Can You Really Make Money in Network Marketing? A 33-Year Ambassador’s Honest Answer

After 33 years in the industry, I can tell you the honest answer to “can you really making money in network marketing” isn’t a simple yes or no. Does network marketing work? Is network marketing worth it? The answer depends entirely on who you are, what you expect, and how seriously you’re willing to treat it as a real business.

My name is Carl LaFlamme. My wife Suzanne and I have been independent Shaklee distributors (now called Ambassadors to reflect that we don’t carry inventory and distribute products anymore) since the early 1990s. When we started, we were making a couple hundred dollars a month. Today, and for the past 20+ years, we earn a six-figure annual income from our Shaklee business. Our success took three decades of real work, a few hard lessons, and one major pivot that changed everything. I’m sharing all of it here so you can make an informed decision — not a hopeful one.

What Most People Get Wrong About Network Marketing

The two biggest misconceptions I hear over and over are that network marketing is either a get-rich-quick scheme or an outright scam. Neither is true, and both assumptions cause people to either rush in with unrealistic expectations or dismiss a legitimate opportunity without ever looking at the facts.

Network marketing — also called direct sales or MLM — is a $252 billion dollar global business model where you earn income by selling products directly to customers and by building a team of distributors who do the same. When done with a reputable company, selling real products people actually want, it is a legitimate business. The problem is that too many people treat it like a lottery ticket rather than a business.

If you walk in expecting fast money, you will be disappointed. If you walk in willing to build something over time, the potential is very real.

How Long Does It Take to Make Money in Network Marketing?

This is one of the most important questions to ask — and one of the least honestly answered. Most people who join a network marketing company expect results within the first few months. The reality is that building a meaningful income typically takes years, not months.

Suzanne and I are a real example. In our first couple of years, our income hovered between a couple hundred and a thousand dollars a month. That’s not nothing, but it wasn’t life-changing either. It wasn’t until we pushed through a multi-year plateau and reinvented how we built the business that things started to shift significantly. For us, it took closer to a decade to build and sustain a six-figure income.

If that sounds discouraging, I’d rather be honest with you now than have you walk away in year two thinking it doesn’t work. It works. It just doesn’t necessarily work as fast as people have been “sold”.

Our Story: The Plateau That Almost Broke Us

Suzanne and I hit our wall around year five. For two to three years we were stuck between $500 and $1,000 a month. We were doing the work, showing the products, talking to people — and going nowhere. That plateau is where most people quit, and I completely understand why. You start questioning whether the business works, whether you’re cut out for it, whether it’s worth the time.

We almost walked away.

What saved us wasn’t a magic strategy or a sudden surge in sales. It was a change in circumstances that forced us to adapt. We moved from Bellingham, Washington to Dallas, Texas, and suddenly our warm market — the local network we’d been relying on — was gone. We had to figure out how to build online.

That necessity turned into our breakthrough. Working the internet, learning how to reach people digitally, connecting with prospects we never would have met in person — that’s what finally broke the plateau. The move that felt like a setback turned out to be the thing that unlocked our growth.

The Honest Truth About What It Takes

I want to be direct with you: network marketing is not passive income in the early years. It requires consistent daily effort, a long-term mindset, and the discipline to treat your business like a business even when the results aren’t there yet.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Showing up every day, even when motivation is low
• Consistently sharing products and the business opportunity with new people
• Following up without being pushy
• Learning new skills — especially online marketing — as the landscape changes
• Staying connected to your team and supporting their growth

The people who succeed in network marketing are not necessarily the most talented or the most charismatic. They’re the ones who don’t quit when the plateau hits.

Who Is Network Marketing a Good Fit For?

In my experience, this business model works best for a specific type of person. It’s not for everyone, and I think it’s more helpful to be honest about that upfront than to oversell the opportunity.

Network marketing tends to be a strong fit for:

• People with an entrepreneurial mindset. You need to be self-motivated and comfortable with the uncertainty that comes with building something from scratch. If you thrive in a structured nine-to-five environment and need a guaranteed paycheck, this may not be your best option.
• Stay-at-home parents. A spouse who isn’t working full-time has something invaluable: time and flexibility. Network marketing can be built in pockets of time around family life, and the income it generates can meaningfully contribute to the household without requiring a traditional job.
• Empty nesters looking to create a retirement income stream. This is one of the most overlooked demographics in network marketing. If your kids are grown, you have more time, life experience, and probably a wider network than you did in your twenties. Building a residual income stream in your 50s, 60s etc. that continues to pay into retirement is one of the most compelling reasons to look seriously at this model.

Who Is It Not a Good Fit For?

Just as important as knowing who should consider network marketing is knowing who probably shouldn’t.

• People looking for immediate income to cover urgent bills. The ramp-up time is real. It took us years to build a meaningful income, and while some people grow faster, counting on fast network marketing income to solve a financial crisis is a risky bet.
• People who are uncomfortable with selling or sharing products personally. Relationship and communication are at the core of this business. If the idea of recommending products to friends, family, or strangers genuinely feels wrong to you, it will be a constant struggle.
• People who aren’t willing to regularly use the products. If you don’t have real experience with what you’re selling, it shows. Early on, Suzanne and I simply switched brands on products we were already buying — cleaning supplies, vitamins, personalized skincare — to Shaklee’s healthier alternatives. That personal experience became the foundation of everything we said about the products. Authentic belief isn’t optional in this business; it’s your most powerful sales tool.
• People who aren’t willing to commit to learning and adapting. The skills that worked in 1993 are not the same skills you need in 2026. Our business changed dramatically when we moved online. You have to be willing to grow.

Why We’ve Stayed with Shaklee for 34 Years

People often ask why we’ve stayed with one company for over three decades when there are hundreds of network marketing companies to choose from. The answer is simple: we believe in the products and love the company philosophy of doing business by the Golden Rule.

Shaklee has been making science-backed nutritional supplements, skincare, and eco-friendly household products for decades. When you’re building a network marketing business, the product has to sell itself over time. People have to reorder. Customers have to become loyal because the products work — not because they got caught up in the excitement of a launch. Shaklee’s customer retention is one of the best in the business, and a cornerstone of our long-term success.

If you’re evaluating a network marketing opportunity, the single most important question to ask is: would people buy these products even if there was no business opportunity attached? If the answer is no, walk away.

So Can You Really Make Money in Network Marketing?

Yes — but only if you go in with the right mindset, choose the right company, and commit to treating it like the real business it is.

Suzanne and I went from a few hundred dollars a month to a six-figure income. We did it by surviving a multi-year plateau, moving across the country, reinventing how we built our business online, and never quitting when it would have been easy to. None of that happened fast, and none of it happened by accident.

If you’re willing to build something real over time — and if the timing in your life is right — network marketing can be one of the most rewarding business decisions, you ever make. If you’re looking for a shortcut, it isn’t that.

If you’d like to learn more about the Ambassador opportunity, we invite you to check out our free Ambassador Opportunity Guide. It will you a good overview of how Shaklee is positioned in the marketplace, what you can earn starting this coming week, and some of the rewards and experiences that await you. If you have specific questions or just want to learn more about what Suzanne and I do with Shaklee, we’d love to talk with you. Reach out to us on our Contact Us Page. We’re excited to share the many ways Shaklee has enriched our lives and what it can do for yours.

*Shaklee makes no promises or guarantees regarding earning additional income or any other earnings opportunity. The success or failure of each Shaklee Ambassador, like any other business opportunity, depends on your own skills and personal effort. The Shaklee Compensation Plan and the 2025 Income Disclosure Statement (IDS) can be found here https://us.shaklee.com/earnings.