Sales, Sisterhood and Supremacy in Multi-Level Marketing with Emily Lynn Paulson

Bite-Sized Balance Podcast with Wendy McCallum

Emily Lynn Paulson is the author of the new book Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing and Highlight Real: Finding Honesty & Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life.

She is also a speaker, recovery coach, and the founder of Sober Mom Squad, and has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status quo of parenting, alcohol use, and feminism as we know it. Emily has also been featured in major publications such as the Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Next Question with Katie Couric, and the Tamron Hall Show.

Emily made well over a million dollars during her residency as a #bossbabe at one of the top MLMs. What's wrong with a little girl power? Turns out, a lot. She earned every bonus, gift, and international trip. But she also pushed away friends and family, burned bridges, and wasted precious time being distracted with ‘her business’ instead of spending time with her children. She recruited hundreds of women into a dream that wasn’t achievable or sustainable.

"As a stay-at-home parent, I was understandably attracted to a culture that offered a salve to my loneliness. But I learned that MLMs are actually a way for women to exploit other women. I saw the links between the pseudoscience, white supremacy, and, yes, racism that infiltrated MLM life. I’m speaking out to spark change."

-Emily Lynn Paulson

Emily and I discuss:

• how Emily ended up in an MLM,
• why MLMs are often pyramid schemes,
• how the consultants are actually the customers,
• why terms like “bossbabe” and “ladyboss” are misleading,
• why MLMs are often described as “cultlike”,
• Emily’s quick rise to the top of her organization and how her white privilege and pre-existing financial security made that possible,
• exclusion, religion and racism in MLMs,
• the role of “love bombing” and toxic positivity in MLMs,
• how MLM life encouraged her drinking and brought her to a rock bottom moment,
• how she exploited her cancer diagnosis for her business,
• the truth behind the “all-expense paid” trips and cars,
• the darker side of MLMs and why she decided to write this book
• how it turned out differently than she’d expected. Pre-order Emily’s book now: https://bit.ly/3ZehRWy