I hand it to someone for thinking of this strategy... clever.

It's a MLM and completely legal but they do share a few characteristics of a pyramid in that you have the people at the top making the most money and a lot of people under them branching out like you would see in a pyramid. Your main goal is to recruit more people under you...  Pyramids can't go on indefinitely, MLMs can and do....Mary Kay would be considered MLM and they have been around forever making many people successful along the way. 

there is a stigma that comes with MLM products thanks to the many aggressive sales people that have been associated over the years.  What we carry in our kits says a lot about our careers...Mary Kay is a fine product but seeing it in our kits would scare the average client...I assume the situation would be the same with any product sold in an MLM fashion even if the product is good.

In my opinion and I do have experience here....artists are much more willing to try products formulated by makeup artists, artists support their own and they are VERY faithful about that...we may stab each other in the back at every turn but there is a bond and a loyalty when it comes to what goes in our kit.

One last thing....  Because of this loyalty it's probably not a good idea to threaten an artist of Kevins stature in the business....  Did anyone do homework before sending Kevin threats? that would have been smart in my opinion...at this point, they need to get rid of the lawyers and get a good PR person...just my opinion

It seems that Aileen had an MM profile which has now disappeared...wow, this is like a bad reality show.
I also noticed that she is operating out of Cutler Salon in Miami.  I know Rodney Cutler (owner of Cutler Salons) and he would not be happy with the scam she is involved in.

Crack the whip! I just stood up to bad business today as well and it feels so good.

again, it is not a pyramid sceme and it is LEGAL, they have been around a very long time....it's Amway, I remember it from my childhood.  I understand why the name was changed.  If you look up the definition to Pyramid  and MLM they are different but similar enough to confuse people...   Here is just one article on the differences http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cos67.htm  a very small percentage of people make money at either but if you work hard and you are great sales person with lots of faithful family and friends you can make money in an MLM...not true of a pyramid unless you go in at the inception and make your money quick before the starting group goes to jail.

I do personally know very success people in an MLM.  I am betting this company has conventions with thousands of success stories.   It's not my cup of tea but for some people this works.

I do believe this is just another name change but I may be incorrect.  There is some connection like the founder maybe?  I'm really not sure it may just be another similar company. If you put Market America into the google search engine you will see a lot of complaints and people calling it a scam...I think their lawyers must be very busy

They've tried recruiting me several times, and I've CAM'd each one.

Welcome to the forums!

Marketing! What is that?

Is that....sort of like.....what you were doing with all of the threads that you created that got locked?

Marketing is ok.....but scams and spam irritate people.......a little

Market America informed me that they are quite upset that Aileen Quintana was using the "Motives By Loren Ridinger" brand as a platform to scam artists. 
Really? Because I find it very interesting that one of her alleged business associates is Natalia Diaz (wife of Andrew Weissman, Pres/CEO of Market America).

I was informed today that Ms. Quintana has not been an "active" distributor of Motives.  I'm not sure if that means she has been removed from the company or that she simply hasn't placed an order in awhile.
She has also removed the "Pro Makeup Network" page at FB and replaced www.promakeupnetwork.com with a blank page.  The Pro Makeup Agency page at FB is still up and running. It doesn't appear to be aggressively recruiting any more.

UPDATE: The FB page is gone.

I guess Ms. Quintana realizes how many people are aware of her activities and is no longer scamming artists in South Florida.

This happens at mm...people come out of the woodwork when you mention the motives name or  the name of a local makeup school that will (for that reason) remain nameless...  They have I assume google alerts that alerts them to their name being used on the internet... They then have their recruits, friends, relatives etc.. do damage control on the  message boards...Thats what appears to be happening

I had no idea about google alerts! Damn learn something new everyday, I don't how I notice these things lol. Either I've been at MM too long or I just naturally take after scooby doo

Interesting...Your profile doesn't seem to exist anymore.

I have been approached by Motives and Arbonne. I found the "sales" people that approached me to be no worse than BULLIES. I wasn't interested, they got nasty and relentless in their communication with me.

I think my biggest issue with how Motives has been marketed is exactly as you have described, it is being toted as a pro line that is suited and developed for professional needs. I think that was their tactic they established from the onset that they felt would set them apart from companies like Mary Kay/Avon etc. which are marketed almost entirely to consumers. On the one hand I'll admit they are quite smart (from a business standpoint) as a company to try and capitalize on legit artists and put value on the credibility we can offer to a line (something their MLM predecessors didn't do). However, what's insulting is that they feel they can woo us with cheesy sales pitches, insult our intelligence on product origin/development/quality/price etc, and hound us like dogs to pimp their products..believe me I know, I've been a target of theirs a number of times...many of those people are RUTHLESS and don't give up. I also was approached TWICE by the "Pro Artists Network" and asked to "sign" with them, but I'm good at sniffing a scam and spotted it for what it was right away.

I don't think MLM companies in themselves are a bad thing..however these MLM companies need to give CLEAR outlines as to how people should conduct business if they are going to represent their company, and not turn a blind eye to such bad business practices. If the person in question was that interlinked with the president of the company then you KNOW they HAD to know, and they only stopped it because they were called out on it and it became bad publicity. That just makes the entire company look corrupt, when sadly there are likely plenty of artists (some on here as well) who aren't utilizing their motives business in such a way, however they are ultimately made to look bad when enough negative publicity like this gets around. Hopefully for all of their sakes this is the last of it and the company keeps a tighter rein on their representatives from this point forward.

If people want to make some extra cash selling cosmetics I have absolutely no issue with it, nor do I snub my nose at anyone for it regardless if it's something I would or would not do myself (as long as it's done ethically). However it becomes personal when these "representatives" try and prey on the ambitions of artists by misleading them into thinking they are offering them opportunity that they are not (hence the whole "agency" thing with this pro artist network). That's when I think they overstep their bounds and try and impede on the legitimacy of the "real" (non-retail) industry and everything it stands for.

I understand the motives sellers here that have gone on the defense, however you are likely running your business ethically and by the parameters that a MLM company is meant to be ran. What Kevin is speaking out against is people who abuse their role with these companies and try and use their "business" as a platform to mislead artists with false opportunity, opportunities that regardless of what anyone says MLM companies do not offer to artists (agency representation, huge publicity/job placement etc.).