Sorry I didn’t post anything the latter part of the week. I had to go out of town and had limited access to the internet. I did have a layover in Charlotte each way and wish I could have spent more time there only because my CLEAR wireless card was burning up internet speeds at over 10 mbps.

I did pick up the 2009 Annual report late Wednesday night after I got settled in, which as financial reports often do, put me to sleep. I was able to get the basic outline of the previous year. After reading the outcome of the annual reports from companies like Orbtiz who lost $337 million in 2009, and another report from the ASTA that only one-third of all their agencies produced a profit in 2009, I was opening YTB’s Annual Report with a little apprehension.

The one thing I was looking for but couldn’t seem to find anywhere in the 2009 Annual Report was the “Going Concern” that was slapped on the company during the 2008 Annual Report. I documented last year at that time all the changes that the company had made in an effort to tighten its belt and reduce expenses in an effort to survive the lean year ahead. If you remember, YTB wasn’t just dealing with the doom and gloom of a depressed economy, but at that time California was poised to end the companies existence as some gigantic pyramid scheme and another Class Action suit was thrown on the company.

A year later, the economy is turning around, the California suit is behind us, and the Class Action was thrown out as redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.

However, according to critics at the time, if you combine the lawsuits, the economy, and slap a “Going Concern” on top of that, there was just no way on earth that YTB would survive to produce another Annual Report for 2009.

At least that’s what we were told by the dwindling number of zealots who persist in spewing their opinions and perceptions all over the internet.

Speaking of that small group both in number and in mind – I did open the door a crack, and lifted the ban I have on reading anything they have to say for a brief moment on Saturday morning. It didn’t take long to slam the door shut again after reading just a few comments. It became abundantly clear that the anger and resentment towards YTB is still around – basically due to the fact that despite all their predictions to the contrary, YTB is still around. It’s got to be really frustrating and extremely uncomfortable at this point to be in their position. I mean – there was no way YTB would be able to make it – there was just too much to overcome with that long lists of negative obstacles the company had to hurdle over in order to survive.

For them, YTB is that small pebble that’s stuck in their shoe. The more they trample, the closer they think they are to removing it. And after all these miles, all this time, all the effort and energy, YTB just won’t go away.

Sucks to be them. Especially when they could just stop what they’re doing for like – a nanosecond, remove the shoe with the pebble, and dump it out – never to have it bother them again.

While I wasn’t willing to dive into everything that’s being spun on the internet right now, it’s apparent that they’re pretty upset. True, they have a $9.9 million loss and a reduction in IBC’s who are active in the company as of December 31st. That’s only going to last however for about another 30 days, and after all the years of doom and gloom, that’s a very short amount of time.

Thing is, they haven’t been willing to look at what our Auditors saw when looking at YTB’s business which prompted them to remove the “Going Concern” letter they slapped on the company one year ago.

“After the independent auditor’s report for the year ended December 31, 2008 raised doubt about YTB’s ability to continue as a going concern, the Company received positive news this week that the independent auditor’s report for fiscal year 2009 will not include the “Going Concern” uncertainty paragraph.

Robert Van Patten, YTB Chief Executive Officer commented on the 2009 results, stating, “We are absolutely thrilled with the audit firm removing the going concern. It justifies the significant sacrifices the home office and our Independent Marketing Representatives have made this past year. 2009 continued to be a challenging year for our entire industry as well as the general economy as a whole. Despite the challenges the economy faces, we remain focused on increasing our capital reserves, reducing corporate overhead and other administrative expenses in 2010. We are determined to solidify our business and grow the Company back to the level our management team and sales force believe is achievable.”

Are we surprise? Not really. While we’ve seen and heard our fair share of negativity and doom and gloom about our company over the years – fact is, we’re still in business. While that may upset others who can only justify with words and their own opinions, we have more tools than ever before, been given more income opportunities, attracting more suppliers and vendors, and we’re still getting paid to do what we love to do.

