The new direct selling company, Willing Beauty, promises you an opportunity to “build a business as big as your heart desires.” But, is Willing Beauty a good opportunity or just another MLM exploiting its Beauty Advocates?
Is Willing Beauty a good opportunity? To properly evaluate the Willing Beauty opportunity, we need to know how much its Beauty Advocates earn after deducting business expenses. Because Willing Beauty withholds this information, it’s doubtful the company offers a genuine opportunity. Caution advised.
To see why we believe you will NOT earn a profit as a Willing Beauty Advocate, continue reading.
Also, watch the video Why You Can’t Win with MLM to see why 99% of the people who try MLM will lose money.
Is Willing Beauty a good opportunity?
If you follow the money as it flows out of the pockets of Willing Beauty Advocates and into the coffers of the company, you will understand all you need to know about Willing Beauty.
Willing Beauty is a privately own company created by the same people who founded the direct sales company Origami Owl, Chrissy and Bella Weems, and Willa Doss and Christy Prunier.
According to Wikipedia, Origami Owl earned $250 Million in annual revenue in 2013.
Willing Beauty launched in 2017 and earned an annual revenue of $7 Million a year later.
Where does this money come from?
According to industry averages, most of it comes from the rank and file salespeople who mistakenly believe they are building a business.
All they are really doing is buying a lot of over-priced products and contributing to the company’s profits.
I am convinced Willing Beauty is NOT a good opportunity.
Later in this article, I present compelling evidence it’s not an opportunity at all.
Why You Can’t Win with MLM (Video).
If you don’t see the video, click Why You Can’t Win with MLM.
You Are the Customer.
The dirty secret of MLM is that the promise of opportunity is really just a marketing trick. The opportunity is slight, at best.
Most MLM salespeople never build a business. Within months of signing on, they realize the so-called opportunity is costing them money, and they quit.
This tragic realization is made worse because most people are drawn to an MLM, like Willing Beauty, because they need to MAKE money. They can’t afford to SPEND it.
When you join Willing Beauty, you must first buy a starter kit. The price of the Willing Beauty starter kit ranges from $49 to $248.
And that’s just the beginning.
As a Beauty Advocate, every month, you must either sell or buy a minimum dollar value of products to stay “qualified” for commissions, overrides, and bonuses.
Buying stuff is always easier than selling stuff, and that’s what most people in MLM do.
They buy their way to qualification each month. Through some convoluted logic, they have been convinced they can make money by spending it.
That is the nature of MLM, and Willing Beauty is no different. It’s a scheme that promises opportunity but turns most people into customers.
Willing Beauty Sells a Dream.
Like every other MLM in the industry, Willing Beauty sells a dream.
Convincing people that Willing Beauty is the way to a better life, is the foundation of Willing Beauty’s success. When someone buys “the dream” Willing Beauty is selling, they become emotionally bonded to the company.
In effect, Willing Beauty’s recruitment is a process of seduction. It makes people fall in love with them. And, as we all know, love is blind.
Once you buy the dream Willing Beauty is selling, you become blind the company’s many faults and red flags. And, you believe there is an opportunity when the facts clearly show there is no opportunity.
Much like a religious cult, MLM fanatics call MLM critics “non-believers.”
FTC Warning.
The Federal Trade Commission warns that not all MLM is legitimate.
It cautions people to ask questions before signing up for an MLM. Specifically, find out how much most people make with the opportunity after deducting business expenses.
Also, the FTC reminds us that if an MLM pushes recruiting as a way to make money, it may be a pyramid scheme, which is illegal.
The Willing Beauty Unstated Objective.
If you fall for the Willing Beauty sales pitch, you might conclude the company was created to help you succeed. But that isn’t true.
Chrissy and Bella Weems, and Willa Doss and Christy Prunier are veteran multi-level marketers. By any measure, their original MLM company, Origami Owl, is outrageously successful earning $250 Million in 2013.
No one creates an MLM to help others. MLMs are not charities.
MLMs are created because they can be extremely profitable for the people who own the company. Origami Owl is a case in point.
MLMs are incredibly profitable for the owners because the company takes most of the profit while dumping most of the expenses on salespeople.
