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[Billee Brady Contribution Level: 2]

You Have Been Scammed!!!

Doesn't that sound familiar?

I think everyone in this forum would have been scammed at least once searching for the right business opportunity so that they can work from home and give up that boring 9 to 5 job because i know i have been scammed before on the quest for financial freedom.

I wish that there would be a law against these scams and shams and only focus on the real legitimate home based business that can create financial freedom for the average person just as long as they put in the hard work because the average person does not have the spare money to be wasting on scams and shams.

I commend citizencorps.com efforts and services for reviewing these home based businesses and giving legitimate ratings on all aspects of the business from compensation plans to products and marketing systems.

If you are looking for a business to get involved with it would be wise to check citizencorps.com review on the business.

I know there are a lot of scams out there but don't lose hope you will find the business that you want to get stuck into just think of what industry you want to get involved in i choose the travel industry because i love to travel and plan on doing a lot of traveling in my life time and to top it off the travel industry is a 8 trillion dollar industry and only growing but you will find your business just do your research...

Make it a great day....

Billee Brady

[Robert Mergupis Contribution Level: 2]

Billy I think I understand your frustration about scams, this tells me where you might be at with your beliefs and your mindset. Personal development is a must with all of us let alone newbies. It will help us how to handle such so call set backs.

It is my understanding that all businesses have risk, this is what we all must understand before we even enter in this arena. We must have a blue print or plan and if you don't then you have all ready set your self up for failure.

You mention that there should be a law against the "Market?" Well I am a firm believer of the free enterprise marketing system. And yes http://citizencorps.com is a site you can use but the jury is still out on them for me. Let me explain, they are constantly changing their ratings on these businesses.

For an sample when they first rated TVI Express, they gave them a five star, and that was just only about three months ago. Now they rate them three stars? And that is just one of their ratings I question, GRN use to be rated high with them but now they rate them a low three star? They are affiliated with a company that has been around for over 22 years, since when stability drew just a low rating?

Plus I also understand your quest for financial freedom, but the cold hard fact is that no matter what business you enter in it is up to you to market it to make it be successful. There will always be risk in business, that is just the nature in it and if you don't understand this then maybe you aren't cut out for this industry. But on the other hand if you do understand and are coach-able then you can earn your financial freedom plus help pave the way for others to follow.

And on an ending note, the 98% that don't make it in this industry will always go back to the dead job market complaining that they where scammed mean while they are literally being condition to believe that they where a victim when in reality they are being exploited through the job market! That is where the true scam is at my friend.


P.S. Billy, there is nothing wrong with failing as long as you fail forward




Have A Productive Day
The Master Builder
Robert Mergupis

[Billee Brady Contribution Level: 2]

Great point i totally understand that the future of any person lies in the efforts they put out.

It is so important to have the burning desire and passion for change in your life so you can be consistent with your efforts to see results, too many people give up before the tipping point in there business.

I love the idea you put out that the real scam is people falling back into the job marketing and being scammed by the average boss...

That's a great way to put it!!!!

GRN has dropped in rating because of the newer businesses that have came out and comparing older businesses to the new ones they review there ratings...

Thanks for your reply Robert....

[Richard Bravo Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 9]

.

Actually Billie, you know, I've been doing this for a long time.
I've been involved with mlm for over 10 years.
I've been an online entrepreneur for over 15 years.
And never once in that time have I been "scammed."

I've been in a couple of MLMs that failed.
I've purchased training programs and coaching programs
that didn't deliver on the big promises they made.

I've lost money and I've made a lot of money.
In fact I made my first million in sales in a startup I helped launch about 5 years ago and that company is gone now.

But none of that, not a single instance equates to being scammed.
On the contrary, just about every single time I've ever had a problem with a product or something that I've purchased (of my own accord - no one twisted my arm or put a gun to my head) I've been able to get my money back if I was unsatisfied with the exception of one or two instances and the only reason I didn't get my money back was because "technically" they fulfilled their end of the contract. Did their service suck a**? Yes it did. Did they scam me? No.

In fact, it is my strong opinion that people in this industry need to WAKE UP and stop using that word when they talk about this industry. When they do their PPC ads and other marketing. Stop using it all together!

No one is getting scammed by MLM. The only thing perpetuating the SCAM stigma in MLM is the freakin' distributors that keep using that rhetoric in their marketing. And it's REALLY FREAKIN IRRITATING!!!

Because really the only people that believe that crap are the new people coming in.
Ask around here or other communities if the people who are active in MLM and ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING think it's a scam? I have 7 years worth of 1099s that say otherwise!

Oh yeah ... people sitting on their ass complaining that never do anything DO NOT COUNT!!!
If they aren't players - their opinion means nothing.

However, ask yourself ... How would you look at this industry if you were new and EVERY FREAKIN person that is IN MLM says this and this is a scam, or always asking "Is XYZ A Scam!"

Damnit I just want to spit when I see it. I mean how stupid can people be to sabatoge themselves like that?
It's hard enough as it is to present this amazing freakin' industry as a legitimate business model with all the actual SCAMS that ARE out there fu**ing up the small business landscape for everyone else.

We sure as hell don't need our fellow members and colleagues helping to give the industry a bad name!!!!

