Last week, I began sharing my story about why I became a Beachbody coach.
I mentioned in that post that I really wanted to break this story up into different parts because there's so much to unfold and so much to share. With the last post, I shared why and how I became a coach. So with this one, I really hope to paint the picture of what my life became once I did become a coach.
I had such great feedback from my last post, and appreciate the support and kind words regarding it. I hope this post truly gives you the idea about what this world consists of and hopefully can reach out to someone who may have been or will be contacted by a Beachbody coach in the future. Not to necessarily deter you from becoming a Beachbody coach (because it can be totally amazing for some), but just have an awareness of what you might possibly be getting into if you decide to say "YES!" like I did. Knowledge is power.
If you haven't already read PART ONE of my 'Why I Decided to Become a Coach and Why I Decided to Quit' click HERE to check it out before jumping into PART TWO below.
By October, I was continuing on my own health and fitness journey while learning the ins and outs of being a "product of the product" - aka. Beachbody coach. I bought and had started a new program - 22 Minute Hard Corps - because if I was going to be a successful coach, I needed to have knowledge of all the different programs Beachbody had to offer. How else would I sell a program if I was only sticking to 21 Day Fix, right? Even with this new workout regimen and 21 Day Fix meal plan, I saw incredible results which I had never seen before. I was doing it, I was actually doing it.
I was feeling amazing, and because I was a coach, I had to share my progress with the world. I posted about my results HERE. Because I was sharing my transformation pictures, my post-workout selfies with sweat dripping down my face, and about the weight I had lost, I was getting A LOT of positive feedback. Followers of mine being kind and sweet, telling me how great I looked. I never had people telling me how great I looked when I had a postpartum belly and was overweight. I quickly became addicted to people inflating my ego. The more people told me how great I looked, the more and more I felt like I NEEDED to post - it wasn't even an option not to. In your trainings, you actually are told and taught what to post, what kinds of things to say, and how often to post in case someone misses your first three posts of the day. Posting on social media was quickly all my mind thought about.
As months went on, I was watching other coaches and listening to trainings online in my "spare time" - learning how to approach potential customers about doing business with them. But in Beachbody world, we don't do "business" - we help them make a lifestyle change. Of course. I was a first hand account of the how your life can change from eating right and 30 minute or less workouts. Product of the product, remember? I even dedicated a whole Saturday to going to a 'Super Saturday' event - training and pep talks from very successful Beachbody coaches from all over the country. Nothing gets you more motivated to grow a business than listening to another coach talk about their own business and how they make 100K+ a year. Shakeology samples, a live group workout. How could I miss this? (Even if it was the day of the Georgia vs. Florida game - and if you know me, it's a pretty damn serious situation if I'm going to miss watching that game.) You NEEDED to go to this event as a coach - it was social media posting GOLD - people would start taking you seriously as a coach seeing you at some fancy training with other coaches. It's great for business I was told.
When I wasn't listening to trainings or attending a Super Saturday, I was part of virtual team meetings. Team meetings that took place on weekday evenings. I would go to work, pick up Harper around 4 o'clock from daycare, be home by 4:30-5. Workout and play. Make dinner (or Cody would make dinner). Harper would have a bath and be rocked to sleep by one of us - sometimes Cody would do both. And by 8pm on some nights, I was locked in our spare bedroom with my laptop, with other coaches on my team sharing new information, learning more tips and tricks to the business, and talking about life. I grew to love these girls I had never met. We got each other. We were in the same business. We called it girl time. Which I needed and wanted. But sometimes, our conversations ended at 10pm - the time Cody was heading to bed. At first, these calls weren't every night. Maybe once or a twice a week. But regardless, when I wasn't having team calls, I was still online. Online working my business. Totally not engaged with my husband.
All while I'm learning the ropes of being a Beachbody coach, I'm going through my "vitals" on a daily basis. A "Power Hour" as we called it. An hour a day, where you are solely focused on growing YOUR business. A cute little checklist that was the epitome of network marketing.
I would print it and check things off to show I had completed my daily job.
What did this Power Hour consist of?
Adding Friends - Friend requests on repeat. Add people you know, add people you don't know. But maybe if you have common followers, they might think they know you. Join interest groups, add those people. Your goal is to grow your following. The more people you follow, the more people you have to potentially start business with - I mean, help change their lifestyle.
