I just wanted to tell what I went through, as I seriously need to let this off my chest. I’ll copy/paste what I written on various support forums and an old blog I used to have (I got rid of the blog now). I compiled and tried to edit it so it’ll make some sense to you, mind you the grammar is still awful.
“After seven months of being an independent distributor for MonaVie and member of TEAM, I have become more wise but also more in debt. From August of 2009 to February of 2010, I put in everything that I could to try to make my home-based business work and to try to keep upbeat and motivated as well. With my upline’s support I attended meetings, kept autoship, attended one major convention, as well as contacted everyone that I knew, not one person
signed up underneath me or even became a preferred customer.
How did I get sucked in?
I will just tell you how they “showed the plan” to me, and what I had to do to my new prospects. My husband and I were asked to list our dreams and goals. We wanted to get out of our credit card debt, buy a house, and a recreational boat, and I wanted to study another language. My upline then told me about TEAM, and how with TEAM, we can accomplish all of our dreams and be a blessing to others. She constantly repeated the phrase “We are blessed to be a blessing to others” which fit into Biblical principles. Then she talked about the wonders of the Acai Berry in Brazil, and its health benefits, then introduced Monavie to us. (Throughout the whole time I was trying to get her to cut to the chase, and tell me exactly what she wanted, and she kept on saying “I will get to that…” then proceeded her presentation as if she wasn’t interrupted.) After, she gave me a book and 2 CDs to read then rushed off before I can say anything. Later that evening, Hubby and I talked about it and we decided to wait a few months and we’ll talk about it then. She came back 2 days later and Hubby wasn’t there, and I told my upline that I was going to wait for 2 months and we’ll figure out the financial part. I also said that I’d like to do research on the company as well. (Now here’s a red flag that should have gotten my attention but didn’t!) She told me not to do research outside of TEAM and Monavie simply because the information that I get other than from the company wouldn’t be accurate, and the best information I’ll be getting is directly from the TEAM leaders themselves. She then used the analogy that if you were to do learn about opening a MacDonald’s franchise you wouldn’t go to another place to find out information about the MacDonald business, but you’d go right to the MacDonald’s headquarters themselves. The same went for TEAM, why would we get information on TEAM from other resources other than TEAM itself? It seemed logical at the time. She assured me that she would help me through everything, and so I went with the flow. She told me if I were to wait a few months I may lose my chance of becoming successful, and now’s the time to get in. Paperwork was signed without me reading the terms and conditions, it was done very quickly. I was again left with another book and CDs to listen to – and so my ride with Monavie/TEAM continued on for 7 long months.
What was required of me?
-Attending the Tuesday Night Open meetings. ($5 per person)
-Get on “System” (book of the month, 6-8 CDs per month, EBC, which means Electronic Business Centre – the’s the TEAM website, and a Monthly Seminar ticket.)
-Attend monthly seminars (every Saturday)
-Attend major functions (4 times a year, both in and out of the country)
-Purchase relevant tools and starter packs to loan to new recruits when you share the plan
-Get on Autoship (preferrably on a 200-300 points volume)
TOTAL COST – I was paying roughly $400 – $500 per month including tools, gas, food, autoship, function tickets, and hotel stays, without even realising it. Basically, you were told to put in your all for working the business. You need to make sacrifices in order to become successful. Many times I’ve heard speakers talk about all the times they have left their children home with babysitters so that they could attend meetings to learn how to be more successful. Ultimately, their goals were to be stay-at-home moms living very wealthy lifestyles. These speeches were oftentimes emotional, causing the listener to laugh and cry. They would mention God a lot, basically in my opinion, using religion to promote the “faith” side of the business.
Founded in 2005, Monavie claims to be one of the biggest companies in the health and wellness industries. Its product is an acai berry-based health drink now in five different blends plus a healthy version of the popular energy drinks we see in the local cornerstores today. Though not certified organic, the blends are said to be processed with very minimal traces of pesticides and special care is taken when making the juice to retain 99% of its original nutritional content. The company boasts of its high antioxidant content, up to 4000 units of antioxidants are consumed by Monavie consumers as opposed to 200-500 units which we consume without the juice. Distributors actively drink this product and sell them for roughly $40/bottle, or $180 per case, giving them a profit of $40. Sounds pretty expensive? Not really, they will tell you. You really can’t put a price tag your health, actually it’ll be cheaper for you in the long run, having to save on (future) medical bills. Many reports range from relief from joint pain to cure for cancer. In just three and a half years, MonaVie has made its first billion dollars in sales. It’s a hard product to sell to the general population. About 95% of the time I’ve been turned down due to the pricing, with hints that if the juice is cheaper, they may consider buying it.
