Rachell Medero/Digital Wealth Academy

Working 9 to 5 is, as Dolly Parton put it, “enough to drive you crazy if you let it.” But what if there were another way – one where you could make lots of money while only working two to three hours a day? According to Rachell Medero, this is not as far-fetched as you might think.

In Instagram posts like the ones above, Medero (who also refers to herself as Rachell Jova) credits “the power of “digital products” for enabling her to make millions of dollars, travel the world, drive fancy cars, buy a house, and more.

It’s all possible, Medero claims, with her digital marketing course, Digital Wealth Academy (DWA), which she says has “everything you need” to learn a “simple, freedom-based business model” as a complete beginner. According to DWA’s website, the lessons you learn from the course can provide you with time freedom, financial freedom and the potential to replace your salary. Medero herself claims to have left the corporate world to pursue her dream life, the one she’s living now.

And Medero isn’t the only one who’s living large. On her Instagram page, Medero claims her digital marketing course is the “fastest growing course” with over 120,000 students, whose success stories are showcased on DWA’s website.

So how do you actually make money?

DWA offers a number of training materials to help you build a business including social media marketing lessons, introductions to various online business platforms, and more. But Medero also claims that you can “start earning immediately” through DWA’s own affiliate program where you can sell the course and keep 85% of the profit. Want to pocket a higher percentage? DWA also comes with a vault of Master Resell Rights (MRR) and Private Label Rights (PLR) products that the website says you can resell for 100% profit.

As TINA.org has covered in the past, MRR is a type of business model that allows consumers to buy a digital product and the rights to sell that product, which they can then resell to others. PLR products are similar, but often come with a different set of rules (for example, you’re allowed to modify PLR products, whereas MRR products are usually sold as-is).

Sounds like a great opportunity, right? But don’t quit your day job just yet because there are a few things you may want to know about this purported money-making opportunity before you join.

What do participants typically earn?

For starters, before you can “start earning immediately,” you have to start spending immediately.

That’s because although Medero recommends her course to those in “constant survival mode,” the cost to buy the course and join the affiliate program – either $497 or $597 – isn’t exactly cheap, especially for those living paycheck to paycheck. But this may seem like a small price to pay if the end result is becoming a multimillionaire. So what are the odds that you will actually achieve this life of freedom (or even recoup your initial investment)? That’s critical information that Medero never discloses (and did not provide to TINA.org upon request).

Instead, Medero requires members of DWA to include a prominent “earnings disclaimer” when posting marketing material with income claims. While she doesn’t specify what this earnings disclaimer should say, Medero includes one of her own on DWA’s website (which is buried in small text at the bottom of the page) that doesn’t provide any specific information about typical earnings, but instead states:

We may reference our own sales figures and in some cases the sales figures of previous or existing purchasers of DWA. Please understand that we are not guaranteeing your success, and that the results we reference are not typical or average. We are displaying these results to show you what is possible and for example purposes only. Individual earnings and results will vary, and depend on many factors, including your background, business experience, motivation and work ethic.

Additionally, despite Medero’s advice to her affiliates, her Instagram page showcases income claims without any disclaimers at all or with disclaimers buried at the end of a long caption.

The FTC has warned companies pitching money-making opportunities that “[c]laims of ‘potential’ earnings imply that such earnings are representative of what the typical participant achieves,” adding:

Before making such a claim regarding potential earnings (e.g., via a testimonial of a well-paid member), the advertiser must possess adequate substantiation that the experience described is representative of what participants will generally achieve. If the claim is not representative, the advertisement must avoid giving that impression.

The FTC has also made clear that simply informing consumers that the advertised results aren’t typical, or may vary, isn’t enough, either.

When TINA.org asked Medero for substantiation that the advertised millionaire experience is typical or generally achievable, we heard crickets. However, in an Instagram video posted last year, Medero reluctantly admitted that her experience isn’t typical, but clarified that she won’t stop making income claims because – in her words – “I will not silence my success to protect your feelings.”

Restrictions, additional terms

Another red flag? According to DWA’s terms and conditions, the payout structure of its affiliate program can change at any time.

Company explicitly reserves the right to change payout information in Company’s sole and exclusive discretion.

So while the payout is 85% now, there’s no guarantee that it will remain at that percentage.

Additionally, if you’re unable to make money, there’s no option for a refund. DWA’s refund policy states that “[D]ue to the nature of the Product, all sales of the Product are final and non-refundable.” (This seems to be typical of online digital marketing courses, as noted in our article on Passive Digital Mastery.)

Medero’s questionable history

Lastly, Medero’s backstory should be viewed with caution.

To drive home the point that her opportunity can transform your life, Medero claims she was making a much more modest income before her digital marketing journey and was even “struggling to pay rent” just two years ago. But a little digging reveals a potentially conflicting story.

In 2021, Medero posted about becoming a “6-figure earner” and creating time freedom with Monat, a multilevel company that sells hair and skincare products. She also claimed at the time that Monat transformed her life after previously working 9 to 5 and living “paycheck to paycheck.” In fact, Medero’s pitch for the Monat business opportunity sounds eerily similar to her pitch for Digital Wealth Academy. And unless Medero quickly blew all the money she made from Monat, she may be exaggerating her rags-to-riches story (which is consistent with many top distributors and the MLM companies supporting them).

The bottom line

Consumers should be wary of any purported business opportunity that claims you can make a lot of money fast with minimal experience. Before investing any of your money, find out exactly how the business works, how (or if) others have made money and what the typical consumer earns in the venture.

Find more of our coverage on income claims.