Can You Really Make Money With Powur?

Powur is a rather unusual MLM that has distributors promoting solar panel systems for houses. There aren't many MLMs out there that get heavily involved in utilities – with good reason.

Customers won't generally trust a direct sales company with something as important as their power. After all, what happens if something goes wrong? It's normally much safer to run with an established company. 

Solar panels are a little bit different, as the field is still so new. There aren't many well-known companies to choose from. Plus, anyone looking at a solar system may be more willing to go with an unusual or alternative company. 

As a way to make money, solar panels are interesting. The immediate disadvantage is that you're promoting a non-consumable product. There's also much more legwork involved in making a sale than with a simple product like chocolate. 

Still, the income potential is higher too. Powur isn't a brand new company either. It has been around since 2014 and now operates across a nationwide network. 

Powur is different than most other MLMs, but it does still follow the same basic structure for making money. The first aspect is that you're earning a commission based on the amount that Powur itself makes.

There is also the classic approach of team building (or, as Powur calls the process, revenue sharing). This allows you to earn based on the performance of others. 

So, how does it all work out? Does Powur end up being a good way to earn? Let's find out!

MLMs tend to follow patterns when it comes to products. Often you will see the same products across many different companies, like cosmetics or skin care. But, that’s not the case with Powur. Instead, this company appears to be trying to break out of the mold by focusing on solar panel installations. 

The website is mostly designed for customers, not distributors, so it is filled with information like this: 

However, there's little information about what customers actually get, which is somewhat frustrating. This is partly because Powur just acts as a middleman. To me, that lack of information is a pretty major issue. After all, solar energy products aren’t all created the same. You really want to know if you are buying something decent before you get involved.

When the company first started, Powur seemed to be acting as a distributor for the company SolarCity. They have since expanded and changed their angle, choosing to work with a network of providers instead. 

This basically means that Powur is acting as a middleman. The company is just referring customers to the provider that seems like the best fit.

There's nothing wrong with that idea, but it could produce the income potential somewhat. After all, the more groups there are in a supply chain, the lower the profit margins for those further down.

This style also makes it hard to predict any details about the solar panel systems that customers will end up with.  I find that practice a bit concerning. After all, if someone referred you to a company like Powur, you might not know much about solar panels at all. While they might know a little, solar power is not a decision you would want to make without knowing what you are getting into.

The income system from Powur sounds amazing at first glance. Powur splits commission so that distributors get 70% of the income, while Powur gets 30%. But remember, Powur itself is just a middleman. They're basically getting 30% for getting you to do their work. 

You're also just getting a percentage of the profit that Powur receives. This may be vastly different than the amount that customers actually pay. 

There's another limitation too. You're only eligible for a commission from cases where Powur itself earns at least $1,500. Powur estimates that sellers receive an average commission of almost $6,000, but there's no knowing what the low earning sellers are making.

The $1,500 limitation could be a serious problem if Powur's own profitability ever decreases. You could easily find that your income suddenly decreases if the company stops doing well.

The first part of the team-building plan allows you to earn 20% of Powur's income from each consultant that you refer. That 20% comes from Powur's split of the profit, so consultants still get the full 70% commission from their sales. 

Earning 20% from your direct recruits is pretty good, just be aware that this percentage is still based on Powur's earnings. What this looks like isn't clear, as earnings are likely to be very different from one sale to the next. 

The next step is what Powur calls Leveraged Revenue Sharing. This provides the chance to earn from up to six levels in your team. While Powur doesn't use the traditional terms, they are basically following a standard unilevel team design.  

The percentages are decent here, but take a look at the column to the far right. This is how many consultants you need to recruit to move up the ranks. Even getting five new consultants seems like it would be difficult, as selling solar panel systems is likely to be somewhat complex. 

The Possibility of Being Successful

With any MLM, you have to be able to sell the products and recruit people into the company. Both of those processes tend to be more challenging than they initially sound.

Attempting to sell solar panel systems is likely to be even more difficult than making sales in other MLMs. For one thing, not all homes can even have solar panels.

Your potential customers would be largely limited to homeowners. That excludes people renting and dramatically limits the number of customers you can potentially reach.

And don't you think solar panel salespeople are kind of annoying? As soon as they knock at my door I'm just searching for a way to tell them, “no thanks”, and get back to what I was doing.

Finally, solar energy is kind of a specialist idea. Some people would be interested in it, sure, but many others wouldn’t be. Most people who would want solar panels have probably already got them anyway. 

All of these factors strongly limit how many people you could sell to. In turn, that lowers your odds of being successful dramatically. Realistically, how many of your social contacts would seriously consider getting solar energy?

With Powur, it seems that the company’s product choice dramatically limits the potential for distributors to be successful. Sure, if you know the right people or are really good at networking, you might get somewhere, but most people won’t.

Like any MLM, Powur is a viable way to make money. The unusual product choice could be an advantage, but it could be a disadvantage just as easily. 

After all, people expect to buy cosmetics and health care products from distributors. Solar power? Well, that’s something different entirely.

Another issue is the downline. Your income relies very strongly on your downline, which is an issue with any MLM. This means that your income (and your rank) can fluctuate based on how well other people do. To me, that’s one of the worst parts of an MLM. It means that you are never fully in control of your own income.

One final thing is that you end up completely dependent on the company, just like any other kind of job out there. You aren't a business owner. You are a worker bee. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as it's what you want. 

MLM Critic & Author: Nathaniell

What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. I have to be honest with you. MLM sucks. I've tried it. The fees. The recruiting. The parties. The cold calling. Bleh.

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