THE BIZOP NEWS

Sometimes, as in the case of the Arbonne business opportunity, the answer is in plain sight. For anyone who has mastered grade 3 math.

Arbonne has an earnings claim on its website. This chart will tell you how much money you can reasonably expect to make on your Arbonne business from the sales of your staff or consultants.

Assume that you have an $8.00 hour job and are wondering whether you should supplement your income with part time work selling Arbonne products.  Consider the following facts about Arbonne distributors and their earnings.

1. A consultant has a 1/100 chance of earning $200.00 per quarter, or $2 per quarter. It is reasonable to spend no more than 15 minutes per quarter on your Arbonne business, assuming your opportunity cost is $8.00 per hour.
2. Our consultant, after 5 months or $2.25 in earnings, gets promoted to district manager. A district manager has about a 2/100 chance of earning $875.00 per quarter, or $17.50 per quarter. It is reasonable to spend no more than 2.25 hours per quarter on your Arbonne business as a district manager.
3. A short year later, our consultant now progresses to area manager. How do things look now? An area manager has a chance of 1 /200 in making $4,600 per quarter, or $23 per quarter. It is reasonable to spend no more than 3 hours per quarter on your Arbonne business as an area manager.
4. It gets better. After two years, the consultant could progress all the way through the ranks to regional vice president. A regional vice president has a chance of 1/1000 of making $20,000 per quarter, or $20 per quarter. Backsliding, I see.
5. Finally, at the top position listed, the national vice president has a 4/10,000 chance of making $94,000 per quarter, or about $38. It would be reasonable to spend no more than 5 hours per quarter on your Arbonne business.

Definitely a part time business, if a business at all.

What do other consumer sites say about Arbonne's earnings claim?

Arbonne scam, a blog about Arbonne talks about the low chances of becoming a national vice president, but has no analysis of the earnings claim.

In the long thread at Quatloos, there is no mention of the earnings claim.

Over at scam.com, the thread on Arbonne, again, contains no analysis of Arbonne's own numbers.

There is a story at Examiner Net about the Arbonne representative who "plans to retire her husband before his 43rd birthday in several years so they can travel. That, she said, serves as a motivation." Complete with what should be an illegal earnings claim: "We recommend one to two parties a week, and they say within 12 months - if you're consistent with that - you'll have your white Mercedes in a year."

Finally, theToronto Star, September 3rd, 2009, article has a big gushing huggsy wuggsy story about a former lawyer now selling Arbonne products.

"Creber admits that only very committed, ambitious people make six figures. Most people who enter the direct sales arena do not treat it like a serious business, he says.

"About 10 to 15 per cent of direct sellers are involved on a full-time basis."

Maron says she has what it takes.

She went into law because she wanted to make a difference. She stayed for the money. Likewise, now she's selling Arbonne because she believes in the product - and, like in her law career, she expects a solid return."

A solid return?  Don't lawyers do math? Don't people care about their opportunity costs?

You tell me.