I don’t know how many of you were at last years National Convention. I was, and I absolutely loved it! I’ve really been looking forward to all the announcements which in years past have nothing short of blockbuster. The Success from Home Magazine two years ago with the guaranteed income was such a big help for many who wanted to learn what it takes to be successful. (Working your business each and every day.)

Last years National Convention brought us the new booking engine and marketing site designs were nothing short of incredible. (Both of which have been improved even more.) We had also posted our first Quarterly profit just before the National Convention, (HINT) and with our first listing in Travel Weekly at #35 made YTB stand strong and proud as we should.

Going into this years Convention, I’ve never seen so much media and trade publicity concerning our company. I mentioned on Tuesday that our “consideration” of moving from a Referring Travel Agent model to a Franchise model was the most viewed news story in Travel Weekly. (It’s also the most e-mailed article on the Travel Weekly servers.)

It’s really very impressive if you think about it. The focus and attention on YTB right now is at a frenzy and our biggest event of the year is still two weeks away with even more good news for all those who can’t get enough concerning YTB. We’ve clearly moved beyond these silly blogs, message boards, and YouTube videos that are plastered all over the Internet attempting to spin and create their own stories about what they want to project with pointless opinions and spin.

I mentioned here many times that the truth always has a way of coming to light. The truth started to surface back in April when our Annual Report provided YTB its first yearly profit in just 6 short years. This gave way to investors who actually know something about company growth and success to speculate that YTB could be the next Travel Darling in the Travel Industry. Financial analysts such as Benchmark Journal and Bellwether Report also jumped on board offering their take on this growing company.

I was also extremely proud of Travel Weekly this year, which singled out YTB in their Power List publication of the Top 50 Agencies when they quoted:

“YTB has to be singled out because it faced another year of controversy because of the structure of its business – losing IATA and Royal Caribbean accreditation. Editors checked with the company multiple times to ensure that its reported total represented only direct travel sales, not referrals or any other nonqualified revenues.”

To have the Travel Weekly editors inform everyone that the $414.5 Million in travel sold is in fact travel, should certainly draw a distinct line between those who can read and comprehend and those who simply want to spin in their continued downward spiral. To have YTB singled out and answers concerning all the meaningless questions thrown out since last years publication were certainly put to rest. (Though a few critics persists with even more questions in hopes that someone other than YTB or Travel Weekly will answer.)

ABC News picked up an affiliate story a few months back and aired it on Good Morning America and now has our Lady Liberty on their servers. WGN also aired a similar story a few weeks back as their Cover Story. The thought of having our Lady Liberty dedicated to fallen Police, Firefighter and Servicemen for my children’s children children to visit and look at for hundreds of years really says a lot about a company who appreciates and acknowledges the sacrifice these brave men and woman paid for the safety, freedom and liberties we enjoy today.

It’s not the first time YTB, Beryl Martin, and UPS have teamed up for the local community, but it looks like this time it may be viewed on a national stage when they start to transport Lady Liberty which is only a week and a half away.

The hot topic right now IS YTB and we are still two weeks away from the opening of its National Convention in St. Louis. I personally can’t wait to see the after effects of what will be announced when we actually get there.

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Today I celebrate my three year anniversary with YTB. On January 16, 2005 we pulled the trigger and joined a little known company that was a completely new concept to me at the time, but certainly intrigued me enough to not only find out more but make the move to “get in this game”.
This also happens to be my 100th post on this Blog so we need fast forward three years to today, and we find that on my anniversary YTB announces its expansion into International Markets. (Just for me and my anniversary I might add. ;-P)

I’ve stated in both my one year, and two year anniversary postings that I’ve always had to deal with those who oppose Network Marketing in general. I’ve endured all the blanket statement about scams and pyramid schemes from individuals who neglected to consider doing any independent research, or provide documentation to back it up.

