One of my favorite people in the whole world is T. Harv Ecker. His book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind ” changed my whole perspective and financial thermostat surrounding life and money.

One of his creeds I live by to this day is: “Don’t believe a word I say – unless you can verify it on your own to be true.”

Harv is launching a brand-new 3-part Teleseminar/Webcast series called “Your Turning Point to Financial Freedom.”

And I am inviting you – your friends, family and colleagues to be a part of any or all sessions free of charge. Personally, I urge you to stick with the entire series. (Why not, it’s complimentary – and that’s hard to beat!)

In this Teleseminar, you’ll learn the 3 key strategies to creating your financial freedom in any economy.

You’ll become even more successful and watch your earnings and bank account soar.

And you’ll avoid the “feast or famine” cycle that millions of people go through.

Here’s what’s in store for you and your referrals at these life-changing sessions ….

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Session #1: How to Create Financial Freedom
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One of Harv’s students once asked him, “I wish I had enough money so I didn’t have to work anymore.”

“And, how much money would it take?” He asked him.

As with most people, he couldn’t say.

Listen: the key to financial freedom is to have enough money that you don’t have to work anymore if you don’t want to. Then you have the freedom to do only what you want.

The “Freedom Number” is the exact amount of money you need never to have to work again — and in this session, we show you how to calculate YOUR Freedom Number down to the penny!

Once you know your Freedom Number, your wealth-building efforts can focus on that goal. Make sense?

To register for this free Teleseminar/Webcast, click here now:
www.millionairemind.com/webinar

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Session #2: The 98% Mistake
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In this Teleseminar/Webcast, you’ll learn how to avoid the one mistake that 98% of people make in managing their money.

You’ll discover key strategies that flatten out the personal boom and bust cycles so many folks go through … and in this economy, it’s more bust than boom!

You’ll master the money rule of rich and successful people. And you’ll learn how to create a steady plan and follow it all the way to financial freedom.

www.millionairemind.com/webinar

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Session #3: Success with Balance
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In our third Teleseminar/Webcast, you will learn:

• A new definition of success and how to define success for yourself.
• How to create wealth with balance in all areas of your life.
• How to build your net worth while making your life more meaningful.
• The Big Rocks formula for achieving what’s most important to you.
• The 80/20 rule for getting more done in less time.

Registering for “Success with Balance” is easy and free:

www.millionairemind.com/webinar

This is for you AND the people you care about.

Not only can this series make a major difference in your life, it can do the same for your friends and colleagues too.

Getting trusted information that can alleviate your financial struggle and help you and those you care about get ahead has never been easier.

** It takes almost none of your time – each session is just 45 minutes.

** You can do it from the comfort of your living room with only a telephone – no need to travel or even leave the house.

** It’s absolutely free of charge.

Take the first step and start doing something to help you – and your friends – achieve greater prosperity and abundance.

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One of the nice features about a blog is the ability to track how people find you. I’ve always kept a pretty close eye on search terms and referral links coming into this site because it’s one of the best ways to come up with new material and topics. It’s also a good indicator of what’s on people’s minds.

The biggest mistake I see people make when writing a blog is it’s all about them – and that’s the wrong way to look at it. If you want readership – you have to cater to topics that interest your readership. It’s not that you can’t write about what you want or have personal opinions about your topic of choice – but you really need to think from a readers perspective.

Case in point – a really hot search right now is finding an alternative to Bing’s Cash Back program. The current number of searches is alarming and plenty of people are scrambling for alternatives. When I wrote about Bing flushing their program back in June, not only did I find out that Bing wasn’t making any money, (giving 100% back to consumers who shopped there) but some of the extremely high cash back percentages were actually coming out of Bing’s pocket.

The plan behind stacking the percentages of cash back was to drive more user traffic. In a roundabout way, Bing was paying for more traffic in cash back in the hope that it would eventually lead to more advertising dollars. When you look at Google earning revenue of $22.8 BILLION in 2009 just in advertising revenue – you’d want a piece of that pie too. But Google also dominates 71% of all search queries in the United States, while Bing captures only 9%.

Microsoft in their infinite wisdom had a better plan. When Microsoft bought Jellyfish.com back in 2007 to get into the online shopping game they eventually stripped away the “refer a friend” percentages and the revenue split that Jellyfish.com made to continue to build and develop and gave it all away to the shopper – betting they could make it up in ad revenue.