Yeah sure there may be a few people who don't get what they wanted or thought they would get a million dollars handed to them on a silver platter ... but let's be real people - Who Has Actually Been Scammed?
A scam is a criminal offense. So if you were scammed, did you pursue legal discourse. Or did you just bitch and moan because you were unhappy about a certain outcome?

There's a BIG Difference.

You know ... if someone gets pissed that they didn't make $10,000 over night or that they worked on building their group and didn't get paid what they thought they'd make, etc., etc ... Well Guess What?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK NEXT TIME!
No One Scammed You. You just made a poor decision. You picked a lousy company or product. Or you didn't perform. Or you fell for the Overnight Success bulls**t. But that's not their fault. It's yours.
You're the lazy a** that wanted a lottery ticket not a business.
Take some responsibility. Grow up. Live and LEARN... then Move On.
Hopefully you'll be smarter about it next time around.

BOTTOM LINE:
You have to decide how you want to promote your business and the industry you have chosen to play in. If you want to create fear in people's minds by talking about scams ....
Well, good luck with that!

Ok that's all I have to say about that. Sorry for the rant.
I'm just tired of hearing this crap that MLM is a scam by people in MLM.
.
.
.

[Dave Kotecki Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 5]

DO YOUR HOMEWORK NEXT TIME!
No One Scammed You. You just made a poor decision. You picked a lousy company or product. Or you didn't perform. Or you fell for the Overnight Success bulls**t. But that's not their fault. It's yours.
You're the lazy a** that wanted a lottery ticket not a business.
Take some responsibility. Grow up. Live and LEARN... then Move On.
Hopefully you'll be smarter about it next time around.

Dang, Richard.
You mean that those people should actually take responsibility for their
actions AND their outcomes?!

I think you're right.

Ever wonder why someone who's busted their ass to make it and finally
achieved a measure of success never claims it was someone else's fault that
they reached their goal?
Now there's something to ponder.

[Jim Ticehurst Contribution Level: 4]

Richard I don't like to jump to conclusions but reading between the lines were you trying to say that you don't think that our business's are scam's? could you be a bit more explicit please? regards Jim T.

[Jeffrey Taylor Contribution Level: 2]

Great response Richard!

According to Merriam Webster Scam is defined as

Noun: : a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

Transitive Verb: Deceived, Defraud

If you feel that you have been a victim of a scam you should seek legal action against the scammer.

I have been an internet marketer for 15 years and it has been very good to me and my family. But, in 15 years I have yet to find that get rich quick scheme that so many people believe exist. I built my online businesses through hard work and a never stop learning attitude.

I am new to Network Marketing and would not waste my time if I thought it was a scam. In fact, I believe it offers average people a fantastic avenue for starting a home business and if they are willing to put in the work and get the right training they can make good money.

Scam is a powerful word and evokes fear when it is used. Nobody wants to be scammed! However, many network marketers use this word in their PPC advertising. "Is XYZ a scam?"

Why, because people are using them as keywords in their search for the right opportunity. It's a catch 22, we want to target keywords that people are using tapping into the emotion of fear, yet we want to separate the word scam from mlm for the good of the industry.

I agree Richard that it is stigmatizing MLM as an industry. People are trained to associate the word scam with MLM.

Marketers are resorting to explaining why XYZ is not a scam which leaves many people with a mental picture that most mlms are scams and you should beware. Join XYZ because it is not a scam!

I believe that some people that come into network marketing on the premise that they are going to get rich fast and that they can just plug into some system that does all the work for them. When this does not happen they leave feeling they were scammed.

Why? Because everyone wants to be like the guy who is making big money and "wow", he makes it seem so easy! When a big money maker markets his system and reveals how he did it, you must be willing to put in the time and effort to achieve you own level of success.

It's like joining a gym, working out once a month and wondering why you are not in shape! You keep seeing all those really fit people and saying, man I want to look like that! Put in the work and you can!

Failure is a tough pill to swallow for most and when we do fail we use the defense mechanism that it wasn't my fault. They told me, I could make big money and it would be easy. It didn't happen so it was a scam! This is simple human nature.

When someone asks why you lost money and never made a dime, you simply say that it was a scam and i got burned. It is easier to say this than to say i sat on my ass, made a few phone calls and never made a dime.

Unfortunately, people will continue to join network marketing hoping to make big money with little effort and when they fail the word scam will be used.

To become a true professional and recruit the right people you must be perfectly honest with people right up front. Tell them it does take work to become successful. Make sure you have a solid success strategy for your new recruits. Don't sign up deadbeats just to make a quick commission.

If you are not willing to lay it on the line to your prospects that there is a learning curve and making money requires taking action, learning skills, and putting in the time you are doing a disservice to the prospect and the industry.

True scams do not last long thanks to the power of the internet. Good news spreads fast, bad news goes viral. If you truly see a scam report it to the authorities and they will be shut down.

thanks Richard for putting things in perspective!

[Volker Schaefer Company: Life Plus International Contribution Level: 5]

I never make decisions because of rating services like Moody´s or this one you named.

For me this are only opinions of people that are not in that business and have any intentions that we don´t know.

I talk to people that are really in and have success.

And I never lost any dollar or euro in any business in MLM or in internet.

So maybe this is a good way to go.