Young Living

Forever Living Review: Forever Opportunity or Endless Scam

David Sharpe bio

So you've just come across this way to own your own business: the Forever Living opportunity. You probably found this Forever Living review after searching “Forever Living scam?” and “Forever Living real?”

Well, I have the lowdown on how this company works, what your outlook is if you decide to work with them, and how network marketing might open some career doors for you if you think big enough.

Plus I'll let you in on some info about what is actually the best way to make money online.

My Forever Living Review

Forever Living is a network or multilevel marketing (MLM) company. You are not an employee but an “independent Forever Business Owner.”

As an Independent Forever Business Owner (FBO), you sell Forever Living Products like Forever Aloe drinks or Forever® Essential Oils. Your business goals also focus on recruiting new members.

How Much Does It Cost to Start?

MLMs typically have a cost to get started where you buy your first products to sell. Forever Living uses the same method.

You can get started at Forever Living by buying one of their “paks.” These contain products to sell or use yourself. They recommend beginning with the Start Your Journey Combo Pak which costs $315.57 USD.

How Much Can You Make?

Companies like to point out that your earning potential is “unlimited” in network marketing. In some sense, it is true that you have to put in the work to get the financial benefit back like any other job, and there is no cap on what you can earn.

The Forever Living MLM does post some information about what their FBOs make in a month:

  • 88.6% of FBOs/purchasers do not make “meaningful compensation or earnings”
  • 11.4% do actually make a profit
    • 69% of them earn about $105
    • 30% of them earn about $1,493
    • <1% of the earn about $28,512 per month

Forever Living is very upfront about how you are most likely not going to make money. So why are so many people looking at this as a great work-from-home business opportunity?

Are Multilevel Marketing Businesses Pyramid Schemes?

No, they're not. Multilevel marketing companies are being honest when they tell you that.

Pyramid schemes are illegal. Pyramid schemes focus on signing up more people to get buy-ins and support the upper levels financially. MLMs sell a product to make money for everyone in the up-line.

However, they do share some similar traits with pyramid schemes, namely that successes can weaken the further from the top you are. Higher saturation and fewer available customers and recruits contribute to this problem.

You Invest in Them, They Don't Invest in You

Up-lines at these types of companies, while not outright scamming anyone, know the realities of their likely profits and yours. They are aware that you will probably not make that much or recruit many other sellers.

Instead of putting in work to better your presentation, marketing, and sales skills, they simply cash in on your sign-up costs and any small sales and move on to the next person.

Is It Possible to Be Successful at an MLM like Forever Living?

Yes, as network marketing is similar to succeeding at any other marketing gig. You need to know how to reach people, how to solve their problems, and how to offer your product as a solution to meet their needs.

The problem with succeeding at something like Forever Living is that even when you work hard to get your marketing on point, the design of the company is not about making you money. It's about funneling cash to that top <1% who got in from the ground up.

Can you be successful in Forever Living? Sure. Will you be? I think you know the answer to that now.

That's why there is a better type of marketing to pursue to make money online.

So…Have You Heard about Affiliate Marketing?

Remember when I said there was a better way to make money online? It's not buying into someone else's business and crossing your fingers that you can find enough customers in your personal circle to make a profit over time.

No, it's about learning how to market to a wide range of people on the internet. It might help you do better in an MLM—as it did for me—but the important thing is that it is a legitimate online business opportunity that you can take much farther than an MLM.

What Is Affiliate Marketing and How Is It a Job?

Affiliate marketing is when you create content like a blog, videos, or social media posts that promote someone else's products. They give you a small cut of the sales each time your links lead to the product selling. Or they may sponsor content directly.

You can start affiliate marketing with any type of online content you're comfortable making. Many of the platforms used for affiliate marketing are free or low-cost to start, like WordPress, YouTube, or Instagram.

You'll use some of the same skills you would have in an MLM because marketing in any form is about connecting with people. Once you connect, you solve their problem with a product or service.

The best part? There are resources out there that can help you learn how to be a great affiliate marketer. Some even set you up with affiliate marketing programs to introduce you to sellers who want you to feature their products.

If you're looking for an online business opportunity, affiliate marketing has more to offer than network marketing.

Learn More about Better Marketing with Legendary Marketer

Could you make it big with an MLM? Our Forever Living review doesn't rule it out. But what if you decided to take on a more reliable, straight-forward type of business like affiliate marketing?

You can make money online by learning about how to use digital marketing as a business model. You can still have the flexibility of being your own boss than you would in an MLM, but your earning potential and stability can increase with an online marketing focus.

If you enjoyed this review on Forever Living, 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.

Click for free training

Young Living Review: Good Business Opportunity or Essentially a Scam?