In early 2009, MonaVie’s Dallin Larsen officially partnered with Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, co-founders of TEAM, a marketing company specifically geared towards leadership development and effective marketing skills. All across the thirteen countries that MonaVie has been launched in, TEAM offers open meetings, monthly seminars, and major conventions to help MonaVie distributors to better market the products and provide intense motivation to keep them enthusiastic about the business. Some people make it to the top, becoming the millionaires that Policy Council members push and promote as “dreams”. Most people, unfortunately like in any other MLM-style business, end up losing money, going broke and even losing their families. The fierce motivation of TEAM is so intense that it can really motivate the “go-getters” of the multi-level marketers or drive the more timid people to the ground. There’s really no middle ground, no allowances for those who are struggling, no tactics to accommodate the less financially stable. In fact one person has encouraged me to go into debt as an “investment” for success. But when your credit is maxed out and you’re only barely paying the interest, and no people underneath you, you should be free to close up shop and move on to something that accommodate your own needs/character. When I was getting ready to quit I was so stressed out that I literally made myself sick. And when I finally left the business, it felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
A major issue I found with TEAM was that they used the Bible and Christianity to show their integrity. I remember my upline mentioning to me that TEAM was Christian, and that’s what piqued my interest, since she herself was Christian, and my husband and I were Christians. I later found that they were using religion into the business, and even selling Christian literature alongside their tools, and I really wanted to get to business, not to read about religion. I found that it was irrevalent and that not everyone that comes into TEAM have the same religion as we did. (I’m Messianic Jewish by faith, but I keep my beliefs to myself to dealing with business, and I felt that if I wanted to go to a religious service, I’d go to church or synagogue if I needed some spiritual guidance.) Heck, they even had team “Pastors” – yep, real Reverends – putting out spiritual CDs in relation to TEAM materials!
Here is a post I wrote about my experience in an online forum – a person asked about joining Monavie/TEAM but was wondering about the founders of TEAM’s credibility as they actually tried to sue their former biz partners 3 times! Of course, the case was dismissed in Amway’s favour each time! lol
“I was with Monavie/TEAM for 7 months. I will tell you that from personal experience it is a scam. They’re very pushy in getting you in the business, buying the tools, and getting you to go in debt in order to be successful. In fact I worked right up until all of my credit was gone then was damaged. And even then I was discouraged from leaving. It was progressive, of course. I started off as “Step 250″ which was a points volumn of 2 cases of Monavie & a case of EMV. Then came the pressure to buy all the latest CDs & attend all the functions. Mind you, nothing was free – even the Tuesday night opens weren’t free, they were $5 per person. When I saw my credit was getting high I limited my autoship to the minimum of 100PV – which I faced disapproval from my upline. Then after a few months I realised that I was only barely paying the interest off my debt. I then went off system (which is the seminar tickets + books & CDs) Again I faced disapproval. I have to make it clear that my uplines KNEW about my financial situation. I finally canceled my autoship as I didn’t have any money left – this was this past February. Again, I faced disapproval – but how was I going to keep going with no money? By that time my stresss level was so bad I was crying hysterically, throwing up, taking anxiety attacks, feeling tremendous pressure, and feeling hopeless. I then decided to quit the website subscription and close all of my accounts. It felt like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders – but not for very long. I had 13 bottles of Monavie juice left & about $2000 worth of tools left. Though I gave most of them away to my friend up in Ontario who was making it in Monavie/TEAM, I still currently have $350 worth left, and about $450 worth of juice. I spoken to my now former upline, hoping I can at least get rid of my tools for $200, I was told she couldn’t do it as it wouldn’t be benefiting her since she’s not getting it from TEAM directly. When I offered to just give it to her, she agreed to take it off my hands and give to her downline. However, my husband overheard my coversation and put his foot down. He told me either sell the stuff to her or give it to my friend in Ontario who’s not financially stable yet. I then was able to compromise with him that if I offered my former upline all that I had – the juice and tools for $300, will I be able to do so. He said yes, I called her back with the compromise, only to have her ignore me and not return my messages. I feel cheated and alone, hurt, angry. I’ll warn everyone to get out of TEAM before you get burnt.”
