We believe that the problem is with the network marketing business model. It's not designed to help people make money or gain financial freedom. The system is designed to promote and sell products. MLM is profitable for the companies which produce the products, but not for the members who join the business opportunity.

MLM is a way for companies to sell products and services without employing a sales force and without having to spend money on traditional advertising and promotions. Instead they build a network of loyal believers who are willing to spend money and spread the word. The only motivation they need, is the hopes of possibly achieving financial freedom at some point in the future.

Another problem is in the compensation plan. In order to qualify for most of the payments, you need to be a BeachBody customer. If you want to advance through the ranks, you need to recruit others, who will also become both Coaches and customers. This creates a system which focuses more on recruitment than on retail sales.

It is difficult to make money with any network marketing system because there is no organic demand. Most of the sales are being made to people who have joined the business opportunity. This means that the people at the top of the system only make money when the people below them are spending it. MLM is not designed to give you a business, it's designed to make you a customer.

Are Shakeology Supplements Good Quality

Any salesperson will tell you, that the best way to make money, is with quality products and services. It's true that sales skills play a part, but it always helps when whatever it is you're working with, 'sells itself' a bit. If you are going to make money with Team BeachBody, then Shakeology will be part of what you are selling.

We did not purchase or try any Shakeology products, instead we outsourced this. We had a look at a review of Shakeology by the certified nutritionist at Ancestral Nutrition. Their review found that Shakeology can help you lose weight but also noted that it:

- Is unhealthy

- Contains ingredients which may have harmful side effects

Looks like your best bet for safe results, is a healthy balanced diet made up of regular food.

Is Beachbody An Illegal Pyramid Scam

Even though MLMs closely resemble pyramid schemes, they are not illegal. The reason dates back to the 1979 case of Amway vs the FTC. After 4 years in court Amway was found to be offering a business opportunity, rather than a pyramid scam. The technicalities came down to wording in their paperwork. One example requires consultants to make retail sales.

The Amway ruling effectively opened the doors for all other MLMs to operate within the law. However we should remember that being legal doesn’t make it ethical. If you knew that less than 1% of people had a chance of generating a real income, would you feel comfortable recruiting new consultants?

Another issue, is that even though these rules may be in the paperwork, they are difficult to enforce. This is part of the challenge described in the 2018 FTC Business Guiadance for MLMs. According to this guide, we believe some Beachbody Coaches are acting deceptively or unlawfully when promoting the opportunity.

For example, several people in MLMs have said that they have cupboards full of product. This is because of the minimum monthly purchases they need to make to remain active in the system. Even though stockpiling is against the rules, there is no way for the company to monitor it.

Remember that there is a difference between being legal and being ethical. Would you feel comfortable recruiting people to an opportunity if you knew that 99.7% of them would make more money with a regular job?

Should You Join Team BeachBody

Before you join Team BeachBody, or any MLM, you need to make sure that you like the products and services. We would recommend being a customer first. If you are happy paying full retail price and would recommend BeachBody to others when there there is no financial incentive, then maybe you can make money with Team BeachBody

We would also suggest that you compare the products and services offered by BeachBody with others on the market. You might find that supplements with similar ingredients to Shakeology are already available at lower prices in your local supplement store.

The workout videos will get you into shape if you do them. However before you spend a lot of money every month, you may want to try some of the similar ones already available for free on Youtube. That's right, there are some fitness coaches who post their videos on Youtube and their only fee, is that you get a bit of advertising. Here's one we recently did at home: