Stay ConnectedWhat makes the siren song of money-making schemes, cults, spiritual gurus, scams, and conspiracies of all kinds so irresistible? What is it about the desires of the human heart that make us vulnerable to such subterfuge?
Opportunity Cost, hosted by Jill, cobbles an auditory scrapbook of old videos, soundscapes, interviews, and commentary together in an attempt to uncover the history, nuances, and manipulation behind these cultural phenomenon.
Follow me on Instagram & TikTok – @oppcostpod
Copyright: © 2024 Opportunity Cost
When Julie signed up as a distributor for Arbonne, she found early success and rapidly rose to the top of the ranks. What she didn't expect was her faith, finances, self-worth, and diet culture to be entangled with her business.
When doubts began to creep in about her ability to stay in leadership at Arbonne, all it took was one thread for an entire belief system to unravel.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Anna thought that she had found a home among the spiritually-minded community in Enagic and their Kangen ionizers, what she found instead were empty promises, debt and culty practices. I sit down with Anna 1:1 to talk about her experience in Enagic.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
We kick off a round of bonus full interview episodes with the lovely Chrystal. When she joined Amway on an invitation from her coworker, Chrystal had no idea how much of her life would eventually be consumed by it. Through ever-growing fees paid and conferences attended, Chrystal never entirely lost her ability to see clearly through the merry-go-round of motivation pumped out by the organization and its leaders.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Insurance MLMs have given rise to a new wave of super bros, who are convinced that selling supplemental insurance is how they will make it big. American Income Life is famous among the MLM world, or maybe…infamous. American Income Life reached out to me to see if I would be interested in talking about their life-changing opportunity, so I took them up on it.
Sources:
2021 Agent contractor class-action lawsuit
AIL BBB
No evidence that women using oral contraceptives have weaker preferences for masculine characteristics in men’s faces
Insider: Inside the tawdry, drug-fueled, violent world of America's top life insurance salesmen by Susan Antilla
WTAE: Lawsuit alleges fraud, sexual abuse and illicit drugs at Wexford insurance agency
2022 Plaintiff Amended Complaint vs Arias Agencies, Michael Russin, and American Income Life
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Mary Kay Ash spun a tale of female empowerment, and today, is hailed as a feminist icon. Their cream, goop, and makeup has been a fixture in pop culture Americana for decades, but the model it uses to sell products and Mary Kay's culty corporate culture is worth a second glance.
Sources:
Mary Kay
Mary Kay Income Disclosure
Pink Truth
KRTV Mary Kay Ash, 1982
Mary Kay Inc., CBS 60 Minutes
The case for and against multi-level marketing, Jon M. Taylor MBA, PhD, Consumer Awareness Institute
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Arbonne boasts that their products are vegan, non-GMO, and tout their B Corp certification as an extension of their clean ingredient mission. Consultants rave about Arbonne’s healthy living products - while toxic diet culture reigns supreme. I also sat down with Julie to talk about her climb up the ranks in Arbonne and what happened when her vantage from the top…did not look so pretty.
Sources:
Arbonne
Arbonne Income Disclosure
The Economic Cost of Devaluing “Women’s Work” by IMF
The State of Moms and Dads in America 2022 by National Fatherhood initiatives
Is Arbonne Greenwashing? by Better Goods
B Corp - Arbonne
B Corp Greenwashing by Sustainable Jungle
2017 Class Action v. Arbonne
Facial Moisturizer Recall
Liquid Eyeliner Recall
Day Creme Recall
Detox Body Wash Recall
Peanut Butter Cup Recall
NIH - Patterns and Prevalence of Disordered Eating and Weight Control Behaviors in Women Ages 25–45
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Bomb Party's surprise reveal jewelry has taken TikTok by storm. Thousands of people tune in live every day to watch reps unfurl rings, bracelets, and necklaces that Bomb Party claims are worth up to $1,500. Peering through the haze of bath bomb fizz and glitter, things at Bomb Party may not be so sparkly after all.
Sources:
Bomb Party
Dopamine Reward Prediction Error by Wolfram Schultz, MD
Proft margins on jewelry
Why women are leaving their side hustle by Vice
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
Seekers looking for community outside of traditional religion might find themselves in the New Age movement. These groups are not free from the grip of MLMs and the wild health claims made about their products. Enagic distributors claim to have the secret to long-lasting health in their Kangen water ionizers. I also speak with Anna about her time in Enagic, and the MLM distributor to QAnon pipeline.
Sources:
Enagic
Enagic Income Disclosure
When Multi-Level Marketing Met Gen Z by the Atlantic
Is Alkaline Water a Miracle Cure? Or BS? The Science is In by the Guardian
FTC Cease & Desist to Enagic
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
In the premiere episode, we start at the logical place: the beginning. After Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos founded Amway, the world - and our political sphere - was never the same. The jury is out on whether that’s for the better…or worse. I also speak with Chrystal, a former Independent Business Owner with Amway and member of the motivational organization, Leadership Team Development (LTD).
Sources:
Amway
Amway Income Disclosure
60 Minutes "Soap and Hope" 1999
Amway/Alticor Lobbying and Political Donations
Sean Munger Substack
Final Order in Regard to Alleged Violation of the FTC Act, 1979
LA Times: Amway earnings
Merchants of Deception by Eric Scheibeler
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
How did multi-level marketing become a $186B industry? What does it mean to lose your identity and find it somewhere else? Are distributors who build teams of hundreds underneath them victims? Or are they villains?
Maybe the answer to these questions is somewhere in the middle. Who we are determines what motivates us, how we make decisions, and who we trust. This includes when someone we know or don’t know tells us we can have everything we’ve ever wanted…by joining their network marketing company.
I invite us to take a look under the hood to find that these companies and their representatives are much more complicated than they appear. Each episode, I try to answer the question, is this the opportunity of a lifetime? Or the illusion of one?
Thanks for listening. Email us at bloww.studio@gmail.com and follow us at @oppcostpod on Instagram & TikTok.
Brought to you by Bloww Studio. Scripted, hosted, and edited by Jill.
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