I didn’t spend a vast amount of time reading the opinions and findings of others this weekend for a couple of reasons. Not only does their increased anger and resentment speak volumes over how frustrated they are that we’re still around, but very little has changed in opinions and speculation that falls woefully short in coming to fruition.

Talk is cheap.

Fact is, I still have a business that I’m not only proud to own, but still get paid for the work that I do.

What a difference a year makes. From YTB being a “Going Concern” to YTB just “Keeps Going”.

Don’t you just love it?

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YTB’s Annual Report (YTBLA.OB) came out last week with a 15% increase in total revenue for the year of $162.5 million, and an increase of more than $7 million travel commissions. This during a very difficult year not only for the company, but the entire economy. If you keep up with financial data and the Annual Reports of late, you would be hard pressed to find a company that is thriving in the current economic climate. Taking the time to look around the industry right now, (and this is just the Travel Industry) you find a net loss of $121 million for Avis/Budget, even worse for Hertz who lost $1.2 billion in Q4, the MGM Mirage lost $1.15 billion, Expedia, the third largest Agency in the country took a hit for $2.76 billion, and Joystar who is now bankrupt showed up with $535 dollars in cash.

About the only good news out there for Agencies right now is the life vest thrown their way by the new Administration with $15 billion in stimulus money in the hope that this will be enough to keep those still around alive. Unfortunately it was to little too late for Joystar, and Cruise Value Centers, while a report late last weekend documented that Liberty Travel closed 4 of it’s 7 Maryland locations, (closing 31 Liberty locations in all) Safe Harbors Travel Agency was also hit with layoffs, and AAA of the Mid-Atlantic is reducing its staff’s hours.

So with all this doom and gloom surrounding how tough things are right now, anybody want to take a stab at the reason for YTB’s $4.5 million loss?

Because it’s MLM.

I kid you not, and apparently there are people who are very serious that it’s the “flawed business model” that has placed YTB in a very vast and growing list of companies that are attempting to survive these very troubling economic times. (And some wonder why I don’t get wrapped up in all the fuss any longer.) When you’ve been reading the garbage on the internet about YTB for as long as I have, you develop an immunity to the venom thrown your way. The negative speculation never ends up the way critics predict, and I don’t see any reason why I should start now with the type of track record they have. Before YTB’s 2007 banner financial year, YTB endured criticism quarter after quarter that they wouldn’t make it into the next year…then the next year…and the next.

And apparently all eyes are on YTB as we’re at it again via the direction of a “going concern” letter that was issued by YTB’s Auditors in it’s Annual Report. Would it surprise you that “going concern” letters are becoming more commonplace with companies like DayStar Technologies, and General Motors, with others to follow according to Greg Milmoe, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? That’s not to say that a company that gets a “going concern” letter is doomed to bankruptcy. Sanyo turned things around late last year, along with Eddie Bauer who worked through the doubts and stigma associated with such an opinion.

A letter such as this is part of an Auditors job, to provide it’s professional opinion on the health and viability of company, and it’s up to the company to follow that direction if they want to remain solvent and in business. We’ve seen a number of changes in the way YTB has done business with drastic cuts in spending with the illumination of CRTA Trainings and opting for First Class On-line Training. Another notable absence this year was Coach’s Birthday Bash in which expenses usually sore into the millions. The company has also shored up capital reserves, evidenced by major cutbacks in the second half of the year, such as a halt to the building project at the Home Office.

Other changes involved the elimination of non-current inventory, which resulted in one time losses of $3.0 million due to the legal issues the company is facing at this time. But the word “pyramid scheme” keeps popping up even with a company statement that has been in front of everyone viewing YTB for the last couple of years that you pay for a Travel Agency (the product) not the opportunity to recruit as a Rep. There are those who either aren’t intelligent enough or simply want to ignore this fact of two separate companies. Personally, it’s hard to ignore the separation when you’ve received two separate 1099′s since the very beginning to hand over to your CPA come tax time. One 1099 is for the travel you sold, and one for the team building you’ve done.

Yet the spin is to mesh the two together, and that everyone is paying money to recruit, recruit, recruit, because there’s a phobia about building a team of people to work with that’s reserved only for the Direct Sales model.

