If you ask him for advice, you might expect businessman and rancher Frank VanderSloot to offer can’t-miss formulas for building wealth or success in the stock market. But his best rules for living and working have nothing to do with money.
Melaleuca: The Wellness Company is a $2 billion wellness products manufacturer founded by VanderSloot. The company’s mission statement is: “To enhance the lives of those we touch by helping people reach their goals.” Its focus is on enriching people’s lives.
Under VanderSloot’s leadership, the company was named one of USA Today’s Most Trusted Brands and Best Stores (in 2025), reflecting his commitment to excellence for the company founded 40 years ago.
Goals beyond financial fulfillment
VanderSloot shares the message shared with an audience at Idaho State University’s annual “Professional of the Year” banquet. He says that “everybody’s goals are pretty similar.… They just want to be happy… And very seldom are those goals financially based.” For most people, VanderSloot maintains, a great life is about “relationships, family, the concept of giving love and being loved.”
Translating that concept into the business world, VanderSloot’s message to employers is this: “Find good people, bright people, passionate people, and help those folks reach their goals.” He asserts that if you’re an employee, it’s important to let your boss know you’re there to help them reach their goals. VanderSloot believes this can help your career get off to a great start.
According to VanderSloot, that down-to-earth approach to prosperity is emblematic of his Western upbringing. He shares that he grew up with an old-fashioned work ethic shaped by lessons from his father, who was an effective teacher despite his limited formal education.
Humble beginnings
VanderSloot, now 76, explains that he grew up on his family’s 80-acre farm in Colocalla, Idaho. With his father working away as a railroad laborer Monday through Friday, VanderSloot became the man in charge at the farm when he was 12.
When it was time for college, VanderSloot says that his father wanted him to pursue an education, but the family did not have the finances. While attending Brigham Young University, VanderSloot took a job at a laundromat in Provo, UT, cleaning it three times a day for about $50 a month. While it was a far cry from a dream job, it included a free room behind the dryers to live in. “My biggest problem was the mice that kept getting into my food,” VanderSloot recalled. “But from a financial perspective, the laundromat was perfect.”
His work ethic and savings strategy paid off. He graduated from BYU debt-free with a degree in business management and began a new career.
From farmhand to Melaleuca founder
After graduation, VanderSloot went to work for the payroll giant ADP. He stayed with the firm for almost 10 years and was promoted to regional vice president. From there, he moved to Cox Communications, taking on the role of regional vice president of the company’s cable TV division.
In 1985, VanderSloot’s entrepreneurial spirit called him to break out on his own, return to his home state of Idaho and start what would become Melaleuca.
Initially, Melaleuca: The Wellness Company was a humble startup venture with only a handful of offerings. The company sold eight products based on the company’s namesake: an antiseptic known as melaleuca oil. Melaleuca now sells over 400 unique health and wellness products, generating $2 billion in annual revenue.
Melaleuca operates in 20 countries and territories worldwide, employing over 5,000 people. “Our products are being enthusiastically embraced throughout the world,” VanderSloot says. “Although Melaleuca has experienced periods of explosive growth over the years, consumers are flocking to Melaleuca now more than ever because they are concerned about their family’s overall health.”
VanderSloot led Melaleuca as CEO for 37 years. During his tenure, the company continued to focus on being one of the nation’s leading providers of effective, safe, natural health and wellness products. Today, he oversees Melaleuca as executive chairman of the board.
Ranching roots
The Melaleuca founder remained connected to his agricultural roots. In 1991, he and his wife, Belinda, founded Riverbend Ranch, where they raise a best-in-class herd of Black Angus cattle.
For almost three decades, VanderSloot committed to fostering his herd, investing in state-of-the-art genetics research. Today, the Riverbed Ranch network boasts over 62,000 Angus cattle and 290,000 acres of pasture across Idaho, Montana, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
VanderSloot’s innovative strategies also extended into Riverbend Ranch’s massive beef plant, Riverbend Meats. Because the sites are adjacent to each other, they benefit from a low beef processing carbon footprint and reduced stress on livestock.
“This allows us to control the entire supply chain from start to finish, including the development of the animal every day of its entire life, plus raising the feed that is fed to the animal, the actual harvesting of the animal, and the processing of the beef,” Frank explains. “This allows us to offer a product that is far superior to any of our competition.”
Notably, Frank may be the first rancher in history to build such a sizeable vertically integrated ranching operation.
Passing along life lessons
When he’s not handling business or looking at his cows, VanderSloot shares that he spends as much time as possible with his family. He says it’s a priority to pass along life lessons from his cowboy days. Each summer, he hosts “Grandpa’s Academy” at Riverbend Ranch, where he teaches his grandchildren the satisfaction that comes with a little sweat and elbow grease.
From a humble farm kid to the founder of Melaleuca and Riverbend Ranch, Frank VanderSloot lives and breathes the American Dream. His love of country, gritty work ethic and one-of-a-kind success story make him a unique example among entrepreneurs.
