A number of people have contacted me this week for my opinion of AshMax, so to save time and duplicated effort I’m posting my views here on the blog.

I looked at Ashmax some time ago and immediately realised that it was yet another GDI-based downline-building system. (My views on GDI — Global Domains International — are well documented: basically Skybiz2000 without the illegal pyramid scheme overlay or Mob connections, but targeted at exactly the same inexperienced, gullible people. My views on GDI, Skybiz2000 and downline-building systems can be found here. The track record of GDI-based downline-building systems is not exactly encouraging.)

I prefer not to pass judgment on individual income opportunities for a number of reasons, including possible legal exposure, lack of detailed knowledge of the program or company, and the fact that circumstances and company policies and practices can change. Instead, I prefer to offer information, insights and ideas to help you weigh up the pros and cons, then form your own conclusions.

Not only do I consider this approach fairer to all, but it helps you to overcome “Baby Bird Syndrome”, the high-risk forerunner to “Roast Duck Syndrome”, which defeats so many would-be network marketers. (The first condition is where you sit on your backside in your feather-lined safety zone, open your mouth and think that, if you squawk long and loud enough, you’ll be spoon-fed everything you need to be successful — a misinterpretation of “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. The second condition embodies the famous saying by Chinese philosopher Confuciun: “Man who sit cross-legged, with mouth wide open, waiting for roast duck to fly in, can expect very long wait.” Both are symptoms of wishful thinking.)

The Bottom Line: As a teacher and leader I will willingly teach you, guide you, inspire you and set an example for you to emulate. I will encourage and support you, cheering when you succeed and comforting you when you falter. But I will not do anything for you that you can do for yourself, or we both fail in our roles.

Points to Ponder

1. Any system or program that restricts product sales to recruiters, or recruiting to product buyers, quickly runs foul of most anti-pyramid selling laws globally. In Australia, they specifically breach the Referral Selling provisions of the Trade Practices Act, as well as most state fair trading laws. Penalties under the Trade Practices Act recently doubled, from $110,000 per offense (ie: for each person personally recruited by the promoter/sponsor — and the ACCC now targets local individuals rather than overseas companies) to $220,000 for individuals, and from $1.1 million to $2.2 million per offense for companies.
2. From a purely market-forces point of view, they typically come to grief because they eventually reach a point at which people on the lowest tier are unable to meet the minimum qualifying requirements under the compensation system and the whole thing collapses under negative (hostile!) internal pressures… or the regulators step in, finally.
3. Identifying any risky program is quite simple, usually. You can apply the Four Cornerstones test (the four cornerstones of any duplicable success in life are vision, time, effort and self-discipline. Lotteries, luck and chance do not qualify as duplicable). If they offer a false vision that claims success can be achieved with NO time, NO effort or NO self-discipline, they’re scams.
4. Or you can apply the Five Fatal Failure Factors test: if the main appeals used to recruit or sell target prospects’ fear of loss, ignorance, greed, laziness or gullibility, it’s doomed to fail.

These are the plain, historical facts. Draw your own conclusions. But remember: “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck….”

Hope this helps in some way.

John

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