The beginning of the end came in August of 2009 when Bing doubled their cash back percentages – costing them even more money without the sufficient ad revenue to compensate. They were betting that it would drive considerably more traffic and it did – for shoppers – but it never turned into loyal search users or more advertising dollars.

When Microsoft bought Jellyfish.com back in 2007; this small little company was profitable. The cash back splits were sufficient, and word of mouth or referrals were working like a charm. Although I had no idea who they were at the time, they were by far the fastest growing cash back option on the internet at the time. Dozens of startups tried to copy them or add their own little twist to get in on this growing trend of e-commerce.

But Bing had a better plan – while going head-to-head with traditional cashback programs firmly entrenched in the market for a decade or more: Ebates, MrRebates, Upromise, MyPoints, and Memolink.

While Bing was great for shoppers and garnered a number of loyal fans it was the wrong model for business. You can’t give away more than you make and stay in business for very long.

So loyal Bing shoppers are off searching for new alternatives. Some have already found them, while others appear to be somewhat disappointed that some of their favorite cash back stores have been cut in half.

If you’re a follower of this blog (or YTB and ZamZuu) you’re well aware of the illusions some people have about MLM and Network Marketing. How MLM is the only model who takes huge cuts out of their price to pay all the people at the top. It’s a myth and illusion I find fascinating. If you look at business as whole – every company has a pyramid structure to it. (So does government and your family tree for that matter.) Why MLM is singled out as being the only pyramid that’s wrong, immoral or a scam makes me question the intelligence of those who rant and rave with their harsh and bitter commentary.

When it comes to these shopping sites, most all out there keep about half the commission for themselves to stay in business. They need to pay for employees, local management, area management, and regional management, VP’s, Senior VP’s, Partners, Presidents and CEO’s. The higher up the pyramid (excuse me – make the “ladder”), the bigger your cut of the revenue earned.

How some miss that – makes me question their intelligence.

That being said, let’s look at ZamZuu simply from the consumer experience and compare it to other “traditional models” that have been around for a while.

When you take a look at this document which lists a side by side comparison of other leading cash back programs, you’ll clearly see that ZamZuu stacks up really well. While some may be a percentage or two higher or lower, nobody really comes out as a clear winner in this chart from a consumer point of view. It’s interesting to note that all the programs listed are “traditional models” and not MLM or Network Marketing companies.

From this perspective, ZamZuu is no different from a traditional model or cash back program.

The key difference for me and why I promote ZamZuu is the “refer a friend” percentage – which clearly trumps the others by a long shot. There is a distinct difference in model and mindset in this instance however. I look at ZamZuu as a business model – not a hobby. The ability to refer friends, family, neighbors, and co-worker and earn 60% of what they earn in cash back is the game changer for someone who understands business. Instead of that 60% going to the President or CEO of Fatwallet or Extrabux it comes to me as an Independent Business Owner.

Clearly, these “friends” will be hard pressed to find a better all-around cash back alternative for themselves in this growing market of online shopping. It’s free for them to sing up, and they have the added benefit of finding comparable travel deals through a 10 year old Travel Agency that also ranks with other power houses in the industry.

Just our way of separating fact from the fiction. More like illusions if you ask me – but that’s another article for another day.

So if someones looking for an alternative to Bing Cash back – feel free to save this document and show them a side by side comparison. I can promise you, they won’t have any better relationship with anyone from these other companies. But they do have one with you.

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Back from our family vacation – but a little smaller in size. We got about half way home and realized that we forgot the kids! ;-P

Actually, they’re on a “Grand Adventure” this week which is reserved for Grandparents and Grand kids. It’s something my parents have done since my sisters kids were growing up and it’s something everyone (including Ronda and I if you know what I mean) look forward to.

That being said, I’ll be easing back into the articles – at least for this week. There are a couple of projects around the house that need to be taken care of and with the kids being gone and feeling well rested and relaxed this is the perfect week to get most of them done.

While I was off vacationing and enjoying myself however, the Home Office appeared to be rather busy setting up a whole new category of products for everyone to promote.

ZamTek is a new technology category for things like Digital Voice & Video Phone Service – Wireless Telephone Services & Accessories from all the major carriers – Satellite Television from DirecTV or Dish Network – Super Fast Internet Solutions – and Home Security are all now partnered with ZamZuu.

Brings back memories of my security and home automation days.

