Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Blind Side Racism

Posted by on December 30, 2009 No comments

In the ABC News 20/20 Special Edition, "The Blind Side: The Real Story Behind the Movie" some of the discussion revolved around how blacks view a wealthy white family helping a poor black kid.

To the first question about this Leigh Anne Tuohy responds, "It has nothing to do with what color Michael was, how big he was. He was a child that had a need and it needed to be filled."

The ABC host Deborah Roberts continues to pursue this topic. "What do you say to people who say they feel a little offended that this white couple took this black kid in and tried to kind of mold him into what they wanted?"

Leigh Anne Tuohy responds, "No one has the guts to say that to my face. No one has ever said that to my face and if they did I would tell them don't let the door hit you on the way out."

This is a southern bells way of saying they don't say it to my face because they can not defend it. However, these same persons will say it to others and when they do they have disqualified themselves from the debate.

Deborah Roberts continues; "While millions have flocked to the feel good message many blacks have yet to see it. Critics say it perpetuates an old stereotype."

Then Deborah Roberts continues the same line of questioning with Michael Oher. "There are some black people who feel a little uneasy about the notion of the wealthy white family who comes into help the poor black kid."

Michael Oher responds, "I don't understand why people would feel that way because as long as someone…is taking someone off the street, I don't care if their black or white or whatever. It shouldn't ever be a problem."

Michael's response is gentle and yet has powerful implications for those who raise such a question. Basically he is saying if all you see in this story is a stereotype of a privileged white family helping a poor underprivileged black kid rather than people helping people, it says more about you than it says about the story.

Let me be a little more direct than Michael and Leigh Anne Tuohy.

Anyone who is uneasy about the notion of the wealthy white family helping a poor black kid, is elevating race over the person. This is why they are unable to see one human being helping another human being in the story. In fact the implication is they missed the story because they can't see past the baggage they brought to it.

Acknowledging racism and its destructive consequences, with all the evil that it creates, when it exists, says one thing about a person. But it says something vastly different when these same people see race in the loving acts of charity from one family to another human being.

It is an evil contained in racism that it does not want those of another race to be successful. This is the destructive insecurity that all racist share in common. But when someone would prefer even those of their own race be kept in poverty rather than lifted by the charity of a person of another race, this marks the lowest of all racists. 

The fact that some cannot find joy in the story of one human being helping another human being does not speak to the content of the movie. Rather, it clearly reflects their utter destructive morality.

So if the story made you feel uncomfortable, don't point fingers at the story, look within yourself. When acts of kindness and love make you feel uncomfortable it is time to admit your would view is as as destructive as is the evil in the world view you oppose. Your discomfort is proof you have become that which you oppose.

Sandra Bullock said it best. "If your money has cultural boundaries, or religious boundaries or color boundaries then your not really using your money in the right way."

We would be even more blunt. Where does racism reside when those who help another make you uncomfortable only because they are white?

© 2009, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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The Arbonne Grinder and the DM-2-AM Abyss

Posted by on December 29, 2009 No comments

There is a saying in Arbonne, “If you can get to District, you can become a NVP because what you did to get to District you just keep repeating until you are a NVP.”

There is much truth to this statement. However, there is one big difference between qualifying and maintaining District and transitioning from District to Area Manager. The difference is the significant amount of additional drag time.

Our research of this issue revealed the following facts:

  1. The quantity of Consultants who promote to District Manager but never make it to Area Manager is significant and staggering.
  2. There are several key ingredients that cause this stall out.
    • Arbonne Ricochet
    • Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag
    • Business Builder Drag is a Multiple Times Thirty
  3. Consultants can increase there success by:
    • Being aware of what we call the District Manager Grinder
    • Being aware of what we call the DM-2-AM Abyss (District Manager to Area Manager Abyss), and
    • Implement specific strategies to neutralize its effects

Contents of the Arbonne District Manager Grinder:

  1. Building to District Manager – The Process
  2. Arbonne Ricochet
  3. Arbonne Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag
  4. Arbonne Business Builders at a Difficulty Times Thirty
  5. Summary
  6. The Remedy

The Process of Building an Arbonne Business:
Success by the Numbers:

Building an Arbonne Business is a rather simple process. Call, Book, Present, Close & Follow up! Follow Up! Follow Up!

Using the process taught by Patrice Matteson of Dynamic Production a Consultant building to District would have the following numbers.

  1. A Consultant does 3 contacts a day 6 days a week
  2. This equals 18 contacts per week
  3. Times 4 weeks totals 72 contacts per month
  4. With a 6 to 1 Booking Ratio this totals 12 presentations per month
  5. Assume cancellations of 20% to 30% on average leaves 8 presentations a month
  6. Sales/Presentation: Let’s say the average sales are $400 for each group presentation
  7. This totals $3,200/month in new sales on average.

By following the above system Consultants will generate approximately $3,000 per month which is enough volume to qualify and maintain District Manager.

Overcoming Arbonne Ricochet:
Arbonne Ricochet is the process of clients, preferred clients, consultants and managers who come into an Arbonne network and then drop out. A certain percentage of ricochet is a natural process. All successful Consultants in Arbonne have some ricochet in their network.

However, the greater the percentage of ricochet in the network the more drag there is on forward movement. When the quantity of ricochet in a network reaches the same level as the quantity of new sales in the network, it will erode forward movement and tip the network into negative growth. It is at this tipping point that a Consultant is officially in what we call the Arbonne District Manager Grinder and the DM-2-AM Abyss.

There are two ways to deal with this.

  1. Reduce the quantity of ricochet
  2. Increase the quantity of new sales

Arbonne Residual Income Quarterly Drag:
Residual income is the volume generated by reorders in the network. A client, preferred client or consultant will purchase product, consume it and then come back and reorder a few months later. The volume from reorders is then added to the new sales and creates an increase in total volume. As more and more clients are added to the network, and a percentage of them come back to reorder, residual income will increase. The process would look something like the bar graph below.

The green bars represent $2,500 in new sales every month. This will also add new clients to the network each month. The gold bars represent residual income from the reorders these clients place after they consume the product.

As you can see if a Consultant works consistently and adds new clients to the network each month, as the reorders kick in, there is a corresponding increase in volume.

When a Consultant does $3,000 in direct new sales each month, and then in the fourth month 50% of those who purchased the first month come back and reorder, this will increase the volume by $1,500. So their total volume would be $3,000 in new sales plus $1,500 in reorders for a total of $4,500 in the fourth month.

Jumping out to the seventh month there is again $3,000 in new sales and 50% of those who purchased the first and fourth months reorder. This is $3,000+$1,500+$1,500 or $6,000.

Continuing this process, using the above calculations, the Consultant will hit first step Area at $10,500 in the 16th month.

This reveals two things:

  1. First, residual income is a very powerful way to build a consistent income in Arbonne. This is why it is one of the four keys ingredients to look for in a successful network marketing business according to Dr. Charles King.
  2. And second, because the residual income is tied to the use of the product, promotions are tied to the frequency rate of reorders.

Since promotions and residual income are connected this creates what I call the Arbonne Residual Income Quarterly Drag.

This simple fact greatly increases the failure rate as many Consultants assume that since they could reach the District Manager level volume of $2,500 in one month, then they can also get to Area Manager level volume of $10,000 in a few more months.

When the promotion to Area Manager does not happen as quickly as anticipated, many Consultants quit before they reach Area. It takes so long to transition from District to Area Manager that they think the system does not work or they think there is something wrong with them and that’s why they cannot get to the next level of success in Arbonne. As a result they disappear into the Grinder of the Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag and disappear into the DM-2-AM Abyss.

Arbonne Business Builders at a Difficulty Times Thirty:
Another way Consultants can transition from District to Area Manager is by adding business builders to the network. This process also known as duplication is another feature that makes network marketing so powerful. When a Consultant adds one business builder to their network, and that business builder follows the same system outlined above, the sponsoring Consultant will see an immediate $3,000 increase in their volume.

Using the process outlined above a sponsoring Consultant with a volume of $3,000 who adds two business builders to their network, who each also have $3,000 in their volume, will now have $9,000 in volume.

If adding business builders to the network can have such an immediate and dramatic increase in volume, it would appear this is the key to bypassing the DM-2-AM Abyss. But similar to the Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag, the process of adding business builders to the network also contains a time drag.

The numbers it takes to add business builders to the network looks something like this:

  1. Ask three people a day 6 days of the week
  2. This equals 72 a month
  3. With a 6 to 1 booking ratio you have 12 bookings each month
  4. One third cancel leaving 8 presentations
  5. This totals approximately 24 every three months
  6. On average a Consultant has to talk to 20 to 30 persons to find one person that is interested in the business
  7. So these numbers reveal that, on average, a business builder is found every three months
  8. And of those that show an interest a percentage ricochet out of the system.

Since we are talking averages, the first person that shows interest in the business opportunity may not remain a business builder. It may be the second, third, fourth of fifth person that is interested in the business that actually becomes a business builder. If it’s the second it will take six months. If it’s the fourth, it will take one year to find your first business builder.

The point is there is no real way to control this. As my wife says, “When it comes to Business Builders, you are working with a volunteer army and they can go AWOL at any time”. All a Consultant can do is play the numbers game and let the numbers work themselves out.

The Business Builder Multiple Times Thirty Time Drag can be compressed by any of the following:

  1. Increase the number of persons you contact.
  2. Become more skilled at the process to increase the:
    • Booking Ratio (the number of “Asks” to “Bookings”) If you can increase the Booking Ratio from 6 to 1 to 3 to 1 you have essentially doubled the number of persons in the pipeline. This is turn will cut the three months per business builder in half to 1.5 months.
    • Close Ratio (the number Bookings to Presentations)
    • Fact finding to discover a fit (If they don’t see how Arbonne fits into their life and/or dream they will not consider the business. Since they don’t know how Arbonne could work for them you have to facilitate this process by pointing to potential benefits.)
    • Targeting: while making the 100 name list, indentify those who you think would be interested in and would make great business builders.

Summary:
So what about the saying in Arbonne, “If you can get to District, you can become a NVP because what you did to get to District you just keep repeating until you are a NVP”?

There is much truth to that statement. However, even though the process to get to District is similar to what it takes to get to Area Manager, the additional time drag caused by the Residual Income Quarterly Drag and the Business Builder Multiple Times Thirty creates a Grinder that is not present in the transition from Consultant to District Manager.

The numbers reveal why this becomes a grinder and abyss. If only one in 30 persons is interested in the business and a Consultant has a 6 to 1 booking ratio that means she will have to contact 180 persons to find one potential business builder. For some these numbers are so staggering that they cannot push through it. As a result their dreams grind to a halt in the DM-2-AM Abyss. But that need not be the case. There is hope.

The Remedy to the Arbonne District Manager Grinder:
What we have found is when Consultants are aware of the Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag and the Business Builder Multiple Times Thirty Time Drag, they have a much greater chance of success. This is because when they hit the DM-2-AM Grinder they know it’s not their fault, or that the system doesn’t work or that Arbonne doesn’t work. They know it is a natural part of the process and if they stay in activity and keep swinging, they will eventually push through to success.

It is similar to one of my players who comes in for a pitching lesson. They are at point “A” and want to move to point “B”. Depending on the age and athletic ability of the player and which technique we are working to perfect, it could take anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 reps before they have it in muscle memory. There is no way to short circuit this process.

As a result there are only two ways to reduce the time line:

  1. Increase the quantity of reps they do each day or
  2. Increase the number of days they work out.

However, both of these are limited by the natural forces of metabolic recovery. Just as there is a limit to the quantity of contacts per day a consultant can make each day and the length of time they can sustain this, the same is true for a pitcher’s workout.

So when new players come in for a lesson to correct a flaw one of the first things I do is count out the Muscle Memory Time Drag for them. If a player needs 5,000 reps and they follow a standard metabolic recovery schedule then they should be able pitch 100 pitches a day, four days a week. This will total 400 pitches a week or 1,200 reps a month. At that rate, “IF” they do their workouts they will meet their 5,000 rep threshold in three to four months.

But even with these facts I still have parents who want to condense this time. When that does not happen, they either think there is something wrong with the pitching system we use or they think their daughter is not cut out to be a pitcher.

Now there is nothing wrong with the pitching system because it has produced a long list of players who have had all or part of their college education paid for through scholarships. In addition, every year since 2000, this system has produced at least one or more pitchers who have thrown a perfect game. So this eliminates the system as the cause of the failure.

Since it not the system, it must be their daughter, right? Wrong! There is no way to determine that either. It could be that she does not have what it takes to be a pitcher. Or it could be she is a great pitcher but has yet to reach the repetition threshold to establish muscle memory. In other words, on this side of the threshold she has not yet reached her greatness. We will only know whether or not she is a great pitcher, when she gets to the threshold.

