| Comment Number: | 522418-04470 |
| Received: | 6/26/2006 11:42:26 PM |
| Organization: | The Team |
| Commenter: | Lane Rezek |
| State: | MI |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Dear FTC Member, Your proposed Business Opportunity rules would severely hinder one of the most positive movements I've ever witnessed in this country. I am a fairly new business owner, and my experience coming into business ownership with The Team (with Quixtar) was very professional and informative. I agree with your intent to limit the number of false opportunites invading Americans. However, let's look together from another perspective that may shed light on why I am writing to you. If you were applying for a job as an employee of a company, would you expect the FTC to force the company comply with these new rules? New Rule 1) Any new employee would have to wait seven days after being hired before starting work. This would give the employee time to think about how much time per year would be required to work at the company. It would also give the employee a chance to research the company and its lawsuits. This cooling-off period would help to clear the mind of the currently unemployed person, because he or she should not make an emotional decision and jump at the first job that comes along after months or years of unemployment. New Rule 2) The new hire should be given the personal names and phone numbers of ten other local employees. Now the new hire could call the employees at home during non-working hours to inquire about their experiences and get to know what the company's managers really say to their employees. New Rule 3) During the 7 day waiting period, the company should disclose to the new hire all of the lawsuits (true or false claims) in the last 10 years between its employees or its customers. This would give the new hire a fair assesment whether or not to start working there based on other people's experiences. New Rule 4) The new hire should be given the facts about the percentage of employees who make it to the higher levels of the company. Certainly every large company would be happy to tell their eager new hires about how 0.045% of all people hired make it to Vice President and above. New Rule 5) The new hire should be given the income statements for several employees at the company. After all, companies have been compensating everyone equally for years, so this should not be a concern on the part of the company to share this information publicly. These rules seem absurd when an employee starts with a company, and it is no different when a business owner starts with the Team. The financial commitment for a network marketing business is peanuts compared to a "traditional" franchise. There are already provisions to get money back if the new business owner changes his or her mind in the first six months. A company can't give an employee his or her time back after six months or ask the employee to return the paychecks because it didn't work out. I am asking you to revise the proposed rules to be fair to network marketing businesses. Perhaps add some rules for "business opportunities" that cost $10,000 or more to start. My business objective is to create wealth for the average person. Our business is very liberating to many people who have found a better lifestyle through the Team. That is what the American dream is all about. I cannot guarantee that every business owner will put forth the effort to be successful. Any business is that way. That is one of the concepts that is difficult to convey through your proposed new rules. Please consider the points I have brought forward, and help protect honest businesses from unneccessary regulations. Protect our freedom to continue growing and helping thousands, soon to be millions, of people achieve a better life in America. Thank you.