There has been a rumor running across the internet stating Robert Dean Jr. and T.O.P.G.U.N. has been terminated by The Limu Company. Well I reached out to Gary Raser the founder of TLC, and he confirmed Robert Dean Jr. and T.O.P.G.U.N. had not been terminated, but Robert Dean Jr. and about 30 other T.O.P.G.U.N. members had been suspended as per the Limu P&Ps, as the investigation continues on the rumors that Robert Dean Jr. and T.O.P.G.U.N. has joined Momentis Energy, the marketing arm of Just Energy out of Canada.

Update Jan 25th 2012 7:13 pm – Rober Dean has contacted me and we will be talking next week so he can give me his side of this situation.

I wrote the first reviews on Robert Dean’s questionable business model in 2011:

Feb 22nd: Breaking MLM News: ViSalus Sciences Co-Founder Nick Sarnicola Breaks The Silence Surrounding Robert Dean’s Private Money Deals

Feb 25th: Breaking MLM News: Robert Dean Speaks Out About His Move To Limu

Ted Nuyten broke the story with the headline “Top Earner Robert Dean Terminated by Limu Company?”

Ted, did not take the time to vet the info, but went directly to publishing the information.

Ty Tribble, took a little diffeent approach when we wrote “Robert Dean Terminated From Limu Company?”

Ty dug a little deeper to show that Robert Dean has a deep track record of jumping from company to company.

What is interesting is in August 2011, at the official launch of T.O.P.G.U.N. and Robert Dean Jr. at Limu here is what was written.

“Nothing could have prepared us for the wild ride that was the official Top Gun Launch in Atlanta this past weekend. Hosted by 100K powerhouse and industry expert Robert Dean, it was an honest-to-goodness thrill ride, from Friday night’s standing-room-only opportunity meeting (with over 50% as guests!) to a barrage of specially-designed 20K rings being handed out to highly informative training after training and more. LIMU President Gary Raser was on hand, too, as were Vice President of Business Development Ryan Barson and Vice President of Marketing, Kerry Brown, all sharing their collective vision of the company’s future, one that looks very vibrant, indeed. 500K Members Shannon and Rachette Pardue were there as well, sharing positive words of support. Awards were given, stories shared, photos shot, barrel laughs heard and tears of joy shed, as this new chapter and direction was revealed to the many gathered there. To close the weekend out, a live band took the crowd to all-new heights of excitement and nonstop dancing, lasting into the very wee hours of morning … because those who work hard should inevitably get to play hard, too.”

When I did a Google search on “Robert Dean Leaves” here is what I found:

Momentis Energy, the marketing arm of Just Energy is making a very risky move for such a young company, and could see what small amount of momentum they have enjoyed dwindle, especially if they are hit with regulator issues because this new team is too zealous in promoting the business and the opportunity.

What is also very interesting about this issue, is Robert Dean always uses the same excuses for leaving a former company “There is no money”. Well he just jumped into a sector where the residual income is very low, and the majority of the money earned is from building the network.

If he didn’t think $1 million dollars in 10 months at Limu was enough, then it makes me wonder where he will jump next?

The Direct Selling Association is very straightforward in the Code of Ethics what is best business practices, which may be why Momentis Energy is not a member:

DSA Member Company Code Of Ethics

The Limu Company P&Ps

This week’s MLM news report, covers the MonaVie 2.0 makeover for 2012, some fantastic DSA news, and Tori Malnar, CEO and President of Utoria launches her new IndieGoGo Campaign. We also cover the Pixingo press release, and the changes at the top of Avon.

In an age of digital cameras, smart phones, regular cameras, tablets, laptops, portable video cameras and a seemingly ever-increasing list of electronic devices we carry around with us capable of taking photos, it feels like these days we’re taking more photos than ever.

Some of these photos are for personal use and some we want to share. Sharing photos can be as simple as uploading them to a digital locker or gallery and sharing the link with someone, or for those more special occasions, with a bit of digital editing we can make something special.

Seeking to capitalise on this demand comes Pixingo, an online digital photo editing suite and publishing platform.

Read on for a full review of Pixingo.

Pixingo Rocking With New Online Photo & Greeting Card Network Marketing Business

MonaVie has announced they will launch MonaVie 2.0 on January 13th & 14th 2012. Given the fact they have hired Jeff Cohen as their new CMO, I have a feeling 2012 will be an eventful year for the MonaVie reps.

