| Comment Number: | 522418-11498 |
| Received: | 7/17/2006 12:28:21 PM |
| Organization: | Quixtar Independent Business Owner |
| Commenter: | Owen Messac |
| State: | NY |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
To whom it may concern, My name is Owen Messac and I am writing in regards to the proposed rule to affect my independent business. I have been an IBO for the past two years and have been able to build a modest business that will start to drastically impact my lifestyle in the next year. I am building the business as a dual major engineering student, and have maintained excellent grades while building my business. While conducting business, I make sure that people are informed about how we do business by sending them to the Federal Trade Commission site, as well as Dunn and Bradstreet and Better Business Bureau sites. In the literature that we give people we make it VERY clear that the average gross monthly income of an "active" IBO was about $115 per month. We assure people that this is a business that requires work, but it is just not hard work, it is smart work. In our business people can get thier money back within the first year of registering by calling one simple number, no questions asked. This is more than ample time to decide whether to pursue a busienss or not. All products are 6 month money back gurantee, and the return lable in the shipping box all pre-paid. With this said, I don't see how effective a seven day waiting period would be in getting people started. It would just bridge the gap of time and frustrate people who have made the decision to get started. If there was no money back gurantee I would understand the need to require a waiting period; however, since there is a gurantee this would only hinder my business, and my goals, as well as other independent businesses around the U.S.A. As far as requiring references I honestly don't understand the need for this. When I qualify someone to be an busienss owner on my team, THEY should give ME references, not the other way around. When I was doing my interview for my internship at GE, my boss didn't give me references to cross check whether he was divorced, or he didn't show me his paycheck. HE interviewd ME. With the list of litigations, I understand the motive, but not the method. I fully respect and commend the Federal Trade Comission for it's efforts in dousing the schemes, and scams that run rampad out in the U.S.A. However, the integrity of the Quixtar busienss and the caliber of the companies we are working with is another issue. In today's litigous society, attorneys have their calendars booked with people who are upset, (for good reason, or not). If I need to present a new business owner with this information about a select few who decided not to have integrity, I think that Walmart should post on thier front door each of the thousand lawsuits that they were charged with last year. Or, when I go to McDonalds they should put a litigation packed in my happy meal. This of coarse seems unreasonable, and so does the requirement for the Quixtar business. Finally, does the person reading this message know what his or her boss makes? I don't, and probably never will until I EARN that level in the company I'm working for. Why then should we have to disclose the income of what we are making to a new prospect. These are personal matters and in addition, everybody's situation is diferent, and I would not want the person who is getting started baseing thier performance on the achievment of someone else. Thank you very much for considering my comments and please re-think this proposal. Sincerely, Owen Messac