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Coway Reports Q1 2025 Financial Results

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Coway announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Revenue in the quarter reached $840 million, a 17.3% increase year-over-year. Operating profit in the quarter grew 9% year-over-year to $151 million.

The company’s domestic business reported Q1 revenue of $485 million, a 10.8% increase from the first quarter of 2024. The company attributed this growth to a 63% year-over-year growth in net rental account additions, which reached 103,000, and the strong sales of new product launches.

Overseas subsidiaries revenue reached $319 million, a 25.8% increase from the same quarter of 2024. Malaysia stood out among this segment with $235 million in revenue, representing 22% year-over-year growth, while the US and Thailand reported steady year-over-year growth of 33.7% and 43.9% respectively.

“Coway achieved solid results across both domestic and global markets,” said Soon Tae Kim, Coway Chief Financial Officer. “These achievements were driven by our continued rollout of customer-centric, innovative new products, as well as the strengthening of our strategic marketing activities. In the second quarter, we will continue to remain agile within an ever-changing market while enhancing our products and service competitiveness and accelerating the expansion of our elder care business, Coway Life Solution, in order to ensure stable, long-term growth.”

Nu Skin Reports Q1 2025 Financial Results

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Nu Skin announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The company achieved revenue at the high end of its guidance, totaling $364.5 million, but represented a 12.7% year-over-year decrease from $417.3 million in Q1 2024. Gross margin was 67.8%, compared to 70.5% in the same period last year. Customer numbers fell by 11% year-over-year to 776,712 with paid affiliates and sales leaders decreasing by 15% and 20% respectively.    

“We are pleased to achieve revenue at the high end of our guidance range and exceed our adjusted earnings forecast to start out the year,” said Ryan Napierski, Nu Skin President and CEO. “We drove year-over-year growth in Latin America and our Rhyz manufacturing segment, but we continue to experience consumer caution in premium beauty due to concerns such as inflation and tariffs in many parts of the world. Through 2025, we remain focused on building on our recent product launches and preparing for the preview of our Prysm iO intelligent wellness device in the back half of the year. This palm-sized device provides real-time insights into a customer’s health, informing recommendations for product subscriptions and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. We are also laying the groundwork for expansion into India with a market pre-opening in Q4 and formal launch in mid-2026 and prioritizing our efforts to continue improving margins across the board.”

The company incurred $25.1 million in restructuring and impairment expenses, a significant increase from $7.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. Second quarter and full-year 2025 outlook now includes Q2 revenue between $355 to $390 million and full-year revenue between $1.48 to $1.62 billion.

“In addition to delivering on revenue and adjusted earnings, we saw encouraging improvement in core Nu Skin operating margin, driven by ongoing cost efficiency initiatives across every segment,” said James D. Thomas, Nu Skin Chief Financial Officer. “We also made meaningful progress in strengthening our balance sheet by reducing outstanding debt by $155 million, achieving our lowest debt level in more than 10 years. In addition, we returned $8 million to shareholders—$3 million in the form of dividends and $5 million via share repurchases. While macroeconomic uncertainty around trade tensions and tariffs continues to impact visibility, we are maintaining our adjusted annual guidance as we closely monitor developments throughout the remainder of 2025. For the second quarter, we project revenue between $355 million and $390 million, with earnings per share in the range of $0.20 to $0.30.”

USANA Sustainability Report Shows Positive Influence Worldwide

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USANA released its fifth annual sustainability report, showcasing achievements made in its core priorities of people, planet and product. The 2024 report stated that:

  • 51% of leadership positions are now held by women
  • 57% of operational waste is now being diverted away from landfills
  • 100% of employees have received the Good Manufacturing Practices training
  • $11.6 million was invested in research and development
  • The USANA Foundation provided 12.3 million meals to those in need

“USANA exists to create sustainability throughout the world,” said Paul Jones, USANA Chief People Officer. “Improving people’s lives is at the heart and soul of what we do. Our team members and distributors are making great strides in creating healthy families all around the globe. I am deeply proud of our accomplishments in fostering our employees’ growth, improving people’s health and lives through high-quality science-based products and the lifestyle opportunities we present, along with the worldwide influence we’ve achieved through the USANA Foundation and USANA Kids Eat.”

The Real Brokerage Announces Q1 2025 Financial Results

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The Real Brokerage Inc. announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Revenue during the quarter reached $354 million, a 76% year-over-year increase, while gross profit grew 63% year-over-year to $33.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $8.3 million during the quarter, compared to $3.6 million in the same period of last year.

