Younique promises to help you build a successful business and to help you be your most authentic and amazing self. But what are the odds you will succeed with Younique? Here’s what you need to know.
Is Younique a good opportunity? Younique does not provide enough information to evaluate its opportunity. Because of Younique’s lack of transparency, we must assume it is NOT a good opportunity.
In this article, I examine the Younique opportunity and reveal what you need to know.
Is Younique a Good Opportunity?
Younique promises to help you build a successful business and to help you be your most authentic and amazing self. The company’s mission statement, which is often repeated by Younique Presenters, claims to uplift and empower women.
Unfortunately, there is little evidence to suggest Younique actually empowers the average Presenter or helps them succeed.
Judging from widespread accounts found on the internet, most Younique distributors, aka Presenters, lose money with the so-call opportunity.
Also, decades of research into the MLM industry indicate you will not make money with Younique. You will lose money.
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You’ll Spend More on Products than You Earn.
Contrary to Younique’s feel-good marketing, there is substantial evidence suggesting that very few presenters earn a profit.
It appears that most Younique presenters spend more on products than they make with the opportunity.
It will cost you $99 to get started with Younique.
Every 90 days, you will need to either sell or buy $125 worth of products to qualify. As you rise through the ranks, you’ll need to either sell or buy $250 worth of products every 90 days.
Younique makes it easy to buy your way up through the ranks, at least at first.
Many presenters fall into this trap of buying products to keep themselves “qualified.”
Where is the Younique Income Disclosure?
Before we can accurately access the Younique opportunity, we would need to see the Younique Income Disclosure showing how much the company paid its distributors.
Not to be confused with the Younique Compensation Plan, the Income Disclosure is a historical record of how much Younique Presenters were paid by the company.
Younique knows how much it pays its distributors, aka Presenters, but refuses to publish this information.
As a historical record of how much the company paid its sales force, an Income Disclosure would conclusively show if the opportunity was real or not.
Unfortunately, because Younique does not publish how much their Presenters earn, we must conclude if the information were known, it would prove that Younique opportunity is not genuine.
Without the specific income numbers from Younique, I think it is fair to rely on the industry’s income numbers.
Very Few Rise to the Top of Younique.
In 2016, there were 371,621 Younique Presenters worldwide and only 69 at the highest level of the compensation plan, Black.
That is only .02% at the top.
If Younique published an Income Disclosure, we could see the average income of all levels of the compensation plan.
The usual pattern in MLM is that the topmost level, in the case of Younique, the Black Level, makes most of the money. The second level from the top may make a profit.
Everyone beneath the top levels loses money because the cost of their business exceeds the revenue they are earning.
99% of Younique Presenters Fail.
In 2011, Dr. Jon M. Taylor analyzed the Income Disclosure of 300 MLMs. His findings are published on the FTC website.
In direct opposition to the countless claims made by MLM companies, like Younique, offering a so-called “opportunity,’ Dr. Taylor proved that there was NO OPPORTUNITY.
Detailed analysis of the top 300 MLM companies shows that less than 1% of their distributors earned a profit and that most distributors lost money.
Because Younique does not publish what they paid their Presenters in any given year, we can only conclude it’s no better than the industry average, which is less than 1% earned a profit.
If we turn that dismal success rate around, we can see that 99% of the people who try Younique will fail.
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What is Younique?
Younique is a direct marketing company with a multi-level compensation, otherwise known as a multi-level marketing company, or MLM.
Younique promotes a line of cosmetics through a sales force of independent contractors they refer to as Presenters.
Founded by Derek Maxfield and Melanie Huscroft, a brother-and-sister team, Younique began as a privately-owned company in 2012.
In 2017 the international cosmetic giant, Coty, purchased controlling shares for $600 million. However, in May of 2019, Coty sold these shares back to Younique.
According to Wikipedia, one of the reasons Coty
sold their Younique shares was because of the growing consumer awareness of the risks of participating in MLM schemes.
According to ZoomInfo.com, Younique is once again a privately held company owned by Derek Maxfield and Melanie Huscroft.
It is essential to understand that Younique is privately owned because it is the owners of Younique who are making money, not the rank and file Presenters.
A $475 Million Company.
Direct Selling News reports that in 2018, Younique earned annual revenue of $475 million.
