Step 1: Gather a Small Group of Trusting Friends
Find a few people who are desperate to escape their mundane lives and willing to invest all their worldly possessions into your "surefire" get-rich scheme. This will be the foundation upon which your pyramid scheme will be built.
Be sure to choose people who are extremely gullible. The kind who will fall for any promise of easy money or guaranteed success. These are the kind of people who will be the first to jump off a cliff when you tell them to.
Once you have your group of trusting friends, explain to them that they will be making a huge profit by investing in your "opportunity of a lifetime" and that they will be set free from their 9-to-5 drudgery.
As they hand over their last dollar, be sure to smile and wink at them, reassuring them that they are making a sound investment.