All guides
50 published guides, grouped by section. New guides are added each week after review.
Evaluate a company
Direct Selling vs Pyramid Scheme: 7 Differences and How to Tell
Both can look identical from the outside: a friendly meeting, a starter kit, talk of building a team. The difference is…
How to Read an Income Disclosure Statement: 7 Checks
It's the most honest document a direct selling company publishes, and the one most people skim. The headline figure can…
MLM Red Flags Checklist: 20 Warning Signs to Check Before You Join
You can spot most of these in the first meeting or the first WhatsApp message. Check them in four groups, note how many…
25 Questions to Ask Before Joining a Direct Selling Company
The right questions do more than any brochure. Ask these in writing, to the company and to the person inviting you, and…
How to Check if a Direct Selling Company Is Legal in India
Registration shows a company exists; it doesn't prove the plan is lawful. This five-minute checklist uses official…
Direct Selling Buy-Back Policy: What a Fair One Looks Like
A buy-back policy is your exit door. If unsold stock can't be returned for a refund, every purchase is a one-way bet.…
How to Compare Direct Selling Companies Side by Side
Comparing companies by slogans leads to bad choices. Compare them on the same ten facts, in writing, and the answer…
Direct Selling Starter Kit Cost and Break-Even Maths
A starter kit isn't the real cost. The real cost is the kit plus what you must buy to stay active. Here's how to price…
Signs of a Good Direct Selling Product: 10 Checks
A product that only sells to members is a ticket, not a product. These ten checks help you judge whether something can…
Products
What Are Direct Selling Products? Types and Pricing
Direct selling products are the goods sold person-to-person instead of through shops. Here's what's sold, who buys it,…
Direct Selling Product Categories Compared
Different categories behave differently: some are re-ordered monthly, some are bought once, some are tightly regulated.…
How to Read a Supplement Label: FSSAI and FDA Guide
A label tells you more than any sales pitch: who made it, what's in it, how much, and what the company is allowed to…
Direct Selling Skincare: How to Read Ingredient Lists
The ingredient list is the most honest part of a skincare pack. You don't need a chemistry degree to use it. Learn the…
Makeup for Humid Climates: Chennai, Manila and KL
The same foundation can look perfect in a Delhi winter and slide off in a Chennai May. If you sell makeup in a humid…
Home Care Concentrates: How to Work Out Cost Per Use
A concentrate can look expensive on the shelf and cheap in the bucket. The only fair comparison is cost per use, done…
Personal Care for Hot, Humid Weather: What Sells Where
Sweat, humidity and strong sun change what people need from personal care. Matching the product to the climate, and the…
MRP, DP, PV and BV Explained, With Examples
Every direct selling price list carries four numbers that look similar and mean very different things. Two are money,…
Product vs Opportunity in Direct Selling: Which Comes First?
People join for the opportunity and stay for the product, or the other way round. The healthiest businesses can stand…
Agri Products in Direct Selling: Rules, Seasons, Risks
Selling to farmers is not the same as selling skincare. The product can affect a livelihood, the rules are stricter,…
Business and the law
How Direct Selling Compensation Plans Work, With an Example
A compensation plan is the rulebook for how you get paid. Most pay in four ways, and only one of them doesn't depend on…
Binary vs Unilevel vs Matrix Plans, Compared
The plan type changes what you're pushed to do each month. Binary rewards balance, unilevel rewards width and depth,…
What Are PV and BV in Direct Selling? Points Explained
Points are the language of every compensation plan, and the most common source of confusion. They aren't money, they…
How Do Direct Sellers Actually Earn? Income, Costs, Hours
Income is not profit, and a good month isn't a typical month. Here's how to separate the two: what sellers earn from,…
Direct Selling Tax in India: TDS, GST and Your Return
Commission is income, and the taxman sees it even if the company deducts tax for you. Here is how it typically works,…
Direct Selling Taxes in the USA: 1099, Schedule C, SE Tax
In the US, a direct seller is usually self-employed, and self-employed means you do your own tax planning. Here's how…