Only in MLM are the salespeople expected to pay the company for the privilege of making the company money.
The unstated goal of Willing Beauty is to maximize profits. There’s nothing evil about maximizing profits. It’s what every properly managed corporation does.
Unfortunately, the MLM business model maximizes profits by forcing its Advocates to pay the company for the privilege of making the company money and to continue paying the company at every level of the Compensation Plan.
In other words, the MLM business model attracts people with the promise of a business opportunity but treats them like customers.
Willing Beauty Overview.
The company’s marketing material claims it’s a “better-for-you beauty company” committed to safer skincare products and flexible entrepreneurship opportunities for women.
A closer look reveals a different story.
Because Willing Beauty is a direct selling company with an extensive multi-level compensation plan, it’s fair to describe it as a multi-level marketing company or MLM.
There are several reasons why I am convinced if you try the Willing Beauty business opportunity, you will only lose money.
However, the biggest reason I advise caution is that Willing Beauty intentionally fails to provide an Earning Disclosure.
Willing Beauty Products.
Willing Beauty offers skincare, anti-aging, and anti-acne products, which it claims are made with simple formulas that deliver proven results.
Willing Beauty products include Face Wash, Acne treatment, Lip gloss, and an “Age-defying” night serum.
Prices range from $12, for the lip gloss, up to over $170 for a full skincare system.
Because the sale of a Willing Beauty product must generate enough commission for 15 levels of upline, ask yourself; “How much value can there possibly be in the product.”
The Willing Beauty Earning Disclosure.
To conform to the Direct Selling Association Code of Ethics
and the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendations, an MLM must publish an Earning Disclosure, sometimes known as an Income Disclosure.
An Earning Disclosure is the historical record of how much the company actually paid its salespeople in a given tax year.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, such a disclosure should be verifiable and include the impact of average business expenses as well.
An Income Disclosure will prove one of two things. It will show that the Willing Beauty opportunity is real and that most people make money with it.
Or, it will prove that the Willing Beauty opportunity is NOT real, and most people DO NOT make money with it.
An Earning Disclosure is the only way someone can determine if the Willing Beauty opportunity is genuine. Without it, we must conclude the opportunity is NOT real.
If most people did make money with the Willing Beauty opportunity, we could reasonably expect the company to publish an Earning Disclosure.
Do Most People Make Money with Willing Beauty?
Probably not.
It’s one thing to make money and something else to make a profit. Remember, profit isn’t what you make. It’s what you keep.
Because Willing Beauty intentionally withholds the Earning Disclosure, we can reasonably assume it would prove that most people DO NOT make money with the opportunity.
Not only does Willing Beauty withhold the information we need to properly evaluate the opportunity. The company will terminate any Beauty Advocate who reveals how much she is earning or is failing to earn.
In Paragraph 4.7 of the Origami Owl Family of Brands Policy and Procedures document, which includes Willing Beauty, it states that Income Claims are Prohibited.Read Paragraph 4.7.
A Failure of Ethics?
Hiding the precise information required to evaluate the Willing Beauty business opportunity and preventing anyone from telling how much they are earning or FAILING TO EARN violates the DSA Code of Ethics
See Section A, Paragraph 8 Earnings Representations
This policy also ignores the FTC recommendation to “ask for written information about how much money most people make (after expenses are deducted).”
What Origami Owl Can Tell Us.
Ironically, Origami Owl, the founder’s original MLM, did publish an Earning Disclosure for 2017, although only active Advocates were counted, leaving out an estimated 80% of Advocates who made nothing at all.
According to the Origami Owl Earning Disclosure, only .07% of Advocates earned a full-time income.
Remember that percentage, .07%, because it is probably the best-case scenario.
Apparently, most Origami Owl Advocates do not earn much. I doubt Willing Beauty Advocates do any better.
Perhaps the founders realized the Earning Disclosure reveals too much and chose to hide it for Willing Beauty.
The Willing Beauty Compensation Plan.
Instead of an Earning Disclosure, Willing Beauty offers a Compensation Plan, which they call the Willing Beauty Career Plan.