I’ve always liked this category of product – I am a technology geek at heart. For the record, back in the day, there were some riffs in this industry too about “service” and “professionalism” when putting technology systems together like this. While I saw some get upset that online companies were selling security and satellite systems to end users without the “professional installation” – it actually helped business.

When someone got in over their head and needed help – they called in the pros. When a “professional” showed up that was trained and qualified it was very easy to win their business because they took the pain away and solved their problems. Much of the grunt work was already done, and it was a simple matter of trouble shooting which paid just as well (sometimes even more) than if they got the job in the first place.

One of my favorites was the guy who bought a complete home theater system thinking he could do it himself. All the equipment was already purchased but he didn’t have a clue how to connect it all together. A “service call” to help out the poor guy was nothing but pure profit. Hourly rates paid far more than the wage paid for the technician.

After the pain was taken away and the problem was solved – what do you think happened the next time he needed an upgrade or a new gadget – who do you think he called?

Referrals where also a huge perk when turning a client’s nightmare into a dream come true. The level of respect and ability to install the system from the very beginning always increased margins and profitability soared through the roof.

What we’ve seen in the travel industry the last few years and the bizarre behavior by that category of “professionals” shows me a real lack of creativity or a willingness to cease opportunity. Instead of enhancing their profession, they’ve defiled their own industry with the way they think and act. Too selfish and bitter to consider that they’re only damaging their own reputation.

I don’t know about you but I don’t care how good some of these travel agents are – the fact that they treat other human beings the way they do pushes more people away than it attracts.

Another lesson learned from technology industry is that manufacturer’s look for vehicles to move their product off their shelves and into the hands of paying consumers. While those who work in the travel industry and technology industry may have misgivings about who was authorized to sell either a satellite system or a hotel room – the objective for business is to get it into the hands of consumers.

What makes ZamZuu (or Network Marketing) so attractive to business is the massive ROI by putting these products into the hands of thousands of Independent Representatives to sell by word of mouth. Any business that “hires” a MLM doesn’t pay a dime to that MLM until a product has actually been sold.

It’s the most attractive and profitable distribution model available – period.

Because there are so many “representatives” selling these products the leverage creates better commissions to the field – while still keeping margins high for the manufacturer because there are no advertising costs. It’s a win – win for both manufacture and representative.

I can’t imagine the cost and time it would take to ramp up all these categories and product models. Travel, online shopping, and now technology products – all under one roof for what? $250 to start and $50 a month. You couldn’t get started for any less than that or start selling any quicker than what YTB and ZamZuu has created. It’s a complete turnkey opportunity that puts anyone who wants to make additional income a breeze.

Now if they could just figure out a way to have customers and clients flock to these new websites without promoting it or opening up your mouth.

That I’m sorry to say hasn’t changed in business. You still have to market and promote when it comes to selling these products – customers don’t just appear out of thin air. Marketing can only be considered marketing or promotion when someone actually knows about it. If you don’t do it – somebody else will and they’ll get the sale instead of you.

It doesn’t have to be hard or difficult. It could be as easy as writing an article just like this and telling people that ZamTek is now available through ZamZuu.

Just the name ZamZuu or ZamTek right now could be odd enough for someone to actually take a look at what the heck it is!

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Before YTB, I was living the American Dream – or so I thought. The “reality” was I had been bumbling through a number of companies that left me high and dry. Any illusions I had about the corporate world were quickly being shatter. Family Golf ran out of money and was bought out by an Asian group who promptly fired everyone. Anicom got caught cooking their books – was shut down by the FTC and the founders imprisoned. ISP lost its manufacturing contracts to the internet for the territories I covered. iAutomate never reached the internet dominance it aimed to achieve and was downsized. And my last stint with Hi-Fi Buys eventually ended in bankruptcy court.

The American Dream of getting a good education and finding a J.O.B. was a carrot I wasn’t willing to chase any longer. My discontent over the lie about working for someone else had me frustrated and looking for options when YTB came knocking.

Three guys – Coach, Scott and Kim turned me onto the idea of being in business for myself. They offered my first products I could offer and sell as an “independent representative”. Harv Ecker and Bob Proctor soon followed in my journey who showed me other income streams. All of the streams they create are “passive” – meaning I don’t have to be there to generate income. Guys like Mike Dillard taught me the value of branding myself. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you’ve heard that name before – and many have bought Mike’s Magnetic Sponsoring courses. Mike’s primary business teaches the value of something called a “funded proposal”.

