Damsel in Defense is an unusual MLM that focuses on self-defense products for women, including products for women to carry and those for the home.
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The idea here is admirable. The company and the products focus on empowering women and giving them the ability to protect themselves and their families. In fact, the company even calls its parties Empower Hours.
Making money as a distributor could be considered empowering too. I disagree personally, as the MLM model provides less control than is ideal. Even so, it’s easy to see how the company could become popular. The same is true for many other women-focused MLMs.
I honestly like the idea of the products. The items are unusual for an MLM, which is great for sales. Finding a range of self-defense products and advice for women all in one place is pretty appealing too.
The self-defense industry itself also has decent potential. Many people are looking for ways to defend themselves. If nothing else, having self-defense knowledge and tools can help people to feel more in control of their lives.
Two Ways To Make Money With Damsel in Defense
Unique products aside, Damsel in Defense follows the same general approaches of most other MLMs. This means that there are two distinct earning approaches. One is to focus on product sales. This is the easiest approach and is most relevant for anyone wanting a little extra income.
The other angle is team building, which involves recruiting team members and making sure they stay active. Team building can be much more difficult, but the income potential is higher too.
In this post, I’m highlighting both areas and how well they work in practice. At the end of the piece, I’ll talk about whether you have a realistic chance of making consistent income with Damsel in Defense.
Make Money From Product Sales
So, the product line at Damsel in Defense is a little bit unusual. As the name suggests, the company sells self-defense items that are targeted at women.
Many of the products focus directly on self-defense. This includes stun guns, pepper sprays, personal alarms, and striking tools.
There are also various related items. Some of these help to conceal the defensive tools, while others could be used to help women feel more confident.
In general, I noticed that the prices of the products were fairly reasonable and were certainly in the range that a lot of people could afford. The range of actual self-defense products is limited. Still, there are only so many different types of products that could be offered in this field.
Personally, I’m in two minds about the products that the company sells. Yes, they do have the potential to keep women safe – and they might even be essential if you live in a rough neighborhood.
Even with this advantage, Damsel in Defense is playing on the fears of women, making them feel like they should spend a lot of money to keep themselves and their families safe.
The company often uses this idea in their marketing and there’s a good chance that distributors do too. By all means, protection is important. But, if you end up being paranoid about your safety, you probably end up in a worse spot than when you started.
The overall approach just feels manipulative to me. Now, that’s a major problem because many people selling MLM products end up trying to sell them to friends and to family. Do you really want to be manipulating your friends and family into spending money?
It is also worth noting that the company does have another slightly different product, which is a digital protection plan, ranging from $29.95 per month (for an individual) to $59.95 per month (for a family).
In terms of profits, this product would be nice for distributors. However, I doubt they would make many sales as most people wanting digital security would turn to a company that actually has a reputation in the field.
In regards to the products, I also want to point out that they’re not really that unique. Realistically, there are a lot of products out there for personal protection as-is. I suspect there is also a wide range of such products that are designed specifically for women.
Now, I’m all for women protecting themselves and their families. However, the company is more about manipulating and getting sales than it actually is about protecting. After all, there’s only so much that products can do anyway and you probably don’t protect yourself much more if you buy one product from the company versus ten.
You could actually make the argument that arming women with products that don’t actually protect them gives them a false sense of security and is more dangerous (read the comment section regarding issues with product quality)
There’s also one more thing with the products. For the most part, these are purchases that people would make once or perhaps twice.
After all, most of the products that the company sells are for worst-case situations. The products largely act to provide peace of mind. Most of them are reusable anyway.
That pattern isn’t encouraging for distributors. If you want to make money with the company, one of the key aspects is selling the products. Now, people may want to stock up on many of the items that the company sells, but even then, the products do kind of make it hard to make multiple sales.
Some of the items, particularly the stun guns, can’t be sold in all states. This further limits sales potential.
Making Sales In Practice
It’s also worth considering exactly how you make sales. Damsel in Defense is party-based. This approach seems especially common for any MLM that is specifically targeted at women. The strategy means that distributors host parties (called Empower Hours), where they promote the products.
Side Note: A lot of gals ripped into me in the comments for saying that women are targeted by MLMs. Here’s an interesting article (from a woman) called How Multi-Level Marketing Targets and Destroys Female Entrepreneurs
So, the idea is that you get people together and then pitch them the products. The company probably provides distributors with information about the strategies to use to get the most sales. At the same time, distributors will show some of the products that the company offers.
Some of these will come from the starter kit that the company provides – although distributors often end up purchasing additional products themselves.