However, a Compensation Plan/Career Plan and an Earning Disclosure are NOT the same things.
A Compensation Plan/Career Plan is NOT a legal document.
It is part of the company’s marketing strategy.
And, it is designed to create the illusion that a lot of money can be made with the Willing Beauty business opportunity.
In truth, based on industry averages, only a tiny fraction of salespeople ever makes a profit.
The Willing Beauty Career Plan is designed to benefit the company at the expense of the rank and file salespeople, aka Beauty Advocates.
How the Plan Exploits Beauty Advocates.
Jeff Babaner, an MLM attorney and founder of MLMLegal.com, says,
“It’s important that a compensation plan is perceived to be fair. Its purpose is to influence behavior to maximize sales volume, production, and retention.”
The Willing Beauty Career Plan creates the illusion that success is possible when very few salespeople earn a profit.
Contrary to this marketing trick, the Plan’s excessive levels and rules not only prevents most people from succeeding, but it also causes most people to lose money.
It may drive some into debt.
Out of respect for the Willing Beauty copyrights, I will not reproduce the Career Plan here.
You can open the Willing Beauty Career Plan in a new tab and follow along as I point out what you need to know about it.
You’ll find the Plan on page 77 of the ORIGAMI OWL FAMILY OF BRANDS Independent Business Owner Policies & Procedures JULY 2018.
It’s worth noting that the Willing Beauty Career Plan is on the very last page of the Policy and Procedures document, where few people will see it.
Once you have an open tab with the Willing Beauty Career Plan, look at the 3rd column over from the left, the purple column titled “Requirements.”
The first sub-column under “Requirements” is “Personal Sales.”
Starting at the very bottom of Personal Sales, you’ll see that a Beauty Advocate must generate 75 PV in personal sales.
Willing Beauty does not disclose the dollar value of 75 PV, but we’ll assume it’s $75.
Hiding the dollar value of PV is yet another trick Willing Beauty uses to conceal the actual cost of its opportunity.
Although Beauty Advocates are legally independent contractors, Willing Beauty treats them like unpaid employees who must perform.
If they don’t perform, Beauty Advocates are penalized.
The requirements are highly manipulative and expensive.
MLM is the only business model that expects its commission salespeople to jump through hoops to qualify.
Notice that the PV requirement quickly increases from 75PV to 250 PV. An Advocate must either sell or buy that much stuff every month to stay qualified.
Willing Beauty makes it easy to always qualify by signing up for the No Brainer Replenishment Program.
This is an auto-ship program where a Beauty Advocate agrees to purchase products on a regular schedule and their credit card is automatically charged.
Once you understand how the Willing Beauty Compensation Plan is a marketing tool designed to sell the dream, you can easily answer the question; Is Willing Beauty a Good Opportunity?
BEWARE the Hamster Wheel of Death!
Once you join Willing Beauty, you’re running on a hamster wheel of death.
If you fail to perform, you may lose all you’ve built with the company (See ORIGAMI OWL FAMILY OF BRANDS Independent Business Owner Policies & Procedures JULY 2018 pages 34&35 of the paragraph 8.4.2)
Referring back to the Willing Beauty Career Plan, at the bottom, Beauty Advocate level, look across to the far right. You’ll see an “estimated” monthly earnings of $19.
Now, imagine when you signed on, you purchased the Willing Beauty Works Enrollment Set for $248 and enrolled in the No Brainer Replenishment Program for $75, so you are always “qualified.”
For all that and your time, plus the cost of running your business, you earned an “estimated” $19.
In this context, “estimated” means hypothetical. In other words, imaginary. Willing Beauty offers no evidence for these income estimates.
That’s just part of the marketing illusion.
Where Most People Quit.
The second level up from the bottom is the Senior Beauty Advocate.
This level requires that you generate 100 PV ($100?) and begin building a team by recruiting someone.
Also, now you’re responsible for 500 Team Volume ($500?).
The Willing Beauty Hamster Wheel of Death is spinning faster.
The good news is, after all that, plus your time and other business expenses, you might earn an “estimated” $49 for the month.
Recruiting is difficult. Most people can’t do it and never get beyond the entry-level.
