Melaleuca is one of the biggest and longest running MLM programs to date and over that period has accumilated a lot of positive feedback and “some” controversies. If you’ve been considering starting a business with this MLM, then this post will help you understand how this program works and cover the most common questions people have including:
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- If it’s really a scam/pyramid scheme.
- How to make money with the Melaleuca MLM program.
- The pros and cons.
- Costs to get started.
- And if there’s better alternatives (in my opinion, there are other options which may be better suited depending on your goals).
The quick overview:
- Name: Melaleuca
- Pricing: Costs range from $19.95 to buying various products.
- What is it? An MLM company that helps people start their own businesses via selling (mainly) wellness products and recruiting other members into the organization.
- Is it a scam? No it’s legit in my opinion (not a pyramid scheme).
- Rating: 60 out of 100 points
Do I recommend Melaleuca? Somewhat:
I do believe that Melaleuca is a legitimate MLM that you can potentially create a successful business from. However there are several objective things to consider before starting in my opinion:
- The word “MLM” often gets a bad rep in my personal experience, even with legit MLMs out there
- Selling MLM products is not that easy generally speaking
- Recruiting people into MLM programs is generally tougher to do in my opinion than other business models
Bottom line: I run a successful online business and have experimented with many different models, including MLM. Overall, I think Melaleuca is legit but the whole MLM model makes it more difficult to succeed in my opinion and there are better options out there.
Better alternatives? Yes in my opinion (More info on that below).
Summary of the Melaleuca program:
According to several sources (source 1, source 2, source 3), Melaleuca is a very popular MLM company which helps individuals start their own businesses through 2 primary methods:
- Selling Melaleuca products (mainly wellness products)
- Recruiting people into the MLM and earning money from each referral as well as those referrals bringing others in (building a downline basically).
Joining the company is fairly easy to start with as there is a $19.95 membership access you can get. Additionally you can earn points from referrals to use as discounts on their products in the process.
Making good money with this company essentially revolves around how well you can sell their products and/or recruit people into it, as well as help your referrals get others in. The more products/recruits you can bring in, the more you can make. Their compensation model is pretty straight forward compared to other compensation plans I’ve seen from other MLMs but I would strongly recommend reading it if you are serious about joining.
Pros:
- This is a long running MLM program
- The reviews are OK as per Trustpilot (3.5 out of 5 stars)
- Good customer service
- There are success stories of people building good businesses with Melaleuca.
- Costs to start a business with Melaleuca are far LESS than normal businesses (less risk)
Cons:
- MLM stigma and steriotypes may make it more tough to recruit people into the company
- Although the reviews are decent from the above source, you will also find mixed ones there too
- While the products are good, it’s tough to sell them when there are cheaper alternatives on the market (source)
- In my opinion the ways you can sell Melaleuca products are a bit restrictive (see their policies here).
- Promoting MLM companies in my experience/research is generally very difficult.
My final thoughts on Melaleuca and possibly better alternatives:
As someone who runs a full time online business, has experienced and reviewed countless business/online business opportunities (including MLMs), I have to say that Melaleuca can provide people with opportunities to build their own businesses in a topic that is very evergreen (wellness). However because of the MLM aspect, there are 3 obstacles I personally see:
1) The actual word MLM (bad history): No matter how legit an MLM is, that word still carries a stigma, making many people defensive and harder to sell to in my experience.
2) Selling MLM products isn’t easy: Even if they are good there are also other alternatives which may be cheaper, so you need to be able to convince people why THESE products are ideal.
3) Recruiting people into MLMs is tough: I’ve made many sales and had people join companies through me, but never through the MLM/downline process because I just find it to be very difficult to do. Getting recruits to join is certainly possible, but getting them to recruit others so you make money and keep this process going is very difficult.
While there are in fact many people who overcome these obstacles and succeed with Melaleuca, it is important to keep these things in mind and weigh you risks/rewards. Any business carries risk and requires hard work to succeed but in my opinion there are just most obstacles/difficulties doing that through the MLM world than the others.
Alternatives? Yes! Why this business model beats MLM in my opinion:
There are numerous business models in my experience which are much easier to succeed with than MLM ones and my top choice in that regard is this one: Making an online business on a topic you love in life.
So for example if you love hair health, mountain biking, piano, fitness or whatever else, you can turn any of those topics into a real online business and potentially make a part-full time income. It’s an awesome business model because:
- You can build a business on any topic you love in life
- It’s beginner friendly
- You can work anywhere/anytime doing this (home, on the road)
- Costs to get started are very low (including MLM)
- The business works for you 24-7, even while you sleep when it reaches a certain growth point
The key is having the right, beginner friendly program that shows you how to do this step by step and in my experience there is no program better at doing this than the Wealthy Affiliate program, the same one that taught me all of this.
Here’s why it’s better than the Melaleuca in my opinion:
- It’s free to join (literally, no CC required)
- Very beginner friendly program
- Costs even LESS to start than an Melaleuca MLM business
- They have tons of success stories
- Higher Trustpilot ratings (500+ reviews, 4.9 out of 5 stars)
- Excellent support including expert coaching
- You can the WA training to succeed with MLMs too
- And much more
Bottom line: You don’t have to invest crazy money with Wealthy Affiliate (or in general to succeed online).
It’s free to test drive and only $49/month (or for the best membership, $99/month) if you decide to stick around. This is a business training program and like Melaleuca does take time and work to see results with but because you can actually try it for free first this makes it something you can comfortably check out and then decide if it’s something you want to further dive into later.
My recommendation? Wealthy Affiliate (here’s how to get started):
- Join here (its free)
- Complete the Hubs set up process (5 steps) which has you create your first passion based website.
- Start your training (8 lesson course)
The value of the Wealthy Affiliate (WA) speaks for itself and if you have any doubt (which is totally normal), test drive them risk free (there’s literally no credit card required).
Here’s what you get when you try the program today (all included):
- Access to the Starter Membership of Wealthy Affiliate.
- Access to the Hubs platform (5 step business set up process)
- 8 lesson starter course
- Coaching from me, Vitaliy (one of WA’s top experts).
- And much more (join WA today and see it all for yourself).
The program does have 2 optional upgrades called Premium and Premium Plus after the Starter Membership that I do highly recommend, but more than that, I recommend you first:
- Try the Starter Membership (it’s risk free).
- Immerse yourself in the program so you get the most out of it.
- Use my coaching! You can contact me directly inside WA.
Wealthy Affiliate works, but it is also not a get rich quick scheme.
It will teach you how to build a REAL online business of your dreams and if you apply the training they have and work hard, you will become one of it’s MANY success stories.
And frankly speaking, I want to see you do just that. As your coach, one of my goals is to see just hat and I’ll help you along your journey there too).
Thanks for reading my review of Melaleuca and if there are ANY questions about either program or mistakes that require corrections, feel free to mention them in the comments below!