“Our first quarter results demonstrate the strength, scalability, and resilience of our platform,” said Ravi Jani, Real Chief Financial Officer. “Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving above-market growth and improving margins, with a disciplined approach to capital allocation. Our strategy is grounded in creating long-term value for our agents, partners, and shareholders.”

The total number of transactions closed was 33,617, a 77% increase from Q1 2024, while total value of completed real estate transactions reached $13.5 billion, an 80% increase from $7.5 billion in the first quarter of last year. Agent numbers also increased by 61% year-over-year to 26,870.

The company’s launch of Real Wallet in the fourth quarter of 2024 saw momentum in the first quarter of 2025, with approximately 3,200 Real agents using Real Wallet business checking accounts. The average deposit balance held in all Real Wallet checking and tax planning accounts is now approximately $8 million.

“Real delivered outstanding results to start 2025, continuing our track record of differentiated growth,” said Tamir Poleg, Real Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus on innovation remains central to our success. With Leo CoPilot, our AI-powered agent assistant, and continued momentum in Real Wallet, we believe we are building moats that increase the value of our platform to agents—helping them grow their businesses and attracting top talent to Real. We are committed to building a platform that generates sustainable, long-term growth and returns.”

LifeVantage Reports Financial Results for Fiscal Q3 2025

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LifeVantage Corporation announced its financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2025. Revenue during the quarter was $58.4 million, a 21.1% year-over-year increase, with an adjusted EBITDA of $6.4 million, compared to $5.1 million in the same quarter of 2024. Gross profit during the quarter was $47.3 million, or 81% of revenue, up from $38.1 million (78.9% of revenue) in the same quarter of 2024. Net income during the quarter was $3.5 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, up from $1.7 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the fiscal third quarter of 2024.

“Third quarter results were strong with revenues up 21% year-over-year to $58.4 million, reflecting robust demand for our MindBody GLP-1 System,” said Steve Fife, LifeVantage President and CEO. “We also delivered another quarter of improving profitability including a 210 basis point improvement in gross margin and 27% increase in adjusted EBITDA. International expansion was a key focus in the quarter with the launch of our Evolve Compensation Plan into the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in early March followed by the launch of the MB System, as our GLP-1 activation product is known outside of the US, into Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK, Mexico, and Thailand. At our annual Global Convention in April, the incredible intensity and engagement of our independent consultants underscored the tremendous growth potential for LifeVantage as our addressable market continues to broaden and we leverage our unique position around activation.”   

Cash from operations during the first nine months of fiscal 2025 generated $10.8 million, up from $9.6 million in the same period of fiscal 2024. The company ended the period with cash and cash equivalents of $22.5 million, up from $16.9 million at the end of June 30, 2024, with no outstanding debt.

Nature’s Sunshine Reports Q1 2025 Financial Results

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Nature’s Sunshine announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Net sales during the quarter grew by 2% to $113.2 million with an adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, a 20% increase. The company attributed this EBITDA increase primarily to the boost in net sales. Gross profit margin increased slightly to 72.1% in the quarter, from 71.2% the same period in 2024. Operating income increased to $6.2 million from $4.6 million in the first quarter of last year.

“2025 got off to a strong start, as first quarter revenue came in at $113 million, up 5% on a constant currency basis, and adjusted EBITDA came in at $11 million, up 20% versus prior year,” said Terrence Moorehead, Nature’s Sunshine CEO. “We’re particularly pleased with the exceptional growth we’re seeing in Asia and Europe where markets like Taiwan, Japan and Central Europe continue to deliver strong double-digit growth. We’re also pleased to see early signs of stabilization in North America and continued improvements to gross margin. Despite the tremendous amount of uncertainty in the market, we remain confident in the underlying health of our business, and our performance reflects the power of our global growth strategies. In addition, our board has authorized the repurchase of up to $25 million in common stock, supplementing the $8.3 million remaining under the current authorization, as we continue to make disciplined investments with the highest potential return for our shareholders.”

The company ended the quarter with net cash provided by operating activities of $2.6 million, an increase from $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2024. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter totaled $86.5 million with no debt.

eXp World Holdings Reports Q1 2025 Results

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eXp World Holdings, the parent company of eXp Realty, announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Revenue during the quarter increased slightly by 1% to $954.9 million with an adjusted EBITDA of $2.2 million. Net loss during the quarter was $11 million with net cash provided by operating activities of $39.8 million.

