Business Venture Review: Beach Body

I want to start off by saying that I can't even believe we are in December and the end of the year is only a few short weeks away. And what a year it has been! I have learned a lot about myself and what I want and I've got a feeling that 2018 is going to bring some amazing things! As you know if you've read some of my previous posts or follow my social media, I have some serious goals! In every aspect of my life. I have fitness goals, financial goals, personal development goals, travel goals, relationship goals... you name it! And I love that. And I highly suggest that if you don't, you get to work!

As part of my financial and future travel goals, I find that having multiple sources of income is best. Which may sound obvious, duh. So I'm always open to new opportunities. I wouldn't want to pass one up when I don't know yet if I would succeed or if it would be a good fit and benefit me. I've been working 2 jobs as a bartender since beginning of the summer. One job is for my monthly expenses and the other is part time and strictly for my savings accounts, which I also recommend having more than one of as well. More recently, I took a job bartending at the Everbank Stadium here in downtown Jacksonville. This is for Jags games and then other events/parties they may host. I am also currently saving to buy a condo here, as I may have mentioned before. I plan to live in the condo until I leave Jacksonville, when I will then rent it out on Airbnb, which will create another source of income for myself.

What I am missing from this equation is something that I would really love to get into, which is making an income in the digital world. AKA: online business. I know there are a million of them out there, as well as a million more claiming to be them. While it may be a risk to jump into any of them, any business venture will be a risk. But you never know, so I am always willing to give things a try.

Something that I tried a couple of months ago, and was my first main attempt and an income from an online business, was with the company Beach Body as a coach. I'm sure most of you have heard of this, know of this, or maybe are even one yourself. But I want to give my honest review and opinion of this online opportunity.

So it started because, as most of you may know as well, I am very into health and fitness and so my social media pages (Instagram @liftlikecharity & Facebook Charity Levy) reflect that. I had started to receive SO many messages and DM's from other coaches asking me if I was a coach as well due to the content on my page. I posted like one, shared my stories and experiences like one, etc. So after receiving so many of these, I was bound to start wondering what the heck this is and maybe I should be one! I was told I was "doing over half the work anyway", so why not?! I love fitness and want to become a certified trainer and nutritionist, so this would be a perfect stepping stone and way to get my feet wet in the business, right?

So I picked one of the coaches that had reached out to me and responded. I actually chose two and responded with conversation to both of them. I thought two different coaches could give me different insights and then if I chose to move forward, I would have the opportunity to pick between the two. So I asked all kinds of questions, of course! I wanted to learn everything I could before deciding on making my investment, which I did end up making and I'll share with you.

What's the cost to be a Beach Body Coach?

To get started, it is an initial investment of $170. I was told that price would "go back up at the end of the month", so whether or not it is still that or at $200+, I'm not sure. This is for a coaching investment, which is $39.95 and then for the product. You can opt to pay only the coaching investment on its own, but then you wouldn't know anything about the product you are selling. The product you get is called a Challenge Pack. It comes with one month of Shakeology, the Beach Body on Demand workouts, as well as portion containers and a blender bottle. Not a bad deal if you plan on using these products and buying them anyway. I did for the purpose of knowing what I'm selling. There is then a $15.95 a month coaching fee, which I was told is to maintain my personal webpage and have access to coaching tools. There is also a point system, where you have to maintain a minimum number of what they call, volume points, each month to remain active. You do this by purchasing products. Most coaches meet this minimum by using Shakeology. They tell you that, as a coach, you should be drinking Shakeology anyway. So if you have this automatically on order where they send you a new bag every month, you don't have to worry about being knocked down to an inactive coach. You do get a discount on all products, which for Shakeology makes it $90 a month. So the fees per month total about $105. There are some people who sign up as coaches and never actually coach anyone or sell any products. They sign up because they like the Beach Body products themselves and this way they can get a discount.

So how do you earn income as a coach?