David Sharpe bio

According to the Young Living website, the company now has over 3,000 global employees as well as over 4 million members. For most entrepreneurs who are interested in joining the Young Living ranks, membership is a much more viable option than bonafide employment.

If you're a Legendary Marketer regular, you know already that we dedicate our time and resources to helping you learn the in's and out's of marketing. Our blog is filled with tips and tricks that help you build up your online business and take control of your finances.

Now, we're bringing you this Young Living review as part of a series addressing the pros and cons of multi-level marketing companies (aka MLMs). Are the products of high quality and can you really make money selling them? Is an MLM the best option for you?

Read on to find out more about Young Living. Is it an opportunity or a scam? It's all here in our Young Living review.

What Is Young Living?

Young Living is an essential oils and wellness company based in Lehi, Utah. It was founded in 1993 by avid oils user, Donald Gary Young.

Young Living has risen to the top of the essential oils production game alongside fellow oils MLM, Doterra. You'll often see Young Living members claim that the products they sell higher quality and better researched than any other essential oils options on the market.

What, exactly, are these products? Are they worth the hype?

What Kinds of Products Do Young Living Members Sell?

All Young Living products fall into the wellness category. Their biggest goal is to help buyers switch to an all-natural lifestyle. These products include:

  • Essential oils and related tools, ie diffusers, spray bottles, and rollers
  • Vitamins
  • Natural cleaning products
  • Antioxidants
  • Weight management products
  • Beauty products

Are Young Living's products superior to other comparable products? Not necessarily.

We looked at price comparisons around the web and found that companies like Eden's Garden offer similar products of comparable quality at a fraction of the price. Plus, to purchase these products, you don't need to sift through sales pitches or offers to get in on the action. For a lot of consumers, this makes non-MLM essential oils companies more appealing.

Young Living Review: The Pros

For a company to be this successful, it must be doing something right. To begin our evaluation of Young Living as an opportunity or a scam, let's look at some of the pros of buying into Young Living.

Sell Products You Enjoy Using and Receive a Discount

A lot of sellers buy into Young Living simply because they love the products. As we mentioned earlier, Young Living products aren't the most affordable on the market. Becoming a member grants you access to a steady 24% discount with additional offers that are also exclusive to members.

Build a Downstream and Build a Somewhat-Passive Income

We mentioned that Young Living is an MLM, which is an important part of how members can make money. MLMs can get a little complicated, but the gist is that there are two primary ways to make money as a member of an MLM. The first is sales, but the second and more lucrative option is to bring more members into your downstream.

Your Young Living downstream is anyone who joins Young Living using your special link or promo code, plus anyone who signs up under those people, and so forth. Each time someone in your downstream joins Young Living, makes a sale, or pulls people into their own downstream, you get a cut.

If you can build up a big enough downstream, your Young Living membership can turn into passive income.

Young Living Review: The Cons

That all sounds pretty good, but it's important to talk about the cons of joining Young Living. Trust us when we say that these cons should not be taken lightly.

Making a Living Off of The MLM Model Is Unlikely

That passive income? The six figures you occasionally see Young Living members brag about? It's wildly unlikely that you'll find that kind of success with any MLM, including Young Living.

Take a look at Young Living's own income disclosure PDF from 2019. Almost 90% of their members are at the lowest level of membership and, at most, are making $873 a year off of Young Living. On average, those people are making $3 a year.

Why is it so hard to get your Young Living gig off the ground? For starters, the market is already well-saturated with Young Living members, limiting your ability to build a downstream. Plus, plenty of people who do join your downstream will discover that the MLM model is not for them and they'll quit within a few months.

The truth is, the people who are making the most money through Young Living aren't making it off of eager new customers. They're making it off of everyone who has joined below them. This is a good indication that Young Living is less of a business opportunity and more of a pyramid scheme.

Young Living Doesn't Always Provide Clear Guidance

When you start looking at Young Living reviews on websites like Indeed, you'll find the same complaint again and again. Young Living does not help new members get their business off the ground.

In other words, without some serious marketing savvy, to begin with, this MLM isn't going to be the get-rich-quick opportunity it claims to be. The products are not going to sell themselves. In the end, it's still up to you to sell your brand, your products, and your story.

Unlock Your Marketing Potential With Legendary Marketers' Tools and Resources

As you can see from our Young Living review, Young Living isn't a full-blown scam, but it's not a great opportunity, either. Very few people make a living by joining ranks with an MLM. Those that do have something far more important than a good product: they have great marketing skills.

If you want to find out better ways to take control of your financial future, watch this free video. You'll have access to our guide on the #1 High-Ticket Business Model to Launch Online, Why Low Ticket Business Models Are Keeping You Broke, and more.

Click for free training