Comment Number: 522418-11008
Received: 7/17/2006 12:55:31 AM
Organization: BWW
Commenter: Rajasekhar Raman
State: NJ
Subject: Business Opportunity Rule
Title: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
CFR Citation: 16 CFR Part 437
No Attachments

Comments:

I have been an IBO with Quixtar in the BWW organization since 1993 and am currently at the Sapphire level. I was registered into the business by a very close friend. When he showed me the opportunity I was not looking specifically for a business, but was smart enough to realize that if he thought it was great concept, then I could benefit from it too. It took us about 4 years to reach the Platinum level, and our organization has not dropped below the Platinum level since. Personally, I do not know if I could have built an organization if I had to give 10 references to each prospect. Each IBO I believe is in their own business and has the freedom to decide their own success. It was very clear to me from the meetings that success was not going to attack me and that this is not a "get rich quick" business. Besides, when I got started as an IBO I was brought into an environment which encouraged me and also made me aware of the things I will need to do inorder to succeed. The freedom to do those things was mine, solely. If early in my business, I was to declare my income to prospects before getting them started, I am not sure that I would have succeeded, and I don't mean I had to misrepresent my income. I got started because I got excited about what was possible if I stuck to this business for the long-term. I think, my own income would do no justice to the prospect at that point. His/her income can surpass mine, and any one IBO should not be a judging standard for that. Each IBO should be allowed to determine their own level of success, and success is very personal. For some on my team, it is just having a few extra dollars every month, for some its bringing mom home from work, and for some its total financial independence. The beauty of this business is the freedom to choose your own level of success. I think putting any process that would restrict or force someone to judge success on purely monetary terms is wrong. We have developed several very meaningful relationships in the course of the last 13 years which have played vital roles in our lives. Personally, we have been enriched by the teachings from our mentors and the organization as a whole, which I really cannot put a value on. I also think a prospect should have the freedom to choose when they want to get started. I think stipulating a time interval between seeing the opportunity and getting started is detrimental both to the prospect and the IBO since, most people who in our organization have gone to the Silver level and above have gotten started within a day or two of seeing the opportunity, because they got excited and were eager to get rolling. Besides the existence of the money-back guarentee removes all financial risk. There have been instances when people have signed up as IBOs and within a day or two have reversed their decision. I think the money-back gaurentee has made it easy for them to make that decision. Lastly, coming back to the issue of the 10 references. What do you do if your prospect is long-distance from you ? Who will be the 10 references ? What level or success should these people have achieved ? Have they built the business with any degree of seriousness and standards to what I and the team I am part of think is acceptable ? After all, many people give free advice, and when you have nothing to loose or gain from it, the advice can be very dangerous. I think that proposal makes no sense at all. I wonder how many doctors would agree to a similar rule ? After all it is a matter of health isn't it ? I am in full support of being able to reduce and eliminate fraudulent business. But a business like Quixtar which has a decades of results and 1000s of success stories should operate just the way it has. Let people judge and determine their level of involvment. I think it is imperative that the prospect have sufficient information to make a decision, at the same time the ability to reverse it if he/she so deems fit without a time restriction.