This is the first year however that so much attention has been made about YTB specifically, and we have two key factors this past year to thank for all this fuss. First is our Travel Weekly ranking, being a #35 Agency in the country. Second, because of this ranking it appears that it has shocked the Traditional Travel Agent community and they certainly aren’t going to give up even more market share without a fight.

Beside, were just a bunch of Network Marketing Yahoo’s and they can take us right?

Well…maybe not.

While I have stated here many times that I both respect and admire many of the Traditional Agents I have met and speak to publically and privately. Unfortunately, while I may get some respect, YTB does not. There is a belief for most that a formal education and training is required before anyone can be qualified to sell travel, a perception that this career can only be done by those working full time in order to provide service and support that’s required, and a notion that YTB can’t be as competitive or offer the products they do.

There also seems to be an obsession with the amount of money each of us make and while claims that no money is made in this company selling travel, we are also required to recruit our friends and family into the business in order to make money. And while the “friends and family plan” is done by everyone in the company, we are also reminded that if we do recruit everyone, who will we be selling travel too?

I tried to put this as put this as delicately and eloquently as I possibly could last year at this time, and I guess that either some things never change or it may be appropriate to bring up once again a year later…

“What – A – CROCK!”

Fact of the matter is, while others read about it, study it, write about it, talk about it, I live it. I got myself in the game, and if any of you can get past the hype and propaganda being spewed about our company you see that YTB is a Top #35 Agency, (verified sales by the way) company President Kim Sorenson named one of the most influential, Suppliers are coming to bat for our model for producing impressive sales, and Travel editors from both Travel Weekly, and Travel Trade think YTB’s making a HUGE impact in this industry. Heck, even out SEC filings are showing signs of profitability.

And now it looks like YTB is only going to get bigger and stronger with this International expansion.

Bahamas opened on January 11, and YTB is now recognized as a bonded travel agency in Canada. Kick-off meetings are scheduled in Vancouver on February 9th, and Toronto on February 16th. YTB’s executive and legal teams worked diligently with the regulatory bodies in each country to ensure that the Company meets or exceeds the standards in each region.

Has a sweet ring to it don’t you think?

Well maybe not for some. For those that so adamantly oppose YTB and the Network Marketing Business model, this certainly doesn’t look good. Of course some will ignore this expansion and continue with hype and speculation. You don’t spend this much time with one company without getting to know how both YTB “responds” and Anti-MLM’ers always seem to “react”. (By the way,
there IS a difference.)

I want to leave everyone with this.

In March of 2007 Barry Minkow of the “Fraud Discovery Institute” (FDI) put out a big nasty paper charging that the MLM Company Usana was a Pyramid Scheme. Minkow also “shorted” Usana stock and managed, somehow, to get the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Usana. In addition there were several lawsuits filed against Usana including a shareholders class action suit.

The doom and gloom concerning Usana was all the rage and everyone had an opinion and predictions about what was going to happen. The two sides went on and on about this for months. Eventually the dust finally settled and the air was clear of all the talk, most giving Usana up for dead.

Imagine my surprise to find on Friday of last week that the SEC inquiry over the alleged allegations concerning the Usana Health Sciences scheme closed without enforcement action.

I don’t know how many you even knew anything about that suit let alone kept up with it all this time, but as a Network Marketer and a participant in this industry, I did and I believe it’s prudent to bring this to light at this time. Things aren’t always as they may first appear when it’s all said and done.

So another anniversary is here and almost gone. I meant to have this posted early this morning. I’m glad I got distracted long enough to find this news about YTB for you however. A good day, eh?

Part of my distraction today was snow here in Atlanta which is a rarity for these parts. From the looks of it, the kids will be home with me in the morning and we already have plans for a snowman in the front yard. (In fact, it was all I could do to hold them off until morning!)

After three years in YTB, I now have that option!

Thank you YTB.

Subscribe to Just Picture It Now for additional announcements and details!

