| Comment Number: | 522418-09470 |
| Received: | 7/14/2006 3:52:20 PM |
| Organization: | Quixtar Team IBO |
| Commenter: | Debra Brown |
| State: | MN |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
My husband & I have been an Independent Business Owner (IBO) for three years, through a team concept. We buy products & services, at a shopping portal, on the Internet (Quixtar, Inc.). We sell the concept to others & teach them to do the same, by using a system of educational materials, mentoring, meetings, workshops & seminars. We develop each person to be a business leader, & develop the attributes to succeed as an ethical & moral person in family, community & business realms. I am disabled & have a BS Degree in Psychology, which did not afford me my goals in life. This business is meeting my goals/dreams & building income so that I will not be dependent on government programs. When we decided to do this business, we did research, which was our duty, just like if we were to apply at any other company. We found everything to be in order & legal. We understood that this type of business is not an employment situation, nor a get rich quick scheme, and it would take hard work, dedication & learning. The previously mentioned thoughts are shared with prospects & the typical cost for a person to start the business is around $280.00. If they are dissatisfied with any part of the registration process or products, we have a 100% money back guarantee. We are against the 7- day waiting period for people to register. This will have a negative financial impact on our business and those on our team. Also, it will squelch opportunity for many and slow progress. We see no benefits to wait 7 days to register and it will only penalize legitimate businesses. Our business prospects normally have 3-5 days to decide if they want to continue the registration process & they are encouraged to check into the company & policies. It would be their responsibility in setting up any type of business in this country. We are also against a list of references kept up to date, of IBO's in our local area. This is time consuming & not necessary. We believe this list to be an invasion of privacy & that it could possibly lead to identity theft issues. Further, a prospect could decide to sign into the business by contacting a reference and deny us the opportunity & income. When we show our business plans to prospects the prospect does meet others in person at the meeting. This is a better reference than a list, doesn't violate privacy, and is voluntary of the IBO's. We are happy to introduce ourselves & begin building a professional business relationship from the start. Another idea in this rule proposal is that our business would have to list any litigation current or past. This list may show suits with or without merit. As easy as it is to file a suit, it could be almost every company in America has a current suit, or has had one in the past. This does not lend to a positive business experience. Illegal companies will not bother to do this & general companies do not have to submit this information to affiliates, employers, etc. This disclosure is not going to enhance free enterprise, in our country. It is not necessary to disclose income that is made by business owners & we consider this an invasion of our privacy. We don't tell our own family members how much money we make! A person in business must know that they have to work hard to earn income, as you would as any other business owner, or if you worked for a company who hires employees. If you don't work-no paycheck. We do not share income outcomes or the likelihood of how much a person may make in our business. Instead we do share the initial costs that would get a person's business up and running well, however, it is each business owner's decision on the investment(s) that they want to make. Our suggestions are to educate the public and students about various scams, schemes, illegal activity/businesses through channels such as: Law Enforcement Agencies, Schools & Colleges, various websites, news channels and newspaper articles. A good educational tool would be free workshops by using the Small Business Administration in each state. Enacting strict rules and laws will only put legitimate businesses out of business and they will lose heart to build businesses in our country.