Known as “Willagirls,” the teens and tweens host Tupperware like get-togethers at home, school or just about anywhere eight- to 13-year-olds hang out. Invites typically are extended via text message, since “nobody uses email anymore,” Ms. Messner says. So far Willagirl, which doesn’t disclose annual sales, has recruited 42 sellers in New York, Miami, New Jersey, California, Colorado and Maryland, among other states.
For Willagirl’s young sales reps, the company offers 25% of total sales, for a potential monthly income of $320 to $3,500, according to a pamphlet sellers distribute at their parties. Party hosts also receive 15% of retail sales from the party in free products, plus one half-price item if party sales exceed $400.
“There are all these hidden costs that are tied to brick-and-mortar retailing,” says Willagirl founder and chief executive Christy Prunier, “and besides, tween girls aren’t going to malls anymore.” The company, based in Riverside, is currently building out software, which by September will allow the girls to host “virtual” parties online, she adds.
Willagirl is one of a handful of startups that in the past few years have turned to business models combining e-commerce and social media with the traditional direct-sales tactics pioneered by Tupperware, Mary Kay and
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Youngevity International Expands To Malaysia
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Youngevity International, Inc., a global direct marketer of nutritional and lifestyle products and also a vertically-integrated producer of gourmet coffees for the commercial, retail and direct sales channels, announced today it has taken another major step in its international expansion by opening an office in Johor Bahru, Malaysia to serve the direct selling markets in Southeast Asia.
“We are very excited about being registered in Malaysia and opening an office as we intend to increase our direct selling coverage and distribution model in the fast-growing Southeast Asian markets,” said Steve Wallach, Youngevity’s Chief Executive Officer. “Youngevity has embarked on a strategic global expansion strategy to capitalize on the growing international demand for our products and business opportunity. We are committed to investing in scalable markets with long-term growth opportunities to generate higher levels of global market penetration.”
YGY International (Malaysia) had a successful soft launch in Johor Bahru, Malaysia at the 54th National Malaysian Medical Association AGM & Scientific Meeting of the Private Medical Practioners, a three day conference that was attended by over seven hundred medical practitioners from Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, YGY International was invited to present at the conference and provide further insight on how medicine could be
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Solavei Sales Numbers Revealed
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Just a few weeks after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Solavei CEO Ryan Wuerch said that the company is doing better than expected.
“We’re actually doing far better than we anticipated,” he told FierceWireless, estimating that only around 5 percent of the company’s customers know about its bankruptcy filing. “We’ve had very little attrition.”
T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) MVNO Solavei filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month, but said it will continue to operate normally while it restructures. The company launched service in the fall of 2012, and anticipates exiting bankruptcy later this year.
Solavei’s bankruptcy filing, obtained by FierceWireless, offers a surprisingly candid view into the MVNO’s business–which is rare, considering most U.S. MVNOs don’t offer much information on their customer numbers and revenues. According to Solavei’s bankruptcy filing, the company was founded in late 2011 around the concept of “social commerce.” Specifically, Solavei pays a $5 referral commission each month for every subscriber a customer personally refers to Solavei, and this monthly commission continues for as long as the referred subscriber remains a Solavei customer.
Under Wuerch’s direction, the company has grown to 51 full-time employees and an annual revenue rate of $65 million. The company has signed up a
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ACN Receives 7 Awards
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
In late April, ACN, Inc. received seven prestigious Communicator Awards, which honor work that transcends innovation and craft – work that made a lasting impression.
“When we set out to do something, we always plan to do it well,” said ACN President and Co-Founder Greg Provenzano.
“But it’s not about receiving awards; it’s about representing our company well and providing the best possible tools for our Independent Business Owners.
However, being recognized on such a prestigious level seven times over is certainly rewarding – and further proof of a job well done.”
ACN was among over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes in the 2014 competition. ACN received the Gold Communicator Award – an award of Excellence – for ACN’s Corporate Website and six Sliver Communicator Awards – an award of Distinction including:
ACN’s 20th Anniversary – Motivational Video
Your Business Assistant – Direct Marketing Video
ANC’s Corporate Site – Homepage
ACN’s QR Code Site – Microsite
ACN’s Corporate Profile – Identity Manual and Style Guide
From the Presidents Blog – Business Blog
The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an invitation-only group consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms.
About ACN Inc.
Founded in 1993,
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Ja Sung Koo Of Seacret Earns $1M Bonus Check
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Ja Sun Koo of Korea is Seacret’s first Crown Royal Agent, earning him a 1 million dollar bonus check. He rank advanced to Crown Agent just a month prior, earning a $250k bonus check.
After a lifetime of success in network marketing, Mr. Koo considered himself done with the industry. Although he achieved his financial goals, his previous company didn’t offer the opportunity to help others reach that same level of achievement, something that was deeply important to Mr. Koo.
He joined SEACRET in January 2013 as a part time Agent and dedicated himself to not only his business, but to bringing the incredible opportunity to those around him. Among his vast achievements, he has developed 10 Diamond Agents, 2 Blue Diamonds, and 2 Red Diamond Agents on his team as of week 169. And he’s not done.
His next goal is to develop 50 Diamond Agents on his team, bring a total of 150 Agents from his team to the Revolution Convention in November, and achieve the rank of Crown Royale.
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Zeek Rewards Payments To Being Late September
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Two years after their entrapment in a mammoth Ponzi scheme became public, victims of the Zeek Rewards swindle finally may receive some restitution this autumn.
