Is Damsel in Defense empowering women or taking their money?

Who run the world? Girls!

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lara Croft to Beyonce, women have been running it for a while now…and now they’re armed.

Women’s self-defense is more popular now than ever and that’s exactly what Damsel in Defense is all about. Does this mean I’m involved?

This video explains everything:

Make sense? Either way, here’s the full review on Damsel in Defense.

Overview

Damsel in Defense, an MLM that sells self-defense products to women, was founded in 2011 by Mindy Lin and Bethany Hughes. Lin and Hughes are two powerhouse women who combine creativity and marketing skills (Lin) with business knowledge and planning abilities (Hughes).

In 2014 they paired up with Bob Hipple, their long-time consultant, and made him the CEO of Damsel in Distress. He’s got decades of experience in MLM as a big-time seller, professional speaker, executive, and business consultant.

By 2015, the company already had 10,000 consultants and had sold more than $19.5 million in product. If they know how to play the MLM game, with a product like this, I can only see those numbers skyrocketing in years to come.

Nearly 2 million women are assaulted in the United States every single year. [1] According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 women report having been raped in their lifetime. Damsel in Defense’s goal is to “help women avoid becoming a statistic”, and the demand is there. [2]

But does it really empower women, or does it just empower a few bank accounts?

How much does Damsel in Defense cost?
The starter kit at Damsel in Defense costs $149.

To stay active and thus qualify for all commissions, you need to hit $150 PV over a rolling 3-month period.

Products

Damsel in Defense is built on self-defense products for women, but they also sell security-related products. Here are some examples of popular products…

The Daphne Concealed Carry Purse

This is a purse designed to conceal the weapons you’re carrying.

Stun Guns

These come in various designs that look like phones and cameras. They aren’t, however, legal in all states, so this can be limiting to some distributors.

Pepper Sprays

These come in a variety of colors and designs, and are widely known to be one of the most effective self-defense tools.

Door Alarm

This is a doorstop looking alarm device that has a movement sensor. If someone opens your door while you are home, it will sound a 120-decibel alarm to notify you and scare off the intruder.

They also sell a digital protection plan for $29.95/month for individuals and $59.95/month for families, which is pretty steep. They claim it can protect your family from everything from expensive computer repairs to credit card and identity theft.

I want to be behind these products, but the way the company and some of their distributors market them, it feels more like they’re trying to scare women than empower them. One ad shows a family that experiences $273,247.42 in credit card theft, their teenage daughter being targeted by an online sexual predator, their teenage boy being cyber bullied, and their child son having his identity stolen leading to a false criminal record…all in one year.

This family apparently had the worst 2016 of all of us. It’s is a pretty ridiculous example of, presumably, what can happen if you don’t buy their digital protection plan, and it looks a lot like fearmongering.

Opportunity

This company runs on in-home parties, and you all know how a feel about those (yawn…barf).

Hostesses get $90-$200 in product credit depending on the total party sales, plus 4-6 half-off items.

Baseline commission on personal sales is 25%. Once you hit $1,000 annual PV, your personal sales commission bumps up to 30%.

Once you become a Junior Mentor (sell $150 PV per month and have at least 1 recruit), you start qualifying for team commissions. At first, you only get 4% commission on your 1^st Level. Each rank advancement gets you commission on a new level, down to your 4^th level. Director level distributors get 4% on their Level 1, 3% on their Level 2, 2% on their Level 3, 1% on their Level 4, and an extra 2% team bonus.

Of course, reaching (and maintaining) these higher ranks is a lot harder than it looks.

Recap

It’s really not a bad idea for an MLM. In fact, I’m surprised more people haven’t thought of it.

But their products are a little limited and not super unique.

And while it’s definitely possible to make good money, the truth is, most distributors just don’t have the sales background, training, social network, and persistence (to bother their friends over and over again until they have none) to do much more than make back what they invested, if they’re lucky.

If it’s financial freedom you seek and you like automated ways to build passive income, there are better ways.

(and you can trash those old MLM habits, too)

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