The same is true in Arbonne. Greatness is in the numbers. Have you done the numbers necessary for success? If you haven’t then you have not reached the repetition threshold. So you cannot say it doesn’t work. Neither can you say “I can’t be successful at this”. In other words, on this side of the threshold you have not yet reached your greatness. The only way you will know if you can reach greatness in Arbonne or not is to reach the threshold.

So the saying in Arbonne, “Don’t quit before pay day” truly applies when you look at the numbers. In the final analysis, a Consultant’s belief in the system has to be strong enough to overcome the Grinder that includes the Residual Income Quarterly Time Drag and the Business Builder Multiple Times Thirty Time Drag. Their belief has to be able to grind through chasm so the DM-2-AM Abyss does not swallow them up.

If you are reading this you could be that person that is caught in the DM-2-AM Abyss. Or as a Manager in Arbonne you may know of others who are in this position. What is important to remember is “It is not you”; “It is not them”; it is a normal part of the process. To be successful you have to continue to work the process; to work the numbers, until you hit the threshold of success. Remember, your greatness will only blossom at the threshold.

© 2009 – 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Is Arbonne a Scam Asks www.skincarescams.com

Posted by on December 28, 2009 No comments

Today I received an email regarding a web site called www.skincarescams.com. The web page is attributed to Stewart Carlson an Ex-Arbonne Consultant.

Stewart contends that Arbonne is not a scam but how it is sold is a scam. He also contends he knows of a secret about Arbonne that will allow others to purchase the product at a discount without an Arbonne membership. Basically this is done through Consultants who leave Arbonne, have stock they need to get rid of and sell it on Ebay at a discount.

But here are a few facts Stewart’s leaves out.

  1. It is against Arbonne’s Policy and Procedures to sell Arbonne products on Ebay.
  2. Since Stewart is an Ex-Arbonne Consultant he is no longer bound by Arbonne’s Policies and Procedures.
  3. Is it wise to purchase product from someone who does not honor the a signed agreement?
  4. Stewart does not mention that his product does nolonger has the Arbonne 45 day money back guarantee.
  5. Stewart does not mention that by purchasing from Ebay you will be missing out on product promotions and discounts that are only available from Arbonne through a registered Arbonne Consultant. An example of some of the benefits you would miss out on are:
      • RSVP: $700 of product for $350
      • Free Product: With orders of a certain value Arbonne allows you to select one free product.
      • 80% Discounts: For every $100 dollars ordered Arbonne gives you some products at an 80% discount.
      1. There is no way to know if the products on Ebay have been kept in a controlled environment to protect the ingredients.
      2. There is no way to know if the products are full containers.
      3. There is no way to know if these have been used as testers.
      4. Numerous items listed on the web site referenced by Stewart are discontinued items which means they are very old.
      5. In some cases these items are so old that they have not been sold by Arbonne for over two years.
      6. In other cases the product being sold has been replaced by Arbonne with a new product line that contains updated and improved formula and ingredients.
      7. According to the Arbonne Policies and Procedures front loading of product is not allowed.
      8. The fact that Ex-Arbonne Consultants have extra stock indicates they built their business by front loading.
      9. Front loading is not necessary when building an Arbonne business using group presentations or what some call the party method.
      10. Front loading is usually done with what is called the Arbonne Results Approach.

      In light of the above are you really coming out ahead? You are giving up a lot of benefits from Arbonne while increasing risk significantly.

      In light of the misleading facts, perhaps it is no mistake Stewart named his web site skincarescams.com. Then again maybe it was simply a Freudian slip on his part.

      A few examples of out dated products on Stewart Carlson’s referring web site.

      These items have not been sold by Arbonne for two years

      Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere Body Scrub Large 7 oz NEW

      		 Arbonne
      Mandarin Cashmere Body Scrub Large 7 oz NEW

      3 Bids

      $4.25

      44m

      Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere Body Wrap Cream Large 7oz NEW

      		 Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere Body Wrap Cream Large 7oz NEW

      5 Bids

      $4.75

      43m

      Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere BODY WHIP Lotion 8.5 oz

      		 Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere BODY WHIP Lotion 8.5 oz

      6 Bids

      $5.50

      43m

      Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere Shimmering Shower Mousse 9 oz

      		 Arbonne Mandarin Cashmere Shimmering Shower Mousse 9 oz

      7 Bids

      $5.00

      43m

      Even though listed as “NEW” these products have been discontinued and have not been available for years.

