Multi-level marketing is often touted as a great way to earn passive income, or even become your own boss and run your own business.
Multi-level marketing (MLM) has shown very little signs of slowing down in the past few years. And one of the most popular ones on the market is MONAT.
Is MONAT worth it? In this MONAT review, we go into the pros and cons of becoming a distributor and offer some alternatives for passive income. Read on to find out more.
MONAT 101
MONAT is a line of hair and skin care products, along with other health and wellness products. These products are only available via direct sales from MONAT distributors, and not available in stores.
The brand was started in 2014 by Luis and Rayner Urdaneta. Stuart MacMillan is the president of MONAT, who is notable for his involvement in the TelexFree Ponzi scheme, which was shut down six months before he joined MONAT.
MONAT's most touted products are their hair care offerings, which include various shampoos and conditioners. These products retail for upwards of $100 a bottle, but average around $40.
MONAT also offers a selection of skin care products such as face masques and exfoliating or hydrating scrubs.
How To Make Money Selling Monat
Like any other MLM company, MONAT distributors can make money in two ways. Let's further examine how you could potentially earn income with MONAT.
Direct Sales
The first is via direct sales to customers. This sounds like it would be fairly simple, as the products aren't available in stores.
However, obtaining and growing a customer base is much more difficult than MONAT recruiters would make it seem.
First, MONAT products are much more expensive than even many luxury brands, without the value of established brand recognition. And their quality and safety have been called into question on more than one occasion.
Additionally, many people are uncomfortable buying products through direct sales. This can be for various reasons, such as return policies, or wariness about MLM products' safety and effectiveness.
Working for an MLM, you are expected to manage all aspects of your business except for making the products. This includes leveraging your social media influence to sell to friends and family.
And many people do not like to be pressured by a hard sell. A few may buy products once or twice just to do you a favor, but don't expect to make long-term repeat customers of your social circle.
To put it bluntly, unless you are a highly trained marketing professional and influencer with a high level of reach, you will be hard-pressed to make an income with MONAT.
Recruitment
The real bread and butter of an MLM is recruiting other distributors into the company.
Basically, for every new distributor that you onboard, you get a cut of their profits, as well as from their onboarding fee.
Did I mention the onboarding fee? MONAT starter kits cost $49 to join and start selling, but new distributors are encouraged to spend at least $300 to “build up an inventory” (and increase their upline's income).
This is where the passive income claims that MONAT and other MLM brands come to pass: if you sign up 10 people, you'll get about $100 a month. If those 10 people sign up another 10 people, you'll get $1000 a month.
Is this starting to sound a bit like a pyramid scheme?
Is MONAT a Pyramid Scheme?
Legally speaking, no. But if you compare the MLM model to a pyramid scheme, they look almost identical.
The primary difference between an MLM like Monat and a traditional pyramid scheme is that MLMs skirt legal issues by offering a product for sale. Pyramid schemes only deal in recruitment and money flow.
To sum it up: MONAT and other MLMs are legal pyramid schemes. They mainly make money by recruiting other people to buy in by paying to join.
This money flows its way up the pyramid, where those at or near the very top are making enough to be considered wealthy. This dream is then sold to every new potential recruit as a possibility.
But the reality is that the majority of people who join an MLM do not make much money at all. Some even lose money, to the tune of thousands of dollars in unsold products they were encouraged to buy at the beginning.
An Honest MONAT Review?
If you search for MONAT product reviews, the internet is full of horror stories. Hair falling out, balding, scalp chemical burns, and skin irritations abound.
Whether this is due to a bad batch or a low-quality product being offered at a premium, who is to say?
Just be aware that potential customers might do their research before purchasing a $40 bottle of shampoo, and see these reviews.
Another concern with MONAT is their dubious claims. A hallmark MLM feature is products that seemingly cure a wide range of ailments or issues.
Many of MONAT's products are marketed as being good for hair, skin, nails, pets, and more. The Federal Trade Commission has started cracking down on MLMs making unsubstantiated and unproven health claims.
MONAT Alternatives
If you are looking for more income but are wary of joining an MLM for the reasons outlined above, there are other ways to make money that don't involve spending your own to get started.
Affiliate marketing is a growing trend for generating income. This is a way to harness the power of social media and online marketing to sell products for companies without having to pay them for the privilege.
In fact, affiliate marketing will actually get you paid, both in cash and occasionally free products.
Affiliate Marketing: Getting Started
If you've reached the end of this MONAT review and decided you'd rather try your hand at affiliate marketing, please consider checking out our free online webclass which will walk you through our #1 recommended way to earn money online from home and teaches affiliate marketing strategies including how to make multiple high-ticket affiliate commissions each month marketing valuable products people already want to buy.