The party model is interesting. It can work well for getting sales because there is a degree of social pressure. So, if one person buys a product, others will probably buy one too. However, the reverse is true too. If most people at a party don’t buy anything, others may choose not to as well, even if they were originally going to make purchases.
At the same time, the party model makes it difficult to sell to anyone who randomly decides that they want to buy products.
Parties tend to involve a hostess (who isn’t the distributor). The event is held at this person’s house and the guests will be their friends. Using hostesses gives the distributor access to a wider range of people to sell to. The hostess also gets bonuses, which can help to get people involved.
Still, party-based MLMs are very common and people get sick of the events quickly. Distributors often find that it gets tough to ensure consistent party attendance.
Make Money Building A Team
At baseline, distributors for the company earn 25% commission from sales they make. In theory, you could just stick to this level of the company if you wanted to earn a little bit of money. 25% is actually pretty good if you can sell enough product on a daily basis.
However, Damsel in Defense is an MLM and this means that it has a focus on recruitment and building a team. Most of the bonuses come from the people you recruit and how successful they are. For example, the figure below shows the early ranks of the company.
As you go down the ranks, you can see that the bonuses people earn increases, but so does the complexity of actually qualifying for the rank. In practice, this means that getting to (and maintaining) a given rank takes a lot of work and it’s more difficult than it first appears.
That’s one reason why most people in MLMs end up stuck on the first rank or two. After all, you have to recruit people into the company and those people need to be successful themselves.
Even if you have the skills and dedication to be successful in business, there’s no guarantee that the people you recruit will. Running any type of business is hard work. Some skill sets and personalities are much better at doing so than others.
There is one other slightly complicated thing about Damsel in Defense. This is the fact that you have to remain active to make money from the MLM portion. This practice is fairly common among MLMs, but it’s also pretty frustrating. The company explains it like this:
This means that you need to sell $150 in products every three months. If you don’t meet this requirement, you can still earn money from commissions, but you can’t earn money from your rank or your downline.
As most of the bonuses come from your rank and your downline, this means that you need to make consistent sales. Doing so mightn’t sound like a big deal, but it leaves you with less flexibility. What happens if there is a family crisis or if you simply need a holiday?
Can You Generate Reliable Income With Damsel In Defense?
The Damsel In Defense Review
Products
Business Opportunity
Final Review
While the MLM model isn't amazing, you can theoretically earn consistent income with most MLMs. Damsel in Defense is no exception. The company even has some advantages over others due to the unusual product selection.
Even so, actually being successful is an entirely different story. Most people simply aren't. Many distributors don’t have the skills or social connections needed to effectively drive sales and recruit others.
That shouldn’t be too surprising. Those skills are tough and they’re not something you can just pick up with a little bit of support and some basic training. The simple answer is that if you don’t have those skills going into an MLM, you’re never going to get very far within one.
This is a very real issue and unfortunately, it is something that the company and other distributors simply don’t teach. Without a strong mentor, and a stronger sense of self-motivation to get out, recruit, and push product, it's easy to end up like most distributors, with "non-active" status and a few gadgets laying around the house.
Another problem is that you don't end up with your own business. Even if you were very successful with Damsel in Defense, you're just selling products from a company. Your income is entirely based on their rules and their success.
This style simply doesn't work if you want a long-term reliable business. You need something where you are the one in control. That type of control will never be present with Damsel in Defense.
MLM Critic & Author: Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. I have to be honest though. I'm not a big fan of MLM. Tried it. Hated it.
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Kari
First off, I do respect your opinion. But I would like to tell you why this company is important to me. I was physically attacked while I was 7 months pregnant with my baby boy. I had pepper spray from the store that did nothing until 30 seconds after being sprayed. I was pulled by my hair, punched in my chest and no one helped me. I had 2 grown men watch without any concern. I was attacked by my own neighbor with mental health issues. I had lived by this neighbor for 4 years without ANY problems. This destroyed me. I was forced to move from my home because the police did nothing. My family was uprooted from condo. The feelings that took over me cant even be explained.
I heard about this company a month ago. This is not to scare women. This is to help women and men. Honestly, we live in an unpredictable world. You really don’t know what could happen in the blink of any eye. I never thought that I would be attacked like I was. But at least I had something with me to try and stop my attacker. 30 seconds after being sprayed, my attacker finally couldn’t see and I was able to get away. Some people aren’t as lucky as me. And yes, we get paid to sell this stuff. Just like Walmart makes a profit off of selling pepper spray and other things but the difference in us and a store, is that we teach you ways to protect your self. We show you how the products work and we actually care for our customers well being. We truly hope that no one ever has to use our products.
