Is Optavia a pyramid scheme? Well… Their business design is that of a MLM and is structured to position a great deal of focus on recruitment, but does this amount to it being fully a pyramid scheme?
I'm guessing that you're probably reading my post here because you're contacted by an Optavia coach and asked to participate in on the business opportunity, or even a pal or member of the family was. But anyways… It doesn't really matter your reason for reading this. In this short review I is likely to be addressing the claims that Optavia may very well be a pyramid scheme.
What Is Optavia?
Optavia is a weight reduction MLM company that sells meal plans scientifically designed for weight reduction, similar to Avisae, It Works, and Shaklee. They have a more holistic approach to weight reduction, not only emphasizing the short-term, but alternatively having an even more long-term focus. The goal would be to adopt new healthy habits one at a time in your lifetime so the changes you make stick.
This is an approach that I truly like. Lots of people lose weight and then gain it right back. They devote all this work and effort losing the weight however find yourself regressing back for their old unhealthy habits. Optavia's goal is to simply help change those habits to healthier ones.
At the core of the Optavia business design are coaches that are there to simply help guide and support people on the weight reduction journeys. These coaches may be anyone. You are I both could join the business as a coach and earn money doing so. Coaches can earn money by selling weight reduction products along with by recruiting and other coaches beneath them and earning from what they sell.
This recruitment element of everything is the main reason individuals are calling a pyramid scheme. Yes… Coaches can earn money by recruiting in other coaches and etc, but this doesn't mean it is a pyramid scheme. In order to get an improved understanding of what's going on here we first need to have a go through the compensation plan and observe these coaches are getting compensated.
Pyramid Scheme?
Okay… So a MLM type business like this can be completely legitimate and rely on recruitment of other distributors, in this instance “coaches”, to an excellent deal. What separates the best MLM from in illegal pyramid scheme is just how much they really rely on recruitment of distributors. Should they rely on recruitment like this an excessive amount of and do not focus enough on selling products to most people, that's where it begins to cross line and becoming an illegal pyramid scheme.
That said…there is definitely not enough here for me to say that this is a pyramid scheme, BUT… I am a little concerned when considering their compensation plan. They don't really seem to own any safeguards in place to help keep a pyramid scheme -like scenario from playing out scamrisk.com.
In terms of I know, you can become a coach and to do only recruit in other coaches to maneuver up the ranks and make a lot of money. Some MLM's that I have reviewed need you to sell a certain amount of products every month to most people (non-distributors), while Optavia does not.
But anyways… Know this doesn't seem such as a pyramid scheme to me. Recruitment like that is completely legal and though it mightn't be probably the most trustworthy business, because so many coaches are out there merely to recruit a lot of people in and earn money, it is still legal.
