[DTF notes: Article kept for historical reference only.
We do NOT recommend any "high yield programs" or "money games" - they were all ponzi/scams/duds! However, you may still find some other useful, relevant, or interesting information here.
To highlight some of the issues, some original words have been struck out and other words placed next to them in italics like this: original text added text. Or comments have been added [in brackets like this].]
By Frederick Mann
Introduction
After over seven years of extensive experience with hundreds of
money-making programs (and examining several thousand more), I've learned quite
a bit about what tends to work and what doesn't.
There are thousands of money-making programs. Many are outright scams and the only people who make money are the owners. There are also many programs where the owners and some of the early promoters make money, but hardly anyone else does. There are programs like Amway with which anyone who's good at selling products and recruiting other distributors can make good money. Probably about 90% of Amway distributors make very little money.
There are many programs that start out very good and grow very fast. Often the owners/managers/personnel can't handle the volume of work generated by rapid growth and the program deteriorates -- sometimes to the point of failure.
There are many high-yield
programs offering 20%+ per month on money invested. Most All are scams. Some may
continue for several years as ponzi-schemes, paying early members out of new
funds. Eventually they fail. The fact that some high-yield program has been
paying out as promised for six months or a year is no guarantee that it's
legitimate and will continue to pay out.
Some high-yield programs invest
in financial instruments called "bank debentures," "medium term notes (MTNs),"
etc., or claim that they invest in such. Most All of these programs are outright
scams and whatever money is put into them goes to the owners and promoters and
is never seen again. Many "authorities" claim that there are no such things as
"bank debentures," "MTNs," etc. For more information on this, see General Financial Independence FAQ.
Two Experiences
Someone recently responded to the Risk Meter ratings:
No 1 in my book is PLC. Wow! I've actually been able to stop work just on purchasing 30 Units!! My payments have not missed a beat yet! I Know what month I'm getting paid like clockwork I really can count on. Simply The Best! If this War Horse Publications is better than this I need to check it out. Thanks for the the info!
The probability is very high 100% that PLC is an example of a program
that trades successfully in high-yield instruments that really exist pretended to trade, but was actually just a ponzi-scam that went on for longer than the average ponzi-scam. They have
a three-year track record of consistently making payments [hence all the more likely to suddenly disappear sooner than later, but not until they ran one last big exit scam].
Someone else wrote (responding to one of my financial reports):
Yes the report was good and informative. It is a pity that it was not around 3 years ago when we began our quest for financial freedom.We heard of Investors International, got some information from some Forum Participants and began the journey. First of all just dabbling until last year when we decided to sell the family home, get out of debt and get serious. And now after 3 years we have money all over the place except in our very expensive offshore Company and Bank account. It seems we just kept selecting the wrong vehicles.
That is not to say all is lost but if we have anything to this point it is merely figures in cyberspace. IBFT got done. Mission Associates got done, although there is still hope some four months after the due payout date. QEC so far only figures on the net as I know of several people here in Australia still waiting for payouts promised since November.
Elkosh was going OK until we put up our $20,000AUS. That is now in limbo and the supposed insurance is not willing to pay. And now ARMTrust is attempting to get the money for the IBFT members while asking members to join their organization with yet again more funds. It's like flogging a dead horse, after three years of investing, not a cracker.
Oh I forgot about THE FLAMINGO GROUP which lost another $3500Aus when some of their very secretive crew went even more secretive with a great deal of the FLOCK'S MONEY. Forgive me for being a little less than a whole-hearted believer in the world of financial freedom. I will follow your segment to see what comes up.
Of the above programs, I've only heard of Investors International. It looks like all the others went "south." They are presumably programs promoted or recommended by Investors International.
Program Structures
It's
important to realize that most money-making programs fail, at least for most of
the participants in them. I get to look at hundreds of programs. Most I cast
aside within a few minutes of looking at them.
There are certain program structures that just won't work for most people. For example, if you have to pay $1,500 for a "financial package" of which 90% goes to the distributor and 10% to the company, some expert marketers will make great money, but about 95% of members will just lose their $1,500.
Any program that requires a member to recruit a large downline and/or sell lots of products or services, is likely to be a loser for most members.
Programs which require members to make monthly payments tend to be losers for most participants. Most members pay for a few months, then drop out. Most programs requiring small one-time payments tend to be a waste of time.
Most, if not all, free downline-building programs are a waste of time. Almost always, the money-making programs that they select to sponsor are ones that I reject out of hand.
Key Questions
The
following key questions can help you understand which are the best money-making
programs:
Key question #1: Can you make money without recruiting anyone or selling anything?
Key question #2: What kind of returns can be expected from the program? (I no longer consider anything that returns less than 10% per month on money risked.) [Hence assuring that it's a ponzi-scam, where most people lose!]
Key question #3: How quickly can you get to a can't-lose position? The ideal is to get whatever money you've put into a program (plus a modest profit) back as soon as possible, putting you into a can't-lose position. There are two basic ways of getting to the can't-lose position: (a) By taking out earnings; and (b) By taking out referral bonuses.
Key question #4: Can you make a lot more money by recruiting others? Some compensation plans for downline "action" are much better than others.
Key question #5: How difficult is it to recruit others? It's easier to recruit people for some programs than for others.
Key question #6: How likely is it that the program will work? On examining the dynamics of a program, you can often make a reasonably accurate evaluation of the probability that a program will or won't work.
Key question #7: In what part of its life-cycle is the program? For some programs it's best to join them at the outset. For others it's better to wait for six months or a year, until credibility has been established and the kinks worked out, before joining. It's prudent to operate on the basis that programs have a limited life. Some programs improve over time up to a point after which they start declining.
Key question #8: What reward/risk ratio does the program provide? The ideal is to earn the maximum with minimum risk.
Key question #9: What reward/time-spent ratio does the program provide? The ideal is to earn the maximum with minimum time spent. With some programs a great deal of time can be spent on administrative hassles. With some programs it may require a lot of time to recruit people and deal with their questions and problems.
Key question #10: Of the programs I'm in, which should I promote hardest because they provide the best deal for those I recruit?
Key question #11: What credibility do the principals have?
Key question #12: How good is the payment system?
Key question #13: How good is customer service?
Key question #14: Do my earnings subject me to taxes?
Conclusion
Above we have reports from two people of their experiences. One of great
success; another, rather bleak.
Readers of this article and people who follow the updates to Freedom Business Opportunities have a huge advantage in that they are provided with some of the best programs around. Individuals are much more likely to succeed with these programs, than with most being touted. Also, as the quality of programs change, their rankings are raised or lowered. (In addition to personal experience, there are forums which help in evaluating the quality of programs.)
Because you never know when any particular program may start declining or even fail altogether, it's wise to diversify. The fact that some program has been paying like clockwork for three years doesn't guarantee that it'll still pay out next month. Becoming dependent on any or (or even a few) program(s) can be dangerous. What do you do if your "dependable income stream" suddenly dries up?
The ideal is to have 5-10 independent income streams.
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