Like I said, I respect your opinion. Everyone has one and this isn’t going to change your mind. But for us out there that have been through an attack, these things help us feel a little more safe when out by ourselves, with friends and with our kids. I truly don’t go anywhere without my protection now. I hope that nothing ever happens to you or any of your loved ones. I really mean that.
Sincerely,
A mom of 2, trying to protect her babies.
Nathaniell
I don’t understand your logic – because you were attacked, then Damsel is a good company? I never said self defense is wrong. I don’t think this is a good way to make money and people would be better off buying from legitimate self defense companies rather than this MLM scheme.
Karen
After reading your article and all the comments you have assured me when I start blogging…
that any reviews I may give should be just that, a review. No commentary.
Also, if in the comments I feel a need to defend or not defend in my review I will have stepped over the line of reviewing. Therefore it not be an endorsement or judgement of the product or method.
I like the name of your site, love coffee!!!
Nathaniell
I’m not sure if your comment agrees or disagrees with my method of reviewing, but ANYthing you post online is going to be an opinion. Even if you try to be objective, people will still argue with you about how you’re wrong. Embrace your opinion, and brand your website with your own voice. There is no “truth” as to what is or isn’t good. It’s just people with opinions online.
Amber Tobias-Harris
Karen,
I think your correct a review should be about presenting the facts about the product. With room for personal opinion at the end.
JSal
I have a Heidi way purse that the straps fell apart on after only one month! The flash light stopped working after one week. It’s all garbage if it doesn’t work…
GMitch
It saddens me that for someone that appears to have a good business sense doesn’t realize the damage he’s doing to himself by childishly bashing a company that you really know nothing about. Just pictures that you’ve obtained off the website and fueling indignation towards a company and products that you obviously have not held in your hand and relying on people that see this article and jump on the bashing band wagon to make Damsel look bad.
I am an Independent Damsel Pro and proud to be a part of an innovative company that actually does what it says. Product quality is first and foremost a top priority, because if it isn’t you won’t be in business long. Customer Service is a top priority because if you don’t take care of your customers, you won’t stay in business. Giving people the opportunity to make money is a top priority because if you don’t attend your people, you won’t stay in business.
I’ve been in Direct Sales with different companies over the years, gone through different compensation plans and training, AS WELL AS working in the corporate world as a training coordinator from bringing them into the company from orientation to training for their specific job. The training that Damsel provides FAR EXCEEDS any that I have seen in over 40 years of customer service whether Corporate or Direct Sales. (Just to update you a bit….this itty-bitty six year old company has won Direct Sales Association Awards three years in a row for what it has done and is doing in regards to product, customer service, and training 2016, 2017, 2018….just to update you a bit)
ANY business that you go into that is not part of a brick and mortar operation means that you have to put effort into what you do to get the income that you want. Kind of like you bashing Damsel to show people that your affiliate marketing is better. How hard are you working to defend what you have incorrectly stated about Damsel and the Direct Sales Industry to make a living. Have you been successful? Do you meet or care about your “clients” or “Associates” once they get into affiliate marketing. Do you help them, train them in any capacity so that they will succeed? You say selling things online is easy. It certainly is………..to someone that learned about computers and dealing with the internet from the age of 4 or 5. If you are an individual that has not had to interact with the internet and computers until the last 4-5 years, it can be a challenge unless you have someone that will guide you ANY TIME YOU NEED HELP.
You know little about their compensation plan…..whoever coached you didn’t know about it either, and I shall not inform you of it because you are a wise man and will find a way to get the correct information. But know that you don’t know it at all. ANY BUSINESS that an individual gets into has to work extremely hard the first two years because that is the name of the game. Not one individual that is a multi-millionaire that started a business from home, the garage, their car, hasn’t worked hard to become a success. Not bashing Gates, Buffett, Jobs, Damon, you know these guys….started their own business and have a penny or two to throw around. They started the same way our Awesome Owners Mindy and Betheny started….with determination to make a difference and a way of life that would make them financially secure in life. If it’s taken them far beyond that 6 month emergency fund we are all supposed to have in the bank…..don’t hate. Admire these ladies.
You see, you never know who’s watching you. I found that out when I did a live post on fb and received a call within an hour asking about my business….Damsel. Her first words were “I’ve been watching you”. So who’s to say that someone’s not watching you and the way you handle yourself in regards to such negativity in order build your own “regime”? It can be taken in a light that it’s extremely distasteful and begin to do the same to you….discrediting every little thing about what you offer.
You know what they say about Karma. She IS a female, a child of Mother Nature. You probably never saw the commercial or heard the saying “Don’t fool with Mother Nature”, yes I’m old skool (and I spelled that correctly). Karma will bite you where you sit, and it could be painful for a very long time.