Coach, Scott and Kim taught the value of building a business within the YTB business, but I also like what Mike calls it.

“You, Inc.”

I became a student of “You, Inc.”. While everyone knows I’m tied to YTB, now ZamZuu – my brand is “Just Picture It Now”. With this brand, I now own a well visited blog with various tools and affiliate products that create income. I also own a list of subscribers that now reach thousands each and every week. Auto-responders within our newsletter create a steady stream of income that work on auto-pilot. Articles on this blog also create a steady stream of income with well ranked organic links. Articles I’ve written years ago continue to produce income almost every month. Those are the passive income streams that Ecker and Proctor taught me.

“You Inc.” provides me the option to pursue opportunities that interest me such as writing, up-in-coming technology, and pay-per-click income that keeps my brand diversified, fresh and profitable. I pick and choose who and what I promote with incredible flexibility and versatility. This diversity has enabled me to stay with YTB far longer without any worry of the outside forces attempting to tear it down. The economic meltdown of late 2008 and 2009 and the hit the travel industry took forced many to make changes. The needless “YTB bashing” that goes on about their “model” being something other than viable or legitimate has forced others to make changes as well.

Me? I was diversified enough that income actually increased while millions all over the country were being laid off, downsized or scrambling to find other sources of income which had dried up.

I’ve always been an independent thinker. I never would have gotten involved with YTB in the first place if I wasn’t. I saw right through the hype and trash talk about pyramid schemes that we often see from those who haven’t any experience to speak of. I’ve heard it said that if somebody tells you what they think – take it with a grain of salt. If someone tells you what they’ve experienced however – you better listen.

What I’m about to tell you may sound shocking to some – controversial to others – but it rings true for me. Based on my experience in the corporate world, the bickering and fighting going on by traditional travel agents who have seen commissions either diminish or completely vanish and the Directors in YTB who built large organizations who are now with different companies – I’ve come to this conclusion.

True independence and success comes from multiple opportunities and various streams of passive income.

Last week YTB announced its new Director level and enhanced compensation starting at 250 active IBC’s. The new level also provides additional guaranteed income with fully paid medical and life insurance paid for by the company. I didn’t write about it here, but I did put it in last weekend’s newsletter – because it’s news. Honestly, when I heard about the new level, I was surprised at me first initial thought’s. When I did put it out on my newsletter to my subscribers, it was uncomfortable.

Then, earlier this week I was asked to pick either YTB or my other “ventures” and my gut reaction was shocking – even to me.

As good as the Directors program is and as much as it provides to individuals and their families – it’s not the right goal or option for me.

I’m an “Independent Representative” not a “Director”.

How do you like them apples?

I got into YTB to create my own independence. Over the last 6 years I’ve built and now utilize several profitable income streams. It’s enabled me to survive the chaos and the slandering where others haven’t because they were counting on a single source. Directors who built large organizations are now gone because they relied on one company. Travel Agents have been bickering for years, or are out of business doing something else because they rely on one stream. Even I was forced to jump from company to company for years because I relied on a single revenue streams before I found YTB.

The true value for me in YTB are all the income streams – not the Directors program. The position lands me right back where I was 6 years ago and doesn’t provide the current options and streams I’ve been able to create and build on my own.

It’s not that I’m upset or angry with YTB. To the contrary – I couldn’t have dreamed of a better vehicle to start my journey. YTB has been a wonderful experience for me and was the first company to provide multiple streams. I had never been with a company with so many possibilities prior. Likewise, the Director program is a first of its kind. The medical, life and guaranteed income benefits not only rival but are the envy of the corporate world. With benefits like these – the company has every right to attach reasonable conditions for that privilege.

It’s their company and they make the rules.

But as good as it is and as much as I wanted it – along the way I found my own true independence and own income streams where I make the rules.

The world has changed. Likewise, the internet and technology continues to evolve and change at a rapid pace. It’s exciting – it’s fresh. The internet offers up endless possibilities and an abundance of opportunities to market and promote whatever I want. It didn’t really occur to me until I was asked to make a choice between my own business here on the internet and the one I run with YTB. Without realizing it until this week – I’ve successfully generated a brand that’s more valuable and meaningful on my own.