Direct Sales is a model the founders of the company know very well, and have been successful in for close to 30 years. It’s amazing how failures that are more than 3 decades old come to the surface in an attempt to prove some point that Coach isn’t all that smart or can’t be trusted as a business man. It’s as if the mentoring by A.L. Williams in the early 80′s never existed as a lesson on how to build a successful business that produced a team of agents with annual sales of $2.5 billion during a 20 year career with what is now known as Primerica. It’s hard to fathom how anyone can skip over two decades of success, but we are talking about MLM here, and for critics you never focus on the successes, only the failures in order to keep everyone in line with their own perception of reality.

Over the last week I’ve seen a number of comments that “the writing is on the wall”. Oddly enough, none of the writing documents the 20 years with A.L. Williams, the Travel Weekly Power List, the membership with the DSA, the investments into both SAP and Convergentware, cruise sales with both Carnival and now Princess later this week, (be on the lookout here about Princess here later this week) and a the new print on demand site with Mailpound that was announced at Red Carpet Day last week, in front of 1500 passionate TSO’s.

Maybe because what they call “writing” is nothing more than graffiti designed to cover up what I’m actually experiencing with the company right now. That’s what graffiti is designed to do, to show evidence of decline.

We certainly have our work cut out for us in cleaning up the graffiti all over the internet right now. It’s time consuming, it’s uncomfortable, and one always needs a shower after dealing with such toxins. That’s why I don’t like to get wrapped up in it any longer. Like everything else that the company has had to deal with, time and natural progression will wash much of it away when you take the right steps and make the right choices.

In these tough economic times, only the strong will survive. With so many eyes and focus right now ONLY on YTB, it’s hard for some to take the blinders off and see the entire picture. Challenges come in many different forms and YTB has certainly had it’s share of challenges. It’s what you learn and how you adapt to the challenges that can make a person and a company stronger. When you take the proper steps to answer the chanllenges, there is very little anyone can do to when you reach the other side.

I know it’s hard for some to see that other side because the end is near according to some. Stuck in a forest of trees that keep falling all around them.

Me, I just keep my eye on the light I see off in the distance because that’s what I’ve been taught by every mentor I’ve ever come accross in my years of this experiance we call life.

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Be very careful. You could blow me over with a feather right now.

I heard rumor that the words “I apologize” actually appeared on a blog, by the blogger himself. I’m very glad that the person who forwarded me this information told me to sit down, because I think I might have hurt myself if I wasn’t sitting.

Don’t get too excited about this miracle however. The author is still waiting on some sort of company press release concerning YTB acquiring American Destinations, Inc. in order to make all this believable. I don’t know if a Press Release will be released but once the DVD that was shown at the Regional Travel Training in Richmond and the 16 page catalogs are available from our back office, I’ll post John’s PO Box for any of you who care to send him a copies.

I don’t know how much time it will take for any type of press release or documentation to materialize to settle this acquisition for him, but I wouldn’t worry about it. If I were him, I’d talk to YTB or ADI Executives directly, but apparently that is not an option he chooses to accept. It could resolve the issue, and what fun would it be not being able say, “here’s mud in your eye” in attempts to slow us down and keep people from finding out the truth?

The truth always materializes, always. So I wouldn’t get too worked up about the naysayers not coming to grips with YTB is doing or not doing.

From what I understand, John is busy trying to verify my post about Candi May on Tuesday. I wanted to call Candi yesterday, but she was spending time with her Grandkids, and didn’t want to bother her. I’ll catch up with her later today.

By the way, I’ve decided to delete the comments attached with Candi’s post. The purpose of the post was to show that there are traditionalist’s in the industry who find YTB not only viable, but attractive. Instead, the comments turned into a shouting match from one side of the fence to the other.

My bad, and I apologize if it offended anyone. I’ve been growing tired of all the justification, accusations and speculation being thrown around all over the internet. With the Annual Report, investor interest, the upgrade to the OTC, and our new Board of Directors being named, the rhetoric and mud slinging seems to have just gotten worse, not better.

