Last week I finally revealed my vague news, I quit coaching Beachbody.
1. Time
Working a business, even if it's just a side hustle, is a lot of work & takes a lot of time. I already work a lot. I am a full time high school teacher & coach with an hour long commute each way. Trying to work Beachbody when I first started it wasn't as bad because softball wasn't in season so I was done at 4:10. Once softball season though my days didn't end until 5:30 on practice days & God only knows when on game days (anywhere from 8:30-11.) Going home to do more work after being away from home for 10-15 hours was the last thing I wanted to do. And since softball is in season for 4-6 months, that's a big chunk of time to not be actively working a business...
2. Money
It's not cheap. Even with the coaching discount, the Shakeology is $107/month after tax & shipping. Then there is anything else you might buy. The stuff for a new workout program, pre-workout, energy bars, etc. I was only buying shakeology every month, & one new workout program, & I wasn't making enough to cover that. Basically I was losing money every month to work the business... Because there is also a $17/month fee to cover your coaching website & whatnot. I was spending about $125 every month & wasn't making money every month. Even the couple of times I did make money it wasn't enough to cover what I was spending.
3. Pressure
Because you're supposed to be "proof of the product" I started feeling so much pressure to always being making some type of progress which is absolutely ridiculous. I didn't start out overweight, but did have 5-10 lbs that I wanted to lose, & did. But then what? Then it became well now I need some muscle definition, which I got. But where does it stop? I started feeling like if I back slid, or didn't have some new define muscles, lost weight, or lost inches, it was like the programs weren't working anymore. I became more concerned with what I looked like than I ever have in my life. I didn't like it. I also didn't like that I felt like I could never skip a workout or miss a shake. Not that they're set strict rules, but I felt like who was I to tell people that time isn't an issue & attempt to debunk all of their other excuses if I was missing workouts, shakes, & wasn't always making progress??
4. Feeling Fake
You cannot successfully work an MLM without new customers. People had been asking me for SEVEN years to join Beachbody. People I knew! People I went to high school with! But I always said no. Why? Because I didn't want to always be hounding my friends & family to buy shit from me. (& the money thing from above...) Then social media happened in a big way. And honestly, I don't really care what strangers think about me, but despite what anyone in the business tells you, it's fake. Do I legitimately care about helping people? Yes. But you cannot make real "connections" with the number of strangers online that it takes to be successful. What it boils down to is thousands of "hey girl" messages hoping someone will bite. But that's so fake. There's also really no other way around it, not if you want to make any real money. Sure you can build valid connections with strangers online, I care so much about the people who read my blog & that write the blogs I read, but I've been connecting with all of you for years! If you want to make any real money, you don't have years to build connections & make a sale... in fact the 2 real sales that I made came from a friend from college & another blogger but both of them came to me... That's rare though. Until you've got some massive following online people don't just come to you to buy your stuff. Why would they?? They don't know you enough to trust you or want to buy stuff from you. Especially when there is a high chance they already know someone who works the same business, a similar business, or works one themselves.
5. Frustration
The 4 reasons above ultimately led to frustration. To the point where I went from loving to workout & working the business to it stressing me the hell out all the time. It caused way more stress than it sparked joy so I Marie Kondo'd the heck out of Beachbody & quit. 9 times out of 10 I am either all in or all out. I do not like to half ass things. If I'm going to do something, then I'm going to do it. But I was being spread too thin, feeling fake, & becoming more broke than when I had started. I know that MLMs are hard work & are not a "get rich quick" thing, but I was so frustrated at the lack of progress I felt I was making in the business while knowing that I didn't have the time or money to go all in to make that progress...and the thought of having to send one more "hey girl" message made me want to vomit.
To end this on a positive note. I have no beef with Beachbody as a whole.
**The workouts really do rock, I still have Beachbody on Demand, & while I don't workout every day, I do still use them to workout.**
**It was also exactly what I needed at the time. My full-time job was causing me so much stress & anxiety that it was exactly the outlet that I needed at the time.**
**I also met some really great people. I'm still Facebook & IG friends with the girls that were on my team. I still cheer them on, I just don't work with them anymore...**
