Now Lifestyle Review v2: Fitness dropped for marketing suite
BehindMLM first reviewed Now Lifestyle back in 2017. Back then it was a fitness orientated reboot of 7 Minute Workout.
Today Now Lifestyle’s offering looks very different:
Read on for an updated review of Now Lifestyle’s MLM opportunity.
The Company
Now Lifestyle is owned by Joel Therein (right).
Therien is the founder of Global Virtual Opportunities (GVO), through which he has launched a number of MLM opportunities.
Here at BehindMLM we’ve reviewed Host Then Profit (2011), 7 Minute Workout (2011), Pure Leverage 2013 and Got Backup (2015).
Now Lifestyle’s Products
As stated in the introduction, Now Lifestyle originally launched as a fitness reboot of 7 Minute Workout.
Today Now Lifestyle sells access to an inhouse marketing platform.
Now Lifestyle’s marketing platform consists of
- a landing page builder
- website builder
- HD video hosting
- webinar hosting
- email autoresponder
There are three Now Lifestyle subscription tiers:
- Gold – $49 a month or $441 annually
- Platinum – $99 a month or $891 a annually
- Enterprise – $150 and then $299 a month or $2691 annually
The difference between the subscription tiers is increased usability with the marketing platform.
E.g. Gold subscribers can build 5 websites. This is increased to 10 websites for Platinum subscribers and 100 websites for Enterprise subscribers.
Now Lifestyle’s Compensation Plan
Now Lifestyle affiliates sign up and pay either monthly or annual fees.
Commissions are paid when they recruit others who do the same.
Direct Recruitment Commissions
Now Lifestyle affiliates earn a 50% commission on fees paid by personally recruited affiliates.
Residual Commissions
Now Lifestyle takes 25% of subscription fees paid in and uses them to fund residual commissions.
Now Lifestyle pays residual commissions via a binary compensation structure.
A binary compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):
The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).
Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.
Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of affiliates. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.
Now Lifestyle pays residual commissions based on a two active subscriber positions on the weaker binary team side, matched against four active subscriber positions on the stronger binary team side.
This 2 positions with 4 positions pairing is referred to as a cycle.
For each cycle calculated every week, a Now Lifestyle earns up to $20.
I believe the exact amount per cycle is determined by the subscription tiers matched (Gold, Platinum or Enterprise). Also whether subscription fees are paid monthly or annually factors in.
Note that to qualify for residual commissions, a Now Lifestyle affiliate must maintain two personally referred marketing suite subscribers.
These subscribers must be placed one on both sides of the binary team. They can be retail customers or recruited affiliates.
Matching Bonus
Now Lifestyle pays a 25% Matching Bonus on commissions earned by personally recruited affiliates.
Joining Now Lifestyle
Now Lifestyle affiliate membership is $25 a month.
Now Lifestyle Conclusion
I don’t know why Now Lifestyle abandoned fitness but the end result is a company that serves as a reseller for GVO products:
There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just an odd departure from what Now Lifestyle began as.
If Now Lifestyle’s own website is a reflection of the services offered, they seem robust enough. I didn’t come across any web design problems navigating the site, and hosted videos played as intended.
On the compensation side of things Now Lifestyle separates retail customers from affiliates with a $25 a month fee. The problem in marketing orientated MLM companies is that the marketing suite typically winds up mostly being used to promote the business opportunity.
That is to say they are lopsided when it comes to affiliates paying to access the suite versus retail customers.
In essence the marketing suite becomes a means to an end – the majority of fees are paid in by affiliates, which also funds the majority of commissions.
From a regulatory perspective this is a pyramid scheme.
Now Lifestyle doesn’t have any retail volume requirements. A quick fix would be locking residual commissions behind two active retail subscriptions, and perhaps locking direct commissions behind at least one active retail customer subscription.
The good news is establishing whether how your potential Now Lifestyle upline is running their business is straightforward.
All you need to ask is how many retail customers they have paying for the marketing suite each month, versus recruited affiliates doing the same.
Personally I think retail visibility or Now Lifestyle is a problem. An Enterprise subscription is $150 and then either $299 a month or $2691 annually.
With an Enterprise Now Lifestyle subscription you get:
- 100 landing pages –> who needs 100 landing pages?
- 100 websites –> once you learn how to build one website this process can be significantly automated
- 150 hosted videos –> YouTube is free or Vimeo if you want more professional integration (120 videos for $35 a month)
- 700 seat webinars –> YouTube/FaceBook is free, Zoom’s comparable offering starts at $250 annually for 300 seat webinars
Even if you outsourced your marketing websites and landing pages you’d still likely come out on top.
But what Now Lifestyle offers is under-one-roof convenience. Is what worth the premium without the attached business opportunity?
Approach with caution.