The cosmetics industry is packed full of companies. Many are similar to one another, while others have their own special angles. Younique is one of many cosmetic network marketing companies and uses the power of social connection to try and make sales. Some others offer makeup as part of a wider product range.
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As a type of product to sell, makeup has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, the makeup industry is huge. In the United States alone, the beauty and personal care market generated around $84 billion USD in 2016.
Cosmetics are also constantly in demand. They’re a consumable product and one that many women rely on daily. The feel-good nature of cosmetics also means that they sell even when there are economic challenges.
The size of the market also presents a challenge. With so many different companies out there, it can be difficult to get a foothold. Customers will often be loyal to their current brands and may be resistant to the idea of trying out anything new. This issue is very relevant for Younique, as many people won’t have heard of the brand.
Nevertheless, Younique has some advantages too. It has a simpler compensation plan than most and takes full advantage of the online world. These aspects might be enough to tip the balance for some savvy businesspeople.
Two Ways To Make Money With Younique
As an MLM, Younique has the same two typical ways to earn. You can earn commissions by selling the products or you can increase your income by building a team as well. Just be aware that most team builders still need to sell products regularly, so you need to be good at making sales either way.
With this post, I’m taking a detailed look at how the different features of Younique play out – along with whether the company is a realistic choice for income.
Make Money From Product Sales
Younique is a cosmetics company. As such, many of the products are makeup, along with skincare and related products for the body and the face. Visually, the site is stunning and the company offers many different products. Some of those come in various shades, such as the selection of lipstick below.
Many of the items are familiar and not particularly exciting, which isn’t too surprising. After all, products like mascara and foundation are fairly similar across companies. There are minor differences, of course, but the fundamental aspects of the products remain the same.
That’s not a bad thing either. People know what they want with makeup and companies do need to provide this. Overall, Younique seems to strike a good balance with what they offer, providing some uniqueness along with having exactly what customers are looking for.
As for prices, the products would often be considered premium but not excessively expensive. For example, some of their lipsticks are $19, while a single cream eyeshadow is $26. While they may not be the cheapest products, they’re well within the range of what people expect to pay.
Honestly, people who are passionate about makeup regularly pay much more than this for their items.
The overall product selection is good enough, especially when you consider all the different shades. Despite this, some areas are surprisingly limited. For example, while there are plenty of lipstick colors, there are hardly any variation types. Whether Youngevity needs to provide more than that is debatable but many people do enjoy having choices.
One final question about the products is their quality.
This is exceptionally difficult to know from the site alone and pictures don’t give any indication of how items look or feel in practice. Younique is also an MLM. This means that many of the product reviews are incredibly biased. Distributors won’t always do this intentionally, but anyone who is passionate about a brand is more likely to see the positive features of any products.
Another complicating factor is the personal nature of makeup. What one person loves, another may hate. Likewise, some makeup may work well with one skin tone and not on another.
One good set of reviews can be found here. The author may still have some bias but she is more honest than most and provides a good indication of what you can and cannot expect.
On the other hand, an aggregate review site gave one of Younique’s products an average of 2.4, based on 86 reviews. This is just one item, of course, but it does suggest that the products aren’t for everyone.
From the reviews I’ve found, many people do love the products, while others experience some problems. This may simply be to do with differences in needs and preferences, rather than the individual items.
There are enough positive reviews to suggest that you could make sales. That’s especially true for items like eyeshadow, which tends to behave in a similar way for each person.
Even so, these patterns suggest that you should make sure the products fit your needs before you consider being a distributor. It may also be worth finding out what friends think. After all, the income potential is going to be very limited if people hate the products.
Making Sales
Younique has one other key advantage – it uses the online environment well. Members are provided with a replicated website, one that can be used to make sales. Parties can also be held digitally. This makes it easier to reach people and to get sales. In fact, Younique entirely focuses on digital parties, rather than physical ones.
The site also makes it easy for people to share parties on social media. This could help promote sales as well.
Of course, virtual parties are a double-edged sword. They are powerful for convenience but they do decrease the social component. There is also less urgency and sales pressure with a virtual party, which could lower the number of sales you get.
In the end, the digital parties will have more potential, but you’ll need to work at it. People have access to plenty of other sources of makeup online, so you’ll need some salesmanship to convince them to purchase Younique items specifically.
Make Money Building A Team
The products from Younique are appealing enough that you could make sales. Cosmetics is also an evergreen industry, so there is always an interest in the products. People will often become brand loyal as well. If you can get them passionate about Younique then you could potentially create long-term customers.