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

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

For those wondering what went on during the Birthday Bash here are some of the highlights.

Recruiting:

A) Not ONE Lime Green T-shirt was seen during the Birthday Bash with the quote “I got here for FREE as me how!”

B) To our knowledge, not one person was recruited to joining YTB during the entire sailing.

New products and Affiliations:

A) New 17 minute video on on-line fundraising-”Passport to Giving” for prospecting non-profits, will not change the price or destination but the way they book to raise funds for travel they are already doing.

B) “Two Fly Free” backed by Thomas Cook , the oldest and largest hotel and airline consolidator.

C) Hunting and Fishing.Biz is live. Trips and products with similar prices to Bass Pro Shop, and going from 8,000 to 30,000 products as we expand.

D) YTB cars expanding to local markets and will be offering any brand and at as reasonable prices as any where else you would buy.

E) RTA incentives; adding UPS over night mail at up to 50% savings.

F) Spring Tour International, the largest tour operator in China, is offering YTB exclusive tour packages to China, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Especially exciting are a series of tours to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing which include hard to get Olympic event tickets. Packages offer a 25% commission.

International Expansion :

A) The Bahamas-Went live in the Bahamas on 1/11/2008 .

B) Bermuda-opening 2/8/2008 .

C) Canada-opening 2/8/2008 (Saturday 2/9/2008 2:00 til 4:00pm Vancouver, British Columbia, meeting at convention center.)

Saturday 2/16/2008 2:00 til 4:00 pm Toronto/Ontario (location TBA)

Travel and Marketing Updates :

A) New owner Stuart Johnson of Success Magazine will have a new format in 2008 will be the best in the industry on Network marketing, not just one company and we have structured an arrangement with the owner for a special edition 8 page story on YTB and an insertable disc on the company.

B) Founders tour for 2008 coming to all areas 26 stops already scheduled with Coach, look for e-mail to be sent today.

C) 2008 on the travel side goal is to be #1 with #1 Carnival. We have 40,000 active cruises booked, need 100,000 to be #1, everyone get in the game and book a group cruise. Goal is to sell 3000 Olympic packages to fulfill our responsibility to Spring Tour International. 2007 booked over 5 hundred million with goal to book over a billion 2008. (Which only 12 companies have done.)

D) Income Disclosure Statement for 2007 will be sent out attached to an e-mail today.

E) California requirements for credentials are standard for everyone.

Coming in 2008 – One presentation for everyone, CRTA training updated with streaming videos. Travel booking engine state of the art updating Communication updates to the field, more trained RTAs in travel than all other companies put together.

“If it ain’t right don’t do it and if it ain’t true don’t say it” ~ J. Lloyd “Coach” Tomer

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I’ve been thinking about all those people who told me that YTB would never work, that it’s a scam, it would never last, it would never amount to anything. Travel Weekly as the 35th largest Travel Agency in the Country, and ranked number 11 for leisure travel sales. A 6 year old company with no advertising, requires no experience to get started, and relies on our Agents to simply point people to their web site? Who knew? Not only has our company stock been climbing since December of last year, we benefited from a 1-3 stock split this summer tripling the amount of shares that we now own, and just before the Convention, YTB posted a $1.7 profit for the second quarter of 2007. My, how things have changed.

Well – Well – Well, take a look at us now!

Coach Tomer was quoted in an interview back in January how we should respond to all the critics. “You beat that by proving yourself. We just keep doing the right thing.” Because we did the right thing, it’s been a really good summer for our family and YTB Travel Network with recognition and announcements that not only adds credibility, but nails the door shut that YTB International would never amount to anything. I’m still gloating over our listing in

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“Your Ticket To Paradise” happens to be the largest organization of active RTA’s in YTB, or YourTravelBiz as it’s also known. We are very proud to be part of this organization and prouder still to be recognized as leaders within the organization, just in time for the National Convention in St. Louis, August 15 – 19.