      NEW! ARBONNE HAND LOTION AND HERBAL FOOT CARE!

      		 NEW!
      ARBONNE HAND LOTION AND HERBAL FOOT CARE!

      0 Bids

      $4.99

      2h 29m

      The items below replaced the items above with new and improved ingredients and formula:

      Arbonne ULTRA-Hydrating HAND CREAM, NEW + Travel size

      		 Arbonne
      ULTRA-Hydrating HAND CREAM, NEW + Travel size

      3 Bids

      $1.81

      3h 23m

      These items were discontinued as of last April 2009:

      ARBONNE INTELLIGENCE LOTION & CREAM SET & FREE GIFTS

      		 ARBONNE
      INTELLIGENCE LOTION & CREAM SET & FREE GIFTS

      1 Bid

      $18.99

      4h 50m
      © copyright 2009 VoiceWind & Greg Loveless

      The following is the email I received regarding the www.skincarescam.com and “Is Arbonne a Scam?”

      Is Arbonne A Scam?

      Absolutely Not!

      But “The Way Arbonne is sold” Is!

      Read on to understand exactly what this means.

      Arbonne International produces Swiss skin care products that are legally
      sold all over the world. True scams attempt to trick people into
      investing in something that has no real product. Arbonne sells real
      products in the form of cosmetics, anti-aging products, skin care
      products, vitamins, nutritional supplements, skin protection products,
      weight loss products, and aromatic products.

      So, why is the way Arbonne is sold a scam?

      Short on time? Skip the explanation.
      Jump right to the solution

      <http://bit.ly/DiscountSkinCareProducts>

      See exactly how easy it is to buy Arbonne products and avoid the Arbonne
      Scam without an Arbonne Consultant or fees.

      You see, Arbonne Consultants tell you that only they can sell you
      Arbonne products for 35% off the retail price. But the truth is, you can
      buy Arbonne products for pennies and you don’t need an Arbonne
      Consultant. You don’t even need an annual Arbonne membership.

      Arbonne Consultants Faint

      Arbonne Consultant don’t want you to know this. They don’t want you to
      know you can buy brand new Arbonne cosmetics, anti-aging products, skin
      care products, vitamins, nutritional supplements, skin protection
      products, weight loss products, and aromatic products for a fraction of
      what an Arboone consultant will charge.

      You’ll can even locate those hard to find discontinued Arbonne products
      that you love.

      Learn How It All Works

      Here’s all you need to know to save big time when buying Arbonne
      products!

      Arbonne Consultants buy into a membership for the opportunity to sell
      Arbonne International products at a 35% discount off the retail price.
      This means they can sell the skin care products to you at retail and
      they pocket the difference. But that is just a one time sell.

      Arbonne Consultants want more than just a one time sell. They want YOU
      to become their customer for life so they can get repeat credit for
      everything you ever buy.

      Arbonne Consultants are trained to offer you their discount pricing to
      get you to place an order. Then they tell you how to save 35% with an
      annual Arbonne membership. They are trained to tell you that this is the
      only way to get the products without paying retail and it’s JUST NOT
      TRUE!

      Buy Online Now For Less

      You can get the EXACT SAME PRODUCTS ONLINE for half the price, sometimes
      less, any time you want. In fact, your Arbonne Consultant may be selling
      it online for less than what they are offering to you and they just
      aren’t telling anyone.

      You see, every single day there is an army of new people signing up to
      sell Arbonne, and there is another army of people who stop selling
      Arbonne.

      For those who stop selling, they are left with a closet or garage full
      of unsold products. These poor people need to recover some of the
      hundreds or thousands of dollars they have spent trying to build an
      Arbonne business. So they gladly sell their excess inventory of Arbonne
      products online for huge discounts.

      And That’s Where You SAVE Money!

      You can buy discount Arbonne products online right now for pennies on
      the dollar. You don’t need a consultant, and you absolutely don’t need
      an annual subscription.

      Now that you understand, take a look for yourself.

      <http://bit.ly/DiscountSkinCareProducts>

      It’s that easy.