Not only is recruiting to challenging for most people, it is growing more difficult each day.
There is overwhelming information online that proves MLM does not work for most people. The investment website, SeekingAlpha.com, reports MLM sales and recruitment are flat or falling.
Perhaps the most damaging critique of MLM is the Showtime series, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida.” The series, witch describes MLM as a “pyramide scheme,” is watched by over 400 million viewers worldwide.
Most people who try MLM will lose money and quit after a month or two. Very few continue past the first year.
In other words, most people will probably join Willing Beauty because they’re excited about the opportunity.
Then, while they’re mesmerized by the company’s marketing illusion, they’ll spend too much on a starter kit, sign up for auto-ship, buy $75+ of product to “qualify,” and never recruit a soul.
They’ll fizzle and quit after spending money they couldn’t afford to lose.
Meanwhile, Willing Beauty made a profit.
Look into the Future.
Remembering, of course, that the earnings estimates are based on nothing, follow the right green column up to $2,565.
This is the level that might “hypothetically” produce a living income BEFORE you factor in other business expenses like gas, phone, internet service, and self-employment taxes.
Now, look over to the left of the Willing Beauty Career Plan.
Before you can “hypothetically” earn $2,565 in a month as a Director, you must first either buy or sell $500 worth of products, personally sponsor 7 qualified Beauty Advocates.
Also, your team must have bought or sold $50,000 of products.
The Willing Beauty Hamster Wheel of Death is smok’n and throwing sparks!
You’re over halfway up the Willing Beauty Career Plan, generating worlds of business for the company, but income-wise, you’re just squeaking by.
And, that’s as good as it gets with Willing Beauty’s imaginary income numbers!
The income numbers are hypothetical, but the PV and TV numbers are real. In this example, I’ve assumed that 1 PV or 1 TV equals $1 because Willing Beauty doesn’t tell us.
Willing Beauty Makes the Rules.
If you are considering the Willing Beauty business opportunity, you owe it to yourself to first read the entire ORIGAMI OWL FAMILY OF BRANDS Independent Business Owner Policies & Procedures JULY 2018.
The one takeaway from reading the Policies & Procedures is that Willing Beauty makes the rules.
If you play its game, you are at a distinct disadvantage.
At every level of the Willing Beauty Career Plan, the company makes money. Unfortunately, at every level, except for the top few, the Beauty Advocate loses money when you factor all business expenses.
The game is rigged against you. That’s the nature of MLM.
How Much Can You Really Earn with Willing Beauty?
You might make money if you sell the products. However, when you factor in your expenses, you’ll probably find you lost money.
In other words, you failed to earn a profit.
This is typical of MLM, and Willing Beauty has not offered any evidence that it is different.
Although Willing Beauty does not reveal how much their Beauty Advocates truly earn, we can look at the industry averages to get an idea.
It’s not pretty.
Dr. Jon Taylor, Ph.D., a business analyst, and former high-ranking MLM distributor, investigated the top 300 MLM companies in North America.
He published the results of his study in 2011. You can find his research on the FTC website.
Through his in-depth study, Dr. Taylor concluded that, on average, only about .4% of people who try MLM earn a profit.
Because Willing Beauty conceals how much its Advocates earn, we can assume their income is no better than the average for the MLM industry.
At this point, we know that there is a 100% chance the Willing Beauty opportunity will cost you money, and less than a 1% chance you will earn a profit.
Your odds are better at the nearest casino. A minimum wage job would be a better use of your time.
Tracy Coenen, Corporate Fraud Investigator.
Meet Tracey L. Coenen, Corporate Fraud Investigator.
The awful truth about MLM is now widely known, thanks to the efforts of people like Tracey Coenen.
Ms. Coenen is a forensic accountant and a member of the bar association. She specializes in corporate fraud and is a long-time critic of the multi-level marketing industry.
An author and college professor, Ms. Coenen wrote: “Expert Fraud Investigation,” published by Wiley & Sons.
No one is more qualified to evaluate the MLM industry.
On her website, SequenceInc.com, Ms. Coenen borrows from the research of fellow MLM critic, Dr. Jon Taylor.
