If you are considering being a direct seller of products, but are unfamiliar with the terminology or process, direct selling companies may be a good place to start. And as you might expect, most people who want to sell health and wellness products already use them daily.
In this Total Life Changes MLM review, I will cover what it means to be an independent representative for this company, how much money you can make through their life-changing opportunity, what people have said about them online, and whether they’re worth your time investment.
Table of Contents
Exactly What is Total Life Changes?
Total Life Changes is a well-known direct selling company (MLM company) that offers health and wellness supplements worldwide. Total Life Changes products include weight management, healthy instant coffee, essential oils, and hygiene products to name a few.
Total Life Changes has been around for nearly 30 years. During this time, they have managed to maintain their presence in the skincare and health space, which means they have a pretty solid foundation when it comes to beauty and wellness products.
The company’s headquarters is located in Michigan and was started by Jack Fallon in 1999. Shortly after being founded, Total Life Changes released its first product called NutraBurst.
In 2010 they opened up in Latin America and saw their international expansion increase by a 50% growth rate over a three-year period. Two years after that, they made their first $100 million in annual sales.
When it comes to the independent distributor marketing strategy, the Total Life Changes MLM program seeks to engage those independent distributors that join Total Life Changes, to achieve their dreams by encouraging them with motivational words and targeted actions.
According to Jack Fallon, They want their “Life Changers” (TLC’s independent network marketers) to stay hungry for success while also helping others in ways big or small.
Is TLC a pyramid scheme?
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), pyramid schemes:
"all share one overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public. "
Based upon the definition provided by the FTC, I don’t think Total Life Changes is a pyramid scheme. The reason why I believe this is because Total Life Changes actually does have products that are legitimate so recruitment can never be the sole way someone will earn any form of profit from this opportunity.
The distributor will either buy some themselves at wholesale prices (without having recruited anyone) or sell these products directly on their own without ever needing anything more than an initial investment made by selling something else.
How Does Total Life Changes Work?
TLC products support the weight loss journey of their clients. The products work in different ways, depending on their type.
But, what’s noticeable about them is that they are all for weight loss. For example, Life Total Changes Iaso Tea can give an effect for as early as 5 days if the customer drinks it twice a day.
Life and Resolution Drops can likewise help a customer stay on a 1,200-calorie diet and drop the weight just by taking drops.
On the one hand, the TLC Multi-Level Marketing, through its compensation plan, works in 5 different ways: retail customer profits and commission, binary pay, fast start bonus, lifestyle bonus, and matching bonus.
Per the company’s arrangements, you don’t need to pay anything to be a member of the company. However, you need to buy a product kit or a starter kit so you can qualify for commissions.
In this plan, a member needs to generate 40 personal QV per month to remain active and receive a commission. If you avail of the independent business owners package, your retail commission earnings can be as high as 50%.
Total Life Changes Products
Total Life Changes is a company that sells different fitness and wellness products. These products are broken down into six different categories:
- Weight management
- Full body nutrition
- Energy and Fitness
- Hair and skincare
- Essential oils
- Full-spectrum hemp extract
Weight Management
The TLC weight management products consist of:
- Iaso Tea
- Delgada Coffee
- Cafe Latin Style
- Resolution Drops
- SlimPaste
- Proz
The bestselling product out of this line is the Iaso weight loss tea (pronounced: eye-ah-so). This is a detoxifying tea that they claim is good for those who want to drop excess weight.
The tea is made up of a premium blend of 9 essential herbs is designed to cleanse the upper and lower intestines, ridding the body of toxins. It’s a natural solution that will flush out parasites without harsh chemicals or drugs.
Full Body Nutrition
The Total Life nutrition products consist of:
- NutraBurst
- NutraBurst+
- Chaga
- Stem Sense
- Techui
- Phyte
- Gano
- Nitro
The bestselling product out of this line is NutraBurst. According to their product brochure, NutraBurst provides all the vitamins and minerals needed in one dose.
This makes it easy for those who are too busy or just plain lazy to eat their veggies because they know NutraBurst will take care of them without any hassle at all.
