Paving a Different Path to Success with Plexus CEO Tarl Robinson
On this episode of Stewards of Success, Brent and Jeff welcome Tarl Robinson, founder and CEO of Plexus Worldwide, a direct sales organization specializing in health and wellness products and an online income opportunity. Robinson shares how Plexus has transformed since 2008 from a small, single-product company to a global entity with over 400 employees, 20 products, and 725,000 brand ambassadors:
- Creating a Different Kind of Path Forward: Growing up, Robinson watched his parents earn income through direct sales, giving him early exposure to an unconventional path to success that afforded his family more time, control, and flexibility. When given the opportunity to buy Plexus, he was initially hesitant due to its size and lack of infrastructure. However, he saw its potential to help people earn a secondary income, find purpose, and build a career. Following the 2008 recession and the rise of social media, Plexus leveraged new technology and the growing gig economy as people sought additional income streams. Mirroring the direct sales model his parents used, he refined Plexus’ compensation plan, product focus, and messaging to center on its people and a different path to success.
- Learning Through Growth: As Plexus began to scale rapidly, so did its operational complexity, inevitably leading to a disruption that put people’s entire businesses offline for three days. Understanding that “failures” are unavoidable, Robinson also recognized the need to regain his team’s trust and morale. It was open communication through these challenges and a clear “why” behind significant changes that he says were necessary to grow Plexus to its full potential.
- Soliciting Feedback: Robinson shares that not every product, campaign, or message will land, but he sees trial and error as necessary for innovation. By surrounding himself with trusted people, experts, and those on the front lines, he has developed an open-ended, collaborative mantra of “how do we get this right?” rather than an uncompromising approach. Through this process, he has come to value feedback and to humbly listen, pivot, and evolve, whether through action or by pausing and stepping back.
Robinson is a former distributor for a large direct-sales company and the past owner of an estate management business that oversaw multi-million-dollar clients, trusts, and related entities. With over two decades of direct sales experience, Robinson is leading Plexus toward becoming the 38th-largest direct selling company in the world. Plexus is now focused on Vision 30, the company’s long-term plan to become the world’s leading authority and number-one company in the gut health space by its 30th year.
Stream the full episode to hear additional insights from Robinson, including his message to young entrepreneurs and visionaries: Take the next step, even if there’s hesitation. It may not be perfect or fully mapped out, but forward momentum creates opportunities and growth.