How much I made in my first month as an Arbonne Independent Consultant
This is not a sponsored post, but it does contain links to my Arbonne shop. If you make a purchase from my shop, I will make a commission.
In 2021 a typical Arbonne participant in Canada earned between $0-$250 in commission & overrides. For more information: earnings.arbonne.com
Two years ago, I became an Arbonne Independent Consultant (IC) in order to use the discount. I was already a repeat customer and loved the products, so saving extra money was a no-brainer. At the time, however, I was closed off to the idea of making a modest supplemental income as an IC.
Through the pandemic, I worked through some mental health issues that ultimately led to me quitting my corporate job. I took a serious look at where I was putting my energy and my time, and through that process I developed a new capacity to hear out new opportunities; less anxiety = more availability – who knew! A well-timed message from my Arbonne sponsor and my “why not!” attitude led to me deciding to move forward with this business.
What is Arbonne?
Arbonne was founded in 1980 and is an international company with headquarters in California. They sell a range of products, including makeup, skincare, bath and body, and nutrition. All products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, contain no artificial flavours/sweeteners, and are formulated without a whole list of ingredients like phthalates and parabens. Arbonne is a certified B Corporation (B corp), which means they meet certain social sustainability and environmental performance standards. The company has a goal of becoming zero-waste by 2030.
Why I decided to give it a try
My reasoning was pretty simple: there was nothing to lose.
I already knew that I liked the products, and the more research I did into the formulation and testing practices the more I believed in them. I also loved the focus on core values of transparency, wellness, and sustainable living within the company and the people I was interacting with. I had been telling friends and family what I was using for years, as we all do when we find a product we love. Arbonne has products for everyone (from deodorant to full sets of skincare), and making the switch to more clean products was something I was more than willing to promote.
The registration fee to open an Arbonne business is $59 CAD for the first year ($35 CAD to renew). This covers your Welcome Kit, your personal website, and other useful online resources. As an IC, you never ever have to buy anything or hold any inventory. Your credit card will also never be automatically charged without your consent (I have auto-renewal set up for my membership). Of course, familiarizing yourself with the products is the best way to give recommendations to your prospective clients for their next order, but it isn’t an obligation.
The other reason I was willing to give it a try is because I knew how flexible the business would be. In my two years as an in-it-for-the-discount IC, no one had ever gotten mad at me for putting zero effort into my business. I also hadn’t made any money. You get out what you put in, and I loved that it could ebb and flow with me like that. No need to log in at 8am for a zoom call or any of that corporate stuff I had worked so hard to escape. I could literally run a business from my phone.
But aren’t MLMs bad?
Arbonne is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, and MLMs definitely get a bad rap. There are literally “anti-MLM” websites out there, and that sucks. The thing is that network marketing is everywhere because more sales happen when a real person recommends a product. The business model is such that sales are made by recommendations and word of mouth rather than Arbonne paying big bucks on advertising.
Don’t we all want to buy products from people that we know and trust? Don’t we all want to build businesses with people who share our values? When I met with my sponsor, I was blown away by how supportive she was. She was completely ready to meet me exactly where I was. I briefly met with her upline, as well, and got the same kind of warm welcome. When you hear about the community within Arbonne, it is not an exaggeration. Everyone wants everyone else to succeed, and not just so that they can make an extra buck on the sales.
Of course, Arbonne makes money with every sale that I make. So do the people upline of me. The commission that they get over mine helps pay for the hours they spend training me, supporting me, and answering my text messages at 11pm on a Tuesday because I’m about to register my first client. It’s kind of like your manager making more than you in your corporate job. (And note: if I was more successful than my upline she would NOT make commission on my work. You can’t just ride on the coattails of another person’s efforts.)
The one thing I will say is that there are some people out there who are pushy, and I think that’s where the bad reputation comes from. These people send unsolicited DMs trying to make sales without knowing anything about you. It’s annoying, yes. But it’s not a reflection of Arbonne or those of us who are doing this authentically. In fact, Arbonne has very strict rules about what we are allowed to say so that no unjust or unsubstantiated promises are ever made. If you don’t like pushy people, you don’t have to buy from them. But don’t let that cause you to swear off a company forever. If you need a car and the car salesperson is a jerk, you can go to another salesperson.
As an aside, Arbonne is not a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal and promise pay for recruiting people without needing to make any sales. At Arbonne, commission is only earned when sales are made. This is a standard (and legal) business model. For more information, visit the Business Ethics section on Arbonne’s website. (https://www.arbonne.com/ca/en/join-us/business-ethics)
Road blocks to making sales
Y’all, it ain’t easy.
The first thing I had to get over was the cringe factor. Initially, I felt so uncomfortable reaching out to friends and family asking them to buy products from me, and I definitely didn’t want to be perceived as one of those “pushy” people I just described. To break that tension I literally said that I felt awkward (I’m serious lol), but that I truly believed that they could benefit from switching products they were already using. Someone said to me “if your friend opens a candy store, you’re going to support them and buy a lollipop” and I really felt that.
Apart from that, it has been difficult to get people to understand that their purchase supports me the entrepreneur and not just Arbonne the company. When referring to Arbonne, I use the pronoun “we” instead of “they”. I explain the business model when I sense general resistance to MLMs. But still I get “nothing for me!” messages when I know that the same amount of money is being spent on comparable products from other companies. I don’t take this personally by any means (if that was you, I still love you), and I know that not everyone is ready to try new products.
Finally, price has definitely been a road block to making sales. The products are high quality and go through a lot of testing, which means that they aren’t cheap to produce and aren’t cheap to buy. They are cheaper than comparable products on the market, though. For example, Arbonne DermResults Vitamin C serum ($156 CAD) is comparable to SkinCeuticals Vitamin C serum ($198 CAD) — and it doesn’t smell like hot dogs. But going along with my previous point, not everyone is willing or ready to make these kinds of purchases and that’s okay. I found that explaining the benefits of becoming a Preferred Client helped with the price shock (Discounts! Free gifts!) and I emphasized the 90-day return policy. But it can be a lot of information to share all at once.
How I did in my first month
There were two things that I did in my first real month as an IC to try to make sales. First was to reach out to close friends and family to let them know that I was doing this. Second was to make a point of showing products that I use on my social media account. I followed up with everyone who showed interest.
In October 2022, I made 5 sales from 2 new retail clients and 3 new Preferred Clients. I did not add any Independent Consultants to my team. This resulted in $335 CAD in commissions.
The amount I made is more than the typical results for an Independent Consultant*. It is not enough to pay all my bills and I won’t earn the VP Success Award to put towards a new Mercedes any time soon, but it is reflective of the effort I put in. I was able to work through a pretty tumultuous month my life, from my phone or my laptop, from my couch or at the airport.
*In 2021 a typical Arbonne participant in Canada earned between $0-$250 in commission & overrides. For more information: earnings.arbonne.com