Lauren, What Exactly Do You....Do?
I get a lot of questions about what exactly it is that I do for a living. There are a lot of sweaty selfies, healthy recipes, travel plans and concerts that you may see on my profile. What you see a lot of the time is very polished, and seem like the "highlight reel" of what it is that I do.
I am an online business owner that has partnered with Beachbody, the leader in world-class health and fitness programs such as P90x, Insanity and the 21 Day Fix.
Don't get me wrong, it took a lot of sweat and tears (no blood), to be able to grow my business to be my full-time income.
I pulled together some of the FAQ that I answer each day, to give you a better insight as what I'm doing behind all of the sweaty selfies, meal plans and workout videos. Here is what my life is like as a full-time Beachbody Coach.
Q: What exactly do you... do?
A. I am a professional network marketer. I own a 1099 business with Beachbody which allows me to be my own boss. I set my own hours, market myself online, share their products and my experience using them.
From sharing my experience online, I start new relationships with people online that may be interested in working with me. I help women with their health/fitness when they buy the products from my website, and I also teach women how to make money being a Coach like I do.
Q. Is coaching easy? A. Nope! It’s work. It involves a lot of relationship building, personal development, rejection, health, nutrition and consistency. There are aspects of the "job" that are a lot more fun than the typical 9-to-5, but it still requires WORK to be successful in this business.
Q. Ohhhh, that's a pyramid scheme, right? A. Nope! What I'm doing is called network marketing (or multi-level marketing).
What I do is usually misunderstood because you chose not to understand OR others in the past have done things to make you believe that an MLM isn't as legitimate as it is.
Q. My friend tried being a Beachbody Coach and didn't make any money from it...
There’s a lot of excitement and passion at the beginning when you sign up as a Coach, but few can handle the rejection and simply quit.
You also have to be absolutely be 100% passionate about the product or service you’re sharing. Otherwise, your lack of enthusiasm or just a quest for extra money will be written all over your face.
Q. But how much money can you really make? A. In all honesty, it's up to you. WHY would you want to start a side business to create a second income? The income is what you make of it.
There is no guaranteed paycheck every two weeks, you can’t just check in and collect a paycheck. However, your income can be more then the 3% you might get each year as a raise because you are compensated by the effort that you put in. I gave myself a 600% raise from Year 1 to Year 2, 364% raise from Year 2 to Year 3, and 62% raise from Year 3 to Year 4. Never seen that in Corporate America before!
Q. You are so lucky to be your own boss and work from home! A. (OK, this is a comment and not a question) Luck had nothing to do with it (imagine me smiling when I say this).
It took giving up my free time, putting in the effort to learn a new skill, taking a lot of risks, and being OK with criticism from family and friends to get where I am today.
I've heard the quote, "Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t."
And it's 100% true.
Q. What’s the No. 1 thing I need to do to be successful? A. Be willing to TRY, FAIL and be TEACHABLE.
So many women that I work with are too afraid to start and never really give this 100%. And I wish that I would have started sooner, but glad that I gave it a try nonetheless.
Q. What’s the biggest mistakes you see or have made? A. Trying to duplicate the efforts of someone else who has been successful. What I have learned about my business is that people are buying ME. You follow me, you relate to me, there is something about ME that you are drawn to. There are hundreds of thousands of other Coaches out there, but only one Lauren Beley.
Once I stopped pushing products and started to be ME (the Backstreet Boys loving, single woman that is bad at cooking) - I found that more people were coming to me asking for help, or recommending my services to their friends/family.
If you aren't passionate about the product and about sharing your journey through this (both the health and the fitness), it will show. People can sniff out a fake and aren't drawn to sales being pushed in their faces on social media.
Q. What are the perks of being a Coach? A. I will say, there is something pretty awesome when you hear "THANK YOU!" from someone. A genuine, real, thank you for impacting someone's life. I've received these from women who have lost weight, felt confident again, or been able to start a business (like me) and made money that helped their family.
You can never put a price on freedom. For me, I love that I control my time and my freedom now that I do this full-time. I don't have to ask a boss for vacation time off or worry about alarm clocks or sick days. I did this for me NOW so that my future family will get to spend more time with me.
I'm in the best shape of my LIFE (at 32). As I mentioned earlier, you need to LOVE and BELIEVE in the products to be a good Coach. And I've never felt better about my body, my physical fitness level or my mindset.
The Community is unlike any workplace I've ever been a part of. I have never met so MANY positive, like-minded people that are all about becoming better versions of themselves. I have met a lot of my closest friends as a result of becoming a Coach and I know my life would be a lot different without them.
Other (surface level) perks - you can win prizes, earn free trips, meet the celebrity trainers like Shaun T and Tony Horton. You also get a 25% discount on all the products. It's definitely not a typical 9-to-5 gig.
Q. Yeah, but can I really create a business and earn a good income coaching? A. If you treat it like a business - yes. When I started my Coaching business I was working full-time in Corporate America and eventually was able to MATCH what I was making in my full-time job.
You treat it like a hobby, you'll get paid like a hobby. If you treat it like a business, you'll get paid like a business. Here's how I made $49K with Coaching in one year.
Q. So do I have to get product monthly as a Coach? Do I have to follow the workout programs? A. At the end of the day, YOU are a product of the product. And sharing your experience with these products will get you the best success in growing your business.
Yes, you should believe in Beachbody products and drink the delicious shakes, follow the meal plans and do the workouts. Are you able to do things outside of that as well? YES. You don't have to be tied to our programs 100%, it's up to you. What I've found though is it's easier to share and talk about Beachbody programs if I'm using them consistently!
Q. Are you traveling on vacation again? A. Catch flights not feelings! Yes, I travel a lot. And I love it!
One major perk of owning an online business is that work can travel with you ANYWHERE. In the past 12 months I've taken 50+ work week "vacation" days.
I set my schedule as it works for ME, which can include late nights or weekends if it's making up for time during the week that I was "off."
Q. Is coaching glamorous? Your life seems SO FUN. A. Trust me, it is a lot of fun! The trips, the friends, the workouts, the prizes - I love all of it!
Behind the scenes is a lot of WORK that's been 4 years in the making. A lot of late nights. Starting a lot of conversations with new people (some that go well, some that don't go so well).
Working for yourself is very rewarding - but can be lonely at times too. I'm single and living in a new city, which brings on it's own challenges. I do have to make an effort to put myself out there and meet new people!
Q. Should I become a coach? A. Why should you NOT become a Coach?!
You do not need to have a foundation in health or fitness to become a Coach. If you enjoy helping others, dream big and like to pay it forward....Coaching is something that you should consider. Feel free to reach out to me directly for more information.
