Well, sadly, I told you so. A few months ago, I was announcing that Rodan & Fields was switching to an affiliate model. And then, the month before that it was Saint Makeup. And then before that, it was Beautycounter.
Now my very own network marketing company, Beachbody, is making the shift.
Announcement about Beachbody shifting to an affiliate model
To say 95% or more of the company is shocked would be an understatement. But if you’ve been following my podcast episodes or following me on Instagram, you know I’ve been preaching this for a long time. I have been very transparent about my journey with Beachbody, and I said I was gonna ride the wave until it crashed on the shore.
And, well, my friend, that time has come. As of September 30, 2024, Beachbody has announced that they are shifting to an affiliate model from their multilevel marketing model that has been in place for nearly 2 decades. By doing so, it will reduce costs and they’ll expand their distribution channels, for example, to Amazon, which will lower their revenue break even point by approximately 47%.
Details on Beachbody’s transition scheduled for September 30, 2024.
Now, in my personal opinion, I think they’re being a little overzealous with their expectations, especially given that majority of their customer base is the Coaching Network. If you found out your livelihood was going to be gone in a matter of 30 days, would you be real quick to continue to support the company? No.
You’d most likely be pissed off. I can tell you straight up as someone who has multiple business centers, and, yes, the way it works is that you need to have personal volume flowing in from each, whether it’s your own products coming in or sales. I know that I will be canceling all orders for the foreseeable future.
First of all, I have more than enough product to keep me going for months, and I also have better product lines and brands that I’ve partnered with in the last few years that have and will pay me more to promote them.
Not only that, but how do you say that you’re going to break even when you really don’t have anything revolutionary coming out when it comes to products or programming. And you’re talking about how you’re gonna be selling your supplements on Amazon.
Challenges in Network Marketing
Amazon is known to have issues with companies selling janky products that are past their goodbye date. One of the major selling points of Beachbody was that they were a brand that you could trust.
Now you’re diluting the brand by expanding the distribution channels, so who’s to say you won’t dilute the actual product? I will give the company a little pass though, and it’s that part of network marketing is getting very, very difficult.
Increasing difficulty in network marketing due to FTC regulations.
Considerably more difficult than it was when I first started, which was almost 11 years ago. The FTC is making an uphill battle for all network marketing companies.
Truthfully, I think it’s because the powers that be want to control us. And I can tell you that since pretty much 2019, 2020, it has gotten a lot worse. People loved working from home and were really open to the idea of social selling. They’re like, wait. I can make income from anywhere in the country, especially by promoting products that I already use and love? Sign me up.
But if you’re making money, and for some of us, like myself, a substantial amount of money, and you’re able to avoid state income taxes in certain states because you’re paid on a 10.99, it’s an no brainer.
Financial advantages like avoiding state income taxes.
You think it’s any mistake that so many top coaches within my own network marketing company, Beachbody, aka BODi, live in states like Florida, Texas, and Nevada, that’s a 10% savings for us as the business owner, but it’s not to the government’s gain. And we all know the government wants you at work.
Not only do they collect those extra taxes, but they’re controlling your kids and the schools with the education they’re receiving because you can’t be at home watching and teaching them. They also control you medically by having requirements for vaccines to have those kids in those said schools in many states.
Plus, less time with your kids equates to breaking up the family unit. Control, control, control. When BODi decided to go public, these regulatory restrictions, they got even worse. If you wanna be on the New York Stock Exchange, you need to play by the game and play by the rules.
This includes their stupid DEI nonsense. We went from a badass company with physically challenging workouts like p 90x and Insanity to telling everyone that everybody is a beachbody.
Okay. Sure. And introducing new workouts that honestly barely made you break out in a sweat. Okay? And I’m not saying that was all programming, because I still stand by what we do as a company.
And there are phenomenal trainers and there are phenomenal programs, but the overall messaging was just weak, in my opinion. And not to mention, if you know you know, and that’s why you’re here, they were real quick to change the logo to a rainbow come June, but yet make no mention of Memorial Day for the soldiers who died so those people could have their freedoms to celebrate and have their parades, etcetera.
And as you can imagine, these were some of the final nails in the coffin for me. I think what irritates me the most about this whole situation is that I was censored for speaking out on all of this for a very, very long time.
I’ve always been the black sheep of the network. You know, one of those who financially did really well, but would never be like the quote unquote face in the challenge groups or walking across stage. Right?
Because I did go against the grain quite frequently.
Regulatory Pressures and Corporate Actions
I saw the writing on the wall and especially in the last, yeah, I would say year and a half, I became even more vocal. I was trying to warn people about what was coming because I was so frustrated with how I was being silenced and how the powers that be, whether it was corporate mentors or leaders within the network, they were gaslighting everyone.
You know, if I spoke up, I was getting messages sent to me like, hey, Maren. Can you please just send those message to me directly or privately? Like, I don’t I don’t want the group to get stirred up or, you know, have chaos.
