Probably my favorite nutritional company in the world is Mannatech.  One of my favorite men in the whole world is Sam Caster.  If you know anything about what has been going on the last couple of years, the ruling came down and the Attorney General of Texas gave Mannatech a very serious blow, and Sam Caster took a pretty rough hit.

But, the real world operates differently than the direction either Mannatech or Sam Caster chose to operate with their primary product, Ambrotose. 

Two other nutritional companies I really like are Vemma and Xango.  The leadership of these companies are excellent as well.  The biggest difference I know between these two companies and Mannatech is that any average person can represent Vemma and Xango, but Mannatech almost required you to get a PhD in Ambrotose in order to be successful.

Don't get me wrong, I like Ambrotose and Mannatech… I already said that.  But as a network marketing company, they completely missed the boat.  They got so focused on how excellent their product was (and to be honest, they had a right to that), that they became blinded to the real world and how the real world treats companies like Mannatech who lose their focus.

The real world (governed by lobbyists, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, etc) likes to pressure AG's to clamp down, fine, shut down, and otherwise cripple companies such as Mannatech (i.e. Sea Silver) so that they can barely exist… hopefully one day to shut them down completely.

Again, don't get me wrong, if I found myself in the hospital with some disease, or one of my family members, there probably isn't any product I would rather have given to me than Ambrotose.  I'm serious about that.  Just ask some of the top physicians, surgeons, or scientists in the world, and they would say the same thing.  Probably the biggest names in medicine to ever, ever endorse a nutritional product.  But, that's as far as I would go.

If I was going to work with a nutritional company, I wouldn't come close to working with Mannatech.  It's not even the cart before the horse… because Mannatech believes they don't need a horse.  As far a network marketing company goes, they have missed the boat and there is no sense of business building support whatsoever.  Now Mannatech people may throw their hands up and argue with me, but that's because they are not on the outside looking in.  Mannatech may actually have one of the best compensation plans available, but they have no business plan.  And that, ultimately, is what I believe has been their Achilles Heel.  And Achilles Heel here just doesn't mean their weakness, it means their doom.

Xango and Vemma have excellent, excellent products, but I honestly believe their products are not quite as good as Ambrotose.  It's kind of like McDonalds.  Does McDonalds make the best hamburgers in town?  No.. maybe not even in the top 5.  But, I find myself going to McDonalds for a hamburger these days more than Fudruckers, Chapps, Applebees, or wherever because McDonalds can out-market these companies like no other.  I like McDonalds.  If I had to go get a job, I would rather go work for McDonalds than any of these other companies because I like their image and how they do business.

Ultimately, I believe Mannatech's downfall came several years ago, long before the Texas AG attacked them.  When they chose to become a product company with a compensation plan, rather than a network marketing company, it was only a matter of time.  Worse days are ahead for Mannatech, I believe.  I wouldn't want to stay with a sinking ship… which has been taking on water for a long time.

Again, I like Mannatech (I already said that), but it certainly isn't a business for the average person looking for a home-based business.  If you wanted to make money working from home, then choose Vemma or Xango as a nutritional company, PrePaid Legal or Ameriplan as non-nutritional companies. 

I don't work with any network marketing company, so I am objective.  I have nothing to gain or lose whether Mannatech folds or blossoms out of this.

Mannatech may have the best burger in town, but you would never know it because their marketing sucks, just as I am sure there is a restaurant out there in my town that has the best hamburger in town, but I would never know it because their marketing sucks.  Therefore, the Xangos and Vemmas of the world will always dominate, just as McDonalds has, because they have the right focus and the right approach to growing a network marketing business.

Anyway, I wish the best for Sam Caster and Mannatech.  Great guy.  Great company.  Sam will probably be the first to admit he isn't a great business guy.  But it's too bad he didn't have a great business guy to lead his company.