Here are some common questions and answers for people who wish to know more of my thinking. Laurie and I are experiencing great success in the MonaVie business as it is growing over 1% per day. At this rate our MonaVie organization will increase over 450% in the next year. Life is good and getting better! I have some surprise announcements coming up that will really get the MonaVie Team excited! Here are the questions and answers.
1. Why did you leave Quixtar?
I left Quixtar because they would not change their broken (in my opinion) business model. My original letter to Doug Devos was written in the fall of 2005 and spelled out the issues clearly. I had been working with Billy Florence and Don Wilson since 2004 to drive change in the Quixtar business to no avail. It does not take 3 plus years to lower prices, put more income into the plan, and address and fix the business discussed negatively online. The ability for the new person to achieve success in Quixtar was deplorable in my opinion. My letter to Doug Devos clearly explains that over 600,000 people who speak English as a first language signed up into Quixtar in 1999 and 2000. Out of these 600,000 IBO’s (misnomer?) only six achieved Founders Emerald or above by the end of 2004. This is 4 to 5 years and only 1 out of 100,000 achieved $87,000 annual income from the plan with both the husband and wife working exhaustively. Out of those six who achieved Founders Emerald by 2005, five were on the Team – Tim Marks (Founders Diamond), Doug Stroh, Mike Foos, Matt Abraham, Kirk Birtles were all founders emerald or above by the end of 2004. (I believe this is the five.)
The business stalled further after 2004 and now all of the above Diamonds (Doug Stroh went diamond in 2006) and Founders Emeralds have all resigned in disgust over the poor business model of Amway/Quixtar. Can anyone name a diamond in Amway/Quixtar who signed their application after September 1, 1999 that speaks English? The joke on the internet is that Amway should change their way to Imway (
I felt it was absurd when I realized that I could not leave with my lifelong friends and family without the risk of litigation. I thought it was tough getting people into the Amway business, but I never realized how tough it was to leave the Amway business. Can you imagine a Sam’s Club sending “greeters” into the parking lot to convince you, your family and friends that you are shopping with to come into the store? You humor them and agree to come in thinking – “what’s the harm?” They tell you it will be a small fee and then you can save money and make money on any referrals. You think that sounds good and sign on. After looking at the prices you come back to the greeter and tell them the prices are not better and you, your family and friends would not want to shop there. The “greeter” gets irate, slams and locks the doors and states you have agreed to a non-compete. The “greeter” yells, “After all that hard work to get you in here, how dare you even think of going somewhere else and ruining my business!” You say “What?!” The “greeter” responds, “You have a non-compete, it’s in the fine print in a book that you will receive in another week. You cannot leave with your family and friends, because they are part of our trade secret.” You raise your voice and say, “But this is my wife, my children and my friends.” The crack legal team is already issuing a Temporary Restraining Order to keep you from talking to your family and friends. They would not want anything discussed about their “wonderful opportunity.” All you can do is apologize to your wife, children and friends and pray the authorities will come and fix this before others get hurt.
It would be laughable if it wasn’t so truthful. Amway followed through on their threats to make it hard to leave and sued me and others in
2. Why did you choose MonaVie for your new MLM?
I had several non-negotiable factors in my benchmarking study that I used in selecting a new MLM. I wanted the new opportunity to be better than Amway/Quixtar in every major area. The factors were: Leadership/Vision, Product (Simplicity, Points/dollar value and Product benefits), Pay Plan (Pay for performance), Proven Success (Not new without a proven track record).
Leadership/Vision: I have met no owners in the MLM industry that have the vision and drive to make that vision a reality like Dallin Larsen. Dallin is a one of a kind leader of character who understands that your only security is in your ability to perform. Dallin has a goal to have a 20 billion dollar company in the next 20 years and my goal is to help him hit this ahead of schedule!