Real estate transactions decreased by 2% to 89,643 in Q1 2025, while real estate sales volume increased 4% to $38.6 billion.

“We’re entering 2025 from a position of strength,” said Glenn Sanford, Founder, Chairman and CEO of eXp World Holdings. “eXp has built one of the most comprehensive, tech-enabled agent value stack in the industry – one that’s driving record international agent productivity and empowering entrepreneurs at scale. This quarter alone, we more than doubled our international revenue year-over-year and expanded our footprint into Perú and Türkiye, further proving that our agent-first model transcends borders. Agent success has always been the foundation of eXp’s strategy – and in 2025, we plan to double down with enhanced tech, smarter training, and even more pathways to help agents close more deals, build generational wealth, and create the freedom they deserve.”

Ørjan & Hilde Sæle | 20 Years of Visionary Leadership

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Listen to this story starting at 18:07 on the new, revamped The DSN Podcast. Even when your day is packed, we make it easy to stay informed, engaged and one step ahead. Listen now or read below!

Over the last 20 years, Ørjan and Hilde Sæle have turned Zinzino from a small, Scandinavian coffee startup into an international life science pioneer of test-based, personalized nutrition. What began as a response to past frustrations has grown into a mission to redefine health focused on prevention and precision, positioning the Norwegian husband-and-wife team as global leaders who don’t just see the future—they build it.

Zinzino made it into the Top 50 on the DSN Global 100 List of companies with $200 million in annual revenue. Their vision a quarter-century into the future is a customer base of 100 million. As their company celebrates its 20th anniversary, DSN is proud to honor this trailblazing power couple with this year’s Bravo Leadership Award.

Humble Beginnings, Bold Ideas

Zinzino’s story started in the early 2000s with coffee, not nutritional supplements. “We got started as a coffee company. Primarily it was to make a home for people who wanted to build a sustainable direct selling company by promoting exceptional product experiences,” Ørjan recalled. He and Hilde launched a subscription model, planting the seeds for what would become a customer-centric success story shaped by compliance and best practices. By 2015, Zinzino had evolved into a life science company driving the new standard in personal health, its focus shifting to targeted health solutions grounded in test-based nutrition.

Ørjan’s initial journey was shaped by disillusionment with negatives in the direct selling industry. “Hilde and I came out of another company, and we had had bad experiences. We were ready to create something different. To be honest, we wanted to reinvent the industry.”

Ørjan watched network marketing drift from customer sales to “internal consumption” with no real end customers; a trend he scorned. This frustration ignited his resolve to build a company that rewarded customer turnover and where the distributors are offered ownership in the company they essentially build, collectively.

“A customer is happy when a product delivers on its promise. A distributor is happy when he earns the income he was promised,” he explained. “That’s why there’s a lot of unhappy distributors out there. The customers are not getting the products they bargained for, and the distributors are not making the money they anticipated. But, if you aim for having a lot of customers, you will have a lot of happy people all around.”

A Distributor-Owned Revolution

From the couple’s discontent emerged a radical vision: a company owned by its distributors. “We wanted this to be a company owned by field leadership,” Ørjan explained, ensuring power stayed with those in the trenches. “We are a NASDAQ-listed company, and if we look at our 20 largest owners, about 16 of them are Zinzino Partners who work in the field.”

He and Hilde still work in the field, actively leading from the front as 5-Star Global Presidents. Zinzino’s compensation plan also offers ownership through publicly traded shares. This model reflects their core belief: Partners should make money while customers spend money.

Ørjan’s leadership is hands-on, rooted in action over theory. “When Hilde and I are out there talking about best practice, it’s because we’ve actually tried it, done it, practiced it, whether it’s how to recruit new salespeople, leading or coaching.” By actively selling, recruiting and mentoring alongside his team, Ørjan keeps his leadership both practical and effective. This active role underscores his commitment to a distributor-led company, bridging vision with execution.

Guess Based to Test Based

The pivot to test-based nutrition was personal to Ørjan. In 2012, despite decades of building nutrition expertise and consuming massive amounts of different Omega-3 supplements, by age 35 Ørjan faced a health crisis. “I was in the best shape of my life, and then all of a sudden I got sick.”

