| Comment Number: | 522418-10040 |
| Received: | 7/15/2006 4:15:01 PM |
| Organization: | Independent Business Owner (Team Paul) |
| Commenter: | William Paul |
| State: | CA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
The United States of America was built on free trade. Free trade allows the small business owner, like myself, to compete with major franchises. Small business owners are at a serious disadvantage unless they have the benefits of a system, such as personal franchising at low costs. I spoke with one or more of three independent business owners every week for seven weeks before I started my business. I considered myself as well informed as anyone starting a major franchise. I agree with that every prospective business owner be well-informed of the opportunity before starting a business; however, I have specific concerns about some of the FTC proposals. In general, are major franchises held to the same restrictions? If not, why would the FTC place restrictions on small business owners that it does not place on major franchises? How could a seven-day waiting period for prospective business owners help them become better informed? In my opinion, it could not. Does the FTC require major franchises to provide prospective owners with the names of competitive franchise owners? Why would they require that of small business owners? My sponsor provided me with names of the active business owners in my line of sponsorship, but some of them were not "local." What if there were no independent business owners in the area? The goal of most businesses is to expand to areas with little or no services! Does the FTC require McDonalds to tell all prospective owners about the woman who sued them for spilling her coffee? Does it require Wendys to tell prospective owners about the criminal who put a severed finger in her chili and then sued the restaurant? I hope not! Before I registered to become an independent business owner, I saw a disclosure of the earnings of the average Independent Business Owner. This helped me to make an important, informed decision. Beginning a small business is risky and unpredictable. My brother in law started a conventional, "brick and mortar" business that failed within two years. Following a proven system decreases the odds of failure, but does not guarantee success in any degree. There are endless possibilities of amounts of money to make. If I were to tell my prospective business owners every possibility of income, I would never finish. It is practical to give them the average income of an independent business owner. What is wonderful about being an independent business owner is that my income does not depend on anyone else. Business owners that I have sponsored make more money than I make. I want them to be more successful than I have been. Showing them my income would be a disadvantage to them, as it may limit their belief in earning more money for themselves.