instagram: @kikoga
The Internship
Basically, I sold house painting jobs for the summer. The interns needed to market their business door to door to sell jobs. The interns would estimate the paint project and were allowed to hire their own painters to execute the work. A handful on interns were managed by a district manager and the profits of each paint job was shared up the ladder.
The Red Flags
Recruiting for the internship was not exactly an open book. People came into the large lectures and pitched a summer internship opportunity to the class and handed out flyers to sign up. They also did not disclose the name of the internship. During the interview process they did not discuss specific internship tasks, but noted the financial opportunities available for the average intern. They pitched the fact that you would be running your own business and that hustle was a big factor in what was needed to succeed which is typical in multi level marketing/pyramid scheme type companies. They didn't give what I now would consider proper training to estimate and execute house painting projects like a real painting company would. The companies operates off of their interns getting the work and selling product, and typically these interns stay on and recruit more people similar to multi level marketing and pyramid scheme type companies. The multi level marketing companies also like to use "shaming" to light fires under people's butts to feel like they need to keep doing more. And they made the interns front the costs of bad estimates or execution of the paint projects.
How I Ended Up Making Money
I luckily understood my risk at the beginning and subcontracted out my work for just a 10% cut of the sale. I didn't buy into the opportunity to get more money like some of the other interns did since I didn't feel prepared. But also on the selling side I persevered and got through a tough time when I didn't sell any jobs and changed my sales outlook from telling my potential clients what I could do for them, but rather asking what they cared about and then explaining how I was the perfect fit for their needs.
Lessons Learned
If you google a company and there's questions about whether they are a pyramid scheme or multi level marketing company they probably are. In sales its always best to find out what your customer wants before you start selling to them. Listen first, then sell. Understand your risk before reaching for opportunity. Always try to take the positives out of every situation. Making money in a multi level marketing type company is possible. Keep your goals in a place where you will be reminded every day about when you were at your highest motivation. And persevere through it, you never know if success is right around the corner.
To be clear, I'm not saying that multi level marketing companies are impossible to make a living off of or that you shouldn't do it. I just want people to know the risks and the lifestyle that may come with it and to be prepared for the environment. And if you feel like you're stuck in one now, just know you can always leave. There are people out there like me, and a lot of other people out there who can support you. Thank you for watching and supporting my channel. Aloha.