In 2012, a “balance test” revelation hit hard. “Someone asked me, ‘Have you ever tested your essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 ratio in your body?’ When I said no, he pointed out that I needed to know if my fatty acid balance was pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory.”

Failing the test shattered his assumptions, but four months of taking the unique blend of pure fish oil and premium olive oil, BalanceOil+ fixed his health and sparked a new mission. In 2012, Zinzino acquired the Norwegian Omega-3 supplement and fatty acid blood test company, BioActive Foods. “I decided we’ve got to stop guessing if we’re on the right track with our health, and start testing to get concrete evidence. After I had my first BalanceTest done, it was the easiest thing in the world to fix since there was also a product that could rebalance my body.”

This game-changing personal experience birthed Zinzino’s new strategy to offer test-based, personalized nutrition heralded by the Balance concept with the BalanceTest and a range of BalanceOils+. Over the years Zinzino has expanded its portfolio of scientific home health tests and tailored supplements for Omega-3 deficiency to include immune, gut and skin health.

Ørjan rejected the “guess-based” nature of generic supplements, insisting on tailored solutions and health tests knowing this would transform the concept of personal health. “When everyone gets the dosage they need, everyone gets the results they deserve.” Driving this shift has turned Zinzino into a global life science leader, offering customers measurable health improvements over vague promises.

Acceptance of this approach has steadily grown over the years. “If we go back 10 years, resistance to taking a blood test was huge,” Ørjan admitted. Today, it’s standard practice for professional athletes, and sports nutrition enthusiasts applaud the shift. The 20- to 30-minute home-testing process delivers clarity with hard facts and deep insights on a cellular level.

Ørjan said test-based nutrition will be the norm in the future, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence and its ability to diagnose and recommend highly tailored approaches to health. “Personal nutrition is going to move from guess based to test based,” he explained, estimating 30-40 years for full adoption. He envisions a norm where testing precedes supplementation—as routine as a blood pressure check—insisting that people trust their blood work when it changes, driving reliability.

Visionary Strength

Ørjan’s leadership hinges on vision and consistency. “I’m very much a visionary leader, pointing to where we’re going,” he explained. “There’s a stability factor around what Hilde and I do. We’re very centered on our mission.” His coaching empowers distributors to harness their strengths, balancing involvement with independence to guide Zinzino’s growth.

The same holds true in his own pursuit of guidance. Ørjan chose his mentors inside and outside the industry based on their areas of expertise instead of seeking all-in-one support. For example, Brian Klemmer honed his personal resilience; Randy Gage sharpened his and Hilde’s strategy; and Tom Schreiter simplified his messaging. His politician mother and newspaper editor father taught him to see through facades, further shaping his clarity and skepticism.

For emerging industry leaders, Ørjan’s advice is clear. “The ones who believe in the future will own the future.” He urges a consistent cycle of planning, acting and adjusting, stressing that the industry’s core remains sales and recruitment. His philosophy is that belief—paired with persistence—unlocks any dream. 

From the May/June 2025 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

Zinzino Reports 54% Year-Over-Year Revenue Increase

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In its April 2025 sales report, Zinzino announced a significant positive revenue trend. Group revenue for the company increased 54% in April compared to the same month in 2024 and reached $26 million. Accumulated revenue for the months of January through April 2025 grew by 58% to $102 million.

The company’s Asia-Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand) and North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) markets saw the greatest revenue growth, with year-over-year increases of 387% and 237% respectively. The Central Europe market, which encompasses Austria, Germany and Switzerland, remains the company’s largest revenue driver.

Herbalife CEO Sits Down with Pruvit and Pro2col Leaders for Candid Conversation

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Herbalife CEO Stephan Gratziani sat down with Blake Mallen, Herbalife Chief Strategy Officer and President of Pro2col, and Brian Underwood, Co-Founder and CEO of Pruvit, for a candid conversation about Herbalife’s acquisition of Pruvit, and what their collaboration will mean for the future of their respective businesses.

As distributors first, all three executives have a shared experience of beginning in the field with dreams of retiring early. Gratziani, in particular, had a thirty-year career as a distributor before evolving his career to encompass the corporate side of the business. But all three found a passion in leading high-impact entrepreneurial businesses.

“None of us had planned on going into the ownership, founder or executive side,” Mallen said. “Sometimes doors open the way they’re meant to”

After meeting at a CEO Forum, the three hit it off as colleagues, and the origins of Pruvit and its biohacking science came up organically one evening after a meal while the three were waiting for an Uber.