Like + Comment - Scroll through your feed, like people's posts and comment. Maybe if they see you commenting on their picture of their baby, they might click on your page and like what they see. Worth a shot.
Hey Girl's - Start conversations with people. This was probably my least favorite. I felt fake, and I felt salesy - even though I wasn't even talking to people about their health or fitness. I would start conversations with people about anything I saw on their page to start building that relationship. So, they trust me. Even though, the only reason I'm starting the conversation is because I want to hopefully do business with them. Kinda gives you a dirty feeling, ya know? But I did it. Daily.
Inviting - Most people don't come right out and tell you they want to do what you're doing. Maybe they're scared, maybe they're shy, maybe they really don't even want to until you convince them enough. But I invited. A lot. Especially at the end of the month when I was trying to reach my goals.
Follow Up - Every time I invited and heard a 'no' from someone? Yeah, it was my job to follow up with them every so often until they said 'yes.' Hint: most people who say 'yes' after you bugged them for months, don't really want to do this and in turn, will quit eventually. They just got tired of you asking.
Check In - Check in with your team page and group, do your workout, drink your shake, and read or listen to some professional development books - fifteen minutes a day.
Some days it lasted an hour, some days it was longer.
Some days I woke up early and did it. Some days I stayed up really late doing it.
And some days, I did my 'Power Hour' when I shouldn't have been, but I'm not going into detail about that. Either way, it was taking over my life. What I was told about coaching at first - you're just going to be doing what you're already doing -- working out, drinking your shakes, and posting about it on social media -- was probably the farthest thing from the truth. I was doing so much MORE.
I was doing so much MORE with "my business."
But I wasn't taking care of business with my own family.
Beachbody was all I thought about.
Me - this little teacher - who never thought she would do anything different than teach - was completely infatuated with the idea of having her own "business."
The term "Girl Boss" was thrown around constantly - how cool am I now that I'm a "Girl Boss"?
The success of other coaches gave me fire and fuel to be JUST. LIKE. THEM.
I wanted their life. I wanted to stay home and make this my full time job. I wanted more than my measly teacher salary. I loved having my own horn tooted daily about how good I looked.
It was the best "job" ever.
Unfortunately, by Christmas it was only getting worse.
I feel like I half-ass planned my daughter's first birthday.
I was really sick, Harper was really sick, I was dedicating most of my time to my business and not to the things that mattered - my family, my health, my job, making memories. I stopped doing what I loved, and didn't even think twice about it. Because if I was a going to be a successful Beachbody coach, I was willing to do whatever it took to get there.
And that I did.
I mentioned in that post that I really wanted to break this story up into different parts because there's so much to unfold and so much to share. With the last post, I shared why and how I became a coach. So with this one, I really hope to paint the picture of what my life became once I did become a coach.
I had such great feedback from my last post, and appreciate the support and kind words regarding it. I hope this post truly gives you the idea about what this world consists of and hopefully can reach out to someone who may have been or will be contacted by a Beachbody coach in the future. Not to necessarily deter you from becoming a Beachbody coach (because it can be totally amazing for some), but just have an awareness of what you might possibly be getting into if you decide to say "YES!" like I did. Knowledge is power.
If you haven't already read PART ONE of my 'Why I Decided to Become a Coach and Why I Decided to Quit' click HERE to check it out before jumping into PART TWO below.
By October, I was continuing on my own health and fitness journey while learning the ins and outs of being a "product of the product" - aka. Beachbody coach. I bought and had started a new program - 22 Minute Hard Corps - because if I was going to be a successful coach, I needed to have knowledge of all the different programs Beachbody had to offer. How else would I sell a program if I was only sticking to 21 Day Fix, right? Even with this new workout regimen and 21 Day Fix meal plan, I saw incredible results which I had never seen before. I was doing it, I was actually doing it.
I was feeling amazing, and because I was a coach, I had to share my progress with the world. I posted about my results HERE. Because I was sharing my transformation pictures, my post-workout selfies with sweat dripping down my face, and about the weight I had lost, I was getting A LOT of positive feedback. Followers of mine being kind and sweet, telling me how great I looked. I never had people telling me how great I looked when I had a postpartum belly and was overweight. I quickly became addicted to people inflating my ego. The more people told me how great I looked, the more and more I felt like I NEEDED to post - it wasn't even an option not to. In your trainings, you actually are told and taught what to post, what kinds of things to say, and how often to post in case someone misses your first three posts of the day. Posting on social media was quickly all my mind thought about.