Energy and Fitness
The energy snd fitness products consist of:
- NRG
- Matrix
- SlimAM
- SlimPM
- Life Drops
The bestseller out of this line is the NRG dietary supplement. It includes a fat burner called Advanta Z and green tea extracts that help prevent the body from converting calories into fats.
Essential Oils
The essential oils products consist of:
- Uplifting
- Gladiator
- Tea Tree
- Lemon Zest
- Peppermint
- Frankincense
- Blood Orange
- Wild Lavender
The Total Life Changes essential oils line is a relatively new brand that was announced back on January 8th, 2021. Essential oils have fast become a daily routine for many people because of their soothing and calming effects.
The company claims that these oils are made with the purest ingredients and have been tested for purity. Given that these are pretty new products for the Total Life Changes brand, only time will tell if this claim is true.
Full-Spectrum Hemp Extract
The Total Life Change hemp products consist of:
- Harmony Drops
- Alleviate Cream
- Iaso Instant Tea
More and more, hemp is being infused in products and medicine. People are using it for a number of reasons, from relieving pain to combating fatigue while trying to lose a few pounds. So I am not surprised to see that Total Life Changes has gotten into the hemp game.
Are Total Life Changes Products Safe?
The short answer is yes, Total Lifes Changes are safe, but they are not FDA approved. This is not necessarily a bad thing because the FDA does not approve supplements or nutritional-based products, they only regulate them.
They also do not allow companies to make unsubstantiated claims about their product’s functions in regards to your body without any hard evidence backing them up. In the case of Total Life Changes, the FDA has not given any approval or disapproval of Total Life Changes products.
If you’re looking for products that are guaranteed safe then you may want to choose something else; however if what you’re really after is results then it might be worth taking a chance because this product does show more promise than most other weight loss supplements on the market.
Bottom line? It’s your decision only with no 100% certain answers as to how safe these products are. The common sense advice would be to consult a medical professional who could better inform you as to whether you should take any dietary supplement.
Are Total Life Changes Products Worth Their Price?
When compared to other MLM programs in the health and nutrition direct selling industry Total Life Changes products are slightly pricier than their competitors.
For example, the core Herbalife and Amway weight management products, Formula 1 and Nutrilite Slimmetry range from $30 – $42. The TLC Iaso Tea is their signature weight management product, which has a cost of $50.
In the energy drink category, Total Life Changes Delgada Coffee runs you about $60, whereas Herbalife’s Green Tea and Amway’s XS Energy drinks cost between $28 and $38.
Right off the bat, you can see that the price difference is between $10 – $20 for these two particular product categories.
It might not seem like a whole lot, but if a potential buyer is on a budget this could have a significant impact on whether they purchase the TLC product or one of its competitors.
Especially, when you have to make frequent and repetitive purchases.direct selling companies
How Much Does It Cost to Join Total Life Changes?
The cost to join TLC as an Independent Distributor is $39.95 and for that price get a business starter kit that comes digitally or physically. However, there is a requirement for you to autoship a minimum of $40 worth of products every month.
You also get a replicated retail website which is basically a template of a website that used over and over but individually tailored to the user. In essence, you get an online store that you can sell products to your customers and make retail commissions.
Total Life Changes Membership Levels
In addition to being an Independent Distributor, TLC also offers three leadership packs in which you can choose from to help you recruit other members to become Total Life Changes distributors. They are:
- Basic Builder Leadership Pack – $104.95
- Professional Leadership Pack – 154.95
- Entrepreneur Leadership Pack – 309.95
The benefit of choosing these packs is that you will get 50% off on all TLC products, and it is a great way to build up extra stock in case you need to give your customers product samples.
Can You Make Money With Total Life Changes?
It is possible to make money with Total Life Changes, but it will not be all that easy. Statically speaking, about 95% of people who join Total Life as distributors actually lose money.
I suspect the main reason for this is because most people that become distributors don’t realize how much they must invest in their own inventory. It’s not possible to just go out and blitz family, friends, and unsuspecting neighbors trying to sell them Total Life Changes products at a high price point while trying to make a profit.