Comment on a blog entry, waiting moderation:
“I was a member of Monavie/TEAM for 7 months. When I first joined, my sponsor put an emphasis on what my dreams and goals are, but I quickly caught on that she was trying to sell me into a MLM and demanded her to cut right to the chase. LOL she shut me right up with her slick words and “I will get to that” so there was no budging her. She made it sound so good, that she was going to help me, and since our family has known her for 20 years and went to the same church as her, I decided to join her. She did, in fact, help me – by being a “mentor” of sorts, pushing me to going to all the Open Meetings, (which were NOT free!) seminars, buy books, CDs, materials, Top Five Books, Conventions – all at a sacrifice. After a few months of getting nowhere, I decided to quit but she pushed me to stay, don’t quit, and that if I do leave, I’ll lose my success. Pretty soon, my credit started to max out and I told her and her sponsor that, both Christians, and they told me that I had to go into debt to be successful. Finally I lessened my autoship from 2 cases of Monavie and 1 case of EMV to 1 case of Monavie, only to be met with disapproval from my sponsor and her sponsor. Then I went off system about 2 months later as I only could afford 1 case of Monavie and nothing else. They were getting annoyed with me by then. Also, they were pushing me to go to the Major Convention down in the USA which I had no money for in the first place. I finally canceled my autoship, and faced more guilt trips. I was really “losing my success” then. One night on the way to an Open Meeting, I’m not sure what happened to me, but I just started to cry hysterically, I couldn’t take the pressure anymore. I told my husband to turn the van around and take me home. About 2 weeks later, I was completely maxed out and canceled everything – all my website subscription/memberships, that was in the beginning of February. I remember going immediately to the toilet and throwing up, yet a huge relief that I was finally out. Right now, 6 months later, my husband and I are considering bankruptcy, as par the advise of several credit advisors. (People on welfare really don’t have much of a choice unless they can get a 2nd part-time job.) I no longer attend the church that my sponsor and her sponsor attend as now they’re treating my whole family(in-laws included) with coldness. I’m warning everyone to get out of TEAM. Click on my name for my blog entry.”
UPDATE: (Jan 2011)
For a few months in a desperate attempt to pay of that debt, I would stay up all night trying to earn money off the Internet. I just made myself more stressed out and sick. I also got pregnant and lost the baby at only 6 weeks. It was then started to relax get my much-needed rest (and no, I didn’t rest very much when I was in monavie/team, either, in fact I was so stressed out by pressure.) It was hell.
Bankruptcy is now something I can avoid. The debt is still high but I’m managing now to pay enough on to my debt that I’m slowly paying off my principle. I’ve asked my former upline twice to apologise to me in the past 2 months for what she did and she ignored my emails. My husband says I have to forgive my upline, but I can’t, it’s so hard, I’m feeling the effects of this financially every freaking DAY when I wasn’t before I joined TEAM. I feel horrible for what i put my family through, I was selfish. And here I am going through this inner tumoil, not able to talk to anyone outside except for an online forum were us ex-TEAM members support each other and provide information. Now that I’ve left, I made it a point to personally apologise to everyone whom I contacted to try to get into the business. One man was angry at my upline’s upline, several people actually thanked me for talking to them and apologising, and the others just said everything’s okay.
***I would strongly urge anyone who is or have been in TEAM (now called LIFE) to go to Amthrax’s site – it has been a great help for me for emotional healing.***
It’s a cult. Look up Commercial Cults on the Internet.
http://www.howcultswork.com
http://www.culthelp.info
http://freedomofmind.com/
FOR HELP & SUPPORT:
http://amthrax.wordpress.com
http://www.juicescam.com
http://www.teamscam.com
ARTICLES
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0811/050.html
Frugal Living 