OPTAVIA FULL BUSINESS PLAN
Is OPTAVIA a Scam? (An Overpriced Way to Lose Weight!)
Welcome to my Optavia review!
First of all, I must Congratulate you for taking your time to do your own research before buying into any “seemingly good” product/program.
That’s the way to avoid scams and find the legitimate way to make money online!
So, you’re here because you’re wondering what’s the real deal about Optavia…
Is it true that you can really create health & wealth at the same time through this program?
Or is Optavia a scam?
Personally, I’m not affiliated or in any relationship with Optavia, so I’m not here to pitch this opportunity to you.
Let me give you an objective & in-depth review about Optavia…
Optavia Review Summary
Product Name: Optavia
Founder: Dr. Wayne S. Andersen & Bradley T. Macdonald
Product Type: Meal replacements & Weight loss MLM company
Price: $199 to start + Each program/package costs hundreds of dollars
Best For: People who want to lose weight via meal replacement & make some money at the same time
Summary: Optavia is a legit & unique MLM company selling weight loss products/programs. The company itself and the products have solid background. The major problem is that it’s way too expensive in my opinion. (I’ll explain to you why in the full review below)
Rating: 55/100
Recommended: No
What is Optavia?
I’m a no BS type of person, so let me give you all the straight up facts about this company, what you should look out for and my personal opinion…
Fact #1: Company Background
The background of Optavia is a little bit complicated.
Optavia was only created in 2016/2017 but it was rebranded from the program called “Take Shape For Life”, which was created in 2002/2003.
If you search for Take Shape For Life now, it will be redirected to Optavia’s website.
Basically, Optavia and Take Shape For Life are the same program offering the same products & services.
The difference is that Optavia is now an independent company on its own while Take Shape For Life was considered a part of another company called Medifast.
However, both Take Shape For Life & Optavia are considered subsidiaries of Medifast, which is a very reputable weight loos company founded in 1980.
Confused?
Nevermind. That’s not the most important part. I’m just laying out the facts for your information.
Fact #2: What Products & Services are Optavia Offering?
Simple Answer: Meal replacements!
Meal replacements are substitutes of solid food meal which are purposely formulated in the way to help you lose weight but still ingest sufficient nutrition that your body needs.
Some examples of meal replacements provided by Optavia include:
- Shakes
- Bars
- Brownies
- Pancakes
- Mac & Cheese
Another major component of Optavia is the coaching & community system it has in place.
Losing weight can be a lonely process that requires lots of determination.
That’s why having people to hold you accountable is very crucial.
Optavia has created a community around weight loss and there’s a “coaching system” for members to help each other out.
However, there are definitely some flaws about their system which I’ll be covering in a minute.
Fact #3: What’s the Business Model of Optavia?
Simple Answer: Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
MLM is also known as direct selling or network marketing.
Basically, it’s a business model that doesn’t rely on traditional retailers to sell their products. Instead, they rely on their own members (also known as “independent distributors”) to promote their products.
In other words, you can’t purchase MLM products directly from physical shops like your local supermarkets. Instead, you have to purchase them via these distributors.
In the case of Optavia, if you want to purchase their meal replacement products, you have to get in touch with one of their distributors.
And if you want to make money from Optavia, you have to pay $199 to become their distributor, then you can promote their products to other people and get paid.
Take note! MLM does not equal to scams!
I understand that there are many scammy MLM companies & products out there. But MLM is a legit business model and there are real legitimate companies out there like Usana Health Sciences, Young Living Essential Oils, etc…
In fact, Optavia has a pretty unique compensation plan which I’ll talk about in a sec…
4 Main Components in Optavia
1. Health Coach
Optavia claimed that you’ll get a “health coach” to offer you guidance and accountability on your journey of losing weight.
However, these are not real coaches who specialize in health. Far from that!
These so-called “health coaches” are just Optavia’s Independent Distributor. Your health coach will be the person who enrolled you into Optavia and sell you their products, i.e. your sponser!
So please be extra careful on this.
Yes, they’re definitely more experience than you in terms of their knowledge about Optavia’s products.
But, they may not know as much as you in terms of health.
Most probably, they hold the same “Google Health Degree” as you!
2. Habits of Health System
This is a guide authored by Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, the co-founder of Take Shape For Life/Optavia.