Last evening, Tim Dominey, a Second Level Director in YTB awarded both Ronda and I with “Your Ticket To Paradise” team jackets. These jackets not only recognize both Ronda and I as leaders of our own team, but leaders in the company as well.

But we couldn’t have done any of this by ourselves. That’s one of the things we love about this company and this business model, it’s about people helping people. With just a few core people that we have personally found, they have found others that have grown our team to over 200 at this time and we are getting closer every day to becoming Directors ourselves. We see it, we feel it, and it’s so close we can almost touch it.

It’s hard not to be proud right now with all the great news that has come out over the last two months about the company. The summer started out with the announcement of YTB International bringing on KCSA Worldwide as Investor Relations Counsel, with our Annual Investors meeting the following week. The Annual Meeting of Stockholders that took place on June 11, 2007. All six proposals submitted by YTB’s Board of Directors to the Company’s stockholders were approved at the meeting, including a 1-3 split of the company stock.

The beginning of June, we also announced the launch of YTB Cars and sales have already been made. While the pilot program has launched with Chrysler, Dodge, and Nissan at its inception, we recently found out that the largest car rental company worldwide, who also has corporate headquarters in St. Louis, has been in and out of our home office since the launch in order to help us expand our program.

Then came the news we all new was coming, but just didn’t know exactly were we would place. Travel Weekly’s Top 50 Power List for 2007. As part of the Power List, YTB was ranked 35th among all travel agencies and included in the top 11 leisure travel agencies. The ONLY Network Marketing Company to ever make the Top 50! To be ranked with the likes of Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, American Express, and AAA is so incredibly HUGE for a small, young company like ours. Travel is our business and we expect to handle 900,000 travel bookings representing 1.4 million individual travelers with a customer cost of approx $1 Billion in 2007. On May 31 of this year 57,000 of our 88,000 travel agents had 157,000 paid for travel bookings pending customer travel and commissioning. 80,000 new bookings for 110,000 individual travel customers were entered into our system in May alone!

All this and the National Convention is yet to come! MAJOR Announcements are announced every year at the convention. Two years ago it was the Medical and Life Insurance and our Bill of Rights, and last year it was our feature in Success From Home and our $6000 Guarantee. (Both of these announcements by the way have made their way into other compensation packages with other companies just to keep pace.)

It’s been a REALLY good summer and it looks like it’s just going to get better!

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.

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I had an opportunity last week to visit the home office of YTB International, Inc. Back in December, the company moved to a brand new location in Wood River, Illinois for Phase II of a three phase process. It was the second move in as many years and needed to be done in order to keep pace with the company’s growth and long term vision of being the number one Internet Travel Company in the world. After this visit, I would have to agree with this vision and am not only confident that YTB Travel Network will be number one in the next few years, but am also very proud to be a key part of YourTravelBiz.

After more than two years with the company, the company has always exceeded my expectations in what it said it was going to do and provide to those of us out in the field. Making it easier and better for those of us who want to build and create a future for ourselves if we just plug into the systems they have laid out for us. I can think of several improvements and advances over the years that have far exceeded expectations. This visit to the new home office was no different.

I have to admit, as I came up on the building, it was not what I had expected. Nobody told me that the renovations for Phase II only consisted of work done on the inside of the building. The outside was simply a shell of the old K-mart that had been abandoned some 10 years before. It wasn’t until I walked inside the building that I started to get a taste of the type of work that had been done and why people were so excited about what was being built. Here is a taste of what I found.

The main lobby was open and very modern. A couple of large LCD displays were found behind the front counter to display pictures of previous events from the National Convention, Coach’s Birthday Bash, and other Regional Trainings and events across the country. Another display produced a quad display of security cameras around the front, side and hallways inside the building. A large YTB International, Inc. logo is proudly displayed as you walking into the lobby area. (Just in case you didn’t know where you were.) The front counter was a white oak, and the floors covered in an ivory marble.