As months went on, I was watching other coaches and listening to trainings online in my "spare time" - learning how to approach potential customers about doing business with them. But in Beachbody world, we don't do "business" - we help them make a lifestyle change. Of course. I was a first hand account of the how your life can change from eating right and 30 minute or less workouts. Product of the product, remember? I even dedicated a whole Saturday to going to a 'Super Saturday' event - training and pep talks from very successful Beachbody coaches from all over the country. Nothing gets you more motivated to grow a business than listening to another coach talk about their own business and how they make 100K+ a year. Shakeology samples, a live group workout. How could I miss this? (Even if it was the day of the Georgia vs. Florida game - and if you know me, it's a pretty damn serious situation if I'm going to miss watching that game.) You NEEDED to go to this event as a coach - it was social media posting GOLD - people would start taking you seriously as a coach seeing you at some fancy training with other coaches. It's great for business I was told.
When I wasn't listening to trainings or attending a Super Saturday, I was part of virtual team meetings. Team meetings that took place on weekday evenings. I would go to work, pick up Harper around 4 o'clock from daycare, be home by 4:30-5. Workout and play. Make dinner (or Cody would make dinner). Harper would have a bath and be rocked to sleep by one of us - sometimes Cody would do both. And by 8pm on some nights, I was locked in our spare bedroom with my laptop, with other coaches on my team sharing new information, learning more tips and tricks to the business, and talking about life. I grew to love these girls I had never met. We got each other. We were in the same business. We called it girl time. Which I needed and wanted. But sometimes, our conversations ended at 10pm - the time Cody was heading to bed. At first, these calls weren't every night. Maybe once or a twice a week. But regardless, when I wasn't having team calls, I was still online. Online working my business. Totally not engaged with my husband.
All while I'm learning the ropes of being a Beachbody coach, I'm going through my "vitals" on a daily basis. A "Power Hour" as we called it. An hour a day, where you are solely focused on growing YOUR business. A cute little checklist that was the epitome of network marketing.
I would print it and check things off to show I had completed my daily job.
What did this Power Hour consist of?
Adding Friends - Friend requests on repeat. Add people you know, add people you don't know. But maybe if you have common followers, they might think they know you. Join interest groups, add those people. Your goal is to grow your following. The more people you follow, the more people you have to potentially start business with - I mean, help change their lifestyle.
Like + Comment - Scroll through your feed, like people's posts and comment. Maybe if they see you commenting on their picture of their baby, they might click on your page and like what they see. Worth a shot.
Hey Girl's - Start conversations with people. This was probably my least favorite. I felt fake, and I felt salesy - even though I wasn't even talking to people about their health or fitness. I would start conversations with people about anything I saw on their page to start building that relationship. So, they trust me. Even though, the only reason I'm starting the conversation is because I want to hopefully do business with them. Kinda gives you a dirty feeling, ya know? But I did it. Daily.
Inviting - Most people don't come right out and tell you they want to do what you're doing. Maybe they're scared, maybe they're shy, maybe they really don't even want to until you convince them enough. But I invited. A lot. Especially at the end of the month when I was trying to reach my goals.
Follow Up - Every time I invited and heard a 'no' from someone? Yeah, it was my job to follow up with them every so often until they said 'yes.' Hint: most people who say 'yes' after you bugged them for months, don't really want to do this and in turn, will quit eventually. They just got tired of you asking.
Check In - Check in with your team page and group, do your workout, drink your shake, and read or listen to some professional development books - fifteen minutes a day.
Some days it lasted an hour, some days it was longer.
Some days I woke up early and did it. Some days I stayed up really late doing it.
And some days, I did my 'Power Hour' when I shouldn't have been, but I'm not going into detail about that. Either way, it was taking over my life. What I was told about coaching at first - you're just going to be doing what you're already doing -- working out, drinking your shakes, and posting about it on social media -- was probably the farthest thing from the truth. I was doing so much MORE.
I was doing so much MORE with "my business."
But I wasn't taking care of business with my own family.
Beachbody was all I thought about.
Me - this little teacher - who never thought she would do anything different than teach - was completely infatuated with the idea of having her own "business."
The term "Girl Boss" was thrown around constantly - how cool am I now that I'm a "Girl Boss"?
The success of other coaches gave me fire and fuel to be JUST. LIKE. THEM.