The attorney overseeing what may become one of the largest pyramid schemes in U.S. history — which was run from a small office next to a coin-operated laundromat in Lexington — said the first, initial payments to victims could be made in late September. Receiver Kenneth Bell said last week that the first reimbursements could be for 40 percent of what victims lost in Zeek Rewards, which billed itself as an online multilevel marketing business but turned out to be a classic Ponzi scheme in which early customers were paid with proceeds from later ones.
“Let me emphasize that this is only a first distribution. I am entirely confident that we will make another distribution once we have recovered all assets possible,” Bell said.
Earlier this year, Bell sued former Zeek Rewards insiders, including ringleader Paul Burks of Lexington, and more than 9,000 individuals across the country who took more money out of Zeek Rewards than they contributed.
“This money rightfully belongs to affiliates with allowed claims. Also, I believe we will recover several millions of dollars more from
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Experts Calls on SEC To Crack Down On MLM’s
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
The Securities and Exchange Commission should ratchet up its scrutiny of Herbalife and other multilevel marketing companies to ensure that their distributors aren’t violating anti-pyramid scheme laws, according to one top industry expert.
Bill Keep, the business dean of the College of New Jersey and a trial expert on pyramid schemes, urged SEC chief Mary Jo White to conduct ongoing reviews of the growing MLM industry and recommended that companies submit their enforcement policies to regulators every five years.
“I urge you to take serious the ongoing threat of unregulated behaviors by hundreds of thousands of MLM distributors affecting the lives of millions of Americans annually,” he wrote in the June 16 letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.
Keep fired off the letter in the wake of the recent appellate court decision upholding the Federal Trade Commission’s closure of pyramid scheme BurnLounge, saying it “reinforced the key issues of rewards primarily reliance on recruitment and the need for effective, enforced company policies.”
In his letter to White, Keep called out Herbalife, which is being probed by the SEC and other regulators over pyramid scheme allegations, for its “attempts to distance the company from distributor behaviors.”
The maker of protein shakes and other nutrition supplements
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Dr. Gary Williamson Joins Nutrilite
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
The Nutrilite Health Institute, a worldwide collaboration of experts dedicated to helping people achieve optimal health, welcomes Gary Williamson, Ph.D., to its scientific advisory board. Comprised of leading scientists in the fields of nutrition, health, and genetics, the scientific advisory board provides guidance on new and emerging nutrition science and technology, public health issues, product development and strategic direction for Nutrilite, the world’s number one selling brand of vitamins and dietary supplements.
“We’re honored to welcome Professor Williamson as an esteemed colleague and advisor to our board of scientific leadership,” said Keith Randolph, technology strategist for Nutrilite. “He is one of the premier thought leaders in the field of food science and nutrition. We look forward to his insight to our ongoing research on the benefits of phytonutrients and other components found in plant-based foods that have a positive impact on our long-term health.”
A biochemist and enzymologist, Williamson is professor of Functional Food in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, UK.
He has published more than 350 refereed scientific publications and book chapters, and is ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) as a highly cited author in Agricultural Sciences.
His scientific discoveries include major advances in understanding dietary
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TelexFree Inches Closer To Chapter 7
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Yesterday saw a hearing for TelexFree Trustee Stephen Darr’s request for permission to subpoena several companies associated with TelexFree. Darr had also requested permission to conduct depositions with individuals from said companies, with the court granting him permission to proceed.
Five such motions were filed by Darr, with three of them granted as proposed. Alvares and Marsal (financial consultants to TelexFree) objected only to having to share emails between the firm and its legal counsel.
Darr agreed to this on condition that he reserves the right to request the emails, if needed, at a later date. A & M consented on condition they retain the right to appeal any such requests.
At the time of publication, no order has been made public regarding Darr’s request to subpoena TelexFree’s law firm Greenberg Traurig, however news reports suggest permission was granted on all five subpoena requests.
Speaking to the Worcester Telegram about why he had to file the requests, Darr remarked
There are no employees left. There’s no insurance. There never was insurance.
I have no money to start up the business. I just don’t know if there ever was a business. I’m hampered by a lack of records.
Following a raid on TelexFree’s headquarters, HSI and FBI agents seized a host of TelexFree’s onsite
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Randy And Charlene Parker Are Legal Shields’ Newest Millionaire Club Members
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Randy and Charlene are Directors and have achieved as high as Platinum Executive Director. The Parker’s are consistent Performance Club qualifiers and are recipients of the 5,000 Sales level of the Production Achievement Award. Randy and Charlene are also recipients of the $100K Ring.
Mike, Steve and Kim Melia of Encinitas, CA are Randy and Charlene’s upline Platinum Executive Directors.
LegalShield is an American corporation that sells legal service products through network marketing in the United States and Canada. The company was originally founded August 8, 1972 as the Sportsman’s Motor Club.
In 1976 it was incorporated as Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., and made its initial public offering in 1984. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. was acquired by MidOcean Partners in 2011 and changed its name to LegalShield.
LegalShield develops and markets pre-paid legal service plans through a network of more than 50 independent provider law firms across the U.S. and Canada. The Company also markets an identity theft monitoring and restoration services through its partnership with Kroll Inc.
The company’s service plans are sold through network marketing. Products are also sold as an employee benefit through payroll deduction. The company has legal service plans for small businesses as well advertised with NFL Hall of Fame player Fran Tarkenton as spokesman.