And it’s like, seriously? Like, are you kidding me? I’m speaking the truth and you’re so worried about me, like, fear mongering within the chat? No.
I’m just telling it how it is. And you don’t want people to know how it is. You want them to keep their freaking heads in the sand. And, you know, they would try to convince everyone that everything was rainbows and lollipops, and it wasn’t.
And now I’m seeing leaders in the network, like, they’re promoting their new opportunity to people, whether it’s another network marketing company or some sort of digital marketing course. Like, read the room, bro.
People are blindsided right now. Not to mention, we just had a catastrophic hurricane this past week with 100s of lives lost, 100s and and thousands and thousands impacted without power, without water.
Oh, and we have a strike going on at the freaking ports right now that will impact how we feed our families, get gas, etcetera. Your, quote, unquote, better hustle and tactics are gross.
My dear friend Kayla said it best, jumping the moment this news drops. To pitch one’s opportunity is not because one cares about the person they are talking to. It’s because they’re thinking about aligning their own pockets because that is what the business model depends on, and being an opportunist in the wake of devastation is peak gross.
It’s like telling someone whose spouse just passed away to get on a dating app because there are, quote, opportunities. Now to be transparent, I have been promoting my own personal coaching and mentorship, plus my UGC workshops for months and months leading up to this day. But I’ve also been telling you and warning you that this was gonna happen.
Maren’s Experience and Observations
I didn’t try to gaslight you and pretend that it wasn’t. I knew it was coming, which was one of the big catalyst as to why I went back to the golf industry. Last year when I had the news of being pregnant again.
Like, do you think I really want to be teaching 115 real field degrees at 9 months pregnant? No. But I knew ultimately this was coming. I had a feeling it would be either the Q4 or within the Q1 of 2025. I did not think that they would do it right before they have these leaders going on a cruise. That’s gonna be awkward, but, c’est la vie, here we are.
Corporate leaders and their potential foreknowledge of changes.
I literally just saw a leader in the network saying that she’s been working on a new project for the past 9 months because she felt things were going this way, And she’s so glad she can finally talk about it.
Listen. I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night. You cannot tell me that all of the leaders in the network didn’t know about this. I’m not convinced. I don’t care what acting job they put on and and oh my gosh. Like, crying this and that. Like, I’m sorry.
Were many bamboozled like I was? Yes. Of course. Okay? But am I really supposed to believe that people didn’t know? And people talk. Right? Like, that’s just how this industry is.
Am I really supposed to believe that when 2 of our top leaders are best friends with one of the trainers? Like, literally staying in her home, in the cast of her newest programming star.
You’re trying to tell me that that information didn’t slip out? Get out of here with that. Another coach who’s been in the network forever, she’s dating another one of the trainers. Oh, and side note, all 3 of these people recently joined the same management team.
Like, to me, this is insider training. This is like Nancy Pelosi 2.0. And I don’t blame these people for protecting their own tail, but I also don’t believe in coincidences. And I wanna know, like, what did you know and how do you put your head on the pillow at night knowing that you literally are living the way that you do because of the Joe Schmoes who’ve been promoting your program and literally just had their income ripped out from underneath them? Like, I don’t I don’t know how they sleep.
Now I’ve been told this isn’t the case, that no one saw this coming, which may be very true. They could have been just like me and seen the writing on the wall and prepared properly. Right? And Wallace Caesar, who is one of, in my opinion, the best trainer we have in the network for the programming. He recently posted about this whole debacle.
And and he asked he’s like, how do you feel about these changes?
And he said, quote, in my opinion, this was needed and helps the company expand to reach a new audience. The old model wasn’t sustainable and changes had to be made.
Now I pray that I’m wrong, but, like, how are some of the largest leaders in the network? How are they already shopping around to other network marketing companies? And I know for a fact that other network marketing companies will pay you to go over.
They have sign up bonuses because they want you to bring your downline. We all know shady business has been going on, and no one spoke out to the little guys, if you will, in the downline.
Now you have lots of shocked and quite frankly angry people who are out of work, including 33% of the company who were working with the partner network. Right?
Speaking of which, I just wanna give a sidebar here. I’m so freaking dang proud of myself for standing my ground last year.
So last year, a business opportunity came up, one that many of you are familiar with because you know that I’m obsessed with the products. I actually talked about it on my stories again today. And many leaders in the network tried, honestly, narking on me and others for joining this company and promoting the products.
There was so much unfounded fear mongering going around. And when I approached corporate’s legal team for answers in writing, received crickets in response. Because I had people saying, oh, you can’t do that. You can’t do that. Like, that goes against policies and procedures, yada yada yada.
And then when I basically stood up for myself and called BS and went to corporate, I didn’t get a response. And I feel bad and sad for those coaches who were bullied into not signing up with the company because not only would they have changed their skin, but it also would have changed their bank account.
The misconception that new opportunities will be easier for those uncomfortable with sales
And that’s why when Beachbody sent out a survey to their partners, this is the response they got. They said 44% said they aren’t comfortable sharing the business opportunity. Now included in this nearly half of the company percentage of partners are people like me who didn’t feel comfortable sharing the opportunity because I don’t see a positive future for network marketing.