Another piece of news surrounding MonaVie is their new focus on compliance. Over the last few years regulators and critics have hit MonaVie hard for not reprimanding reps for the sometimes outrageous health claims. And having read some of these claims, and seeing the 3rd party lab tests on the juice, I can see why the feds were very upset.

I find this one more positive step Dallin Larsen and his team are taking to make sure they do not go the way of other network marketing rising stars, like Sea Silver, or Burn Lounge.

Remember to sign-up for our newsletter to get some free tools to help you grow your business.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly

Amway .vs MonaVie or was it MonaVie .vs Amway, seemed to be in the news almost daily just a few years ago. Then a few months ago, everything seemed to have gotten ironed out, with settlements between these two global MLM companies.

Well, it seems we may seeing these two hammering it out again in India. Not to long ago, the Indian government raided Amway offices without warning, and this issue may be the catalyst as to why some of the top Amway distributors in India have decided to move their organizations over to MonaVie according to the most current report from the Times of India Website.

Amway hobbles as distributors exit

Shenoy Karun, TNN Nov 8, 2011, 04.46AM IST

KOCHI: A significant number of unhappy distributors is leaving Amway India which might make a notable dent on the revenue of the direct marketing company’s operations in the country. During the first phase of the exodus, around 40,000 distributors are estimated to leave within the coming four weeks to join MonaVie, another direct marketing company specialised in health juices, and this may cause a revenue loss of Rs 200 crore to Amway.

The discontented lot of 15 prominent distributors across the country has decided to leave Amway and they are taking along with them a network of smaller distributors called ‘downline’, developed over a period of 13 years of Amway’s operations in India. Read The Full Article Here

A recent study conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture* and published in Atherosclerosis, demonstrated a MonaVie acai juice to have significant cardio-protective properties in an animal model. The MonaVie juice exhibited cardio-protective effects by reducing free radical cell membrane damage (lipid peroxidation), boosting antioxidant enzymes, and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Read More…

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Nu Skin (NYSE:NUS) hit a new 52-week high Thursday as it is currently trading at $39.38, above its previous 52-week high of $39.35 with 212,586 shares traded as of 10:17 a.m. ET. Average volume has been 725,400 shares over the past 30 days.

Nu Skin has a market cap of $2.3 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and consumer non-durables industry. Shares are up 27.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Read On…

Draft Guidance for Industry: Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues

Back to Dietary Supplements Guidance

Contains Nonbinding Recommendations
Draft-Not for Implementation

July 2011

This guidance is being distributed for comment purposes only. Read On…

FDA’s New Sneak Attack on Supplements

Just before the July 4 holiday weekend, hoping to limit media attention, the FDA dropped a bomb on dietary supplements. Don’t let them get away with it! A new Action Alert.

On July 1, the US Food and Drug Administration issued draft guidance for complying with the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification protocols contained in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Ever since DSHEA was enacted in 1994, supplement manufacturers have had very little guidance on what counts as an NDI and when or how to send an NDI notification. The government has arbitrarily ignored or enforced this section of DSHEA, doing as it liked, without spelling out the rules. Read On…

The Application…

FDA unleashes end game scheme to outlaw virtually all dietary supplements formulated after 1994

(Natural News) In the wake of hundreds of dietary supplements recently being outlawed across the EU, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has quietly unleashed a regulatory scheme that, if fully implemented, could ban virtually all dietary supplements in the USA that were formulated after 1994. Read On…

FDA’s scheme to outlaw nearly all nutritional supplements created after 1994 would destroy millions of jobs and devastate economy

(NaturalNews) Yesterday we reported on the FDA’s new scheme for outlawing nearly all nutritional supplements formulated after October, 1994 (http://www.naturalnews.com/032912_F…). That was just the beginning of this story, because a detailed analysis of the proposed new regulation reveals extremely disturbing revelations that would absolutely gut the nutritional products industry if these regulations are put into practice. Read On…

GET THE TARGET OFF YOUR BACK

MLM Compliance VT is an organization dedicated to Multi-Level Marketing and Compliance Training.
With world wide reach for companies and organizations this platform will ensure that you comply while you thrive. Read On…

Dear MonaVie Family,

It is with profound sadness that I communicate to you the passing of Darrell Utterbach, Royal Black Diamond distributor, MonaVie Distributor Advisory Board member, loving family man, and dear friend and colleague. Darrell passed away unexpectedly last night (MST) while conducting business in Seoul, Korea.