The entire complex was very modern and quit festive, including a couple of surf boards propped up in the windows of several of the Department Heads, one which included “Surfer Girl” just inside Sandy Pippins office, who happens to be not only YTB’s first employee, but has grown with the company as Vice President of Corporate Administration.

As the tour began, I realized just how many people at the home office actually support us out in the field. The facility is separated into different sections totaling 190 employees who specialize in departments which include, Representative Support, Travel Support, Travel Documentation, Travel Fulfillment, Travel Credentials, Marketing, IT, Legal, Payroll, Association and Corporate, and even a specialized department for those of us who speak Spanish. All these people dedicated to helping those of us out in the field to answer questions and provide the best support possible. To top it off, you got a strong cense that these people not only enjoy what they do, but are happy and eager to help us. And why not, the same Christmas Bonus is up for grabs this year for these employees as last year, tripling the end of the year bonus if they hit the magic number of 152,269.

After the tour, a lunch was served at the Gateway Center, just south of the home office. After the luncheon we had a chance to meet with Chairman of the Board ‘Coach’ Lloyd Tomer, YTB Travel Network President J. Kim Sorensen, and YourTravelBiz CEO Scott Tomer. We also heard from Andrew Cauthen, who joined the YTBI team in November 2004 as Chief Operating Officer of the YTB subsidiary. He was subsequently named President of YTB in October 2006, and on March 1, 2007 was named CEO of YTBI. John Clagg, our newly appointed Treasurer, also serves as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of YTBI as well as its subsidiaries. He joined the Company in December 2003. Eric Smith, Chief Information Officer, the keeper of YTB’s massive IT infrastructure who joined the company in 2001. Ted Lindauer, Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, who has worked with the company since it’s inception in 2001, but recently closed his California practice to come work with YTB full time in the summer of 2006. The YTB management team is unified in one vision – commitment and support to it’s RTA’s and Reps.

After listening to each of these Department heads, I’m more confident than ever that YTBI is here for the duration, and committed to supporting myself, and my growing team. As I grow, YTB grows with me. YTB has increased its corporate staff from fewer than 30 employees in 2004 to 190 as of March 8. Plans include doubling this support staff to 400 by the end of 2007, and a total of 750 by year end 2009. With only one quarter of the new home office being finished at this point in time, that leaves another 100,000 square feet to house this support staff.

I thought I saw something in this company more than two years ago. In reality, it’s actually better than I thought it would ever be. YTB has always had a way of exceeding my expectations and I’m thrilled to see what’s happening to this company. Now more than ever!

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If you would have told me two years that I would be were I am today with YTB, I would have never believed you. Honestly, all I really expected out of this thing was a chance to play “Travel Agent” and take a couple of nice vacations a year. It’s turned out to be so much more! Oh sure, we took some nice vacations this year…Sandestin, Walt Disney World, Williamsburg, a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, and Labadee on the World’s Largest Cruise Ship ever to set sail, Freedom of The Seas, and a month later, a short 5 day to Grand Turk, Coco Cay, and Nassau with the company and Carnival for a Seminar @ Sea just before the Funshine Trade Show back down around Disney.

What we’re most proud of is how this has turned into a full fledged business for us. Our first year with YTB was pretty much “spare time”. When we looked at the company two years ago, I had a full time job, two part time jobs, and a family with two small children at home. You would think I was NUTS for taking on something else with everything I already had on my plate. While I couldn’t afford to spend a vast amount of time with YTB our first year, what I found was I was happiest when I was working this little “side business”. The support from my sponsor, among other leaders in the company was astounding. They seemed to truly care about helping and teaching us, and were genuinely happy to see us at company events and functions. Everyone at the Home Office seemed so nice too and to actually meet Coach, Scott and Kim helped us understand why this company has the track record and success that it has.