“It’s interesting because it was so casual,” Mallen said. “It wasn’t strategic; it was a dinner over a social conversation.”

But as Underwood shared Pruvit’s approach to uniting science with technology and delivering personalized wellness at scale, Gratziani saw a massive opportunity. Because of the relationship and trust built between the three men, Gratziani shared that Herbalife was already making plans to build a front-facing commercialized wellness platform and was investing heavily in infrastructure.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to jump; you have to move,” Gratziani said. “You cannot wait.”

Two weeks later, Herbalife flew Pruvit’s executive team in to share what they were working on and the two companies considered if there was a way to work together. Beyond the cultural fit and the strong scientific research and innovation, the access to Link Biosciences manufacturing process provided opportunity for the company to protect intellectual property while leveraging emerging technology and position the company for the future.

In its multi-decade history, Herbalife had never looked at acquisitions as a strategy, but Pruvit’s “speed boat” trajectory was attractive to Gratziani as he prepared to steer Herbalife’s massive “cruise ship” organization.

“Especially when you look at a company that is 45 years old, where it’s the same marketing plan for 45 years, obviously technology changes and you’re always updating, but you should be looking at how things are happening in the industry,” Gratziani said. “That was an important move, to actually start looking at what’s happening outside of the walls of Herbalife. But it’s never been a strategy. It really happened because of the alignment. We started to understand what Pruvit was up to and where the industry was going.”

“You have to focus on the company that you are,” Underwood said. “You have to manage where you are, but there’s always two things taking place. You have to also manage and focus on the company you’re becoming because you’re always ‘becoming.’ And if we don’t have our eyes set on what we’re becoming, then we’ll get kind of left behind.”

After meeting with each other’s executive teams, it became clear that working together could be a viable option.

“It led us to say, we can either go and develop our own, or [could] we come together and do something much bigger?” Gratziani said.

“Even though we were, at that time, on different paths, we had a shared vision of where we wanted to go,” Mallen said.

The Pro2col platform is now in beta-phase, with expectations to roll out in the fourth quarter, potentially October 2025.

“The more I see within the global community, the bigger that vision or that dream gets of what we really have here and what this can be and will be,” Mallen said.

DSA Issues Advocacy Advisory About Independent Contractor Misclassification

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The Direct Selling Association (DSA) alerted companies of a new field assistance bulletin by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division that provides guidance about how to determine employee or independent contract status when enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Included in the advisory is confirmation that the challenging worker classification 2024 rule is not currently being enforced. When it is enforced, the DSA says, investigators will use long-standing classification principles to do so. For now, there are no new regulatory changes, but the Department of Labor does maintain the right to enforce the regulation at its discretion.

The DSA met with senior officials from the Department of Labor earlier this year and shared concerns about the final rule, saying it causes “an enormous level of confusion.” The DSA will continue to seek the reintroduction of legislation that clearly defines direct sellers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

John Addison | Life Turns on Small Things

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Listen to this story starting at 10:17 on the new, revamped The DSN Podcast. Even when your day is packed, we make it easy to stay informed, engaged and one step ahead. Listen now or read below!

John Addison says some people know exactly what they want to be from the time they are kids. But that’s never been him. He has always “played the ball where it lies.”

Being a titan of the direct selling industry was never John’s goal. As a freshman majoring in forestry at the University of Georgia, he imagined himself as a forest ranger, hiking the mountains. After discovering everything he would need to learn and how little money he would make in that career, John switched his major to business.

That small pivot set the stage for a remarkable career, growing Primerica to a multi-billion-dollar insurance giant and influencing the direct selling industry as an impactful author, valued consultant and inspiring speaker.

A Young Leader on the Rise

John’s story is one of adaptability, grit and a knack for turning apprehension and anxiety into action—the central theme of his new book, Turn Your Fear into Fuel. Starting at an insurance company called Life of Georgia fresh out of college, his natural talent for communication and leadership shined early. Presentations to senior management revealed a gift. “I realized I could get in front of a room and do a presentation and have these people go, ‘Wow, that was really good,’” he recalled.

A short time later, John moved to the A.L. Williams & Associates Insurance Company where he progressed through the ranks under the leadership of charismatic founder Art Williams, whom he idolized.