For more than two decades, Darrell has been a proponent of and respected voice for the entire Direct Selling Industry. Had it not been for Darrell visiting my home in 2004 and introducing me, Randy Larsen, and Henry Marsh to the acai berry, there likely wouldn’t be a MonaVie today. We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

On behalf of the entire MonaVie family, Karree and I offer our deepest condolences at this time of great loss to Tracy, Darrell’s beloved wife. His unexpected and sudden passing should be a reminder to each of us that life is precious, and that we should strive to live our lives with deeper meaning, each and every day. We are mindful of the Utterbachs’ distributor organization at this time as well, and pledge to them our continued support. On a housekeeping note, I would ask that we all please respect the privacy of the Utterbach family at this critical time.

I’d like to share with you a quote from Darrell’s own MonaVie Success Story, which I think speaks volumes about his mature perspective on life:

“MonaVie has changed my life and provided me with the freedom I’ve always wanted. The road to success with MonaVie has been incredible, and I celebrate the journey—not just the destination—because the journey is where the greatest personal development occurs.”

Is it any wonder this good man achieved such personal and professional success?

Darrell, it is my humble belief that you may be looking upon us at this very moment and that you may even be reading this letter. I say to you, my good friend, that you have indeed completed your journey upon this earth, and I trust you have arrived Home to your supernal destination. We are better people for having known you, and miss you dearly. May the Good Lord attend to you with open arms.

God Bless,

Dallin A. Larsen
Founder, Chairman, CEO, and Friend of Darrell and Tracy Utterbach

Dondi Scumaci and Bob Burg are my sponsors this week. Author of Designed for Success: The 10 Commandments for Women in the Workplace, Ready, Set…Grow! and Career Moves.

Bob Burg co-wrote the best selling Go Giver series, and is known as the “E.F. Hutten” of Direct Selling.

On October 7th Dondi is hosting Bob at his Endless Referrlas Live Seminar in San Antonio, Texas.

Click Here to register.

MonaVie rumors were flying this week, when my good friend Ted Nuyten, founder of Business For Home broke a story about MonaVie’s compensation plan found against Germany laws. MonaVie was quick to respond and set the record straight. You can read the whole story here!

Vemma Nutritional Company announced some of the internationally acclaimed keynote speakers for their national conference in 2011. They also announced the theme for next years continued growth… “The Power of WHY!”

Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen will be two of the keynote speakers. Also Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine and author, will also be one of the special keynote speakers next year.

On more thing I am happy about when it comes to Vemma is the fact BK Boreyko continues to walk his talk. Vemma just inked a new deal with the Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina to provide underprivileged children through their Community Care Cruiser, with Vemma Next for children. Click here to read all about it.

Ambit Energy distributors should be proud. It is the hard work of the distributors that made this happen!!! Click the image above to read the whole story!

When the media is telling folks, that American are not buying products and are hording their money, Scentsy has proven them wrong. Once again the distributors did not listen to all the dull, negative media and went out and built their business, winning the #1 spot in Inc 500 for Consumer Products. Chick the image above to read the full story.

Whit the regulators looking hard at the MLM travel sector, the distributors of WorldVentures did not let that keep them from building their business. And once again, while the press is telling us how bad the economy is, WorldVentures is growing. Click the image above to read the full report.

The MLM Wireless niche has been crazy. But instead of focusing on just one small aspect of their business 5Linx expanded into other communication and security products, and the distributors didn’t listen to all the crap the media was putting out about a down economy and rocked the house. Click the image above and read the whole story.

Stream Energy is the #1 MLM Energy company in the world, with revenues of over $80 million dollars. Although, their growth has slowed compared to Ambit, I have a feeling they are just preparing for the next surge as they start to enter into additional markets. Click the images above for the whole story.

What started last month when MLM Watchdog Rod Cook shot an analytical review of MonaVie has now moved into a very complex series of events which has, in some peoples mind pitted MonaVie against the First Amendment right of Ted Nuyten, founder of BusinessForHome.org. Ted wrote an article last week titled – “MonaVie Revenue 2010 Under Heavy Pressure?”