I don’t know what’s going to happen over the next couple of days guys. While my gut reaction was instant and sure – I told YTB that I had to think about it. But my gut has never been wrong. It’s a message from the Divine. There may be an applicable resolution to all this that I can do both – and I’d like to do both. I love YTB – and I especially love the people I’ve been able to help. Thousands rely and count on me each and every week to inform and mentor them. I’m not looking to steal anyone or trash YTB in any way. That’s selfish and unprofessional.

Overall, YTB has been far too good to me and I’m incredibly grateful to them for showing me the path to my own independence and freedom.

But I also own this blog and my list of subscribers which provided me the freedom and flexibility to speak my own mind and provide my own path.

I’m at complete peace with anything that may come my way. If I can survive horrendous economic conditions and needless trashing of a company I promoted wholeheartedly – I can survive anything.

That my friends is real – true independence.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

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Because we’ve expanded and diversified our business with the launch of ZamZuu, I’m finding myself doing a lot more surfing on the internet for products I both want and need.

While ZamZuu business owners can be considered “early adopters” and part of the $155.2 billion that was actually spent online last year, according to a Forrester study released just last month $917 billion worth of retail sales last year were “web-influenced.” Meaning; far more people (at least for right now) are using the internet to do their research on the internet, and then heading out to the store to make their purchase. That’s 67 percent of the online population, and I’ve seen studies that claim 75 percent.

Let’s face it, after the economic meltdown we had in late 2008 and 2009, now more than ever, saving money is the new green. It’s a big reason why ZamZuu has been welcomed with open arms in our company. Cash back puts green back in our pockets.

We’re not the only ones who have caught on to this paradigm shift. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) also released a report in early April which reveals advertisers spent a record high of $6.3 billion during the fourth quarter of 2009, in an attempt to attract surfers. That’s a new high for a single quarter in Internet advertising revenues, which reached $22.7 billion for the year in 2009.

Nearly half of that revenue is being paid in search and display-related advertising. Think Google AdWords – those little three line ads you see along the right hand of the search page. I recorded a CNBC special report a few weeks ago entitled “Inside the Mind of Google” which reported that Google made $4.3 billion in PROFIT from Google AdWords alone. Another report just last week quoted that Yahoo! saw its first quarter profit more than double from last year, driven by growth in online advertising and lower operating expenses.

It’s abundantly clear that money and revenue is shifting right now away from print, radio and television to the internet. Why? With E-Commerce, the whole transaction takes place online, making it very easy to track and measure. The ROI also skyrockets because advertisers don’t pay per impression or how many eyes actually see the ad, instead only pay for those who actually click on the ad.

Here’s the problem, and I think you can relate: When I Google something to research and compare pricing for a product, more times than not, my first page results aren’t based on the lowest price – but who paid the highest price for ad placement. With more and more money being thrown at internet advertising and the amount of revenue it generates for all of the top search engines, I don’t see that changing any time soon.

In fact – it could get worse as more companies catch on with all out bidding wars breaking out to capture their share of this consumer shift.

So how do you make sense of and sift through all this advertising to find the best deals?

One solution I’ve been introduced too is a very cool app called MyShoppingGenie. It’s completely free to install and its sole purpose is to help you navigate through the vast array of information found when doing a search to find products based on price. By searching on any of the major engines available the Genie appears as a navigator that pulls up not only the stores that offer the product you’re looking for, the price their selling it for.

For example, our son Brain is into Pokemon and wanted the new Heartgold version for his DS. We did an internet search and up popped the Genie with a “compare” button. Within seconds I had a price from Wal-mart of $30.54, CD Universe with $39.95, and Dell, Best Buy, and Toys R Us with a price of $39.99.

From here it’s easy to see that all I have to do is log in to ZamZuu and go directly to Wal-Mart to make my purchase to either ship it or order a site to store for pickup.

All in a fraction of the time it use to take me with a regular search or going from site to site looking searching at individual stores.

While that’s great – it gets even better. Check this out.

Because I’m giving this app away to my list of clients and customers who either book travel with me, or shop with me through ZamZuu, my app is “branded” with a ZamZuu logo and a link that goes directly to my ZamZuu shopping page. When they find the right price, and it happens to be one of the 700 stores we have within ZamZuu, getting cash back for that item is now a simple click away. (Download the app and see for yourself.)

Now think about this…people search on average 88 times per month. Each time they do that search now, my ZamZuu logo appears each and every time they search. No e-mailing, no calling, and no paid advertising – it just shows up every time they do a search on any of the major search engines.