Where does this money come from? Apparently, most of it comes from the Presenters who must purchase a starter kit for $99 and then continue to buy products to remain “qualified.”
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The Truth About Younique Royalties Program™.
The Younique Royalties Program™ is the Younique Compensation Plan. It is not a legal document. It’s part of the Younique marketing strategy.
The Younique Compensation Plan is designed to convince you that you can succeed as a Younique Presenter.
MLM attorney, Jeff Babaner, says it is crucial for a compensation plan to be “perceived” as fair. He does say that it should be fair, only that it is perceived as fair.
The Younique Compensation Plan shows the percentage of overrides, aka Royalties, you will receive as you advance. It also shows the PRS (Personal Retail Sales) you must achieve.
The thing to remember about the Younique Royalties Program™ is that it creates the illusion that you can succeed with the opportunity when the odds are you will only lose money.
Younique’s Sales Strategy.
Younique pioneered a sales strategy of hosting virtual parties on Facebook and using Instagram for leads.
This strategy requires a Younique Presenter to spend many hours on Facebook and Instagram, messaging strangers to join their team, host virtual parties, or buy products.
Cold Messaging, Friend Farming, and Spam.
In her blog, former Younique Presenter, S.M. Phoenix described the Younique Sales Strategy as a combination of Cold Messaging, Friend Farming, and Spam.
According to Phoenix, the Cold Messaging tactic usually just made people mad and got her blocked. She admitted it was annoying.
The friend farming tactic was presented as a way to find people to host virtual parties where products could be sold. In truth, it was a sneaky trick for getting people’s list of friends who she could exploit.
The spam tactic is just as you would imagine. The messages were generic so they could quickly and easily be sent in mass.
As you can see, there is nothing genuine or empowering in these methods.
While the Younique Sales Strategy may have worked at one time, it’s effectiveness is now doubtful because Facebook changed its logarithm.
Younique Sells a Dream.
Like every other MLM, Younique sells a dream. They promise you success and personal empowerment, but this is just a marketing ploy.
If Younique were serious about helping you succeed, they would publish how much they pay their Presenters. Younique hides that information for a reason.
If people knew they had less than a 1% chance of earning a profit with MLM, they would never join. If people stopped joining Younique, the company would collapse.
You are the Customer.
The real Younique strategy is no different than the approach of every other MLM.
The Presenters are the REAL Customers.
The promise of opportunity is just a ploy to entice you into paying high dollar for mediocre products and lock you into buying more over-priced products each month.
If you believe you can improve your life and make more money with the Younique opportunity, you’ll spend money you don’t have on products you don’t need as you chase the dream.
This is why many people who try MLM go into debt.
Selling the dream of success and prosperity is a trick Younique uses to turn their Presenters into captured customers who steadily give their money to the company.
You won’t make a profit with Younique. You’ll be lucky if you don’t go into debt.
Remember, Younique’s annual revenue is $475 Million. Much of that money comes from out of the pockets of their Presenters.
You Won’t Build a Business.
Although Younique promises you an opportunity to make money and encourages you to build a business by recruiting new presenters, the truth is you won’t be building a business.
Only a few presenters at the highest levels earn a profit.
All other presenters are merely recruiting new customers for Younique.
Younique is in the De-Hype Phase.
In explaining why Coty sold back its Younique holdings, chief executive Pierre Laubies stated all multi-level marketing businesses go through a phase of classic hype and that, unfortunately, Younique is in the de-hype phase.
Laubies eluded to general public fatigue of MLMs.
Could this MLM fatigue be related to how difficult it is to make money with MLM? Or that many people who try MLM end up going thousands of dollars into debt.
The Decline of MLM.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Multi-level Marketing is in decline in North America. This might be a result of the internet.
The truth about the near-zero chance of making money with MLM is out.
Also, there is a growing number of blogs exposing MLM for what it is, a nightmare of debt, and damaged relationships.
There are also a growing number of Facebook communities devoted to helping former MLM distributors recover from their humiliating experience. They want the world to know about the predatory nature of MLMs.
When someone researches an MLM opportunity online, they quickly discover that most people lose money with MLM, and many go into debt.
Like, Coty, a $2 Billion international corporation, legitimate businesses are divesting themselves of MLM.
Protect the People Who Love You.
Like every other MLM, Younique expects you to exploit your warm market. Your warm market is friends and family, the people who know and trust you.