Then came the first big test. In 1990, Williams sold the company, ushering in Citigroup’s ownership era and a seismic shift in philosophy and vision. The workforce was slashed by about 40 percent, and by the early ’90s, Primerica was “going down the tubes.” He nearly walked away during that uncertain time. But another pivotal moment happened in a meeting with Citigroup heavyweights such as Jamie Dimon and Sandy Weill. John didn’t mince words: “I said, ‘Guys, look, this thing is the Hindenburg at Lakehurst. It’s on fire, and the light at the end of the tunnel is a train.’”

His blunt honesty earned Jamie’s respect and gave him the opportunity to develop some solutions. John and a small, select team came up with a bonus system for Regional Vice Presidents—the field’s core business builders—which stabilized incomes and halted the decline. By 1995, he was serving as president. It was at this point John’s mantra became “Life turns on small things” and that philosophy has defined his career and life.

Co-CEOs

The ’90s were a rollercoaster for Primerica, cycling through several CEOs with each bringing “a new vision, new way of doing things, constant changes,” John shared. The instability was chaos for a business model that demanded clear direction and duplication. “A giant sales force isn’t a speedboat, it’s a battleship. If you want to change directions, you gotta give it time and do it formally.”

Alongside CFO and friend Rick Williams, John became an anchor, steadying the ship. By late 1999, Primerica needed a new CEO, and the duo was tapped to be Co-CEOs with modest orders: “Just keep it together.” John had other ideas. “I said, ‘Rick, I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I think we’re going to exceed their expectations.’”

And they certainly did. In 2000, John and Rick created a “One Team, One Dream” unifying vision that transformed Primerica. “Rick and I were not the bosses. We were the leaders. It was our job to create an environment where people could thrive and grow.”

Recruiting doubled; sales soared; and from 2000 to 2006, John remembers it as “the best job I ever had.” His marketing flair paired with Rick’s financial gifts turned the company into a powerhouse, even as parent company Citigroup’s focus drifted elsewhere.

The Break from Citigroup

Sensing trouble, John and Rick pushed to free Primerica from Citigroup through the 2008 financial collapse. He went to New York to meet with Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince. It was a “Moses meeting…Let my people go,” John explained. On April 1, 2010, Primerica went public—22 times oversubscribed—in the year’s most successful IPO.

How did I do that? John recalled thinking at the time, but when he looks back on that moment, he feels success was found through pure determination. He and Rick ran Primerica for five more years, growing it from just over $1 billion in annual revenue in 2010 to $1.52 billion in 2015. That’s when they handed the reins to Glenn Williams, who has served as CEO ever since and continues to lead the company to incredible growth. Now, as it nears its 50th anniversary, Primerica set all-time records reaching $3.09 billion in 2024—a testament to John’s enduring legacy and vision.

Big Hat, No Cattle

Now, John’s influence ripples through the direct selling industry as a consultant, speaker and author. He remains on Primerica’s board of directors, serves on LegalShield’s board, advises Utility Warehouse in the UK and consults for Ambit Energy and NeoLife. “I’m big hat, no cattle,” he joked in his unmistakable southern drawl.

John’s consulting isn’t theoretical, it’s hard-earned. “I’ve been through every trial and challenge you can imagine in this business. I ran a company with 100-something thousand licensed representatives. I can sit down with somebody and go, ‘Look, I wouldn’t do this. I’d do that.’”

John’s perspective stands out in a digital age as companies wrestle with the pros and cons of in-person and virtual strategies. “When you’re growing, it’s very hard to build a connected team that’s totally virtual,” he warned. He sees video calls as an amazing tool for training but feels incentives, relationship building and coaching still demand face-to-face connection.

He points to Primerica’s post-pandemic success under Glenn Williams, embracing in-person events that draw tens of thousands of attendees. “It’s hard to build something that lasts that long if you don’t build a deep-rooted connection,” he noted of the company’s nearly 50-year run. To John, a sales force isn’t an organization, but an organism that thrives on cohesion—not constant upheaval.

John’s new book, Turn Your Fear into Fuel, refines this wisdom. “You’ll never eliminate your fears and doubts, but you must learn to manage them and move forward anyway,” he shared. It’s tried-and-true wisdom from a leader who has turned efforts both small and large into monumental, lasting change. His career demonstrates that success isn’t always about grand plans, but mastering the art of showing up, building relationships and steering the battleship with a steady hand.

That’s how legacies are built, and John Addison has certainly walked that path throughout his illustrious career. That’s why he is being honored with this year’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

From the May/June 2025 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.