But that is not the only way.
Total Life Changes Compensation Plan
Even though a lot of people who sign up to Total Life Changes lose money, making a profit as a distributor is doable because TLC offers a compensation plan in which there are two ways to qualify for commissions:
- Meeting monthly QV by buying or selling products
- Earning commissions through bonuses
The first way is to make a monthly purchase that meets the minimum requirement of 40 QV. QV is a short acronym for qualifying volume which is a volume that is credited to your account when you purchase a product. This could be by purchasing a bottle of Nutraburst, Resolution Drops, or TLC’s dietary supplement called NRG.
If you choose not to purchase a product or enroll in a recurring monthly order called a Smartship, you could become qualified just by inspiring eight preferred customer sales. The sales must include a product with a minimum of 40 QV.
The second way to get paid with the TLC MLM is as a sponsor and the payouts are separated into six bonus categories:
1. Retail Bonus – with this added bonus you earn 50% of the product’s QV and paid commissions when you get your customers to reorder.
2. Fast Start Bonus – similar to the Retail Bonus, but the difference is that you will receive a 50% commission on the first order for every person you have sponsored on your team. This is a one-time payout.
3. Binary Leg System – the binary leg system means you get a percentage of 10 – 25% of pay from not only the Life Changers (pay leg) they have personally sponsored but also the purchases of the people they and others have referred as well.
4. Matching Bonus – you could begin earning a matching bonus once you reach the rank of director. With a matching bonus, you will earn between 10-50% of the binary pay of each of those three personally enrolled Life Changers (pay leg).
5. Life Changer Bonus (aka Corporate Expenses Account)- in order to receive the Life Changer bonus you must be considered active and qualify as a National Marketing Director or above. At this level, you qualify for a $1000 discretionary expense account to offset expenses of maintaining an office and for travel.
6. Car Bonus – for Total Life Changes top earners that do extremely well, they are offered a car bonus. I could not find anything about this in any of their income disclosure documents. But I don’t believe they actually receive a car. I think they are given cash incentives for high performance that equate to the value of what a car costs. What type of car, I am not sure. But I will definitely update the post if I find out more.
Who is Total Life Changes for?
TLC is for individuals who want to lose weight effectively. The dietary supplements, teas, and smoothies of the company work for those who are looking to shed pounds fast.
Apart from its products, Total Life Changes is also for people who want to start an online business and earn money online selling products through a network marketing company.
This company offers a business model that provides binary commissions to its members for personal sales and recruiting others to become Total Life Changes distributors.
This is done through its distributor compensation plan where a member can earn passive income in 6 different ways. I have mentioned these compensation plans in a previous section, so I won’t repeat them again.
Managing your business is made easy with the TLC Mobile Backoffice app. It allows you to stay connected with your team, place orders, and track your commissions all from the palm of your hand.
Using the app is simple, just download the free mobile app or you can go to the iOffice web site. Once there, create a Total Life Changes iOffice login. If there are no issues, you will now have access to your TLC mobile backoffice.
My TLC Review
Total Life Changes is a good supplier of dietary supplements if you are looking for products to decrease your overall weight. So far, the company hasn’t received negative reviews pertaining to its products.
This leaves a presumption that the products serve their purpose and deliver their claims.
When it comes to the Total Life Changes compensation plan, a 50% commission is already high. However, this is not the standard. The company explicitly states that it is “up to” 50%.
This means that you can other rates of less than 50%. It’s a good thing as well that the company provides weekly payout. For those who are looking to budget their money. You just need to put a lot of effort into selling and inviting recruits.
What I Like About Total Life Changes
- Detoxifies the organs
- Relieves indigestion
- Aids in losing weight
- Helps improve skin
- Can reduce inflammation
- Up to 50% commission for independent business owners
- Lots of available products to choose from
What I Don't Like About Total Life Changes
- The 50% commission is not standard
- You need to buy a business package to earn commissions
- The products have different effects depending on customers.