If that doesn’t get you thinking about possibilities it gets even better.

You know all that money we talked about – the $917 BILLION in sales that was generated via searches, and the $22.7 BILLION in advertising revenue being spent for clicks from those searches last year? Each time my customers click one of the ads when comparing prices it generates revenue from the free app that I gave away.

I’m generating revenue coming and going. Granted, at this point there are more searches right now than buyers, however, as the shift continues to evolve over the next few years, I’ve giving my customers a very easy and accessible format to capture more sales when they buy and get cash back through my ZamZuu site.

This opens up a whole new market, and it’s no longer based on what I want to sell, but what my customers actually want to buy from 200,000 stores, liquidators and product manufacturers, including over 1,000,000 coupons and special offers. I’m not only buying and getting cash back from Omaha Steaks through ZamZuu, but finding incredible coupons for additional savings on the “deals” link. (Ronda LOVES the coupons she’s found on both national and local stores saving us a TON of money from this app.)

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In closing, you at least need to check out this app and see how it works for yourself. Heck, it’s free for goodness sake and it’s going to help you turn the tables on the big search engines who are only thinking about how much money they’re generating from paid ads when you’re searching for products.

If you by chance you see another revenue stream and a very viable option in branding your ZamZuu business, just “reply” to my newsletter and I’ll not only answer your questions, but help you set this free app with your own ZamZuu logo and link to capture a bigger piece of this internet boom.

No pressure, and no hard sale. You both see these numbers and want in, or you don’t.

Just let me know if you want to capture a slice of this boom.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

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Do You ZamZuu?

Here we are again – yet another upgrade and more product enhancements for the YTB and ZamZuu Representative. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I absolutely love how this company listens and responds to the needs and desires of the field. Most companies that I’ve worked for in the past – and you’ve probably experienced it too – make changes and decisions without any care or concern to what YOU actually need or want to make your job easier or more attractive.

Most companies act more like a Dictatorship that strike down new initiatives and changes without any concern or care for field input. It’s refreshing to see a company that actually sends out surveys asking for input. Based on a majority rule – changes are then made and implemented that benefit the majority who voted for the change.

They call that a Democracy.

One other aspect that I’ve come to appreciate over the years is how our Founders and Executives aren’t “know-it-alls”. You know the type I’m talking about – the ones who have an answer for everything under the sun. They’re experts in every area you can imagine. Heaven forbid if you don’t agree with their perspective or decision. You’ll be condemned in an attempt to make you feel stupid and insignificant. Let’s face it, our Founders are incredible marketers and recruiters – but they never had any illusions that they possess a better skill set or temperament than someone like Robert Van Patten when it comes to the day to day operations of a publicly traded company.

As I write this piece, I’ve yet to see the working model of our new sites and enhancements that should be up and running later today. I did get an advanced copy of what I can expect when the upgrade is complete. Some of the upgrades are minor changes and tweaks that have been missing since the initial launch of ZamZuu back in January, while others streamline both the free shopping experience for customers and the sign-up process for those that want to capture the growing trend of online shopping as a business owner.

It’s a whole new look for the ZamZuu Marketing sites, the new media center that includes the ZamZuu Revolution webcasts that are readily available and on demand right from the new homepage. There’s also a private media center in the Rep Back Office containing important information and presentations for the marketing business.

The company has also made the recruiting process better, with a sign-up process that’s a bit more familiar to what they experience in a retail environment. The information form is all in one step as many retail stores are doing these days. The prospect’s email address will also be their user name, making it more convenient and a quicker process. The process will auto-populate their marketing site URL. After finding an available domain name they’d like to purchase from a register like GoDaddy, the user ID can be changed at any time from their Business Center or by calling into ZamZuu Support.

Demographic information will also be asked during the process (which is completely optional) and by doing so, it will provide a better experience for the Representative with targeted campaigns such as local events and trainings that are happening in their particular neck of the woods.

The Associate Registration process is exactly the same, minus the payment information. For those in California, the sign-up process also works the same, minus any place for payment information until after the 14 day waiting period has expired. Instead, California prospects will see a confirmation message explaining the next 14 days.

Speaking of California, unfortunately I have to cut ALL of our enhancement short here and save it for another day. It’s not that I don’t want to or don’t have the time. The problem resides with a small group of individuals who must have struck a deal with California called “Narc That Blogger”. You see both these individuals and California don’t believe you have the capability or the intelligence of understanding that there are two separate income opportunities. They believe that explaining both at the same time will not only confuse you but it’s somehow unfair to provide another income stream with products that are attached to the business you’re actually selling.

