Empower Network – A Scam for the Ages?
Name: Empower Network
Website: www.empowernetwork.com
Price: $25/mth basic, $100/mth inner circle, $19 payment, $500 Costa Rica Intensive, $1,000 15K Formula, $3,500 Master’s Retreat
Owners: David Wood & David Sharpe
Overall Rank: 30 out of 100 points
**UPDATE: Empower Network Collapsed. The Company and Domain No Longer Exist.
The Product
Empower Network (EN) has been often times confused as being a REAL opportunity because of the relentless marketing taking place by the people pushing the product. However, there are many folks with real experience with Empower Network that are not happy and I am going to uncover some of the reasons why within. In this review I am going to be walking you through what EN is and help you decide whether or not it might be your path to Internet success.
Before I get started though I just want to clarify one thing. Empower Network is one of the lowest ranked products that I have ever reviewed and you are going to get a good idea why. If you are reading this, chances are you have been subject to someone “shamelessly” promoting EN to you and that is a normalcy. They can be very slimy, they promote slimy promotions, and if you become a member you are going to unfortunately be required to pass on the “slimy” tradition.
To put things into perspective, take a look at how Empower Network compares (or doesn’t) to other programs in the industry, you can get free websites (the foundation of your business) online. This can be accomplished through platforms like wordpress.com as well as many other hosts. There is a low price point to get started and a low price point to keep going, you won’t be subject to high ticket purchases in the same way that you are going to be within Empower Network. Plain and simple, you do not have to spend $1,000’s + monthly fees to create and grow a business online.
Pros vs. Cons
There are few pros and a lot of cons with Empower Network. The problem is that there is no real product behind the program, rather YOU are the product. The goal of the program is getting you to promote the very same scheme to other people and building a downline. Unlike other MLM products where there is actually a product that you are selling to customers (ex. Avon, Melaluca, etc), Empower completely lacks this element.
Here is a breakdown of the Pros & Cons of the Empower Network program:
Pros:
- Get your own empowernetwork.com blog
Cons:
- Has all of the common attributes of a PYRAMID Scheme
- No clear description of what the business is about, what you will be doing or what kind of interests you need for success.
- If you join, you have to become a ruthless sales person promoting Empower Network to others
- Riddled with “upsells”
- If you want to succeed, you are going to want to invest minimum $140/mth
- You have to PAY $20 per month just so you can get paid
- Widespread COMPLAINTS online about Empower Network
- No free trial
Who is Empower Network Intended for?
They claim everyone is going to earn money, with little money, with little work, on autopilot! Sounds like the DREAM we are all envisioning doesn’t it. However, that is not the reality of this program. Although anyone can join this product, it is intended for people that are willing to work very hard to build a downline and in many cases, do so in an unethical way because you are not actually “selling” anything to people, you are selling the fact that they will be able to sell what you are selling.
Here is a breakdown of how the compensation model works:
Confused? Well, that is because the more you dig into this apparent product, the more confusing it becomes as to what it actually is. It is reminiscent of “pen mail” where you send 5 people, they send another 5 people…and then so on and so forth. The person at the top of the pyramid (or triangle) gets paid the most, just like any other ponzi-like scheme the Empower has unlimited levels and payouts are always going to be “passed up” to the people at the top.
Guess who is not at the top. YOU. Guess who is at the top? The owners and the first few folks that got in at the starting point.
If you are not good at aggressive recruitment and hard selling people on the idea of a scheme like the one above, Empower Network is not going to be for you.
Tired of Ruthless Schemes Like Empower? Get REAL Help.
Empower Network Tools & Training
There are several different layers to the training offered at Empower, each have an additional price point. The training provided is really dependent on “whom” you sign-up through in this scheme. Some “upline” affiliates will offer you wonderful support and help (in attempt to build more success by having a successful downline). The actual materials within Empower very weak in nature because they are centered entirely around “how to promote empower network to others”.
There is also A LOT of emphasis on upgrading once you get into the system. This is called going “All In” and your sponsors will likely encourage you to go all in by calling you a “wussy” and other derogatory terms. Why? Because if you don’t buy all the training modules within Empower, then you are not going to be making others money.
That is what it is all about. You buy all the stuff (over $5,000 in total, which I will get to) and this money is going directly to your uplines and their uplines. If you don’t buy, then nobody is going to make money off of you and you can expect to be shunned by those “above” you.
If you are looking to earn money online and do it in a way that is ethical and can be applied to any niche, Empower will not be the community for you. Their primary focus is going to be training you how to promote Empower to other people. You have to look no further than the top affiliates, they are showcased within the program…but they are promoting the program itself versus earning money through other affiliate programs/niches.
Does Empower Network Offer ANY Support?
If you want a personal support system, EN is not going to be your program. There is no training or support offered without an extra cost (Inner Circle which is $100 per month for videos), and even at that, it is not personal training it a series of audios and videos. I never recommend any program that does not offer personal support and in which you do not have direct access or help from the owners. You will likely never have any meaningful contact with the owners directly. The owners are active in the promotion of their product and motivating the “crowd” to promote EN, but you will not see them selflessly helping folks within the bottom tiers.
Also, many folks complain that they are belittled within Empower Network by their so called “team leaders” if they don’t go all in. Going all in means that you buy all of their low grade products (which make your team leaders money) and if you don’t buy into the up to $5,000+ in products over the course of a year, be prepared to be called some really vulgar names (Read REAL customer comments below this review if you don’t believe me).
**In comparison, you can get started and get full support for completely FREE from experts…this includes FULL 1-on-1 mentoring and support and the owners are actively involved.
There are weekly calls from the David’s which is more of a “rah rah” session than anything else, aiming to recruit more people into their scheme.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Empower Network?
The pricing of Empower is complex and much more than it initially appears.
Blog Beast – Blogging System ($25 per month) / ENV2 – The fee just to take part of empower and to get your own blog (that every other member gets). There is nothing unique about this blog and you are tied to the EmpowerNetwork.com domain which is starting to get caught as SPAM by many search engines (not good!). And you can get much better blogs, in fact, your own FREE WordPress blogs where you are not tied into promote EN (you can promote your own niche).
You also do not own the content you create on your blog. I have received many complaints from folks that have quit Empower and have not been able to delete their websites because when you join, you sign a disclaimer stating that you don’t own any of the content you create. In essence, you basically get nothing for this $25 per month fee other than fact that you are creating content for someone else on a blog that looks the same as everyone else.
Important Update: These “paid” blogs have recently lost a lot of their “mojo” within the search engines (late May, 2013). In fact, EN no longer holds the #1 ranking under their own keywords (you can check for yourself if you like). This is because Google has deemed a good portion of the website as SPAM within their latest Penguin update. You can get much superior blogs for free elsewhere, so if you are buying into this program just for the blog, then I would suggest you save your money.
Also, if want to get the full scoop on Empower Network 2.0 (ENV2), you can get that here.
See a full comparison of Empower Networks PAID blogs vs. free websites here.
e-wallet ($19.99 per month) – In order to get paid, you need to pay for their payment processor. This is unheard of and the only reason that Empower Network has to do this is because they are working on the fringes of what is legal. There is absolutely no way a company like this would ever get approved by a reputable credit card processing company. Paypal or a normal Merchant account (Mastercard, Visa, Amex) would never allow payments to a company like Empower because they deem it as ILLEGAL or too high risk!
Inner Circle ($100 per month ) – This is hardly an inner circle. Other than giving you access to a some inner circle audios, becoming part of this program allows you to get paid even higher commissions ($100 residuals). So again, you are not paying for an actual product, you are paying to further promote the product that doesn’t really exist. It is like having a bag of air that you are selling for $25 and then paying $100 more to be able to sell you bag of air for more. But the EN pricing structure gets even more ridiculous than this!
Costa Rica Intensive ($500 one time payment) – This is a video sequence that focuses on building a business for the longer term…a business that again revolves around promoting Empower Network to others. I think you are probably getting the hint by now that the EN product is promoting the same product to others
The $15K Formula ($1,000 one time payment) – This is another video series that includes 9 videos in total, each video being a couple of hours in length. This covers a variety of topics outlining how to promote Empower network online. An example of this is using Youtube or Facebook…HOWEVER, Empower Network can no longer be promoted via these channels. This should throw up the red flags for you, the fact that Empower has been completely banned from Facebook and Youtube!!! This is the first product or service I have ever heard of that has been banned.
The Masters Retreat ($3,500 one time payment) – This is a series of 41 videos (mostly motivation) that were recorded at the Empower Network masters retreat. To me, spending $3,500 on motivational videos seems absolutely outrageous considering that most of this information has little to do with creating your own business and more to do with motivation (plus you could get a 10 YEAR membership at an all inclusive online business platform for the same price as well as get access to any of my other recommended top services (see The Good within the top menu)!). This is a high ticket product and the only reason you will see others attempting to get you to buy this product within the EN system is because they earn commissions off of you when they do.
So in totality, you are looking at $5,000+ $140 per month if you want the full suite of products offered within Empower Network. That is a far cry from the $25 price point that everyone seems to be promoting out there. Be forewarned, Empower Network is expensive, is overpriced, and you are looking at $1,000’s if you want all of their included training (going all in).
My Final Word on Empower Network (EN)
The product is YOU promoting the product to others. There surely are different things you can purchase within Empower after you buy into the initial blog, but that is there to drive the compensation model. You are shamed into buying it because your “sponsors” will not give you any additional help if you are not active within Empower and if you ever say anything negative about this network, be prepared to be jumped on.
The product is based around YOU promoting the Empower Network system to other folks (ahem…can you say pyramid scheme?). Need I say more? There are VERY few folks that are part of this program that have their own website, understand the proper way of creating a business online, or that are promoting different products other than EN itself.
You will see a lot of people “excitedly” promoting Empower Network to you and that is ONLY because they are going to earn money if you sign-up through them, not because they believe in the product itself (although they think they do).
I would stay as far away as you can from Empower Network and don’t look back if you are looking to create a real niche, business. One that you are passionate about and one that doesn’t require you to sell the very same system to others to recoup your costs. It may be convincing and people may be “begging” you to join underneath them, but it is not a real opportunity and the promotional module naturally encourages you to promote the very sam program to others. The system is centered around you selling it to others and around you going be forcefully pushed towards going “all in”…which means spending well over $5,000 and going into debt in many cases. Not exactly a $25 product after all.
Again, MY Overview…
Name: Empower Network
Website: www.empowernetwork.com
Price: $25/mth basic, $100/mth inner circle, $19.99/mth e-wallet, $500 Costa Rica Intensive, $1,000 $15K formula
Owners: David Wood & David Sharpe
Overall Rank: 30 out of 100 points (YES, 30…read the comments below to see real user feedback)
Just a Few (of the many) Empower Network Complaints Found Online…
Empower Network Complaint #1: Empower Network – A Not So Favorable Review
Empower Network Warning #2: Empower Network Review…Scratch That…WARNING!
Empower Network Bullying Complaint #3: Empower Network Bullies!
VERDICT: Pyramid-style scheme, VERY expensive, no support if you aren’t willing to SPEND
** Get the TRUTH About Building a Business Online! **
Do you have a personal review or complaint that you would like to share about Empower Network? If you do, I would appreciate it if you could leave your comments/experiences below! Thanks!
Kyle
Owner, WaysToAvoidScamsOnline.com
Hi my name is Don, Dave Wood and his staff committed fraud by using my card and taking money for empower network I asked Tracy Walker to have him email me in which he did. He cried the blues so I let it be then he did this again used my card another time for empower net work so I contacted my lawyer and he said I needed to use the word cancel my account, and if he uses it again then he can be charged, this what I am doing now, Does anyone have his personal email? thanks
Don
You actually agreed with this … Insane right ?
Guess what right before I found Wealthy Affiliate I had a guy tell me to join empower network which you reviewed in detail…I had no idea what the hour video I was watching was about there was no mention of anything just a bunch of people getting excited…
After I got asked what I thought and how much I had to invest I said not much and was told its $3500 for all in? The more you invest apparently the more you make. Then I wasnt interested and didn’t reply back and was asked again what I thought and I said I don’t want to spend and was told join for $1.
Oh and I was told when I asked what the product was that was being sold, that you don’t even need to know to make money. Yes actually, I do I need to know everything! One guy supposedly made $2,000,000 and had no clue what he was selling…. what a joke. Glad I didn’t fall for that one. it wasn’t half obvious that it is as dodgy as!
Yeah, that amount of money is a lot to invest into any program. The problem is that most people haven’t a clue about what really exists out there and the fact that a business online can be started for a fraction of this price, in fact, a TINY fraction of this process. You could operate a business for 10 years in the online space for $3500.
Hello Kyle,
I’m glad I found your website. I’ve been talking to this guy on Facebook who posts rosy motivational videos about some his amazing life because of an amazing system that will allow one to earn a lot of money. He talks about finding the right ”mentor” some years ago and because of this earning in the hundreds of thousands per year. He also claims he has mentored over 2000 people. This sounds great and everything but after watching about 3 of the videos that he sent me in form of links to web pages I still can’t figure out what the product is and all seems very mysterious. The video itself is a bit irritating because it is all about how much money other people have made and the promoter of the video keeps repeating “click buy now” and “the most successful people are the ones that make a decision quickly”. So far I just know it has something to do with blogging and being ‘mentored’.
Regards,
Luis
The best thing to do within any platform is to ask the people that are referring you into the platform how they go about their business and where a majority of their revenue comes from. If they all say the same thing, that they are making money by selling people into the same system, and nothing else then it could raise some alarms.
Also, when a product is sold on the sheer idea of “making money” (ie, hope) versus what the service actually offers, the prices of the products, and some transparency on how how the program works…then there is also a need for some red flags.
This is Miguel Torres from Spain.
Today, I have already cancelled my affiliation with EMPOWERNETWORK. Hoppefully, I was in less than a month and I was going to recover almost all that I invested. (Unless, they said that by email`s answer).
This experience has waked up my interest in a new world for me, INTERNET MARKETING.
I would like to find the way to work online that allowes me to manage my time and of course to earn money to live properlly. I prefer if it is possible not to show in the blog, web, my person. (Eh! I am not ugly and I do not have any problem, but I would like to manage appart what concerns to me and especially my family)
Right now, I do not have any Product or Service to sell.
Why I gave up EN was because I understand that it is to sell “smoke”. The people who introduced me in Spain is: CONECTA2ENLARED. The way that most of them promote to future clients to buy EN, it is showing theirs lifestyles in their blogs, and mailing to you once you ask for information a sequence of videos really well done to let you feel that they can drive you to live as you wish or dream, so buy EMPOWERNETWORK Products.
I suppose that like many people I am afraid of what to find through internet…Since I have learnt how we can be managed playing with the proper techniques about our psicology,
Finally, would you recommend me anything? Do you know any Spanish Business to coach me? Do you offer that coach free? (Is anything hidden behind? sorry about that question, i am afraid) Do you want me to help you to oppen your business to the Spanish Speakers?
Thanks and regards,
Miguel Torres
Sorry to hear about your experience Miguel. I personally don’t know of any Spanish coaches, but I would be more than happy to help you out in English if you need a hand getting your business up and running.
A businesses foundation should NOT be based on “which group” you chose, rather the process in which you create it. Too many people are getting internet business confused with internet schemes these days and there is a big difference between the too. A business requires you to build a website in a specific niche (could be anything) and to build an expertise/brand within that niche.
Any proper education platform will teach you this instead of teaching you to “sell the same stuff” in that you just bought into. If you want to get started and to do so for free, I recommend you check out this walkthrough here.
Hello Kyle,
First off I’d like to say that this is one of the most detailed reviews about Empower Network that I’ve ever seen…so thank you for bringing all of this to light!
I am one of those that fell prey to Empower Network and all their hype!
When I signed up with them, I ended up “UNDER-the-PYRAMID” with a guy who basically portrayed himself as the “main guy” or the Empower Guru…but I soon found out that he was under another Guru who was then under another Guru and several more on top of that!
So I started their training (because I had just invested a ton of money with them and wanted to get as much training in as I could before their “money back guarantee” time period was over) and their system was so confusing that I immediately had an entire three pages of questions written down.
When I contacted my “Upline Sponsor” via email/his contact form and submitted all my questions to him in hopes he would answer them, I got a nasty email back saying something like this,
“Well Jeremy, you obviously haven’t followed the steps within our training courses and you need to go back through them, so I’m not going to answer your questions because the course will answer most of these for you!”
Wow!!!
I was blown away and so mad at this guy!
But I did what he said and went back through the material only to find CONTINUOUS UP-SALES that I would have to buy into to actually get the answers that a was seeking…can you believe that! And I’m talking about Up-Sales in the amounts of $2000, $5000 and $10,000 USD dollars!!!! So I would have to spend this just to get some answers???
I DON’T THINK SO!
So then I cancelled my membership within the “money back guarantee” period and guess what???
YES, THEY CANCELLED MY MEMBERSHIP ACCESS TO THEIR SYSTEM.
NO…I DID NOT RECIEVE EVEN ONE PENNY BACK IN RETURN!!!!
So their so-called “money back guarantee” is truly a SCAM!!! DOUBLE SCAM!!! TRIPLE SCAM!!!
That all took place a few years ago and I had been searching for another “LEGITIMATE” course/school/university/program that would ACTUALLY teach me all that I needed to know about “Online Marketing” or Online Affiliate Marketing because I really had a passion to learn more about (and implement) this type of business model and then turn it into a full-time income for myself.
Then earlier this year (in 2015…July I believe it was), I found a course called: “The Six Figure Mentors Digital Experts Academy”
..and I was drawn in by the authentic personalities of the owners and I bought it (at a high level) right away.
Now I will say that they offer a great course with all the information one would need to start a business, however, to gain “access” to ALL the training modules and to the “higher levels of support” I was going to have to spend thousands more of which I was going to do, but then I found (by mistake) an article (from a gentleman who is also a member at both The Six Figure Mentors as well as Wealthy Affiliate) where he talked about how a person could get the same exact training but for pennies on the dollar with Wealthy Affiliate compared to The Six Figure Mentors.
I was skeptical at first, but since WA had a free membership, I went ahead and signed up to see what all would be made available…and I started the courses right away.
It didn’t take me but two or three weeks of going through the material offered on the Free Membership to realize that this was an amazing affiliate marketing course and in all reality, the thing that sealed the deal for me the most about Wealthy Affiliate was the “Support Community!”
I was so impressed that, even as a free member, I could ask the community a question and within just minutes (sometimes even within just seconds) I would have several people answering me back…and not just cheesy answers either, I mean true, detailed and informative answers along with action steps I should take and everything!
That’s when I said to myself, “I’m all in!” …and I then upgraded to a Premium Membership and then not long after that, I upgraded to the Annual Premium Membership.
Wow, I just realized that I’ve written a small book here…LOL! I better cut this short and ask you the question I have, which is…
“Do you have a review that you have written on The Six Figure Mentors – Digital Experts Academy and if so, where can I find it?
If not, would you mind emailing me back (or commenting back on this thread and emailing me to let me know that you’ve replied) and provide your honest feedback about them?
Thank you in advance and I hope my “novel” here actually helps somebody to stay away from Empower Network…because they are truly a SCAM!!!
ALL THE BEST,
Jeremy David Wilson
Thanks for your feedback Jeremy, I know your personal experience is definitely going to offer a lot of insight into this program for others. It is sad to hear that people are still being “taken” by this program and the sort of treatment that customers get when they do decide that the program/service is not for them. Quite typical these days to be honest within an industry that is riddled with scams and schemes (and is all too unfortunate).
I am not familiar with the other program that you mentioned either. You may want to seek out other reviews and if they are charging several $1,000 for their program (which it sounds as though they are), they are no different than the next scheme that is looking to fill its pocketbooks off of your loss.
Hey Kyle,
Thanks for replying back and for your input and feedback…I greatly appreciate it!
All The Best,
Jeremy David Wilson
I got a very nasty email from one of their top pyramid inhabitants, Russian Polina Klyukach from alphaleadership777.com. It was a confirmation that she isn’t the ‘feel good, free spirit’ person she promotes herself with. It’s just a greedy lie. I’m feeling pretty sad for all the poor folks who are pouring money in her scam, making a few even richer by emptying their wallets for nothing. Her Facebook is filled with the nice and rich life she has. Misleading it is.
Those EN people don’t have any conscience. But… this pyramid will crumble.
I know what you mean about not getting any help from Empower Network. I joined when it first started and unless I kept buying more of their systems, they would forget about you.
I think a lot of the time it is going to depend on who your “sponsor” is within programs like this. If you have an engaged sponsor, you are more likely to get quality support. However, there are many cases within MLM programs where your sponsor views you as nothing more than a “transaction” in which case if you are not willing to pay more money (go all in), you are going to get little to no support.
This is not a scam just a total BS program with no product. Also all the pass ups and stuff really do suck. I went in at the 1600 level and made one sale at 1600 and got my money back and quit. I make a full time living online with out this BS program.
I hate it when they get newbie people to believe that one must spend thousands of dollars to make money online that is such a lie.
I like this post very much and I think it is helpful to many people. I was involved in Empower Network for 6 months.
The site got no rankings and like you say it is not your own. It is owned by the “masters” and if you don’t obey the rules of their game they kick you out. OOOOOOOOOOw that hurts, all the slavery work you did hoping it will make you a millionaire in no time (claims made by most of the Ponzi schemes) goes up in smoke.
There is no real product of any value involved. The only thing you do is selling your soul for money. Like you say you are the product (slave).
A good product is something that improves your life, something valuable, so valuable that it sells itself. For example Google and Facebook tools, are useful and valuable to support your online business. My Empower Network site got no rankings in a period of 6 months while my Blogger site got ranked almost instant on certain subjects. Support was nowhere around.
Because the product does not have any intrinsic value, all work is only focused on marketing and persuasion. This is what happens in many MLM programs. It is not value oriented, but only money oriented.
Most of these companies like you say uses slimy techniques to bring the masses in some kind of dead men walking state where you don’t need to think for yourself anymore. “We will do all the selling for you” (All the hard work). The only requirement is to obey our system. “Tell our (not your good news) good news and recruit as hard as you can, we will do the rest for you” (Spam your links all over the internet. We will do the phone calls and close the deal).
They try to brainwash you using hypnosis techniques that are focused on lack instead of empowerment and self-realization. “If you don’t listen to us you will stay poor”.
I was involved in My Advertising Pays which in my opinion is a real scam because I was locked out of their program because of coding errors they had with their program while they were blaming me for hacking their system. Do you want to become involved in such a program? Think twice.
The real definition of empowerment you can read here http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/empowerment.html.
The reason these schemes are still popular is because of the fact that most people live in a state of lack and as you understand it is very easy to take advantage out of these people. False promises and attractive compensation plans is all that is needed to get people signed up. Once you have enough people in your downline you have residual income month after month until it collapses what already happened with many schemes like PlanB4you, Profitable Sunrise, Banners Broker etc…Once the leaders have enough money the become less responsive because why should I give longer support if I already have earned enough money myself. The tragedy is that most of the people make nothing and like you say work for the “fake leaders with fake money not earned in an ethical way”
They make use of network marketing and duplication which is a good thing if it is used for valuable products.
I would not say that all MLM companies are a scam but I think it is recommended to do your research and make sure it is of value for YOUR business.
Do you know if this kind of attractive compensation plans and forms of duplication are also available in affiliate Marketing?
Thanks for your feedback and insights Kevin.
IN response to your question, yes there are many attractive compensation plans within the affiliate marketing world. Unlike MLM or network marketing, the focus of your promotions is selling a product/service to an end user, not selling them on a “system” you are involved in. It is truly a B2C move in the space and you can literally promote MILLIONS of products and services as an affiliate.
When a program focuses on recruitment as the main form of income versus selling products to a particular audience, then it is a questionable product/service. That is the case for MANY MLM’s and the reason many of them have gotten shut down (WakeUpNow, ZeekRewards, BannersBroker, etc).