I mean, if you don’t feel comfortable sharing the business opportunity though, like, for me, I didn’t share it because I didn’t see a future for network marketing. But a lot of people didn’t share it because they’re just afraid of sales. And I feel really bad for those people because they’re being pitched to now that, like, oh, this is great.
You didn’t wanna build a team, but you can still, you know, share your links. And it’s, like, well, one of the major pieces of network marketing and and what we did and and building a team, it’s sales.
So, yes, you’re not building a team, but you still have to be heavily involved with sales and sharing your link and knowing the product. You still have to do those same things. The downside is now you can’t duplicate yourself, which is the bread and butter for earnings in network marketing.
So these people, they’re getting, once again, gaslit. This is like the freaking buzzword of the podcast, but it’s the truth. They’re getting gaslit into thinking, like, oh, this is great.
This is so good for you. And it’s like, they’re not gonna do much with it, bro. Like, you and I know that. But you’re trying to, like, soften the blow to these people, and that’s just not the truth.
Their income is gonna be heavily impacted.
Now the upside for those who are no longer under the thumb of network marketing is that you can take all of the skills you’ve acquired over the years and transfer them into other arenas, like I have, quite frankly, where you’re not working for pennies or, in some cases for freaking free.
As a Beachbody coach, I would spend 1,000s of dollars creating content for my challenge groups, which was a free resource for anyone who had signed up underneath my account. These groups were offered also to my leads, you know, people who I didn’t even know.
But it was just something that I provided. And in the past, like, you could never charge for these groups and and or your support. You were the free freaking customer support and FAQ and content provider.
But now as an affiliate, that stronghold they had over their partners, that’s gone, and you can do that. There are also other opportunities, like the one I’ve been mentoring my clients in for months, like UGC, where brands will pay you upfront for your photography, storytelling, and videography skills.
Well, network marketing was great if you were truly a strong mentor, like I was, because you should be teaching people how to duplicate your success, albeit on a relative scale, but it had its downsides as well.
Like, if your team wasn’t finding success, then your finances would take a major dip too. They’re not lying when they say only 0.01% hit those major financial benchmarks within direct sales, like I did in being in the Millionaire’s Club.
And I’m grateful to say that I was one of those people, but it wasn’t without putting in a ton of work to get there. And micromanaging a downline can be physically and mentally draining. I have seen friendships and families torn apart because of it.
It’s been pretty freaking cool, I will say, to see the women I’ve been helping with UGC get wins right out the gate. After the news dropped yesterday, I got a message from a partner who is in my downline that took my UGC workshop.
She said, “the one thing that drove me away from Beachbody was having my downline create my success and income. I was only successful when x y z partner was successful. I don’t do well relying on other people’s success, but maybe that’s just me.”
That isn’t just her. That is most people. She went on to say, I’m killing it with UGC. Already level 2 with 8 certifications, and I just got the cold plunge gig, which, by the way, I will say because I have the same ice plunge. I got it for through my UGC, is a $500 retail.
Do you know how many freaking challenge packs you would have to sell to get that? In UGC, you’re getting paid upfront regardless of buys who buys through the company’s links. Right? Like, this is to your benefit y’all. You come first, not the large corporation.
And I just wanna share one more testimony of UGC because this one really hit me this week. It’s coming from someone who needed income but never wanted to get involved with network marketing for all the reasons most people don’t.
She said, quote, “I know I sound like a broken record, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for the UGC training. It really is going to help change our life since income with agriculture is so volatile due to markets. I love that I can take it as far as I want and not worry about always having to reach the next goal to stay pertinent.”
Gratitude for personal growth and professional achievements
And in closing, I wanna say, I am very grateful for Beachbody. The people I’ve met and grown alongside, how it strengthened my relationships with others and as a business mentor.
I’ll truly treasure my memories from the trips, annual summits, and more. I’ll never forget being able to have my mom there, my daughter, going on trips with my husband, showing him, like, the payoff of all the hard work and sacrifice that I made.
I love how it changed my family’s life and health. It launched my entrepreneurial side, and I believe that God puts people and opportunities in our lives for a reason. There’s no doubt that he did that with Beachbody for me. And this is just the beginning. It is not the end. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode.
Reach out to me on Instagram to continue the conversation. I’m gonna keep you up to date with what’s going on because I know this will impact so many of my listeners. And I know that even if you’re not involved with my particular network marketing company, that you could find yourself in the same position with yours.
And I want you to be prepared and have a plan b for your multiple streams of income. I do not want people taking advantage of you.
We need to make sure we protect ourselves from those opportunists and those grifters because they are out there. I’m already getting the emails. The DMs are starting for people.
The, oh, I’m so sorry this happened to you post, and I want you to see through that, and I’m here to support you and help you navigate that process.
Sign Up for Maren’s UGC Workshop