Truth is – our model not only confused the snot out of them, but makes them extremely uncomfortable. And because of the fear and discomfort it produces, they become childish tattle tails who want to see me punished for speaking my mind with views and a position that does not match their limiting beliefs.

It’s not that they come after me personally – they go after the Home Office with some letter or call about a rouge blogger who’s trying to recruit the world into a gigantic pyramid scheme.

However, if you’ve already figured out that this is a viable business and happen to own a site that’s been enhanced, feel free to sign up for our free newsletter. There I can explain both sides to you this weekend, not because you’ve proven to be more intelligent, but because there’s no chance of me “recruiting” you.

Dumb and cumbersome I know. But like you, I’ve come to enjoy my business and don’t want to put our company in jeopardy regardless of how ignorant and childish others can be.

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Last week I told you how I picked up on “issues” the Better Business Bureau was having with their new grading system. It appears that the BBB is getting some very poor grades of their own based on a web site I linked to which laid out a very convincing case that the BBB isn’t what it once was. It’s clear that Better Business Bureau has compromised their ethics and lost the trust of the business community – and now it’s reaching the consumer.

Low and behold, day before yesterday I started to get hit’s from this site and inquiring minds like mine wanted to know what was going on.

As it turns out, the author, who goes by the pen name Jimmie Rivers put a link to my article on his home page as yet another example of someone who’s fed up with the current grading system and believes there needs to be change. He’s also changed the home page considerably with a call to action and a bold statement that “Criticism against BBB mounts as protests go viral”.

He goes on to state his mission of the website:

bbbRoundup was always designed to be a central hub for resources dedicated to taking the “good fight” to the Better Business Bureau, hence the name roundup. The list continues to grow and will be added to as occasion warrants. Additionally, this list of resources will permanently occupy this homepage placement. With the help of our friends in the United States and Canada, here’s some great websites:

Wow! When a site like Ripoff Report has a couple of pages slamming the BBB, there’s definitely a problem. Not that I take anything from Ripoff Report as authentic or insightful. (Are you kidding me?) I just find it comical that the type of individuals who post there, are the exact same ones who would use the something from the BBB as a viable source to improve their stance that something is a scam.

Jimmie admits, and I would agree, that the grass roots effort has taken some time to gain momentum. My guess is that it’s because the BBB does have the perception of being one of the nation’s leading consumer advisory groups in the nation. They’ve been around a long time, (since 1912) and there was a day when people could look to them as a viable source regarding the quality of a business.

That all started to change when William Mitchell, CEO of the BBB chapter took on a charge of an A+ through F grading system four years ago in Los Angeles, California. As it turns out, that’s where most of the attention and criticism of this grading system resides. I know it’s hard to believe, but Disneyland, one of the world’s premier destinations for families all over the world, at one time had an “F” rating. All it took was a grand total of 30 complaints out of millions who visit there each year.

Jimmie is an Emmy nominated, and former CBS affiliate news director in a top 20 market. The reason for the pen name is because Jimmie doesn’t want to be harassed by the BBB, although they’ve attempted to reveal his identity on several occasions. The BBB obviously doesn’t take him very serious or a viable source for information. (Can’t imagine why!) However, enough of his journalist colleagues with real names and faces point to Jimmie and consider him insightful and valid with the information found on the bbbRoundup.

For me, it’s kind of a kick to have someone of Jimmie’s stature think enough about what I wrote to link to it. Kind of like George Dooley this summer during Convention. (Or the call I got from Rob Snyder and the article I wrote about Ignite.) I’m just glad I could do my part in helping to right an obvious wrong here.

But we need more than just a couple of news articles and blogs exposing the ethics of the BBB and how lame this new grading system is. We all need to do our part, and here’s where you can help. Jimmie has a petition that’s been growing slow and steady since he put it up. Sign it. (That is if you too feel the BBB needs to change it’s membership and grading practice.) An Attorney General and a U.S. Representative question new BBB grading system and this is just what they need to gain traction in getting some real change pushed through.

My hat’s off to you Mr. Rivers, who ever you are. Keep up the good fight. There are good people that support your efforts.

I just want to do my part in helping it go viral.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

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