The basis of this article was founded on anonymous information supplied to the MLM Bashing site of Terry Coenen “The Fraud Files” in an article she wrote back in May titled – “An anonymous source reveals numbers for MonaVie.”

After writing the above article, Ted received a Cease and Desist notice from MonaVie’s attorney’s demanding he removed the unbiased information.

Ted and I are good friends and I stand by his right to publish the article. He did a great job of adding disclaimers to the article, letting folks know he did not know if the information was correct or not. However, what he failed to do, is link to the original article on Coenen’s site. This is what caused MonaVie to send their legal team his direction.

Ted followed up with a new post hitting MonaVie for attacking “Freedom of Speech” and linking to the original article in his follow-up article titled – “Monavie letter to Ted Nuyten regarding the Reported Revenue for 2010″

And, you guessed it, Terry Coenen wrote her own follow-up article slamming MonaVie in an article titled – “MonaVie lawyers are again threatening critics”

Let me state, Terry Coenen is a forensic accountant and fraud examiner, who investigates white collar crimes. I have no doubt she is good at her career. As a matter of fact she has written a couple of books on the subject. However, we see Direct Selling, specifically legitimate MLM companies from complete diabolically opposed views.

I believe had Ted linked to the Coenen’s original article as the source of his information, he would never have received a letter from MonaVie. I also believe had he not used information from a known MLM bashing website, this issue would not have grown as large as it has.

All of us who are advocates and ambassadors of Direct Selling, MLM and Network Marketing should be very careful with our use of Free Speech! Although it is out Right, it also comes with huge responsibilities! Just because we have the right to write something, doesn’t mean it is right to write it!

Our #1 responsibility should not to focus on “Our Rights” as much as it should be to focus on the lives of the distributors we effect, by posting partial truths. Millions of distributors are looking at MLM as a way to earn a solid part-time income, or replace their current full-time income.

After all this happened I reached out to Dallin Larsen and asked him a couple of questions.

Troy: “Dallin based on current rumors surrounding the fact MonaVie’s attitude and even culture seems to have changed lately, can you shed some light on what is going on?”

Dallin: “Troy, I’m unaware of any company in the history of Direct Selling that’s achieved the success that MonaVie has achieved in its first 5 years. I believe it’s unprecedented. However, I also understand the need to constantly reinvent yourself as a company because we live in an ever changing world.

MonaVie will not always be first to market relative to product expansion but we will always be “Best in Class.” Products that are on the leading edge of science. Our commitment to science is evidenced by the millions we’ve spent to date, validating the efficacy of our products.”

Troy: “Dallin, I have one other question I would like to ask, for the article I am writing. Based on the current anonymous article and recent analysis on MonaVie’s decline in revenues, and possible death dive, can you share anything on the financial side of the MonaVie house?”

Dallin: “Troy, with our webcast in October, we will unveil the next phase for MonaVie. Let me simply say that in the words of Mark Twain,” the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Since MonaVie began operations in January of 2005, we’ve paid commissions accurately and on time, each and every week, and we will continue doing so.”

I went and took a look at the numbers based on some of the same websites others have used to promote the decline in MonaVie’s traffic and possible revenues. I also want to make it clear that Direct Selling News, the industry leader in up to date information on direct selling companies just listed MonaVie as #17 out of the top 100 global Direct Selling Companies. with $785 million in wholesale revenues as of 2009.

The images below from Alexa.com as of August 18th, 2010, shows that MonaVie has had a decline in traffic hitting their main corporate site. However, in reviewing the images below it is easy to see the only company gaining huge amounts of Traffic is Amway. Which in March of 2010 launched one of the largest ad campaigns i the history of Direct Selling. Investing millions monthly to re-brand itself to Amway Global. This campaign is worldwide.

MonaVie’s decline brought it in line with other companies inside the functional health beverage category. Companies like Vemma, Noni and XanGo. This is an indication, that the company has plateaued with its current marketing efforts, and is ready to move into it’s second stage of growth. (As Dallin mentioned above.)

WOW! This news could change the landscape of the MLM Functional Health Juice Wars forever. How can two powerful, but diabolically opposite leaders Dallin Larsen and BK Boreyko have found common ground?

