| Comment Number: | 522418-11935 |
| Received: | 7/17/2006 4:49:52 PM |
| Organization: | Fremont Group |
| Commenter: | John Dewey |
| State: | VA |
| 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 John Dewey and I am the owner of Fremont Group, a sole-proprietorship business powered by Quixtar, based out of my home office in Newport News, VA. I have been in business for two and a half years and have been working my business while working simultaneously as an officer in the United States Coast Guard. There really is no other business I would be able to effectively build due to my military career. This business represents not only a second income for my family, but also a follow-on career for me upon my retirement from the Coast Guard. It also represents the exercising of true patriotic American freedom in that many Americans have forgotten the fundamental values on which our founding fathers birthed our country, namely freedom of religion and freedom of enterprise. I have met some financial and some personal goals through business ownership in association with this direct marketing business. Some of these benefits are intangible, such as personal life mentorship, leadership development, and time management skills while others are more tangible, financial gain and association with business partners. Any business owner knows, and sometimes non-business owners also know, that it takes time and focused effort to build a business. It is also known, for example, that it takes focused effort to earn a degree from a college on any subject. The recent proposals made by the FTC regarding the Direct Marketing industry are disturbing and have serious implications regarding my ability to grow my business since I move often with the military. I consider myself to be of average intelligence. I investigated the Quixtar business before I decided to become involved and looked at several indicators, such as their membership in the Better Business Bureau, the parent company financial record, the money-back guarantee if I was not satisfied, the people involved with the business, the tangible lifestyles of some of those people involved, the history of the company(s) involved, etc., and I decided to go forward. Without sounding acidic, I do not need government supervision to help me make a decision regarding business. After all, consider the plight of the Social Security administration and judge for yourself about the ability of the government to make sound financial decisions. I received any information I requested when I signed up. I thoroughly inform my new Independent Business Owners (IBO) that this is not a “get rich quick” business and that it will take time and effort. IBOs that sign up with Quixtar will spend an average of $175 to be registered and receive a sample product kit. While the company has the legal right to deduct the value of product used in the case of a return, it has been my experience that the company returns 100% of the signup expense and does not even require the return of the product…even after the 6-month evaluation period! I stand solidly against the changes proposed by the FTC and urge the FTC to instead come up with a certification process that evaluates the return policy and Better Business Bureau record of a busness in order to inform the public…not think for them. Respectfully, John Dewey