The longer I was with the company, the more I wanted to be around it. All the upgrades with the Booking Engine, Marketing Site, and Back Office made me realize this company was very serious about its goal of becoming the Number One Travel Company in the world. They not only set goals, they blew right past them and exceeded everyone’s expectations, including our own. Then came Success from Home back in September. All I can say about this little gem is…WOW! Talk about having a perfect marketing piece in which all you had to do is hand someone this magazine and let them decide for themselves. This publication literally changed the direction of my entire business. That’s when things REALLY started to move for us. More importantly, it was something I could teach others to do, and I soon had several hundred magazines being put into the hands of people every single month.

Not having much Network Marketing experience, and of that little experience, having failed like we did, our expectations really were not that high. It would make a nice “Part Time Business” someday if we were “lucky”. But the longer I remained, the longer I saw what the company was doing, the longer I get the type of support I did from the company and up-line the more we realized, we just might be on to something.

I was miserable with my “Day Job” and the other part time jobs I had kept me away from my family. I was constantly working just to make ends meet. Last January, we made the decision that enabled me to quit one of my part time jobs, and I would start devoting more time to YTB, making that my new “Part Time Job”. Our hope was that I could possibly make this business work so I could quit my “Day Job” by the end of the year. Again, the more I worked with the company, the more I fell in love with what I was doing. I already had a small team that I had stumbled upon, and it didn’t take long for that team to grow, just by telling more people that I was a “Travel Agent”.

I was able to reach my goal of quitting my “day job” on June 30th of last year, a full 6 months ahead of what we had originally scheduled. I thought it was fitting that I was able to celebrate my own “Independence Day” so close to the 4th or July! We’ve been working YTB full time every since, and we’ve never been happier!

Sure, I’ve run into my share of obstacles along the way. As successful as we are, I still have people try to tell me that YTB is a scam, or that YTB is nothing more than one of those pyramid schemes. I still run into folks who don’t think Network Marketing is a viable business model. I still run into people who think I only made it because I got lucky.

How would I comment on all these beliefs about what people heard about, or read about, or simply think about Network Marketing and YTB being some sort of scam? I’ll try to put this as delicately and eloquently as I possibly can…

“What – A – CROCK!”

While it’s certainly within your right to believe what ever you want to believe, my experience with this company and industry over the last two years has given me more knowledge, more insight, more self confidence, more self respect, more success than anything else I’ve ever experienced before. I can’t tell you how much I’ve grown as a father, as a husband, a business man, as a friend, and as a leader because of the choice I made two years ago. It’s been the most incredible ride of my life.

If you’ve been introduced to YTB or Network Marketing in general, and you’re doing your “due diligence” and your own research on the company I applaud you. If I can offer any words of advice to you, i
t would be this. “Follow your gut”. The mind can play some powerful tricks on you, and society has formed a lot of what you currently believe. I’m living proof that all the garbage and junk you’ve heard about, read about, or may have even experienced in the Network Marketing industry is simply an illusion, based on fear and ignorance. Some of you may not feel “worthy” of making it big or achieving your dreams, or that your dreams are false based on having fallen short before.

Are you really happy were you are, right here, right now? What are you going to do to change that? If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’re going to continue to get what you’ve always got.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. – Dr. Wayne Dryer

I changed my direction two years ago. As I look back, it was the best move I ever made, hands down. Was it always easy? No. Was it “rags to riches”? No. Was it always “comfortable”? No. But it was the best two years I’ve ever had. I spend more time with my family, less time stuck in traffic, I get out of bed when I wake up, I’ve got some of the best friendships I’ve ever had, with people all over the country. We’re in business for ourselves, just not by ourselves. One last thing…we’re finally getting paid what we feel we are worth, and the income keeps going up every month!

2007 can be a great year for you too based on what you decide to do, right here, right now. I certainly can’t promise you’ll have the success we’ve had. I can promise you this, you’ll never know until you get yourself in the game.

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

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635