So then, let’s talk about the team aspect. The basic concept here is the same as every other MLM. You are recruiting people into the company and expecting them to do the same. Getting people to join isn’t enough. You also need to make sure that they perform well.
Younique’s compensation plan is surprisingly good, partly because it is simple. The company uses a rank-based structure, where your base compensation and bonuses from team members are linked to your rank. There are eight total ranks, split into four categories.
- Entry Presenter: White & Yellow
- Exemplary Presenter: Pink & Blue
- Elite Presenter: Green & Orange
- Exclusive Presenter: Purple & Black
The first rank (White) offers 20% commission on all retail sales. To move up to Yellow, you need to hit $125 in wholesale lifetime sales. That’s $125 total, not $125 per month.
One side note is that the requirements are calculated in wholesale amounts. The wholesale amount is 75% of the retail volume for any commissionable sale.
The next rank (Yellow) is unusual because you’re still not earning from a team. The company argues that people need to learn to sell before they get involved in team building. The commission for this rank is 25%. To move up, you need $500 in sales. Again, this is total sales (and includes the $125 for the previous month).
I love this style. It places the emphasis on sales first and foremost, which is where it should be. From this point, the system does get more familiar. As you go up the ranks, you start to work on recruit a team, and the bonuses that you get increase as well.
The plan does contain fewer bonuses than other companies and you can’t earn from as many generations as you may expect.
In fact, there is only one main bonus outside of this plan, which is a Fast Start bonus. This provides free products if you hit certain success goals within your first 60 days as a distributor.
The reason for the simplicity is probably the focus on sales. In fact, the requirements to progress through the ranks are less complicated than other companies as well. You do still need to get decent sales across your team and to recruit others. In the later ranks, you need to make sure some of your team members are promoted as well.
Even the highest rank requirements are relatively simple. There are no requirements for a specific team structure or for volume in different legs of the team. Instead, the focus is just on the team as a whole and on sales at different levels.
The company does mention that you should be focusing on sales entirely for the White and Yellow ranks and then mostly on recruitment and team building for the rest.
As with most companies, the requirements for the Pink rank and above are monthly. If you don’t hit the goal within a given month, you are dropped back to Yellow and earn no commission from your team. On the plus side, you can still earn from your personal retail sales when this happens. But, it does mean that if you have a bad month, you lose the chance to earn commission from your team, which sucks.
You do also need to earn $125 in personal retail sales every three months to stay active (this is calculated based on rolling three month periods). While ongoing requirements can be frustrating, the amount here is relatively low and doesn’t need to be met every single month.
The end result is that Younique is simpler than most other MLMs. This should make it easier to follow and less confusing for beginners. But, there are fewer bonuses as well and you can only increase commission rate by raising your rank (not through sales).
For most people, the design would be beneficial and makes the company easier to get going with. If you are hoping to build an extremely large and profitable team, Younique isn’t the right MLM to go with.
Can You Generate Reliable Income With Younique?
The Younique Review
Products
Business Opportunity
Final Review
The style of Younique makes it more accessible than many other MLMs. That's a key advantage, as is the ability to make sales online. You don't need to purchase and resell products either, so the risk is relatively low. These features all mean that reliable income is certainly possible. You might even be able to do so without building a team.
The challenge is actually getting sales. You would need to get the word out there and ensure that your online parties are populated. This isn't easy for beginners and Younique doesn't provide enough guidance. They simply focus on the idea of promoting to friends and family, which won't give you a large enough audience.
It's also worth thinking carefully about the team aspect. Building a team allows you to earn money from their success, but you're also creating competitors for yourself. Distributors often end up recruiting people from their own social group. This creates a tricky situation, as social groups overlap. As such, the person you recruit may be trying to sell to some of the same people that you are.
Aspects like this are simply frustrating. Sure, you can work around them, but should you have to? Whether the process is worth the effort is up to you. Just make sure that you think and plan carefully first so that you don't get caught out.
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 though. I'm not a big fan of MLM. Tried it. Hated it.
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Mommabear
Ive been selling this since Oct of this year. Ive not made hardly anything maybe $60 thats from myself. The way i look at is u practically have to have a alot of money to purchase and to purchase from yourself. And to me only way u gonna rank up levels is buying from yourself. Its crazy that you cant make hardly anything. U spend more than u make in this.
Nathaniell
Spot on. Lots of people experience the same thing.