Why I Joined Young Living Despite the Stigma against MLM’s
I know, I know.. MLM has become a dirty word these days. And few years ago, I openly criticized anyone who participated in network marketing. The random “Hey girl!” messages from strangers, the illusion that it’s a pyramid scheme, the list goes on and on for why I had a huge stigma built against these companies and people who work for them. But as the years went on and I noticed more and more friends becoming a part of these companies, using the products, and making REAL money, I *slowly* decided to open my mind.
I’ve always tried to avoid chemicals and buy “cleaner” products. Even being in marketing myself, I didn’t realize how much “greenwashing” was going on with the products I used daily. Essentially, greenwashing is when a brand uses marketing colors (greens, whites, natural textures) and words like “natural” to create the illusion that a product is clean and safe when it’s actually not. Marketing can so easily hide nasty, cheap, harmful ingredients, and brands are happy to do it. Rude!!! I needed to find a solution that was EASIER than reading labels. Luckily there are plenty of platforms that rate the ingredients in different brands and products, such as the ThinkDirty app, but even that was a hassle. But I knew Young Living had the Thieves cleaner line that everyone says “smells like Christmas in a bottle” and I have to admit, I was intrigued.
Another thing I’ve always been conscious about is medication and stress management. I hate taking medicine unless I absolutely HAVE to. Big pharma and the medical field just seems to want to fix everything with medicine (aka more chemicals) and I always thought to myself that there had to be a better way. I believed there had to be natural remedies to the majority of our everyday ailments, I just needed to figure them out. I’ve always been interested in essential oils as a solution, and the science behind aromatherapy for stress management, so why was I so opposed to trying Young Living? You guessed it – the stigma.
Breaking the stigma
After about a year of talking to my now up-line coach, Emily, and doing my own research on Young Living as a company, I finally caved and bought a starter kit. I had no intention of doing the business side of it, I just wanted to use non-toxic cleaning products and try essential oils. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was eager to make healthier changes to my lifestyle and learn how to incorporate these bottles of plant juice into my daily life.
I’m the type of person who needs to figure things out on their own, and this was no exception. I dove into the website, reading all of the materials, the compensation plan, the blogs. I met with girls who had been on the team I joined and were now making enough commission to quit their corporate jobs. I realized that Young Living isn’t an MLM at all, it’s simply an opportunity to share products that genuinely help people live cleaner and feel better. If you sell the products, you’re a “Brand Partner,” just like as if you’re in a sales role at a company (only way better). If you don’t want to sell the products, you’re a “member” and you never have to buy anything ever again if you dont’ want to. Simple as that.
The best part: The products
I quickly realized that Young Living has products for pretty much anything you could ever need. From dish soap to makeup to supplements, I couldn’t believe that this company was an all-in-one easy button for all things health and wellness. The best part? As I’m learning more about ingredients, vitamins, etc. through my health coach certification, I’m seeing for myself that Young Living’s ingredients are the real deal. I trust that their products are the higest quality and don’t have any hidden ingredients (hello fragrance and fillers, looking at you!) because of their extensive testing and seed-to-seal promise.
The Young Living seed-to-seal promise means that all of YL’s products are made with the purest, highest quality ingredients in all of their products. All of the good, none of the bad. Their products are sustainably sourced with the highest standards, and fully backed by science and research. When I started doing research of my own and reading about all of this, I was sure that this company was something I wanted to be a part of.
So far, I’ve created a pretty significant collection of essential oils that I use daily for everything from diffusing (because the toxicity of candles is a wholeee other post), rubbing a little peppermint on my head for a headache, using digize for indigestion, lavender and cedarwood for sleep, the list goes on. I’ve also fallen in love with Young Living’s supplements, which I will also go into in another post down the road. Their CBD is lifechanging, and let’s not forget the Thieves cleaning and home products!
So how can you start living cleaner?
It’s never been easier to become a Young Living member than it is now! Being a member means you get 24% off of products, 10-25% back in points to use toward other products (just depends on how long you’re a member), and access to thousands of clean, high-quality products you can trust.
While I always recommend getting a starter kit because they’re the BEST deal on essential oils and a diffuser (plus samples of other products), you can also fill your shopping cart up with whatever products you’d like. As long as your order is over 100pv, which is basically $100, you qualify to become a member. I’m happy to help you set it up or answer any questions, but all you have to do is go to youngliving.com and use my number as your enroller (24276125) when you check out!
When you become a member on my team, you get so much more than just products. I’ll send you a welcome kit and give you access to a beautiful Facebook community of supportive ladies who know these products and can help answer any questions (I love the diffuser blends they share!). There’s never any pressure to sell, buy, or participate at all. The Sunshine Essentials community is simply a resource there if you want it!
It’s been so empowering to take control of my environment and use products that I feel good about and that are good for me (and the environment). I love being able to help others do the same through sharing these products.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or a DM on Instagram! I’m always here to help!