Is Total Life Changes Legit?
Total Life Changes is listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an A+, but that doesn’t mean you should not proceed with caution. In the past three years, there have been 212 complaints file with the BBB against Total Life Changes.
Additionally, it has received 2.5 out of 5 stars customer reviews. Much of the negatives reviews revolve around bad experiences with the product, poor customer service, or lack of support from its sponsors.
The saving grace for TLC is that they have been quick to respond and rectify the complaints, leaving a great majority of those who filed a complaint, satisfied with the final resolution.
TLC Issues
Despite the A+ rating from the BBB, Total Life Changes has had some legal issues.
First, on December 16, 2015, the Environmental Research Center filed a case against Total Life Changes for violations of California’s 1986 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. The lawsuit claimed that certain Iaso coffees and the NRG drink had lead in them.
From what I could tell from the court filings, a settlement was reached in August of the following year. I did not see any monetary payment in the case document, so my assumption is that TLC had to demonstrate some form of compliance with the state law
On April 24th, 2020 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a warning letter to Total Life Changes about misleading claims they made on social media. The specific claim was their advertising that their products treat or prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Furthermore, the FTC also noted that Total Life Changes lied about the earnings potential of a typical participant in order to get you hooked on this program, which they know will likely not work at all for most people who do it because there’s no solid evidence behind what they were claiming.
It is clear from the FTC investigation that a few people took advantage of the pandemic to make money from people who are suffering. Even worse, was that it was done by a company that really didn’t have to do so. They could have weathered the storm and found a way to write off the business losses.
But wait, there’s more!
On December 3, 2020, A new lawsuit was filed in the state of Minnesota. The lawsuit alleges that Total Life Changes had falsely represented the contents of its Raspberry Lemonade Instant Tea. The suit claims that this product includes tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is what makes cannabis psychoactive and gives it a high feeling.
The genesis of this lawsuit was due to a plaintiff who was living in Alabama but bought the instant tea while she was employed in Minnesota. The plaintiff failed a drug test and lost her job as an employee of Total Life Changes.
The lawsuit claims that TLC allegedly misled customers with their product marketing tactics about it being gluten-free when they knew better than to mislead those consumers given that 5% of all celiacs are not able to tolerate this ingredient due to how debilitating its effects can be for them.
Given these particular facts, I wouldn’t necessarily label Total Life Changes a scam, but it does have some questionable marketing and manufacturing practices. I would certainly advise doing some research before committing your hard-earned dollars to either the products or the business itself.
My Opinion - Total Life Changes
Total Life Changes is a good supplier of dietary supplements if you are looking for products to lose weight. So far, the company hasn’t received negative reviews pertaining to its products. However, it has been dealing with some legal issues over the past few years.
When it comes to the TLC compensation plan, a 50% commission is already high. However, this is not the standard. The company explicitly states that it is “up to” 50%. But unless you are putting in some serious work, I doubt you will see anything near that. Better yet, expect to lose money if you are just doing direct sales.
For me, it’s hard to say if just how much passive income you’ll make with TLC because there’s not a ton of success stories behind what they’re claiming about their products or the compensation plan.
You will find a number of reviews online that consider TLC as one of the best mlm companies to get into for health related products, I am not totally sold on that one. So, If you are considering joining Total Life then I would strongly recommend doing your research first before spending any amount of money.
2 thoughts on “Total Life Changes MLM Review: Is It Just Another Scam?”
I do like the message that TLC gives off. However, just like a lot of MLMs, joining as a Total Life Changer can be more of a headache than most people would assume. Yes, the commission rates seem decent but of course with MLMs it’s smoke in mirrors. From what I gathered about 50% of people who became Life Changers made any sort of commissions at all. Most only made a hundred a month, if that. It seems to me to actually make any sort of income from it, you would be working your tail off.
Not all is bad… The products are quality and I have seen good reviews from customers.
I guess it’s just a case of buyer beware. Some people get caught up with all the “smoke and mirrors” and before long, they are out hefty sums of money.