      Sorry Arbonne Consultants, but someone had to tell it like it is.

      Stewart Carlson
      Ex-Arbonne Consultant
      SkinCareScams.com <http://SkinCareScams.com>

      © 2009, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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      Illegal Alien Immigrant not Human Trafficking Victim

      Posted by on December 20, 2009 No comments

      In part four of a five part series dated Wednesday December 16, 2009 the KC Star provides what they contend is evidence that victims of human trafficking are deported because they are not properly screened. To make their case they provide the story of Guatamalan illegal alien immigrant Valle-Callejas’.

      Taken from the Kansas City Star Valle-Callejas journey: Advocates for detainees rounded up in the 2008 workplace raid in Postville said a lack of proper screening by ICE also led to the deportation of potential human trafficking victims.

      This included Valle-Callejas who was deported on one of the flights to Guatemala City.

      With his family gathered around in his impoverished village of Calderas, Valle-Callejas told the story of his ill-fated trek to America.

      After putting his home up for a loan to smugglers, he was shuttled across the U.S. border illegally and traveled north looking for work. He said he ended up in a job where his illegal status was held over his head.

      “I worked 86 hours a week and never got paid for more than 60,” he recalled. “If we complained, they would take the job away, and this was the only job available.”

      After his arrest U.S. authorities gave Valle-Callejas and the others a choice. Plead guilty to illegal entry and identity theft and spend five month in prison before being deported, or plead not guilty and face up to two years in prison.

      Valle-Callejas and most of the others took the deal.

      While Valle-Callejas was in jail he lost his house in Guatemala, and now he and his family are homeless.

      “I come back feeling desolate for the way they treated us,” he said.

      Were they human trafficking victims as their advocates insists? No one knows, because they allegedly were never properly screened.

      When I first saw the article and read “human trafficking victim” my first thought was young girls or women who are forced to be sex slaves. My next thought was someone who was kidnapped and forced to work for little or no pay. But as I read the article the following glaring contradictions stood out.

      1. “After putting his home up for a loan to smugglers”. This requires, what is known in legal jargon as “forethought”. He uses his home to pay smugglers to illegally take him across the border. The fact he is paying smugglers means he knows it is illegal. He is not kidnapped. He is not forced into a human trafficking, rather he goes voluntarily. He is not a victim.
      2. “He was shuttled across the border illegally”. The KS Star words this in such a way as to imply that the illegal entry was done by someone else outside Valle-Callejas’ control. But it was he, himself who initiated the illegal act. How else did he think he was going to get into the U.S.? He wasn’t forcibly shuttled illegally. He voluntarily paid to illegally cross the boarder. Absent his willing payment he would not have crossed illegally. Thus, he committed the crime himself. The sentence should have been worded, "he illegally paid smugglers to help him illegally cross the boarder to illegally gain employment."
      3. He claims he was only paid for 60 hours when he often worked 86 hours. Let me first say one of the reasons I oppose illegal immigration is because of the potential for the exploitation of workers. Everyone should be fairly compensated for their work. If he was not properly compensated, he should receive what is owed to him. However, compared to the compensation in Guatemala, this does not rise to the level of human trafficking victim. So the claim that he was exploited, rings hallow.
      4. Even with the bad conditions he had to keep the job because it was the only one available. And why was that? Because he chose, planned and paid to enter the U.S. illegally. As an illegal alien he did not have a valid SS#. As a result of his illegal act he could only work for those who were willing to also commit a crime by hiring him. His own illegal actions placed him in that position so he has no one to blame but himself.
      5. “While in jail he lost his house in Guatemala and now he and his family are homeless”. This should read, “as a consequence of conspiring to illegally enter a sovereign nation and thereby commit an illegal act, he had to sell his home to smugglers, and as a result, lost his home and he and his family are homeless as a result of this illegal act". It was not “his time in jail” that caused him to loose his home. Rather, it was the act of putting his home up as collateral to do an illegal act that was the cause.
      6. “He was devastated by the way he was treated.” He was treated as a criminal because he committed an illegal act. This is what separates the U.S. from many other nations. We are a Nation of Laws. If he was devastated by how he was treated it is not because he was wrongly treated but because he does not understand that we are a nation of laws and there are consquences for illegal acts such as his.
      7. Finally the KC Star article asks, “Were they human trafficking victims as their advocates insists? No one knows, because they allegedly were never properly screened.” Here I will assist the logically challenged KC Star staff. If you put your home up for collateral to persons who you conspire with to do an illegal act and in the process loose the employment you gained through that illegal act and your home as well, you are not a human trafficking victim. Rather, you are a criminal. So no amount of screening for human trafficking victims would have altered those facts.

