Over 60% of people in the UK are considered overweight or obese. So it’s no wonder why people are searching for new ways to lose weight and get healthy – and why businesses like Slimming World are capitalizing on it.
But if you’ve been involved in a Slimming World group and have had success with it, you might be wanting to help others out. Perhaps you’ve even been invited to some “Opportunities Evenings,” with people encouraging you to become a consultant.
But should you, is it worth it?
In this article, we’ll go over what Slimming World is, what their “consultants” do, how much they make, how much it costs to get started, and if you should get involved.
Slimming World Overview
Slimming World is a UK-based company whose goal is to help people lose weight by providing weight management programs.
And those programs are based on three things:
- Healthy eating plan
- Getting active
- Strong support system
For one thing, they have a healthy eating plan that is different than other companies like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. They teach you what foods you should eat and what you should try to avoid.
But they make it a point to let you know that their food will still taste delicious and you won’t be cutting out things like pasta – you’ll just be making them healthier.
They also guide people on how to add activity into their everyday activities, helping people insert exercise without feeling overwhelmed.
But their main distinguishing factor is their support system. They have both an online and in-person presence. And members have to pay to be able to go to the support groups.
Their support system is actually where you, if you become a consultant, would come in.
How To Become a Consultant
Becoming a Slimming World Consultant is a significantly different process than becoming a consultant for Paparazzi Jewelry or Norwex.
For starters, you have to have been a member in order to become a consultant.
That might sound like an odd requirement, but their reasoning is because they want you to know what it feels like to have a weight problem and overcome it.
They also hope that you, as a previous member, would be able to understand how they (successfully) differ from other, competing companies.
You can sign up on their website by hitting the “be a consultant” button, which will redirect you to the sign up page. You’ll have to fill out a form, and then the company will get back to you in a few days.
You should know that you aren’t signing up to sell cookbooks, you’re essentially investing in a franchise. So, there is a huge upfront cost that we’ll cover a little bit later.
What you’re doing is becoming a support group’s leader. But you’ll still have access to support from the company on how to grow your own business and be successful.
How Do You Earn Money?
You earn money by being a franchisee.
You’re the leader of a support group for Slimming World members who are trying to lose weight. During the support sessions, people will share ideas, recipes, stories, and other things to help encourage people to drop pounds and get healthier – all while going through the process together.
The members who you’ll be leading have to pay a fee to attend the group, which acts as your payment. You’ll also be able to sell items in your group that you can earn commissions off of.
And you don’t have to go out searching for members yourself, you will be assigned a group once you pay the franchise fees and get all set up.
And while that might seem like a great thing at first – especially for those of us who wouldn’t do so well with recruiting – it can be a double-edged sword.
On one hand, you’ll be automatically assigned a set number of people, but that’s exactly what it is – set. You can’t go out and get more people to come and join your group, it’s strictly assigned.
And, since how much you earn is directly related to how many people are in your group, it’s a gamble as to whether you’ll get assigned a group that is big enough to make it worth it.
How Much Does It Cost?
The franchise fees are astonishing – £1,500 to £2,000 (about $1,900 to $2,600). Those investments must be paid upfront before you get assigned your group and can start earning.
How Much Can You Make?
How much you can make seems to depend on who you ask. Slimming World claims that consultant earn between £100-£400 per week working only 10-20 hours (a part-time job).
However, consultants say that the amount you make per week actually depends on how many people are in your group.
On average, consultants claim to make only £30-£65 (or $40-$85) per week – and that’s with an average of 25 members in the group.
To put that into perspective, if you were making £65 a week, it would take you over 30 weeks to make back your initial investment of about £2000. That’s over seven months just to break even!
And you have to account for people leaving your group, either because it wasn’t working for them or because they reached their goals. The amount of people can fluctuate, which means so can your income.
And unfortunately, the majority of consultants claim that they never made their money back.
Conclusion
Overall, becoming a Slimming World “consultant” (aka a franchisee) is a very risky move.
It’s costly to say the least, it takes a long time to break even, and you have no control over the size of the group you get assigned (meaning you have no control over how much money you can make).
It’s one of those companies where some people claim to make a killing at it, but most seem to end up losing a large amount of cash.
Ultimately, the decision is a personal one, but it’s worth going into with extreme caution.
“On one hand, you’ll be automatically assigned a set number of people, but that’s exactly what it is – set. You can’t go out and get more people to come and join your group, it’s strictly assigned.
“And, since how much you earn is directly related to how many people are in your group, it’s a gamble as to whether you’ll get assigned a group that is big enough to make it worth it.”
Is utterly wrong. As self-employed franchisees Slimming World Consultants are actively encouraged, indeed contractually obliged to grow their group membership through promotion. Consultants earn money through fees that that they get from members and the more members they have, the more successful they are and the better rewarded. Training for Consultants is based on the method and there’s a huge focus on delivering a great service built on compassion and warmth and investing in members’ long term success.