Direct Selling Laws by Country: India, USA, UK, Malaysia
Direct selling is legal almost everywhere, and pyramid schemes are illegal almost everywhere. The details, and who…
India's Direct Selling Rules 2021 Explained Simply
The rules answer three questions: who may sell this way, what a company must do, and what happens when something goes…
FTC Guidance on MLM Explained: Pyramids and Earnings Claims
The FTC doesn't ban MLM. It looks at where the money comes from and whether claims are truthful. Here's what its…
Direct Selling Licence in Malaysia: The 1993 Act Explained
Malaysia is one of the few markets where direct sales companies are licensed. That gives you one extra check that most…
Playbook
How to Start Direct Selling With No Experience: 90 Days
You don't need a sales background. You do need a plan that puts customers before recruiting and a way to know, by day…
Selling on WhatsApp and Instagram Without Spamming
Social selling works when it feels like help, not a broadcast. The rules that matter are consent, honesty and following…
How to Find Direct Selling Customers Beyond Friends
Your friends and family are a start, not a business. Real customers come from people with a problem you can help with,…
Product Demo Ideas for Beauty & Wellness: Show, Don't Pitch
A good demo lets the product speak. It's short, hygienic, honest and ends with a question, not a sales line. Here is a…
10 Mistakes New Direct Sellers Make in Year One
Most of these mistakes cost money or trust, and most are avoidable. Use this as a self-check, once now and once at the…
How to Build Repeat Customers in Direct Selling
Repeat customers are where steady income comes from. They cost less to serve, trust you more and refer others. The…
Part-Time Direct Selling in India: Hours, Costs and Rules
Many people try direct selling as a side income, from homemakers in Tier-2 towns to professionals in metros. Here's…
How to Switch Direct Selling Companies Ethically
People move between companies for good reasons: better products, a fairer plan, or a different fit. How you leave…
Tools and Apps for Direct Sellers: Free and Low-Cost
You don't need paid "systems" to run a small direct selling business. A catalogue, a customer sheet, reminders, a…
How Much Time Does Direct Selling Take? Weekly Hours
The hours depend on how many customers you serve and how you choose to work. Here are three realistic levels, where the…
Country guides
Direct selling in India: rules, cities and buying habits
The 2021 rules and how each region buys.
Direct selling in the USA: FTC rules and regions
The FTC test, income disclosures and taxes.
Direct Selling in Brazil: CDC, Anvisa, Pix, Local Markets
Brazil has one of the world's largest direct selling markets, built on catalogues and women "revendedoras" selling…
Direct Selling in Indonesia: Licence, Halal, BPOM, Markets
Indonesia combines a huge, young, mobile-first market with licensing, halal certification and BPOM registration. Here's…
Direct Selling in Malaysia: Licensing, Halal and Markets
Malaysia is one of the few markets where direct sales companies are licensed, and customers ask halal questions before…
Direct Selling in Mexico: Profeco, COFEPRIS and Markets
Catalogue selling is part of Mexican life: neighbours, aunts and work friends have bought from a "catálogo" for…
Direct Selling in Nigeria: NAFDAC, Trust, Local Markets
Nigerians are entrepreneurial and online, and also wary after Ponzi collapses and counterfeit products. Trust is the…
Direct Selling in the Philippines: FDA, GCash, Ber Months
The Philippines runs on Facebook, Messenger, GCash and family. Selling here means respecting product registration,…
Direct Selling in the UK: Pyramid Ban, ASA Rules, Tax
The UK has a long party-plan history, strict advertising rules and a tax system that rewards small side income. Here's…
The four pillars
Evaluate
Ten guides on telling a solid opportunity from a costly one: what to ask, what to read, and which answers should make you walk away.
10 guides →PILLAR02Products
What's actually sold, why it's priced the way it is, and how to read a label in thirty seconds. Features and facts, never "best product" rankings.
10 guides →PILLAR03Business
Compensation plans, points, taxes and the law, explained in plain language with diagrams. Read this before believing any income slide.
10 guides →PILLAR04Playbook
Practical habits from 12+ years in the field: how to find customers, demonstrate products honestly and build repeat orders, without pressuring friends and family.
10 guides →