If you’re not part of our newsletter, you need to stick close this week. I know it’s been kind of slow – but things are starting to heat up a bit up in the Home Office and you need to be aware of the upgrades, advancements, and promotions that are going on – particularly this week. Those that plug in will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. (Take a look at Friday’s post and the new Group Cruise Page to get a taste of what I’m talking about.)

Also released late Friday was YTB’s 10Q for the 3rd Quarter. What most investors want to see is how a company responds to it’s current conditions. I’m happy to report that YTB has responded with a small but important profit for the 3rd Quarter and an increase in net income by 26%. I want to advise you that what we saw from Friday’s upgrade and the Group Cruise page, and the the announcements coming up later this week are a direct result of available cash on hand that YTB invested back into the company in previous quarters. While critics were predicting bankruptcy, the Founders and Executives of YTB have been laying the foundation of what we will be seeing in the weeks and months to come.

What most people don’t realize (or refuse to acknowledge) is that YTB operates off of working capital. With the one exception of the Home Office building, YTB is completely debt free. What I’m also seeing more and more of in the Quarterly reports is more self reliance – meaning that what the company use to sub-contract out for is now being brought in house. This self reliance in turn controls expenses.

As a result the pieces are starting to come together. The years of making hard choices and investing millions back into the company is paying off. YTB posted a 3rd Quarter profit of $362K which is coming out of a very turbulent point in it’s history and very difficult economic times.

If you recall the previous quarter, YTB reported a $1.2 Million profit before they bit off $2.6 million in contract termination costs for the disposal of REZconnect, which resulted in one time loss for “discontinued operations”. Also gone is $1 million in legal expenses for California’s attempt to shut the company down with claims of being a gigantic pyramid scheme. $250K still remain of the $1 million settlement made in May which squashed the Attorney General’s attempt to end YTB’s existence.

While some have speculated that items such as these were insurmountable, the company continues to show that it’s able to answer the speculation in the black.

I can’t knock those that have left. It appeared that everyone and their mother was telling us that YTB’s days were numbered. It’s human nature to buy into the doom and gloom – especially when you’re bombarded with bias media and overly obsessed and obnoxious critics. Even “experts” like our auditors, didn’t have confidence that YTB could pull this out.

Yet, here we are three quarters through 2009. Yes there’s been a decrease in Travel and Travel Stores out there due to the harsh external conditions over the last two years. What has also decreased general and administrative expenses of $9.5 million to answer that and keep the the company solvent. That’s called corporate responsibility and when you show profits of any kind, it provides a very resounding answer to all the negative speculation.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after all this time it’s this. You can’t talk your way in or out of anything – you have to do it. Talk is cheap, and while walking the walk may take longer to show results, it produces a much better result.

What we saw on Friday and will continue to see throughout this week are some very solid tools and answers on what the company intends to do to keep the company solvent and viable. YTB didn’t react – it responded. (And there’s a huge difference in that.) There have been some very significant and important changes at the top of the company that puts key people in roles in which they excel. Scott and Coach are recruiters – and are now out in the field doing more with the field. Bob Van Patten has taken over the day to day operations, and manages the income and expenses. (He also appears to be in complete control of that aspect based on YTB’s bottom line.)

Like last weeks Group Cruise page – now comes the value these changes produce for those of us in the field. We’ve seen plenty of it with RPM Trainings, the Sail-a-Thons, shopYTB, and site upgrades like YTB Golf.

Like I told you at the top of this post – stick close this week – there is more to come!

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Doug & Ronda Bauknight AKA: TravelPro Travel Agent / Networker Phone: 678.458.5812

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Tags: SEC, YTB International, YTBLA

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Board of Directors, Bob Van Patten, Home Office, YTB, YTB Marketing, YTB News, YTBLA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.