      © 2009, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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      AARP Unsolicited Mailings

      Posted by on December 12, 2009 1 comment

      Let me first say I am not a member of AARP nor have I ever been a member. And yet like many of you, my wife and I have received unsolicited mailings from AARP. I have called them on numerous occasions to cancel these only to have the mailings start again a few months later.

      The final straw was the result of a recent move and then mailings from “their affiliate companies”. So on a regular basis we would receive the following mailings from AARP:

      1. Mailings to me at our current address from AARP
      2. Mailings to my wife at our current address from AARP
      3. Mailings to me at our old address from AARP
      4. Mailings to my wife at our old address from AARP
      5. Mailings to me at our current address that are from AARP affiliates
      6. Mailings to my wife our current address that are from AARP affiliates
      7. Mailings to me at our old address that are from AARP affiliates
      8. Mailings to my wife at our old address that are from AARP affiliates

      As you can see these really start to pile up so I called during the summer to have them take us off their mailing list once again only to have the mailings start up again last month. So I called the affiliate on the mailing and they removed me from their mailing list but they told me I had to call AARP to get removed from AARP’s mailing list or it would continue to happen because “we get mailing lists from AARP”.

      So today I called AARP to have them remove us from their mailing list and the following is the gist of the conversation.

      1. I need to get removed from your mailing list as I am registered on the no contact list.
      2. What type of mailing was it sir?
      3. Does it matter?
      4. Yes, I need to know if it was from AARP or one of our affiliate companies.
      5. The mailing I’m looking at appears to be from an affiliate company, Hartford, but also appears to be from AARP because your logo is on the mailing.
      6. It’s not from us sir, it’s from an affiliate company so you will have to contact them to get removed.
      7. I already did and they told me to contact you to get removed from the AARP mailing list or this could happen again.
      8. Just a moment sir.
      9. By the way, I never signed up with AARP but you are selling my name to other companies which is wrong.
      10. Sir we do not sell your name to other companies we have affiliates that we share mailing lists with. Sir, you will have to contact the other companies to stop the mailings.
      11. Do you understand how stupid what you just said sounds. You don’t sell mailing lists to other companies, but you do share them with affiliates, and you can’t stop the affiliate from sending the mailings because they are another company. Want to try again!?
      12. Hold on a moment, Sir.
      13. After about 4 minutes she returns.
      14. Sir, we do purchase mailing lists but we do not sell them. We share them with our affiliates.
      15. Ok, let me see if I understand this. You don’t sell your mailing lists to outside companies, but you do share it with affiliates. Yet these affiliates are outside companies. Do you get a kick back from these affiliate mailings. Before you answer that I need to inform you that this call it being recorded.
      16. Sir you cannot do that.
      17. Why not? You are doing it. It stated that at the beginning of the call.
      18. Sir, this call is over.

      Great customer service, wouldn’t you say. AARP plays hard and fast with the law. They don’t sell your name to other companies, that would be illegal according to their privacy statement. But they do “share” it with affiliates. An affiliate is another company that they have an agreement with. And what is the agreement? The affiliate can use the mailing list and AARP gets a kick back from the business the affiliate receives from the mailing list.

      “Share with Affiliates” sounds so warm and fuzzy but its just another way of saying, “AARP sells their mailing lists to other companies”.

      To be blunt, this is low life tactics.

      By the way, I was not recording the call. I wanted to see what they would say if a customer wanted to do the same thing they do. What I discovered is they believe they are above the law because they will not allow customers to do to them, what they do to customers.

      Not a business to do business with.

      In light of this AARP gets an “F”.