Product: When I was in Quixtar I studied the tens of thousands of products and narrowed the Team’s focus to the couple of least over-priced products. We increased our volume by millions of PV and Laurie and I qualified EDC, broke a new leg over platinum, and still qualified as Founders Ruby outside of all of that volume. Laurie and I finished 2006 as the second fastest growing EDC and above in Quixtar. Simpler is better when it comes to products. I don’t mind many products, but a “Just Do This” principle is necessary to achieve duplicatable results. MonaVie has an excellent “Just Do This” principle in place by drinking the product daily and seeing the results for yourself. To accomplish 200 points of volume it will take around $260 in US dollars. Compare this to the $400 to $500 spent monthly to accomplish 200 points in Quixtar and you will see that MonaVie greatly improved the profitability of the new person by reducing the cost to do product volume. The MonaVie product itself is world class. Hardly anyone is getting their daily amount of fruits in their diet. MonaVie ensures a balanced diet and the anti-oxidant qualities help with long-term health by being the best preventative maintenance plan for your body. This is a product that literally sells itself which is unique from any experience I ever had in MLM previously.
Pay Plan: This is where MonaVie blows the doors off any other legitimate business opportunity on the market and what accounts for their over the top business success. Any legitimate business must be able to point to numerous success stories of people who are accomplishing results today. I am proud of the performers in the MLM industry who accomplished results in the 60’s 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, but we are in the new century and this is not your father’s MLM. Any cursory look at the MonaVie Income Disclosure Statement (MVISD) and it is obvious why MonaVie is blowing the doors off the older MLM’s. MonaVie started in 2005 and the 2007 MVISD has 185 people that have already accomplished a minimum of $96,667 per year. This was starting from zero people in the entire MonaVie business in 2005. MonaVie started from zero in 2005, (No system, no established groups, no product) to 185 people accomplishing a minimum average of $96,667 in less than three years! The MonaVie business has an order of magnitude difference in the work index level compared to the other similar MLM business. Progress for the new people is an essential criteria for looking at any MLM to have sustainable growth and large bonuses for the high end performers is essential to reward the engines that move the whole train. Dallin Larsen is referred to as a Distributor CEO because he understands that keeping distributors happy and growing keeps the business growing and profitable.
Proven Track Record: I was not interested in investing the time into a start up business that made incredible claims but had no results. I had as part of my non-negotiable criteria to find a business that had proven results. Anyone can make claims of “The Best Product”, “The Best Pay Plan”, “The Latest Technologies”, but when it comes down to it—the proof is in the pudding. Is the company growing? Are the distributors making money? Is it legal or will it be shut down in six months? Just like John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership”. MonaVie is growing because it has proven leadership and a three year track record of phenomenal growth. No fly by night operation, but a plan for long term growth. If this isn’t the fastest growing MLM in the industry, it certainly is one of the fastest!
3. Why didn’t you just build the Wal-Mart of the Internet after leaving Amway/Quixtar if that is your dream?
I love big dreams and I do maintain a clear long-term plan to see how far we can take the MLM industry. I believe with the right leadership and character that we can take MLM mainstream in the future. But that is the key word, in the FUTURE. All of the giants of industry today that have made it big and stay big think long term. Can you imagine going to MicroSoft’s first board meeting. They were a scary looking group! Can you imagine walking into the first Wal-Mart in Bentonville
My vision hasn’t changed at all and it is closer today than it has ever been. I have given talks for years dreaming about my long-term vision, but never said we would do this in a month, year, or even ten years. I believe that teaming with Dallin and MonaVie is a big move in the right direction, but it doesn’t change the Lou Holtz’s WIN principle. WIN stand for – What Important Next? The most important thing for people who desire this vision is to build large communities and increase leadership levels in all of our communities. When we are closing in on a million people—I promise that this will give Dallin Larsen and the Distributor Advisory Board more leverage for future planning. I appreciate everyone talking about the big dreams and believe strongly in having a big dream, but there is another principle that needs to apply also. Ann Landers said, “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” I see the opportunities and am going to work in the present utilizing the WIN approach while keeping my eye on the future. God Bless, Orrin Woodward