Friends and family are your most valuable relationships. Please do not exploit them for a buck. It’s not worth it.
Your relationships are essential to your mental and emotional health. You can’t put a price on that.
Every life has its hiccups and heartaches. You need your friends and family to help you through the hard times.
MLM causes people to damage and sometimes destroy their most valuable relationships. In addition to financial loss, MLMs like Younique also often leave people isolated and humiliated.
No so-called opportunity is worth losing the people who love you.
Younique’s Gradual Manipulation.
The process of recruiting you into Younique is a process of gradual manipulation.
By first promising you good things, like making money and personal empowerment, Younique can get you excited about paying them money.
The person trying to recruit you is probably unaware that they are also being manipulated by the same false promises.
The Younique Bait.
Younique wants you to believe that its so-called opportunity is your path to riches and a better life.
You’re promised an income selling high-end cosmetics and the chance to build a business that will reward you with passive income, bonuses, and luxury cars.
Once you’re sold this dream, this illusion, spending $99 on a starter kit, seems like a no-brainer. That’s what Younique wants you to believe.
You may not discover until after you pay for the starter kit, that you are also expected to “qualify” every 90 days.
“Qualify” is code for buying products.
Buying Your Rank.
Technically, you must either sell or buy a minimum dollar amount of products every 90 days.
Younique conceals this requirement until you are enrolled. It also disguises it with an innocent appearing label of PRS (Personal Retail Sale).
1 PRS equals $1 US.
In the beginning, you must either sell or buy 125 PRS in a rolling three-month period to qualify for the First Level. 125 PRS equals $125 US.
To reach the Yellow Level, you must either buy or sell a 500 PRS.
In other words, you can buy your way to the yellow rank. Clearly, Younique has incentives in place to encourage you to do just that.
What Younique is All About.
In my view, the purpose of Younique is to get people in with a $99 starter kit, then move them to buy another $500 worth of products.
After that point, most Presenters will soon quit the business.
Beyond the Yellow Rank, a Presenter must begin recruiting to continue to advance. The PRS increases too from $125 to $250 to $500.
The incentive for a Presenter to buy a ton of products is always there, and I suspect many do.
Every Presenter is first, and foremost, a customer.
How Much Will You Earn with Younique?
Not much.
Most Presenters are lucky if they don’t lose money.
Profits are only possible at the highest levels AFTER you have funded your Younique business out of pocket for months or years.
In the beginning, the cost of a Younique business is substantial. Once a Presenter deducts the cost of products they purchase and other expenses, they will usually find that they are losing money.
One former Younique Presenter estimated that after spending 10 hours on Facebook and Instagram promoting her business day after day, she earned about 36 cents an hour.
A part-time minimum wage job is a better use of your time.
Why You Will Lose Money with the Younique Opportunity.
It’s designed to convince you that you have a chance to earn a lot of money and to enjoy an exclusive lifestyle when really, the only chance you have is to spend money.
Younique Presenters lose money because they have been misled.
Younique promises opportunity but only delivers expense as you mistakenly buy products thinking you are building a business.
The Psychology of $99.
Younique marketing exploits several psychological vulnerabilities in the human mind, including incremental manipulation and cult-like groupthink.
Cosmetics can be fun, and everyone wants to be attractive.
Younique promises you a business where you can make money helping other people look their best and feeling good about themselves. And it will only cost you $99.
You might be led to believe that all you have to do is share the products, and you can make money, build a business, and earn a luxury car.
After you pay the $99 and get in, you now BELONG in the Younique community.
Soon after joining, you discover that you also have to “qualify.” If you buy another $500 of product, you can advance in rank to the Yellow level.
Do you bail and cut your losses at $99 and LEAVE the community, or do you buy $500 in product and advance?
Most people would buy $500 worth of product and advance, because they want to BELONG and because they want to believe they made the right decision when they spent $99 for a starter kit.
That’s how Younique gets you.
Younique Products.
Younique offers an extensive catalog of makeup, skincare, and fragrance products.
Online, the consensus of Younique products appears to be that they are over-priced and inferior to competing products.
It seems their client base is mostly made up of women who have little to no experience with makeup or MLM.
Complaints about Younique products include burning sensations on the skin, foul odors, temporary blindness, thin foundations, and kiss-proof lipstick that smears.
