When I became a consultant in 2004 you had to buy the franchise which was around £180 so they have really whacked up the cost since then!, your earnings are dependent on numbers in your class, back then you earned 20% of the fees for up to 30 members and more above that, however, you couldn't earn more than 20% for your first 8 weeks irrespective of how many members were at class during that time.
Yes you have to buy the books and mags and you can't return these if they don't sell, but you buy them at a slightly less price each and keep the profit.
All the advertising you have to pay for yourself which is expensive. Also, yes you have to pay for the hall each week, and this cost is deducted before your commission.
My class was on average 30 members per week but obviously tailed off at xmas and during the summer, on average I would earn between £20 and £40 a night. You also have to factor in that you always have to turn up to do your class no matter what is going on at home, yes you can sometimes get another consultant to cover but this isn't good for the group on a regular basis as they like their own consultant.
I gave it up in 2007 as I was working full time changed jobs which meant I had to work away a lot, I didn't like leaving the group with a covering consultant and just felt I couldn't commit enough to it.
I think if you can put in the hours on the advertising, leafleting and committment then you can make more money from it, but that isn't the main reason for doing it, it is immensely satisfying but I don't think I would have ever made enough to give up my main job