      © copyright 2009 VoiceWind & Greg Loveless

      © 2009, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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      Arbonne Chapter 11 Impacts Business Builder Recruiting Ethic

      Posted by on December 1, 2009 No comments

      The Arbonne Opportunity Presentation states that those considering being an Arbonne business builder should do their due diligence. Part of that due diligence is checking out the stability of the company. In the past Consultants who shared the Arbonne business handled this in various ways with the three most common being:

      1. In the ancient days Consultants stated that Arbonne was debt free. This fact eliminated a significant amount of financial risk.
      2. When this ended Consultants would list the years Arbonne had been in business. In addition they stated Arbonne was a financially solid company.
      3. When Harvest Partners took over Consultants would refer to Harvest Partner's financial stability.

      But all this ended with the current financial difficulties Arbonne is facing as they go through a "Reorganization" or what is legally termed a "Chapter 11".

      So in light of the current situation how does a Consultant handle the issue of due diligence as it pertains to Arbonne's financial stability?

      There is an Ally Bank TV Commercial where an adult asks a young girl if she would like a pony. She says yes. He takes a toy pony out of his pocket and gives it to her. She says thank you. He then asks the next young girl if she wants a pony. She says yes. He calls to a pony and a real life pony comes walking out. The first girl says, "You didn't say we could have a real one." The adult says, "You didn't ask!" The announcer then says, "Even kids know its not right to hold out on somebody."

      The same is true when a Consultant shares the Arbonne Business Opportunity knowing Arbonne's current financial difficulties. To withhold information from a person that could alter their decision contains the same ethical load as lying to them. By withholding this information you prevent the potential business builder from knowing all the risks.

      Now there is nothing wrong with risk. All businesses carry some risk. But risk, in order to be ethical, must be known by the person taking the risk. Even if I think it is worth the risk, this does not justify the ethic when someone else is making the decision for themselves and their family. The only way to justify the ethic is to give the full information to the person making the decision.

      So the question is, "What is the risk to join Arbonne?" The answer, to be honest is, none of the Consultants in the field really know what the true risks are because none of them have seen the books. All the field hears is what they hear from Arbonne Corporate. So is that enough to satisfy due diligence?

      When I was the Director of an IT department I would regularly receive calls from head hunters who were looking to fill a position that my skills set matched. If I was interested I would take the information the head hunter provided about the position and the company.

      But my due diligence never stopped there. I never took a head hunter's word when it came to the financial stability of a company because there was a conflict of interest. The head hunter had a vested interest in making that company look as good as possible in order to get me to say yes, because my yes benefited them.

      The same is true with Arbonne. Arbonne Corporate has a conflict because they have a vested interest and are naturally going to put the best possible spin on things to paint the brightest picture. And any one who is already a Consultant in Arbonne, who is building a business, also has a conflict of interest because they want what Arbonne Corporate is saying to be true and to work out because they have time and treasure invested in the process.

      So in light of this what does an Arbonne Consultant who is sharing the Arbonne business need to do to meet the ethics of full disclosure? The following provides full disclosure and is the only ethical way to share the Arbonne business in the current environment.

      1. State that Arbonne has been in business for over 30 years.
      2. State that Arbonne is still a leader in the industry.
      3. State that Arbonne is currently going through a financial reorganization.
      4. To be accurate make sure to use the terms "financial restructuring through Chapter 11 Bankruptcy".
      5. State that no Consultant has seen the books, and there has been no independent audit published.
      6. And, in the Arbonne spirit, encourage them to do their own due diligence before they make a decision.

      Any less than the above does not fulfill the ethical requirement for full disclosure of risk.

      Once Arbonne files the articles of bankruptcy in US Court, this would give final proof that there is an agreement with the creditors as a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy can only be filed if the creditors are in agreement with the restructuring. So once there is an announcement that the papers have been filed with the court, this confirms the stability of Arbonne. Then it takes 45 to 60 days to complete the process. Once the process is complete, Consultants would no longer have to state #3, #4 & #5 listed above.  

      What if you are on the other end of the conversation? What are you to do if you are being recruited by an Arbonne Consultant to do the business during this time of transition? Ultimately it is up to each individual. But there is one fact to keep in mind. You must know all the risk to weigh all the risk. So my advice is — Rah, Rah does not replace due diligence. Only facts provide due diligence.

      See my updated post on Arbonne Restructuring through Chapter 11 Bankruptcy at: Arbonne Chapter 11 Bankruptcy & Restructuring Links.

      See all posts on Arbonne Restructuring through Chapter 11 Bankruptcy at: www.voicewind.net/category/arbonne/arbonne-bankruptcy-arbonne/

      © 2009 – 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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