Well... sell the products, of course. I don't think anyone would question whether the Beach Body workouts are effective. I think most people have heard of at least one of them. P90X, 21 Day Fix, Insanity, Shaun T's workouts and many more. You sell the access to Beach Body on Demand, which holds all of the workouts. It also will automatically update with new workouts as they're released. All in the comfort of your own home. Pretty sweet, right? Then there is Shakeology, which is a superfoods meal replacement shake. They have chocolate, vanilla, latte, and strawberry flavors, and even vegan options as well. This is reviewed to be one of the best superfoods shakes on the market, as far as actual vitamins and minerals acquired from this shake. However, you are paying top dollar for this. The shakes don't run cheap, about $120 a month. They also have a performance line, but from my experience, it didn't seem like it was promoted much, if at all. My impression is that this is because it is not part of the Challenge Pack, and that is what coaches make the most from selling.

Why are there rumors that Beach Body is a scam and a pyramid scheme?

Probably because of the other way coaches earn income. For those of you that don't know, a pyramid scheme is a business model that "promises large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public" (Federal Trade Commission). And if you also don't know, as a Beach Body Coach, the main income source is recruiting other people to join in and be a coach, too, which is why I received so many messages from coaches. However, a pyramid scheme is solely that. There is an important distinction to make there. A true pyramid scheme does not actually profit from products sold to the public. Whereas stated above, Beach Body clearly has a product line that can be sold and that coaches do make a commission off selling. But if you want to become a top coach and make top dollar, it's crucial to create a team under you of other coaches.

The Main Job of a Beach Body Coach

Basically what a Beach Body Coach is told to do as their day to day job is post on social media, be active and engagin (aka.. liking, commenting, following, sending messages on social media), and then coach and mentor their clients and coaches on their team.

Sounds like a good set up. So what happened with my venture? Am I a Beach Body Coach?

I am not. And I'll tell you the main reasons why.

1. I, PERSONALLY, do not care for these products. As a coach, you are essentially required to BE the product. That's why all the coaches are constantly posting themselves drinking their shake and doing their at home workouts. They post about how easy it is to just "click play" and workout for 20-30 minutes in the comfort of their own home, and then drink their delicious and nutritious shake. This is also why all the coaches were messaging me saying I was doing half the work already, because I post about my nutrition and fitness habits.

But my nutrition and fitness habits are mine, they are different, they are not the way of Beach Body. I don't like to workout at home. I'm sure a lot of people find it convenient; I don't. I don't do my best at home. I don't get pumped, excited and worked up and ready to kill my workout by "just pressing play". And I want the variety of equipment. I don't want just a yoga mat and a couple of dumbbells. And not to say you can't get results this way, because you absolutely 100% CAN. But I don't prefer it, and from the stage I'm at in my fitness journey, I wouldn't get optimal results. And it seems that the coaches discourage the gym, as shown with a meme created by a Team Beach Body Coach. And I love the gym. How can I get on board with that? Mind you, I paid $20 to sign up at my gym, plus $20 a month (or you could opt for $10). Mine includes tanning, massage beds and chairs, and group workouts. It's also open 24/7 so I actually workout on my own schedule. So it definitely rubs me the wrong way as an aspiring personal trainer that things like these are created to down play the gym as a whole.

Also, I do not like the shake. At all. It may be because I am used to protein shakes, but it was just thick and chalky and I honestly hated it. I tried different recipes and adding different things to it, but I couldn't find anything that I liked. They also have a whole performance line, which I tried the pre-workout from as well. I did not care for it. The flavor and the texture were not good, and I didn't get any sort of pump that a pre-workout is created to give.

And as part of my job as a coach, I am told to be the proof of the product. You are your product. You're told to drink your shake and press play everyday, and the post about it. But I didn't want to do that. I go to the gym 5-6 days a week for 1-2 hours, and then I drink my protein shake, which I love. And I love posting about those things. It didn't feel authentic to me to be posting about how much I love an at home workout and a superfoods shake, neither of which I actually liked at all.

