'Little Bosses Everywhere' looks into the Wild West of multilevel marketing

NPR's Book of the Day

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Multilevel marketing – or MLM – first became popular in the period that followed World War II. Since then, millions have tried their luck as salespeople for companies like Amway, Mary Kay, Cutco and Herbalife. MLMs offer themselves as low-cost paths to entrepreneurship, but very few of their participants are able to earn a living wage. A new book Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read traces the history and culture of the MLM industry. In today's episode, Read speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about why this business model flourishes in economic uncertainty, the unregulated nature of the industry, and the blurred lines between MLMs and pyramid schemes.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's book of the day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Growing up, we had a family friend who was always trying to sell my mom and sister some sort of skincare product thing. I don't even actually remember what the thing was. I just remember hearing the hard sell over and over again. It was, obviously, a part of a
0:23.1	grander, multi-level marketing scheme. And if you have someone in your life caught up in an MLM,
0:29.2	you know how consuming it can be. Today's book digs into the history of MLMs and MLM culture.
0:35.3	It's titled Little Bosses Everywhere by journalist Bridget Reid.
0:39.2	And in this interview with Empires Aisha Roscoe, they get to the question we all want to know.
0:44.1	Why are MLMs even legal? That's coming up.
0:48.8	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:53.6	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.
0:58.1	On our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:00.2	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people
1:03.5	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:07.8	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:13.1	This kind of pitch is hard for many to resist.
1:17.2	Imagine turning life's moments of I can't into I can.
1:22.0	What will your I can story be?
1:24.4	Improve your life and your bank account by becoming a salesperson or distributor for
1:29.5	Mary Kay Cosmetics or any number of other multi-level marketers.
1:34.5	Amway is the biggest one.
1:36.0	Amway sells everything, energy drinks, makeup, cleaning products, household products.
1:42.8	Herbalife sells nutrition supplements and shakes.
1:45.7	Cutco sells knives. Lula Roe sold and sells leggings. Young Living and Dutera sell essential oils.
1:54.5	But what kind of opportunity is this, really? Journalist Bridget Reed goes deep into the answer in her new book,
	...

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