Basically, this is just a generic guide which provides information on changing your eating habits and lifestyle to benefit long-term health.
3. Optavia Community
This involves meetings and events with different Optavia members. It also involves daily phone calls and text messages with instructions and inspiration to aid you stay on track.
One good thing about Optavia like I’ve mentioned, is the accountability they’re trying to provide in their community as a whole.
4. Fuelings
“Fuelings” is the term they use to describe meal replacements.
Optavia has more than 60 choices of fuelings.
Here are the health benefits of the fuelings provided by Optavia:
- High quality proteins – help retain lean muscle mass
- Probiotic – support digestive health
- High in fiber, low in carbohydrates & sugar
- Contains 20% of your daily vitamins & minerals
- No artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or preservations
- Gluten-Free
- Non-GMO
Another thing worth taking note is that Optavia claimed that all their fuelings are backed up by science. They have medical and corporate backing.
Optavia’s Compensation Plan
Like I’ve said earlier on, Optavia adopts a pretty unique compensation plan as compared to the ordinary MLM companies.
The typical compensation plan for traditional MLM companies include:
- Giving a discount for distributors on product orders and allow them to earn retail profits
- Get paid by enrolling new members
However, Optavia doesn’t have any of that.
Product prices are the same for everyone regardless if you’re a distributor or not.
And, Optavia distributors can’t make money by enrolling new members.
How to Make Money with Optavia then?
First of all, in order for you to be eligible to earn commission from Optavia, you need to purchase the “Health Coach Business Kit” at $199, which has the basic training & marketing materials to help you get started. This is compulsory.
Once you’ve purchased that, you can officially become a “Health Coach” of Optavia.
(See? There’s no qualifications for you to become a health coach. So health coaches in Optavia are not health experts.)
There are 3 main ways to make money with Optavia:
- Health Coach Income – Income for supporting clients
- Business Coach Income – Income for supporting coaches & building teams
- Business Leader Income – Income for building & leading an organization
1. Health Coach Income
You earn commission based on the amount of products your downlines purchase.
The percentage of the commission you can earn depends on your total revenue.
That’s why you’re not getting paid for enrolling new members. You’re only getting paid when they purchase products.
This is actually a good system because it won’t turn into a vicious cycle of enrolling members like some other MLM companies do.
In fact, if a company focuses too much on recruiting and enrolling new members, it’s possible for them to turn into a pyramid scheme.
2. Business Coach Income
As your downline and revenue grow, you can advance in ranks.
So the next level you can achieve is to make money for mentoring other Health Coaches and helping them succeed.
Also, you’ll make money for building successful teams of coaches.
For example, there are bonuses and commission payout when you help your downlines achieve certain rank, certain sales or growing your team.
3. Business Leader Income
Business Leader Income is earned when you have achieved the rank of “Regional Director” and you’ve helped your downline to achieve the rank of “Executive Director”.
I won’t go into the details but the concept here is that you get compensated for developing leadership within your team.
Whilst, for Business Coach Income, you get compensated for developing coaches in your team.
So, you first start off as a client, and then climb to become a coach, and then the next level is to become the leader in your team helping more people climb up the ranks and succeed.
That’s the overall big picture.
If you want to find out the details, take a look at their compensation plan here!
What I Like About Optavia…
1. Solid Company Background
Like I’ve explained earlier on, Optavia is a subsidiary of Medifast, a publicly traded company specializing in the weight loss industry since 1980.
The good thing about Medifast is that:
- It has an A+ rating credited by Better Business Bureau
- It’s recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980
This solid background definitely gives Optavia certain level of credibility in terms of the products they offer.
2. A Much Better Compensation Plan
Although not perfect (no compensation plan is perfect), I think it’s much better than many other companies because:
- It’s more straightforward
- Less dependent on enrolling
- More focused on helping
A lot of compensation plans simply focus a lot on recruiting new members. But Optavia’s compensation plan is based on product sales, not recruiting.
3. 30-Day Refund Period
Also, if you’re not satisfied with the products offered by them, you can still get a refund within 30 days.
This is needed because not everyone will like the taste of meal replacements. It’s too subjective and we all have different taste preferences.
What I DON’T Like About Optavia…