I will get off the soapbox, I have not exhausted what I want to say, I just feel you’ve had enough. I truly wish you well in your business, and suggest you back off Damsel because you may be doing the opposite of what you think. That’s why we are who we are and do what we do so well. As a matter of fact, I will offer you the opportunity to join my team and experience what you don’t know….learn why we do what we do at Damsel: provide the opportunity for that single mom to stay home with her children give the working woman a chance to add to her income to help pay bills and keep a roof over her family’s head, to give that single dad the opportunity to maintain his dignity and provide for his family by empowering, equipping, and educating women through empower hours and warrior workshops (yes, we have men that are a part of the organization). Sorry, got back on that box didn’t I.
Remember Karma and others really are watching you.
Nathaniell
oooh. So ominous! I’ll be on the lookout for Karma my future!
TN
Damsel in Defense has a lifetime warranty on their products. If your straps broke on your purse, they will replace it. They also will replace your products if you are involved in a situation and have to use them. Contact support@damselindefense.net to get your products replaced.
Aubrey
Hello! 🙂 I am a Damsel Pro, and have been so for almost 2 years!! I have only good things to say about this company, and if anyone wants any more info or is interested in joining, I would be happy to speak with you! 🙂 No, we are not fear mongerers, and in fact are discourged from doing so… also, we are now offering some self defense technique training, and some Damsel Pros are going as far as being certified to teach self defense!! 🙂
Coco
Hi Aubrey,
So glad that I finally found somebody to talk to regarding Damsel products. My 82 year old MIL bought over $400.00 worth of your products for Christmas gifts. I have spent hours since December 26, 2017 trying to get someone to help me or call me back. I have had no luck.
I have the items that are brand new and I want to return for a full cash refund. No, I do not want to ship this at my cost and inconvenience. Nor do I want to ask my MIL for the receipt. The type and dollar amount of this purchase is highly unlike her and I do hope that you are not targeting older women to buy your products.
Anxiously awaiting to here from your Christian based company because I know that you will do the right thing.
lol
well Aubrey?
aren’t you going to assist Coco?
Marsha
I am an IDP. I became an IDP not because I wanted or needed to make money, but because of 1) what the company stands for, 2) how the company contributes to a lot of amazing organizations that have a mission to battle child molestation, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse, 3) I have been a victim myself and never thought I would be so I want to share that information with others, 4) know the statistics and know that the products are amazing products that I really want to get into the hands of people so that they are never a part of those statistics, and 5) think that their children’s books are like no other and are important. I am a Mental Health Nurse. I see the damage that is caused by these terrible statistics, both in adults and in children. Doing something is better than doing nothing. It’s not about living in fear and being paranoid that something might happen. It is about knowing if, God forbid something does happen, my customers are more prepared to deal with the situation. Don’t believe me? Let me fire a stun gun in front of you and see if you’re going to try to do anything to me.
I could care less if I make a profit. I donate 10% of my sales to my own local charities as well as I’m starting a pepper spray collection for the women in our community who have been a victim of domestic abuse. Please don’t assume the reps are out to manipulate women and take their money. We are out to make sure that no one ELSE is a victim.
Nathaniell
Please don’t assume everyone joining Damsel is interested in helping people. The main incentive for SELLING, is making money, in any business. Maybe in your case, you chalk up your time to charity, and that’s fine. But Damsel isn’t a charity. It’s a business. My article is targeting people trying to make money, not people just helping a company make money by donating their time.
TMB
Amen i am a Damsel Pro and love helping people. They have the best product’s out there!
Amber Tobias-Harris
Damsel in Defense doesn’t prey on the fear of women. The women who are attracted to the product want to keep their family and themselves safe. If that’s not what you’re into then you don’t have to buy the products. Damsel aims to alleviate the fear that’s already there. The object is to reduce fear by knowing you’re protected. Whether that be with a stun gun, kubotan, or your own voice.
You obviously don’t believe in all the different statics of abuse a family could succumb to, and that’s fine, but there’s a mother out there that refuses to let that be her family, and that’s who we serve. You obviously believe Damsel has good products but somehow it escapes you that it’s still a business and people do still have to make money. MLM, direct marketing, whatever you want to call it are made up of independent business owners that still have to support their family. The compensation plan is easy for every person I educate, empower, and equipt I get paid. As I grow my team I get paid more….it sounds like any other job to me, except I know I’m helping people.
This is not a get rich quick scheme it’s a business, which means you have to work at. You have to go out and make people aware, well Damsel Pros get to go out and make people safe. It’s not for everyone but if you’re going to review the company I think you may want to update the actual information on this post. It’s completely out of date.