Well, as most of you know, I have been blessed to have established trust and respect from both of these MLM CEOs and Founders, so when I first heard the news, I quickly started making phone calls. I knew BK was on the road, out supporting his Brand Partners this month, as Vemma comes off a seven figure increase in volume. And, Dallin has been flying around the world as MonaVie opens new countries to break yet another MLM corporate record.

My goal was to catch them before Good Friday, when they both would be taking time with family for the Easter Celebration.

Finally late last night I was able to get to the bottom of things…

Watch the video above to get the true facts on this amazing history making MLM Story.

I also want to give a special thank you to Ted Nuyten begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting for first bring this story to me for investigation. This goes to show how social marketing can bring people together

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly

p.s. Yes this is an MLM April Fools Joke! We posted early because Europe leaders in both companies were concerned folks would think it had really taken place. Here is BK Boreyko’s official response http://bkboreyko.vemma.com/

It has been written “MonaVie offers the most innovative and dynamic compensation plan in the direct selling industry. With 9 ways to earn income and 50% of the sales volume paid out in distributor commissions, MonaVie is a powerfully rewarding opportunity!”

When I began to write this article, I was pleased to see MonaVie has included a 5 customer qualification which goes right along with their “direct sales” payout and their “top retail sales” bonus.

However… My concern is that MonaVie may not be enforcing this qualification or that the field is so focused on recruiting, they never talk about this qualification to their new reps.

With more and more companies leaving MLM behind, and other companies launching with questionable compensation plans, I do not want to see a company like MonaVie come under the scrutiny of the FTC or any other international regulatory authority because there are not enforcing this qualification.

One thing MonaVie has done, which I think every company over 12 months old should do is publish an Income Disclosure Statement! Although this one is a little over 9 months old, it does show where the money is being earned in the field.

Here is the part of the Income Disclosure Statement that caught my eye. According to the MonaVie 2009 Mid-Year Income Disclosure Statement there were 90,138 distributors ranked between MonaVie Distributor and MonaVie Star 1000 who were earning between $23 and $172 per week. Which puts their annual part-time income working 6 hours a week or less between $1214.00 and $8963.00. Not a lot of money for some, but a life changer for others.

It is this 90,000 people which brought up my concern. I do not want to see these folks lose their incomes, or the folks who have written us about the MonaVie family of Juices to not be able to get the juice when they need or want it.

SO, in closing I challenge the MonaVie and the MonaVie family to keep a close eye on the 5 customer qualification to make sure they are continuing to run a tight ship.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy

MonaVie… What’s the big deal about the Acai Berry in the MonaVie Functional Health Juice? This has been the question many people have asked since MonaVie launched five years ago.

Now, I am not a nutritional expert, or scientist. However, what I do know is where to go and find the information about the MonaVie Functional Health Beverage.

First let’s take a look at the science behind the key ingredients in the different MonaVie products.

AIBMR Life Sciences Inc, has some great articles covering some of the key Ingredients which are used to formulate MonaVie Juices.

Here are some great reports to review. (Read Here)

Now here is a great study done on Glycemic Index Results for MonaVie, MonaVie Active, and MonaVie Pulse (Read Here)

Here are some great 3rd party articles and sites covering the active ingredients of the MonaVie Family of Products.

Acai Berry

Wikipedia
University of Florida – Brazilian berry destroys cancer cells in lab, UF study shows
Science Daily – Brazilian Acai Berry Antioxidants Absorbed By Human Body, Research Shows
WebMD – Acai Berries and Acai Berry Juice — What Are the Health Benefits?

Glucosamine

Wikipedia
Mayo Clinic
Medline Plus – A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Center of Alternative Medicine – Questions and Answers: NIH Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial Primary Study

Plant Sterols aka Phytosterol

Wikipedia
WebMD – The New Low-Cholesterol Diet: Plant Sterols and Stanols
Oregon State University
Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Wellmune

What is Wellmune?
Benefits of Wellmune
How Wellmune works
The clinical research behind Wellmune
Scientific Literature

Here are a few videos on the MonaVie Products

(M)mun

Well, this does go to show what started five years ago as a “One Hit Wonder” has grown into an international powerhouse of a company.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly