Name:Empower Network
Website:www.empowernetwork.com
Price: $25/month to get started, $100/month inner circle,$500 one time costa rica intensive + many more upsells
Owners:David Wood and David Sharpe
Support: None
Training Provided: None
Training Levels: Intermediate to Advanced
Product Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
Product overview:
I have wanted to do a review on EN for you guys for a while now. Just the name makes me sick because I know of several people who have lost thousands of dollars to this scam. I feel it is my job to keep you guys informed of as many scams out there as I can.
To be quite honest with everyone there is really no product within this pyramid scheme. Unlike many other MLM companies that actually have a product that you promote and sell. There is absolutely no product within this scheme. When you join for $25 you will get a blog that has got EN in the domain. What you will be doing is trying to get other people to join under you to promote this very unethical company.
Who is the targeted audience for Empower Network?
They claim that anyone can join and in a few weeks you will be making thousands of dollars for doing very little work. Doesn’t this sound like what everyone else out there is telling everyone?
Don’t fall for it. Any company that is real will tell you upfront that in order to make money at anything it is going to involve lots of hard work, dedication, and motivation. This program is intended for people that want to work hard building up their down line.
The way they teach you to do this is very unethical and I have heard stories from other people where their friends have turned against them for trying to get them involved in EN.
Is it possible to make money with Empower Network (EN)
There are people who make money with Empower Network, but it’s not even close to what they claim you can make. Check out this income chart for active members promoting Empower Network on a daily basis. This should give you a better understanding of the Income potential that is available.
As you can see almost half of all active members are not making any money whatsoever. I got this graph directly from their website and you can see this information is up to date. The few people that are making money are the ones at the top.
Doesn’t sound like the dream come true that everyone who is promoting EN says it is does it?
Tools and Training provided when you join
There are several different layers of training available at EN all with a different price point. The training is really all dependent on who your sponsor is. Some sponsors in Empower Network do a great job of training others how to promote this ponzi pyramid scheme. They do this so that they can build a successful down line and increase their income. 
If you are looking to build a successful business in any niche that you want and grow your business everyday, then the Empower Network is not for you. The main focus of their training and the tools they provide you with is going to be to turn you into a ruthless aggressive salesman, and how to promote EN to other people.
Is there any Support offered by Empower Network
If you are looking for help and support within the EN community then you are going to be highly disappointed. There is absolutely no help or support provided unless you are willing to go “all in”. Even then all you get is a few videos and audio recordings telling you how great their program is and why you should be promoting it.
I would never recommend any program to my visitors that doesn’t have any personal help or support. I wanted to bring something else to everyone’s attention as well. If you don’t go all in as they call it, then you will be insulted and your so called team leaders will call you a “wussy” along with many other degrading names.
(Going “all in” means that you need to buy all of their low quality high priced products)
Why you may ask? because if you don’t buy into the other high priced low quality training modules then everyone else that is above you won’t make any money.
Each week David will have you call in and get involved in their team calls. These are pretty much just another “rah rah” session that is geared towards getting you pumped up and give you tips on how to promote EN.
Let’s check out the Pros vs the Cons
Pros:
- Get started for $25
Cons:
- It is one of the biggest ponzi pyramid schemes of 2012/2013
- There is no product unlike most other MLM pyramid schemes that offer a product or service.
- Once you join you have to try and get other people to join by whatever means is necessary even if it is unethical.
- You are buying into the DREAM that if you go all in you will make big money in a small amount of time. (Kinda like playing the lottery)
- They have been banned from Facebook and YouTube for some time now.
- Due to the fact that they are running an illegal business you have to pay $20 a month extra for a payment processor just to get any money you earn from this company.
- If you don’t upgrade you will be called a wussy along with many other names
- No personal help and support from the owners
- A continuous stream of up-sells
- It has been banned in the United States(Maybe that is why it’s located in CostaRica)
- Paypal won’t accept them due to them running an illegal business
- It is 100% NOT newbie friendly
The Many Different Price Points In Empower Network
$25 monthly fee for their blogging network- For $25 monthly fee you are going to get a basic WordPress blog that is tied to the Empower Network. There is nothing special about these blogs and everyone gets one when they join. Ever since the latest Google update in late May 2013 these blogs are being picked up as spam and they have lost most of their rankings.
You could get the exact same blogs right here for FREE that won’t have the Empower Network splattered all over it. You could use these blogs to promote anything you want.
If you ever do decide to leave, all of the content you create on these blogs is not yours. You are required to sign a disclaimer stating this when you join. To be honest with you guys you are basically getting nothing for your $25 a month except the right to promote EN to other people on a blog that you don’t own.
$19.99 monthly payment processor fee- This is the first time I have ever seen a program that charges you a monthly fee just to get paid. This automatically raised a bunch of red flags for me. Instead of going through Paypal or any other company, Empower Network has to do this because Paypal won’t accept them due to the fact that they are running an ILLEGAL business and they are considered high risk.
When you join they tell you that you need to pay this monthly fee to be an affiliate for their company. This is just the start of their lies and you will come to realize this the longer you stay with them. There are no affiliate programs out there that charge you to promote their company. Why would they? You would be bringing them more business.
$100 monthly fee for the inner circle- This has got to be the worst thing you could ever spend $100 on every month. The inner circle is a bunch of audio recordings from the gurus at the top who are getting rich off of you.
They are basically bragging about their success (I shouldn’t call it that, ripping people off is a better term) while they are sitting in their yachts sipping margaritas. So once again for another $100 monthly fee you are getting nothing except the chance to get paid higher commissions to try and get other people to join under you.
$500 one time fee for CostaRica Intensive- This is a series of webinars that go over things like SEO and online advertising. This is a guy or girl in front of a whiteboard explaining how this all works.
The only problem is they record them in a way that is so boring that it could make anyone fall asleep. Each video is about an hour long and it doesn’t go into a lot of detail because the main focus of these videos is teaching you how to promote their sleazy so called products to other people.
Definitely not worth $500 you could learn all about SEO and online advertising and get started for Free.
$1000 one time fee for the $15K formula- This is another set of videos showing you the different ways that you can promote the Empower Network. With 9 videos in all, these cover a variety of different topics including using Facebook and YouTube to promote EN.
This should raise some more red flags as well because Empower Network can no longer be promoted via Facebook or YouTube. They have been banned from both networks. I have never heard of a product or service based company getting banned from these networks.
$3500 one time fee for Costa Rica Masters Retreat- This is the newest set of videos geared towards how to promote EN. There are 40 lessons in all and the videos are in HD. Released in August of 2012 they cover everything from how to get started to becoming a leader and not a follower.
They are basically just like before a bunch of rehashed videos from the ones listed above the only difference is these are in HD. Once again you are not getting any value here for your money.
For $3500 you could get a real education in Internet marketing for 10 years.
So as you can see you are looking at over $6,000 if you want to succeed and make any decent money with Empower Network. This is not even close to the $25 that everyone promoting this scam says you need to invest to make money with this program.
My Final Thoughts on Empower Network
There is no product whatsoever so when you join you are going to be selling thin air to everyone. If you don’t know much about Internet marketing or how EN works, you will end up losing lots of money and fail miserably at this. When people join under you it is your responsibility to train them on how to recruit other people into this program.
That is why they say if you don’t go “ALL IN” you won’t succeed. The less you buy into it the less you will make. The only way to build up a successful down line is to do one on one personal coaching with every person who joins under you through Skype or Google hangouts.
If you are the kind of person who has no problem
- Lying to people just to get them to join under you
- Selling them dreams that they could possibly make $1000’s
- Take every last penny they have and leave them with nothing
- Joining the EN zombie club where the only phases coming out of your mouth is Don’t be a wussy, 100% commissions, bad ass, David Wood.
Then you will fit right in with the Empower Network. However, if you are interested in building a business online that you own and have 100% control over it. Then I invite you to check out my #1 ranked product of all time here.
I would love to get as much feedback on this from everyone. If you have been a member of EN in the past, are currently involved with them now or you are thinking about joining I would love to hear about it.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts below and I will get back to you ASAP. If you found this review helpful and enjoyed it please share it. Your Friend Scott
Read below about what a few other former members of EN had to say about it and why they decided to get out when they did.
Thanks for this review, Scott. This pseudo business is just criminal.
Unfortunately, there are still people who think iPas2 has nothing to do with Empower Network – or aren’t even aware of EN (which, itself has been banned from FB, although if you google it, you’ll find EN people telling their members how to bypass the FB bans – a really disgusting low for a business that claims to be legit).
At the moment, they’re advertising a ‘$7 trial offer’ – however, if you pay it, it will take you to another page demanding another $47, still without a word on what the business actually is, what the products are (of course, we all know there are no products whatsoever), and nothing up front about the actual business plan or model.
It’s all hype and highway robbery, but every dog has it’s day and I’m sure it will be shut down soon enough, with new laws being created to circumvent any clever ideas about rebirthing a new form of the old scam.
All it takes is a small group of people banding together who’ve been financially burned by these criminals, and starting a class action.
It might not happen overnight, but I’m confident that scenario is quietly waiting in the wings and the sting of the law will come.
Hi Sam,
I’m glad this review has helped you out. I agree that what they are doing here is just down right wrong. When you get banned from places like FB and Google this should be a wake up call. I wish the FTC would step in and shut them down. I think the only reason why they haven’t is because their headquarters is located in Costa Rica.
I wasn’t aware that they changed their pricing but thanks for this information I will have to update it in my review. Like I mentioned in my review when you join you will be expected to promote the same trashy program to others and get them involved in this scheme. No products or business model as far as I’m concerned. I would much rather show people how to get started in a legit business of their own where they are in control along with showing them how to get started for FREE.
I agree that they are selling the dream and the more that you buy into their scheme the farther in debt you will be. Hopefully they will get shut down soon but it seems like as you have said they are finding new ways to breath life into an old scam. If we could get enough people together who has been burned by these criminals then I’m sure we would have a fighting chance to get them shut down.
I really do want to thank you for stopping by Sam and sharing your thoughts on EN with everyone here. If I can help you out in anyway let me know.
Your Friend, Scott
Empower Network jiffed me out of money with their nasty server crash.
I had proof of paying money, signing up and all and I got charged twice for the same stupid product at the same time! I emailed my sponsor and EN Support (at the time, I heard Dave Sharpe was doing support), No answer from neither. I understood when I signed up and paid $25 that there was no refund. I then upgraded and 2nd month was charged 2 times for the same product at the same time. I got No Refund, No Support, No email, Nothing! I should of gotten a refund, and I did not.
I had to pay double what everyone else did, unfair! This happened in NOV of 2011 when they were getting tons of sign ups and supposedly their server crashed! No Mercy from these guys at all, It is a sham, scam, and even spam, because their affiliates spam people to death! I am now getting ipas and ipas2.0 emails from there affiliates calling ipas a system that makes them $$$ blah, blah, blah!
Where is the proof? Empower Network does not work! The Blog is not a stand alone blog and gets deleted by Google immediately! They tell people You do not need a website. Then, What is a Blog? A blog is a Website as far as I am concerned. I was a newbie and They knew it, Their Marketers and Founding
Members that signed up in July 2011 to promote EN were all very well seasoned marketers and knew what they were doing.
To this day they put ads on Craigslist! That is How I found them! Only the top 2% in EN are earning a nice Income, -the ones that started in July of 2011. The Rest are just trying to make a go of it.
Here’s how They train people:
They Tell Them to go out and sign up Family and Friends and your Co-workers
Mail postcards
Put up PPC ads and advertise on Facebook.
Two of my back office lead pages were somehow not working and then I started using another one and then the 3rd one quit working.
I literally freaked out after that, because all of my marketing efforts went down the drain. Get this- I had to pay money to use lead pages that did not work. Now I research everything I come across online, because there are a lot of scam millionaires out there. Since being burned several times by EN, 1. Lies about Training, (was told there would be weekly Training=I did not get any due to their servers being down and they sure did not make it up to us newbies who were told we would be trained. How did these Guys get Training? Ever heard of paying it forward? They knew what they were doing and someone at there place went in and disabled the lead pages that I was using.
It had to be done on purpose, because after the third one was sent out and working once I sent it out, then it got disabled. I also read on some peoples blogs that they did issue some refunds to an upset blogger that put in over $5500 and still could not get it to work.
He called the BBB in Florida where Dave Sharpe lives. TIP: If You promote other peoples products, Do not use their Lead Page or opt in Page. There could be a glitch, or if You are getting leads to it, the owners could go in and redirect them to their lead pages. God Knows what happened, I have been doing lots of research and read on some blogs that gurus do this. But how? I have found Boatloads of Scams out there, Why should I pay to be done dirty? FTC needs to close them ( Empower Network) down!
Hi Cissy,
I’m really sorry to hear that you have been scammed by EN. I have always said that you are paying $25 for a blog that isn’t going to get you anywhere in terms of Google rankings. You can actually get the same blogs/websites for FREE here without the stupid EN logo splattered all over it.
There have been multiple complaints filed against this company and I feel it’s only a matter of time before the FTC steps in and shuts this pyramid scheme down. There is absolutely NO REASON why you should have had to pay double and I think they just lied to you about their server crashing.
Another thing to keep in mind is they have been banned from Facebook,Google and You Tube for spamming everyone so this should throw up a red flag immediately. There is no product, no training and when you join you will basically be trained on how to promote this pyramid scheme to others. A blog is something you can get for free that you can use to write content on, but you have no physical control over it. It’s owned by the company where you got it from and they have complete control over everything you put on it.
With a website it’s something that you have complete control over and you can write anything you want on it without have the EN’s nasty logo all over the website. It’s also something that you will own(If you have purchased your own domain). It increases in value the more content that you add to it.
According to statistics that came directly off of their website it shows that only 1% of all their members are making anything at all. This also goes to prove that it’s a pyramid scheme and only the people at the top make anything. As far as them trying to train you that’s about a joke. As you have already mentioned they tell you to go after your warm market first. This means you have got to harass your family and friends and spam their Facebook wall to try and get them to join under you. Mailing postcards is a thing of the past and you aren’t going to get anywhere by doing this.
If you don’t know what you are doing with PPC you can lose lots of money fast and I don’t recommend that anyone start out with PPC before learning how SEO works. Everything about this company is a scam and I think the only way they are staying up and running is because their actual headquarters are located in Costa Rica.Once again I’m sorry to hear about your terrible experience with EN but I wanted to let you know that all hope isn’t lost.
Obviously you are looking for a way to make money online but you don’t seem to be having much luck with this Cissy, Am I right? I want to let you know that all hope isn’t lost. If you are looking for a way to start up an online business where you get actual REAL training, high quality tools and 24/7 around the clock help and support. I would highly recommend that you check out Wealthy Affiliate
You can get 2 free websites that you can use to promote any niche you want and they won’t have that nasty EN logo all over them either. You will also gain instant access to your first training course showing you the proper way to get a website up and running. I will also be there to help you out and answer any questions you may have getting started. I would suggest that you get started by opening your FREE account and get started by filling out your profile with a picture and write a little about yourself in the description.
I really do appreciate you stopping by Cissy and sharing your experience you had with EN with everyone here. Hopefully this will help everyone that reads this to avoid falling for this pyramid scheme and save them lots of their hard earned money. I really am looking forward to working with you Cissy and helping you get an online business up and running.
I hope to talk to you soon Cissy
Your Friend, Scott
Hey Scott,
I was about to join EN today! I am in the midst of finding a good HBB and found out about EN yesterday. Spent my whole day and night plus this morning studying the whole thing, what people say and so on. I wanted to learn more from other people, so I googled again this afternoon. And voila, the reviews that the EN members said – incorrect – were in front of me. I read a review by someone who was a member and I was skeptical because I thought he just wanted to promote another source of HBB. And I was skeptical with your review at first, because you didn’t say you were a member. How would he know all that? I thought. But then, I realized… The co-owner/founder, whom I started to like, was leaving the company, because of his health. I didn’t have a good feeling with D. Wood. Sooo…
Did you say that with WA, the WA is not attached to “our website”? So, will it be like a domain name dot com without WA attached? Thanks.
Hi Jenn,
I’m so glad that I was able to save you from being sucked into EN and that i have saved you a ton of money. I have a friend who was into EN pretty big and he lost thousands of dollars with this pyramid scheme. I wrote this full review so that I could warn other people like yourself and many others to avoid this scheme and show them a real way to start up a business online.
It really does pay to do lots of research before you join any program online that promises you can make money with it. Everything about EN is a lie and they have some of the shadiest marketing tactics that I have ever seen. I had no idea that David Wood’s health is bad and I will have to take note of that. With the WA websites you can get started in any niche that you would like and you won’t have the WA at the end of the URL.
These are sub domains and so they will have the extension siterubix at the end of them. The purpose of these websites are to get you started out at no cost to you. You can always transfer this over to your own domain whenever you are ready to do so. There is training on how you can do all of this at WA. I would get started by opening your FREE account and filling out a few details.
I really am looking forward to working with you Jenn and once again I’m glad that I was able to save you from getting mixed up in this pyramid scheme. If you have anymore questions or need my help with anything let me know. Talk to you soon Your Friend Scott
Hey Scott,
It was David Sharpe. He’s unwell. I kinda like him very much.
Anyway, I’m in and a premium member now. 😉 It’s me actually with a different email address. See you there, Scott. And thank YOU!
Hi Jenn,
OK well neither one of them can be trusted and I wouldn’t have nothing to do with either one of them. Congratulations on going premium Jess and I will talk to you inside of WA.
Your Friend Scott
I was ALL IN because I’ve been a wussy and completely irresponsible in regards of my finances. I felt that DW was kind of getting a over inflated ego when I saw some of the stuff he was doing during the events.
For people considering EN you have to be aware that they launched the “Blog Beast” in September 2013. This was supposed to be the biggest launch ever on the Internet. I has been a total Fiasco and the Daves went to hide for a couple of weeks never talking the results or anything about the launch were millionaires were supposed to be created.
Than Dave Wood slowly started to appear back on FB with pics of him and his new girlfriend. I wrote him:” you are still married man – what you are doing is not OK – promoting adultery as being a way to attain happiness”. He replied privately…
The other point I want to make is: if he could lie to Ashley who has been through hell to help him achieve his dream. If he could show the world the new house he bought and 2 weeks later go public about his affair. He is the type of person who can lie. He simply is a liar with no emotion whatsoever in regards of the people he is getting in serious financial trouble.
HE IS A WUSSY! A REAL ONE… SAME THING FOR HIS PUPPET SHARPE…
Hi Mitch,
I’m sorry to hear that you went ALL IN and got scammed out of over 5 thousand dollars. I am glad that you got out of EN and have moved on. I really think it’s hilarious that the blog beast which was one of the most hyped up launches on the internet didn’t do as well as they thought it would.
I have to agree with you that if he can promote adultery and act as if its OK to behave like that, and lie to Ashley who has been by his side the whole time, then he can lie to millions of people and not think nothing of it. The only person he cares about is himself and how many people he can rip off so that he can put more money in his pocket. As you have stated when it comes down to true facts he is the only WUSSY along with SHARPE.
The Empower Network will show you how to get into some really serious financial trouble if you are gullible enough to believe their lies. If you are looking for a real way to get an online business setup and running with no risk whatsoever, and without having to go ALL IN then you should really check out Wealthy Affiliate. You can even get started for FREE and get the same blogs that they are charging $25 a month for FREE.
The only difference is it won’t have EN splattered all over it and you are free to promote anything you want on them unlike their blogs where you are forced to promote EN to other people.
I really do appreciate you stopping by Mitch and sharing this with everyone and if I can help you out in any way man please let me know.
Your Friend Scott
I was about to join Empower Network, but I did my research. At first, I was excited about the opportunity. Then, my husband told me to check the BBB and that’s when things started going downhill with me. I also checked out other blogs and I found out all I needed to know about the company. I don’t think it’s right the way they lead people on. If anything, be upfront about the business from the get go. But then they wouldn’t be making any money. I’m not the type of person to lead people on. It just doesn’t feel right. I’m just glad I didn’t join!
Hey Mallory, I’m glad you didn’t join either. The Empower Network is one of the biggest scams that I think I have ever seen. The way they try to get you in the door with their $25 blog that is pretty much useless due to the fact that they don’t rank in Google very well at all, it has got Empower Network in the domain and splattered everywhere. Also you can’t promote anything you want with them because you are forced to promote this scam to other people. You can get this same blog but without EN in the domain for Free and you can use them to promote anything you want. If you would have joined, the initial $25 payment would have just been the start of all the up sells that they would try and get you suckered into buying.
If you are looking for a honest way to get started making money online I would suggest you check out Wealthy Affiliate. This is a 100% real way for you to get started building a business online doing something that you love. It is absolutely Free to get started and I recommend you check it out. Thanks for stopping by Mallory and sharing your experience with everyone else here and if I can help you out in any way please let me know.
Your Friend Scott
Thank you for the thorough review of Empower Network. I have been receiving a lot of emails in my Inbox promoting this program.
Hello Karim, I’m glad that you have enjoyed this thorough review and I hope that you didn’t fall for this pyramid scheme. I would try and unsubscribe from any emails that is trying to get you to join them. Once you join it’s hard to get rid of them constantly spamming your inbox all the time. I have had several friends who have lost thousands of dollars to this scam and I try to warn everyone that I can to stay away from this pyramid scheme as much as I can.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me your thoughts on this. If I can help you in any way please let me know
Your Friend Scott
My guess is that they will not be around much longer. I know they are coming out with something to gain even more members which means more complaints. I joined EN when they first came out and had no success. I even did what they taught. There are a very small percentage of folks making huge amounts of money from all the others who are not. I couldn’t live with myself if I did that so I learned this and quit. Thanks for the review.
Hey Teresa, You would think from all the people that has gotten scammed by this company they wouldn’t still be around. Unfortunately since they are based out of Costa Rica that is how they are avoiding the FTC. I’m glad that you found your way out of EN and I hope they didn’t take too much of your money. The bad thing about EN is that their is no business model whatsoever. There’s no product, you are selling the dream that if they recruit enough people into this sleazy slimy scam, then they could make money. The only thing they teach is for you to go “ALL IN” so that they make more money.
This is not the kinda business I would want to be involved with because as you have stated I couldn’t live with myself either. I really appreciate you stopping by and sharing your EN story with everyone and I wish you success with your online endeavors.
I can’t believe those up-sells. Its amazing that people fall into their trap and continue to pay money to get to the next level. I guess its a flaw in human nature, its like gambling, some can back a horse with a small bet and walk away while others can blow their wages.
I know what you mean Mark, The up-sells in EN is probably the worst that I have seen for any program that I have ever reviewed. They hook you with their $25 to get started and tell people they will make millions for only $25 a month. After they have you on the inside that is when they start throwing all these crazy up-sells at you and then have the nerve to say do you want to be a “Bad ass” or a wussy.
Just like I mentioned in my review and you have mentioned it as well. It’s like gambling or playing the lottery some people may get lucky and manage to make money with this program, but 90% of them usually end up losing thousands of dollars. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback on this Scam and if I can help you out in any way please let me know. Scott
I couldn’t agree with you more. I bought EN a few months ago to review it for my followers as well and – boy – there is such an unbelievable cult mentality circulating in that group! You’ll probably have hell rain down upon you from current EN members that are either making a killing by putting other people in a financial bind or haven’t realized that it’s an empty product yet, but it’s important that truthful, insightful reviews like this get some exposure so that we can help people save a little bit of money (or a lot in the case of Empower Network).
Hey Ian, I know that I probably will get some negative comments from people in David Wood’s cult group but that doesn’t bother me at all. We both know that when you are in this business you should be prepared for these kind of things. I’m glad that you found this review helpful. I hope that I can get the word out to as many people as I possibly can to avoid this pyramid scheme at all costs. To everyone out there reading this, don’t let them bully you into buying their crappy low quality products that is only going to make them money and not you. Thanks so much for your comment Ian
Based on the Empower Network earning disclaimer chart, over 95% of the people in Empower earn less than $3,708. Over 45% of people earn less than $312. Yet the claims are that everyone is going to earn a huge income online, this is hardly living the dream.
I agree, some people do nothing. That is fair. But in order to earn money through this program, you have to promote the program to others and then encourage them to spend $1,000’s (so you earn more money). Then in order for your downline to earn money, they need to promote the “idea of success” to other people, and so the cycle continues.
The main argument is yes, there is a product. However, what the folks over at Empower Network are trying to “initially” sell you on is the $25 per month blog. A website you don’t own, that has no “ranking” power within Google or other search engines, and content that you don’t own.
Then in order to get paid, you have to spend another $20 per month. Then in order to get higher commissions…you need to spend $100 for the inner circle. Before you know it you are into this program for $144.95 per month + $1,000 (up to $5,000) in upsells.
Why are you paying all of this? So you can promote this same program to the next person and likely because you have been called a wussy, and forced to become a “badass” by going all-in (which means buying all the products).
There is no products to be sold to the outside world, making this a pyramid scheme. This is not a business and this is not an MLM. This is a scheme, one in which very few people earn money and even less have any “knowledge”, “skills” or even a “website” at the end of the day.
My thoughts exactly Kyle, It is kinda like they are just using the famous get rich quick business model to hook and bait people into their ponzi pyramid scheme. Then after they have you on the inside they drain you of every penny you have just so they can make money off of you.
The funny thing about that income disclaimer is I got it directly off their website, yet they claim that anyone who joins for $25 will be making thousands of dollars withins a couple weeks.
They are charging a ridiculous amount of money for a blog that anyone can get for Free elsewhere. then charging you to get paid if they were a reputable company they would just use Paypal like everyone else does.
Then if you don’t buy into these poorly designed training modules then you get ridiculed and called a wussy. This has got to be the poorest excuse for a business plan that I have ever seen.
As I stated above in my review your #1 priority will be recruiting other people and you need to be able to sell people on the idea of how to promote other people and if you are no good at doing this then you will fail miserably at this.
Thanks for stopping by Kyle and commenting on this
I can’t believe it. I thought I was the only one. I’ve never seen such a hard sell product in my life. I am 100% convinced that EN has become more a CULT than anything else, with the Kool-Aid being served by Dave Wood. Hmmmmm. Long hair, skinny, sandals…sounds vaguely familiar. Except when you dig a bit, the constant hammering (no carpenter joke meant) about “We Punch Wussies In The Face,” and the berating of you is you can’t afford/or simply don’t want to fly to Denver for their convention, once again you’re a pussy. Everyone knows that upsells are part of this business, but they train the sponsors to advice you to sell your furniture or pawn your jewelry or (no joke) I was told to offer to “mow people’s lawns to come up with the money.” I’m so glad I came upon this site, so I could vent just a bit.
Which brings me to my main problem. But at least with most MLM deals, like Visalus or something, there’s a product at the end of the line to actually sell. Are EN affiliates actually supposed to be telling people that what they’re doing is selling “BLOGGING PLATFORM” for a living.
It really is enticing in the beginning, and they are quite welcoming, especially the different groups once you’re even at the $25 level. But once inside, it’s more genuflecting to Dave Wood and making you feel like you’re a punk if you don’t get ALL IN.
Even though I did it very seriously for only two months, I cancelled for several reasons. The whole Costa Rica thing seemed very shady. The audacity of one of the biggest earners to actually vent about why she was left out of the Forbes Magazine List of The Most Influential Entrepreneurs when “posers” like Oprah and Tyra Banks were on there. And there wasn’t a hint of irony in her rant. She was genuinely pissed. It just gets uglier from there.
If you ALL IN, get ALL OUT, fast.
Hey Doug, Unfortunately there are millions of people who fall victim to this pyramid scheme every day. I agree with you that more than anything I believe that EN has become more of a cult following than anything else.With everyone following David Wood like he is some kind of God. Then they have the nerve to intimidate people by calling them a wussy or even worse names if they don’t buy their crappy so called products that they call training modules.
As far as flying to Denver to their stupid conventions I wouldn’t want to waste my time or money to hang out with a bunch of scammers. This is the first time I have ever heard of them telling you to sell your furniture or personal belongings just to buy into their low quality overpriced training. This has got to be the worst thing I have heard about them doing yet.I really appreciate you sharing this information here for everyone to read about and avoid this company altogether.
Like I have mentioned several times in my review the whole idea that there is absolutely no product behind Empower Network is what really pisses me off. The first 2 things that you are required to buy when you first sign up to this program you can get for FREE anywhere else. 1. they are selling you a blog that you don’t own and doesn’t rank well at all with Google and any content you write on there is not yours.
You can get these exact same blogs here for Free but without the Empower Network in the domain and splattered all over it. 2. They are charging you $20 a month for a UK payment processor just to receive your money. Any other legitimate company out there would use Paypal but since they are running an illegal business Paypal won’t accept them.
Even though their headquarters are located in Florida I still say they are using the whole Costa Rica thing to avoid the FTC and to avoid taxes. I am glad that you got ALL OUT as fast as you could and I would advise anyone else that is involved with this scam to get out as soon as possible.
If you really want to spend a lot of money for nothing but a large game of follow the leader, then EN is going to be for you. I spent $25 then $20 on a merchant account thinking that this was all I was going to need. Like your image of FB shows, people are pissed when they realize that that is just the start of the fees and that you don’t really get 100% commission.
You get less than 50% when you do the math, something that not many people can obviously do within this scheme. Both the David’s are total egotistical a-holes and they could care less about your success unless you are pushing others to buy their overpriced crap. In fact…5 GRAND if you want to go all in and not be called a wussy or worse by these creeps.
You have nailed it Scott with your review, 0 out of 5 is perfect. I would probably give them a -100 if I were to create a review. For all of you reading this, listen to me. Save your damn money. This is a scheme that is centered around a FEW people that are making money, very few (less than 1% make anything worthwhile) and the rest of the soldiers that they are walking directly over a cliff.
It ain’t no business, it is a scam of great proportions and I hope they get taken down by the FTC it is just a matter of time.
Hey Jonny, I love it how they pull you in with their 100% commissions BS when in reality you only make less than 50% commission like you have stated. If people don’t start making money within their first month like they claim you will then they usually drop out and there goes your commissions.I’m sorry to hear that you got mixed up with these a-holes but I see you was smart and got out.
The fact that there is no product should raise enough red flags for people to be able to see that this is a total ponzi pyramid scheme and not a real business plan. I guess all the positive success stories out there from the gurus is enough to convince people that this is a real opportunity.
Then they tell you that the more you buy into this the more you can make in commissions. Pressuring you to go all in just so they can make more money from you. I hope you got out before they were about to suck you dry and take all your money.
I think that my 0 rating out of 5 fits them very well. They don’t even deserve the zero I gave them to be honest with you man. I really appreciate you sharing your own personal EN experience with everyone here and I hope this will help all my visitors to avoid this altogether and run the other way.
Definitely enjoyed the info on Empower Network. Seemed like a scam when i Looke at it. I think all get rich schemes are though.
I agree with you Ryan and it is schemes like this one that has gave the internet a bad name. It seems like whenever you tell people about the vast opportunities that are available online they automatically think it’s a scam.Thanks for the comment and I am glad you enjoyed this review
I agree EN is hugely overrated. I’m looking forward to seeing where they are in another year.
If the FTC can get their hands on them I’m sure that there will be huge fines involved. Problem is, since they are not a US company, they are able to avoid all that unpleasantness.
Still waiting to see it crash and burn. The shame is that it will take down many folks that just don’t know any better.
Hey Craig, I think that the whole reason they are located in Costa Rica is to avoid the FTC. They aren’t no dummies. They know that what they are doing is unethical and illegal in the U.S. It is going to take some time before they get what is coming to them, but I think after they get busted it will be well worth the wait.
It’s frustrating to see that Empower Network is still operating. Unfortunately, there are millions of people in the world who have not heard about it, and will probably not do the proper research before joining. Scams like this can operate for many years, despite everyone crying, “SCAM” because there’s always more and more people looking to make money online.
Hopefully some of them come across your review. This may be a way for a few people to make a little money, but it’s certainly not a long term strategy for sustainable income, unless you plan on being one of those MLMers that jump from one product to the next.
Hey Nathaniell, I too can’t believe this company is still in operation and scamming people out of thousands of dollars every day.Like you have said though, there are millions of people who haven’t heard of them yet and they probably will be victims of this scam unfortunately. I just feel that it’s my job to try and keep as many people out there as I can informed about this scam and show them ways to avoid this altogether.
Hi Scott. Great post and bang on about EN. Unfortunately I was a member for about four months and one of the reasons I got out was because I could never figure out what the product was. I fooled myself by thinking it must be the program that I bought but now I know that to be a lie.
The training really sucks and there was limited support. When I went to my sponsor he made light of my concerns and didn’t give me any support at all. As I recall all he had to offer me were to buy other products off of his site…what a waste.
Hey Rick,I’m sorry to hear that you got scammed by these guys, but I’m glad you knew when to get out. That’s the thing that makes me mad about this program, there is no product whatsoever and most of their training and their blogs can be obtained for free. Hopefully they will eventually get shut down and people will see them for what they really are 1 big pyramid scheme. Thanks for offering your EN story I hope it will help others that come here and read this.