The New Pyramid Scheme

We've all seen the ads online: All it takes is a bit of money and you can start making 6 or 7 figures if you put in the work. They almost seem too good to be true, but the stories of people like you making money off them make you want to invest. However, once you invest, your life turns into a nightmare where you're out thousands of dollars. Does this sound familiar? You might think I'm talking about MLMs like Lularoe or Amway, but I'm not. There's a new deceptive tactic taking people's money and I knew as I fell for them myself: online business coaching.

Just to be clear, I'm not going after the people who offer a consulting service for a nominal fee. These are great people who use their experience creating businesses to help others and they're a great resource. The business coaching we're looking at today are the online courses that give the basics of any business or sales course and make you pay thousands to get it. These also pray on vulnerable communities like minorities, immigrants, and women, which make it even more heartbreaking when they end up losing all their money.

Let me share my story. I have a digital marketing business and while I was getting clients back in 2019, I also lost my biggest client at the beginning of April. Luckily, I also won a $5000 grant that could have keep me afloat for a few months. However, I needed to get clients and fast to keep a roof over my head. Enter Traffic and Funnels. They did all these workshops that were designed to get you to sign up for paid programs. One of their reps contacted me asking if I was interested in the program. I was as they brought in former members who made money before but I definitely couldn't afford the $10,000 they were asking for. They guaranteed I would start making money within two weeks and that a payment plan could be arranged. Still not sure, they started bringing on the pressure of deals and how if I wanted a good life for myself and family, I shouldn't wait. I ended up using near every penny I had to the first payment.

Two weeks later, I didn't have a sale, or at least any that weren't already in the works before I did the program. I told them this but they wouldn't return my money despite them guaranteeing that I would. They basically told me to f*** off. When I couldn't make the next payment, they cut me off from everything except the Facebook group. That's where they were posting non stop about job opportunities for their own team. Most of them were sales positions so if you knew how to take money out of people's pockets, you were perfect to join their team and help them make millions. To this day, they send me emails asking for reviews and I always give them one star as all I want is my money back for a false promise. They'll never give it.

Traffic and Funnels isn't the only one out there. There are several that will use Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to promote their workshops and make everyone feel like they can do anything. However, it can be easy to think that these businesses are going to give you something you need. How can you tell the difference between a legitimate coaching and one only designed to make money?

1. Look at what they're giving away for free

Most coaching programs will give some workshops and free teaching away as a marketing tool. These can be videos, articles, or even an introductory session designed to help your business with tips and tricks. The goal is to show their prowess while making themselves available if you need extra help. However, if they go straight from a workshop to a sales pitch, that is a giant red flag.

2. Find people who took the programs before

Any program or coaching is eager to show off their positive reviews and testimonials, so you'll have no trouble finding them. However, what you want to look for are bad reviews. These can be found with a Google search or even reviews on social media. If you want to see complaints filed against the company, look for the Better Business Bureau reviews (if I saw those for Traffic and Funnels first, I wouldn't have signed up). These are the best indicator of businesses as they're a non-profit specifically designed to help you find businesses to trust.

3. There's no harm in waiting

Real business coaches will gladly let you make a decision on whether or not to hire them, even if it takes some time to do so. However, if a business coaching team relies on pushy sale tactics to get the sale, that is your cue to run. For them, the sale is more important that your learning so if you ask to wait, you will hear phrases along the lines of "this is a once in a lifetime chance" or "do you really want to miss out?"

I hope my experiences will help some of you looking into these programs as the more we learn about these tactics, the more we can avoid them.