I wanted their life. I wanted to stay home and make this my full time job. I wanted more than my measly teacher salary. I loved having my own horn tooted daily about how good I looked.
It was the best "job" ever.
Unfortunately, by Christmas it was only getting worse.
I feel like I half-ass planned my daughter's first birthday.
I was really sick, Harper was really sick, I was dedicating most of my time to my business and not to the things that mattered - my family, my health, my job, making memories. I stopped doing what I loved, and didn't even think twice about it. Because if I was a going to be a successful Beachbody coach, I was willing to do whatever it took to get there.
And that I did.
Catch up on reading...
Previous "Why I Decided to Become a Coach and Why I Decided to Quit" posts below.
You were a fantastic coach and I still love the beachbody program, but I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at this business. I have no drive to be a coach or work in any of the MLM businesses really..mainly because I didn't want to spend the time to make the profit (#lazy) but I had no idea there was THIS much behind the scenes going on.
ReplyDeleteI had toyed around with doing BeautyControl several years ago. I signed up mainly for a discount for myself but also I thought...why not make a little money on the side. I saw how many texts and things the people further up the totem pole were sending out about how to do this or that and all the meetings that they wanted us to attend and I was like..I have a full time job, I told you I was signing up for the discount only. Man the pressure!!! I can imagine it taking over your life so quickly. I think you did an excellent job of being motivational and inspiring on Instagram with your posts and stories though. I knew you were trying to sell, but you were also more real than other coaches I see out there. And you really did have amazing results from the program! I am looking for that thing to push me back over the edge to get this baby weight off. I just didn't realize how much behind the scenes work you were doing to keep up with all of that.
ReplyDeleteI love how real, raw and open you are about this! I know this will help others that may be in the same boat. I have to commend you for noticing what it was doing to your personal life. So many are driven by money and forfeit the family for that.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh girl, this just made my heart hurt reading this! I've loved following your blog and IG, and I remember when you started posting all the sales I was like whaaaaat no! Haha but you still seemed so sweet and real that I stayed following. I know when you messaged me a few times I really hoped it wasn't all strictly business. I 100% see how you got sucked in though. It's hard being a mama and not feeling secure post baby. I can imagine how nice it was to feel good, get compliments, and make money too! The insanity and obsession behind it that's pushed on you though is too much. As a SAHM I always wish there was a way to make money from home, but I know I would never have it in me to do a "sales" program.. or the time! I can't wait to read the rest and see how you changed your mind. It's so good to have the real Lauren back in the online world! :)
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI love your realness and transparency. I love your thoughts and your opinions, and a real look into what your life was like. However, I can't help thinking that this ISNT a blanket statement. As a Beachbody coach, I couldn't feel more opposite about some of it. And honestly, it kinda makes me sad/hurts my feelings. I don't ever want people to think I'm just messaging them or meeting them "to do business". I have so many amazing new friends and relationships BECAUSE OF Beachbody. Its totally transformed ALL aspects of my life, but especially my outlook and perspective. I always wanted to be a SAHM, and that was always the plan. But this opportunity has given me so much PURPOSE. The ability to be a part of something far greater than myself. It's truly not about the money for me. I know thats not true for a lot of coaches, but honestly I hardly ever look. For me, its about meeting those people who really do need help. When one of my girls comes to me saying they are wearing shorts they haven't worn in years, or are finally confident enough to walk around the house naked in front of their husband (TMI?) or that their blood work came back normal for the first time in years...THAT'S what makes me love this job. Finding a balance is hard. The balance between work and family and hobbies and just LIFE. I totally get that. But I'm not on my computer or on calls all the time. And I refuse to be. Anyway, I'm ranting at this point. I just wanted to say thank you for your honesty. But also to know that while your perspective is a great one, a behind the scenes look, and a lot of that is true and factual, the opinions and feelings arent the same for everyone. And not every Beachbody coach is constantly thinking about their next customer and the money :)
I totally agree with this. I'm not a coach but I do another MLM business and I was thinking wow this paints a pretty ugly picture of it and my personal experience is so different and I truly do everything on my own time and don't just think about the next sale etc. It makes me sad that you had such a bad experience because for some I think it's quite opposite. Glad you were able to walk away and regain your happiness.
DeleteI tried to be a coach for awhile too and I feel like you're telling my exact story!
ReplyDelete