Not surprising. All the news last month moves YTB in a positive direction, and it’s showing our critics signs that YTB is planning on sticking around.

Just keep the main thing the main thing and don’t worry about helping those who don’t appreciate what YTB is doing. The numbers are very few and with all the documentation from last month alone is enough to focus on.

Make it a great day!

Thanks for the post John.

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Well, I’ve finally pulled it off. I’ve just written and released my first book entitled “What the Critics Know about YTB“. This is a “tell all” book on how to handle the Critics, Skeptics, Cynics, and Naysayers out there who have nothing better to do with their time than throw a bunch of mud up on the wall to see what sticks.

I came up with the concept and “how to guide” very early on Sunday morning while reading, and when the inspiration struck, I knew I had to share this with everyone I could in YTB. You’ll find it in today’s monthly newsletter, along with some other news from the last month, travel training information, and other key events coming up. If you’re in YTB, and want to be kept up to date, please feel free to subscribe, I’d love to have you on the list.

I asked Tim & Georgia Dominey, two close friends and mentors who also happen to be Level 2 Directors with the company to write the “Foreword” for my new book and I’m making a copy available to you for today for FREE! I encourage you to take the time to read this book concerning what to do and what to say to those who are slinging mud. Many have found my message direct, to the point, and dead on concerning many of the issues and negativity being thrown YTB’s way with this step by step guide on how to handle the critics.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect today, as YTB filed its 2007 Annual Report with the SEC yesterday with a hefty $3.2 Million PROFIT for the year. Revenues increased a total of 177% over 2006 numbers. Other notable increases were Marketing Commission of $80.5 Million up 169% and Travel Commission paid to our RTA’s reached $13.4 Million, an increase of 174%.

It should be noted that while only commissions are paid to our RTAs’ booking of travel services are reflected as a component of our revenues in our financial statements, YTB also keep track of the aggregate “retail value of all travel services” that are booked by our RTAs (which directly impacts our commission revenues). The value of such travel services increased 83.7% in 2007 to over $414,000,000, from approximately $225,000,000 in 2006. (Placing bets currently on how long this $414 Million will be spun into “fees”. Hummmmmmm)

This also marks three straight profitable quarterly reports and 2007 marks the first full year of profitability! Whoo Hooo!

In anticipation of our positive Annual Report our stock is also up considerably yesterday afternoon with 1.19 Million shares being traded after critics, cynics and naysayers had left us for dead.

I put this quote just below my dedication in my new book which I just love.

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”
~ Samuel Langhorn Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, May, 1897 in a note to the New York Journal.

Speaking of the stock we are now current with our periodic reports under the Exchange Act; so we intend to have our common stock quoted on the OTC-BB once again and to thereafter apply for listing on a national securities exchange. AMEX would require a price of no less than $5 per share from my understanding.

And if all this STILL wasn’t enough for ya’ll, it appears that Mr. Kim Sorenson is firing back a couple shots at IATA through YTB’s legal department.

In a Travel Weekly report YTB has asked the commissioner for the U.S., James Johnstone, for clear permission to continue using its numeric code number, which was assigned by ARC, with the understanding that YTB agrees not to represent itself as an IATA agency. Kim Sorensen was also quoted that making the code available to contractors was “the same as what any host agency has done.” By implication, he raised the question: Why was YTB terminated when others were not?

In documents filed with the commissioner, YTB offered its answer. It accused IATA of enforcing its standards belatedly “as a pretense to quash competitive activity.” Please note the article next to YTB fight against IATA as the travel agency commissioner in Canada declined to uphold BNW’s termination there, while IATA said it “respectfully disagrees” with parts of the commissioner’s decision. However, IATA said the decision “makes crystal-clear that no person or entity has the right to display the IATA numeric code or IATA’s trademarks and service marks on in-house ID-cards or other credentials.”

Sound familiar?

You Bet!

Do you think you might be able to either sell some Travel or maybe put someone in the business based on all this good news?

Me too! Let’s “Get ‘er done!”

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