In August of 2019, Younique paid $3.25 million to settle a California class-action lawsuit for deceptive marketing when it was discovered their Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes mascara contained shredded nylon fibers instead of “100% Natural Green tea Fibers” as advertised.
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Killer Competition.
Younique’s products are not original.
There is an abundance of competition from other MLMs, retail outlets, and online stores. Much of the competing products offer higher quality at a lower price.
Most women prefer to buy their makeup from a department store or salon where they can sample the products and get advice from an experienced makeup artist.
Younique Complaints.
An online search for Younique complaints will turn up plenty. Also, there are a ton of videos on YouTube that are critical of the Younique products and the opportunity.
Search ‘Why I Left Younique.’
However, some of the YouTube videos are bait and switch. They will try to recruit you for another MLM.
Here are a few Younique complaints I found on ConsumerAffairs.com.
Younique is a joke!! They hype OVERPRICED crappy products and screw their lower-level presenters over. -Kristin
Younique makeup gave me cystic acne. -Jenn
The Younique eyeliner made my eyes turn red and puff up. -Deanna.
Younique overcharged my credit card by $1,250. My bank stopped more charges from coming through. Totally disappointed with Younique. -Emily.
Younique’s products are priced like high-end makeup, but the quality isn’t there. The foundation doesn’t last, and the lip stain is mostly gone within an hour. -Jessica
The ‘fibers’ in Younique’s Epic Mascara are the same material in my vinyl furniture repair kit. There are better products out there for the money. -Michele.
What it Takes to Succeed with Younique.
Success with Younique or any MLM is dependent on recruiting a ton of people and funding your business until it can pay for itself.
Funding your business until it is profitable may take years. And most people cannot recruit.
Three Types in MLM.
From a business perspective, there are three types of people in MLM, distributors, managers, and leaders.
A distributor type is part-time. In Younique, they’ll buy the $99 starter kit and maybe the buy their way up to the Yellow Rank. They never recruit anyone. This is probably 80% of the people in Younique.
A distributor will spend the rest of their Younique career, however short it might be, working a few hours a week on their business and never recruiting anyone or earning more than they spend on products.
Then there are the Manager types. These are the people trying to build a downline. They are jumping through all the hoops regardless of what it costs. They are making sales and overrides, but their business still is not earning a profit.
Finally, there are the Leader types; these are the ones who have recruited enough people to find a few superstars. Interestingly, most MLM super earners probably personally recruited less than 100 people and may have only recruited one superstar, if that.
Instead, the superstars rose through the ranks. MLM Leaders leverage their time with the superstars at the expense of everyone else in their organization.
Because, most of the revenue you will earn as a Younique Presenter comes from the Presenters in your organization, the key to success with Younique is your ability to recruit.
Recruiting means persuading someone to spend money they don’t have on an opportunity that isn’t real.
If You Succeed with Younique.
If you manage to rise to the top and earn the big bucks with Younique, your success may be short-lived.
At best, you have built a business inside of a business. You don’t own it, and you don’t control it. You still must dance to the Younique tune.
If Younique goes out of business, so will you.
The Last Word on the Younique Opportunity.
MLM is an antiquated business model that was born in the United States back in the 1940s. It was a time when one-on-one sales made more sense.
Unfortunately, over the years, MLM evolved into a highly exploitive business model that dumps major business expenses on its sales force while taking most of the profits.
People are tired of MLM.
MLM cannot escape its reputation in the online world.
Younique is in decline. Coty paid $600 Million for control of Younique and sold it back just two and a half years later.
According to Wikipedia, one of the reasons Coty sold their Younique shares was because of the growing consumer awareness of the risks of participating in MLM schemes.
With any MLM, not just Younique, you have a 99% chance of failure. The business model is designed to turn you into a customer who is always spending more than you are making.
I understand your desire to make a better life for yourself and the people you love, but Younique is not the answer.
The Crazy Thing About Younique.
Don’t you think it’s crazy to pay Younique for the privilege of selling its products and making the company money?
The MLM industry is the only place where the salespeople must pay the company for the privilege of making the company money.
That is a very twisted way of doing business.
There are thousands of companies who will gladly PAY YOU to sell their products.
Right now, you can sell for Best Buy, Amazon, WalMart, ClickBank and thousands of other companies, and make money 24/7 without breaking a sweat.
It’s called affiliate marketing.
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