In her article, “How Does MLM Affect People?” she makes the following unfortunate points about MLM and how it can severely damage people’s lives.
Willing Beauty Competition.
There is probably a legitimate market for people teaching others how to properly care for their skin and look their best.
However, there is overwhelming competition for the niche.
Every Walmart, drug store, and grocery store carries established skincare brands. Plus, countless online stores offer the same thing.
YouTube has thousands of skincare video pushing products.
Also, there are dozens of MLMs promoting skincare products. And, each one claims its products are unique and magical.
MLMs not only compete against Willing Beauty for retail sales, but for recruiting new Advocates.
MLMs that Offer Skin Care Products.
Each of the MLMs listed below are directly competing with Willing Beauty. This is not a complete list.
Skin Care & Makeup MLMs
- 1Aloette
- 2Arbonne
- 3Avon
- 4Beautycounter
- 5Beauty Society
- 6Become Beauty
- 7BeneYou
- 8Black Box Cosmetics
- 9Celadon Road
- 10Color Street
- 11dōTERRA
- 12EVER (Stella & Dot)
- 13Isagenix
- 14JAFRA
- 15Jeunesse
- 16Jordan Essentials
- 17L’BRI
- 18Lemongrass Spa
- 19Mary Kay
- 20Maskcara Beauty
- 21Monat
- 22Neora
- 23Noevir
- 24NuSkin
- 25NYR Organic
- 26Plexus
- 27PURE Haven
- 28Red Aspen
- 29Rodan & Fields
- 30Scentsy
- 31SeneGence
- 32Sweet Minerals
- 33Tori Belle
- 34TruAura
- 35Youngevity
- 36Younique
It worth noting, that the above MLMs are structured much like Willing Beauty and have similar rules that turn their so-called Advisors/Consultants into unpaid employees and customers.
Like Willing Beauty, the above MLMs will charge you for the privilege of making the company money, and they require you to continual qualify by either selling or buying products.
The Last Word on Willing Beauty.
The internet will probably be the end of multi-level marketing. MLM is an old-fashion business model that never worked for the little guy.
We’ve seen that Willing Beauty has pages of rules and policies that favor the company at the expense of the Advocate.
The company hides how much its Advocates earn and prohibits any Advocate from telling the truth about their earnings.
With so much secrecy, we are forced to assume that Willing Beauty Advocates earn the industry average, which is to say most of them earn nothing at all. In fact, most of them probably lose money.
To paraphrase fraud investigator Tracy L. Coenen, MLM is a game you can’t win.
Not only has the internet exposed MLM for what it is, but it has also given most people their best chance at financial freedom.
Is Willing Beauty a Good Opportunity? It’s not an opportunity at all.
The future is Affiliate Marketing.
Why Affiliate Marketing is Better than MLM.
There are dozens of reasons Affiliate Marketing is better than MLM. I list a few below.
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Why Affiliate Marketing is Better than MLM |
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A Real Opportunity.
An Affiliate Marketer is truly independent. For sure, it takes work, but there are no hoops to jump through, and the only expenses are the cost of doing business.
Once established, a solo Affiliate Marketer can outsell an entire multi-level marketing team and keep all the commissions for herself.
Unlike Willing Beauty or any other MLM, an affiliate marketer does not pay the company for the privilege of making the company money.
Instead, the company PAYS you!
Affiliate Marketers don’t recruit people either.
Instead of recruiting friends and family into a team, an affiliate uses software and proven business principles to make money 24/7.
Once you have the skills, you can always make money.
The skills you acquire as an Affiliate Marketer are precious too. You can use these skills to create countless income streams.
Discover how with my FREE coaching.
My FREE coaching is only available through the links on this website. Because the number of people I can help is limited, I may remove this offer soon.
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An amazing course. Go through all the training. If you get stuck, ask questions. Do each and every lesson. It’s very interesting and very rewarding.
Hani – Affiliate Marketer
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Suggested Reading:
- Why Affiliate Marketing is Better than MLM.
- Is Xyngular a Good Opportunity?
- The Heartbreak of MLM.
If you would like to join the conversation about Willing Beauty, please leave a comment below. Thank you.