2. Another thing I didn't like was that anyone could do it. There is no requirement or anything to being a coach. Literally anyone online could message a coach and say "Hey, I see your page and like what you're doing. Can I be a coach with you?", and the answer will be YES! Which to some people, may be an awesome thing. But to me, it's not. I want to become a PROFESSIONAL in the health, wellness, fitness industry. I want to educate myself and have extensive knowledge that others don't, that I can then go and share with other people. Although I didn't do it for long, I didn't feel like a coach, I felt like a Beach Body salesperson, which may normally be fine, except that I didn't personally care for the products.

3. Also, because I do want to become a coach and trainer, that's the part I was most looking forward to. I can't wait to become certified and help people who want to change their life by beginning a fitness routine and healthy eating habits. And I'll be able to personalize something that will work just for them! With this opportunity, I did not like that I was tied to selling this product in order to coach someone. They have to buy a challenge pack in order for me to coach them. I want to be able to tell someone, "I'm certified in fitness and nutrition, and know countless ways that we can get you started and stay on track! Let's work together to see what will work for you." And then we'll do just that! A big sell for coaches is that "all the work is already done for you" by Beach Body. The workouts are made, the nutrition is done, and you just sell. Well, that's what I would be missing. Doing those things and making a tailored plan for someone is part of the process that I want to be a part of, which I didn't get from Beach Body.

4. Lastly, the sales tactics, for both the products and recruiting other coaches. I did not find them genuine, at all. They promote authenticity, which I will say, for being the product themselves, the coaches are absolutely authentic. They really are doing these workouts and drinking these shakes everyday, and I'm pretty sure enjoying it. But when it comes to reaching out to others, I found it insincere and pushy. There's scripts for everything. I literally printed out over 100 pages. Which I understand helps new coaches with guidance on what to say and how to respond to certain situations, but personally, that gives me a vibe of insincere. Also, I'm very uncomfortable reaching out to people, especially old friends, creating a "chit chat" conversation that seems genuine, when in reality the only reason I'm reaching out is to try and sell them something. Which is exactly what I was told to do. You're told to start with your friends list. Look at their page, find a common ground, and message them in regards to something in their life to create "chit chat". You keep that conversation going for a few days, and then hit them with the "By the way, this is going to sound totally random, but..." and try to get them to join your fitness group, where they buy the challenge pack. And that is how you approach it with everyone, but starting with your friends list first. When it comes to recruiting other coaches, you have a set message that you save in your phone that goes something like this: "Hey there, not gonna lie, I totally just stalked your page and I love everything you post! Are you a coach, too?!" Of course each coach personalizes it somewhat to verbiage they would use, but you just go on social media and send that out to as many people as you can. The more people, the more opportunity to find someone to become a coach. So for that, it just felt very monotonous to me. Creating the exact same conversation with as many people as I could.

So there you have it: my Team Beach Body experience. I will say that I don't have anything against Beach Body, the products or the coaches. I don't doubt that there are coaches making legitimate money and creating a team of coaches under them and enjoying what they do. What I am saying is that this opportunity was not for me at all for the reasons above. So if you're looking for an online source of income and have considered being a coach, maybe this can give you some insight as to whether or not it is for you.

I still look forward to becoming certified and joining forces with my boyfriend and creating an online fitness business of our own. We are on Instagram with our business page in anticipation of that if you would like to join us! We're at @getfit_withus_ and we post about health, fitness, nutrition and workout tips! Our business will be real, it will be authentic, it will be 100% us. I want to create workouts and give personalized nutrition advice to people in all stages of their fitness journey. I can't tell you how often in conversation, people ask me if I'm a nutritionist or a personal trainer. In fact, it happened just the other night at the theatre we went to for a Christmas play! And all I can think is, "Not yet, but I can't wait!".

In the mean time, I am still open to sources of online revenue and up for trying different business ventures! If one comes along, you can count me in. And if any of you work from home, making an income online, I would love to hear about it!