IBO Facts: Straight Answers to Tough Questions

I'd like to take a closer look at the IBOAI's list of 21 questions and their 'straight' answers. So over the next few weeks, let's see what we can glean from the infinite wisdom of the elected board that makes up the IBOAI.

The fourteenth question on the list is this:

Do higher pins make money from the sales of tapes, books, & tickets?

Ahh, the crux of the entire Amway/Quixtar debate for many people. But not really a tough question. I mean everyone knows that money is made so what's the big deal? Well, let's see what the IBOAI says about it.

Yes, Independent Business Owners (IBOs) can earn money from the sale of tapes, books, and tickets.

I find it interesting that the IBOAI uses the word 'can' here and not the word 'does'. Are we to believe then that an IBO 'cant' earn money as well?

These IBO leaders pay for the production facilities, equipment, technicians, accountants, assistants, and other employees necessary to produce such training and motivational materials.

Wow! I also run a duplication facility for a very large church. I can duplicate hundreds of CDs, tapes, VHS, and DVDs by myself. I just insert a master and a stack of 150 blanks and go home. They're done when I come in the next morning. It makes me wonder about the 'facilities, equipment, technicians, etc. that these leaders actually utilize to justify their need (not to mention the tax write-offs that could be associated to such 'need').

They incur the expenses and, of course, realize profits or losses from their efforts as with any other business.

Profits or losses? My CDs cost me $.34, DVDs cost $.75, Tapes cost $.51, and VHS cost $1.13. The average price of the average motivational tape is what? $6.00? What kind of losses should we think the IBO is realizing?

IBO leaders are successful managers of large businesses. Some leaders have thousands of other IBOs in their organization, spread across North America. As business leaders and managers, they have the responsibility to educate and motivate these other Independent Business Owners.

And this is the only way to do it? By reproducing their own pointless ramblings on their rags to riches testimonials with no actual instruction on business building?

It is important to note that professional development and education is an international multibillion-dollar business. Authors such as Dr. Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) earn incomes from the sale of books and other materials. Bookstores everywhere offer hundreds of "how-to" books, tapes, and videos on a variety of topics.

I think that the key word here is 'how-to'. Any of the Amway/Quixtar tapes and books I've listened to or read never had any real instruction on anything. As I said above, they were all regurgitated stories of failure to success with a religious agenda salted in for good measure. But no instruction on building a legitimate business.

Thus, what these IBO leaders are offering are professional development materials focused specifically on their business.

Actually, what they're offering is an overpriced fairy tale, masked as business training. Telling you that they are taking a loss even though they are adding an astronomical mark up to it when most legitimate business offer training specific to their business at no charge.

But that's just my opinion.