Comment Number: 522418-04877
Received: 6/28/2006 5:05:00 PM
Organization:
Commenter: Carrie MacDonald
State: OK
Subject: Business Opportunity Rule
Title: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
CFR Citation: 16 CFR Part 437
No Attachments

Comments:

After reviewing some of the proposals of your new regulations, I am very concerned about the welfare of the average person trying to make a living. Direct Sales is a great way for all types of people to earn a living. I started in Direct Sales to stay home with my children, I now have a great business with my company, and I am able to help so many others do the same. These proposals make it difficult for the average person to build a business out of their home. Corporate excecutives are not required to provide any such information to their employees, and I don't think it is fair to impose such regulations on an indepedent business. Equate this to someone who may own their own lawn service, say they employ people in their business, what if they had to comply with such regulations. It is not fair nor feasible for us to comply. While I have a college education, now I am expected to be a lawyer and to complicate the process of something that should be so simple. All Iknow as with any job, is you get out of it what you put into it. I focus on helping other people, but your new rules will make it near to impossible to duplicate the process. It should not be so difficult, how about make everyone use a disclaimer that ensures that people know their results will depend on their efforts! An independent business owner of any other type is not required to meet such restrictions, if I were investing in a company, they would not have to comply to such rules. Basically, I agree we should all be honest and fair, and those of us who do that should not have to comply to such intricate procedures just to join a direct sales company. It inhibits the process and makes it so that if you are not skilled in business practices or law, you can't have the American Dream. I believe that it is discrimination against the average person, usually a person with a hard work ethic and desire to live differently. But, now we are saying, it is not that easy. You must do all of these things before you can even join a direct sales company. If I had to go through all of that, I don't know if I would have joined, and look at how my family and kids would be missing out. As a teacher, I could not pay my bills for a modest living. Please, I implore you, don't take away our freedoms and rights to make a choice. We are independent consultants for a reason, most of us run our business out of our kitchen or bedroom, this is not a sophisticated set up or franchise, most people are not equipped with the resources or knowledge to comply with these regulations. Please stop and think about the average person, and the rights you are taking away from us...I don't understand why it has to be difficult. Either you want to have your own business or you don't, you can do whatever you want with it. Let's keep the decision making up to the person on the other end. While you think you might be proctecting them, you are actually placing a misguided fear about Direct selling companies in their head, which is not fair to us. If close to 50% of all households have a home based business, honestly who are the ones who are being hurst and discriminated against by your ruling? THink about the average person.... we are not being protected by the ruling, but we are being held back and shown as something bad, when clearly many people have changed their lives by being an independent consultant. I beg you, put the shoe on the other foot. This is NOT necessary, we regulate ourselves very closely, we have high standards and ethics within our own organziations and the companies and the DSA.