I’ve said for years that travel isn’t rocket science. If the average person can book their own airline ticket, hotel room, car rental or cruise – there’s really not much to being a travel agent. The most difficult part about the entire process is driving potential clients to YOUR agency instead of someone else’s.

It’s by far the easiest “sale” anyone can make if you can get a potential client to at least look at you instead of someone else.

That’s where YTB Travel Network as a whole really excels – and why our model works better than any other out there. Every single “Agent” YTB has reaches out to family – neighbors – and co-workers who would at least consider looking at us when it comes to booking travel. If the price is comparable, which it always is – who are they going to book with? You or some Roaming Gnome?

Because YTB not only figured this out, but executed this philosophy – it sent shock waves throughout the industry. For an MLM, you can’t find a better, more romantic and sexy product than travel.

It’s really pretty simple.

The problem that I’ve seen over the years when it comes to YTB and travel isn’t really the process or the model. The real issue here are those in this industry who attempt to complicate this very basic model. I’ve never seen an industry get so side tracked in an attempt to justify what they do.

Case in point – YTB’s new partnership with Sixth Scott.

Last month, YTB issued a press release that in part stated the following:

According to the Agreement, Sixth Scott agrees to assume contracts, agreements and licenses previously held by the Company’s subsidiary, YTB Travel Network of Illinois, Inc. Sixth Scott will independently manage all travel content and provide the customer support function as well as handle all group travel booking.

Pretty basic when you read it right?

Sigh…Not for the travel industry. Some were certain – emphatic as a matter of fact – that the “Scott” in Sixth Scott has some tie to the last name Tomer. This was one of those “bait and switch” tactics they dreamed up because nothing an MLM ever says or does is this straight forward. There’s always got to be something fishy about anything that involves MLM. As I assured you back then – and true to form, these crazed lunatics had the spare time and did in fact spend the energy and resources to get to the bottom of who Sixth Scott really was.

In addition, YTB International also filed this Definitive Agreement and Financial Statement with the SEC that in part stated the following:

 On October 25, 2011, YTB International, Inc. (“YTB”), YTB Travel, Inc. (“YTB Travel”), YTB Travel Network of Illinois, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of YTB Travel (“Seller”), and ZamZuu, Inc. (collectively with YTB, YTB Travel and the Seller, the “YTB Parties”), entered into an asset purchase agreement (the “Agreement”), with Sixth Scott, LLC (“Sixth Scott”), a non-affiliated third party, and First Travel Alliance, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sixth Scott (“FTA” and together with Sixth Scott, the “Purchaser”). The YTB Parties are currently in the business of creating, selling and supporting online travel booking websites to subscribers through websites and otherwise selling travel through various means (the “Business”). Pursuant to and accordance with terms of the Agreement, the Seller agreed to sell, assign, transfer and convey to Sixth Scott the contracts, agreements and licenses held by the Seller in relation to the Business (the “Assets”), and Sixth Business agreed to assume the debts, obligations and liabilities related to the Assets.

While this is worded more like a legal document, the premise is still very basic. Sixth Scott will now handle the travel portion of the YTB Travel business.

As a matter of fact, this whole thing is about the travel side of our business. Nothing more – nothing less.

But as we’ve learned over the years – because the travel industry has this phobia and fear surrounding MLM and the word “recruiting” this whole partnership became an MLM issue. Once again something that appears to be crystal clear was muddied and misconstrued into Sixth Scott now owns YTB.

But why?

Because some in this industry either simply can’t read at an elementary level – don’t have a firm grasp how business actually works – or more importantly simply want to spin this to justify what they do as a “travel agent”.

Here’s a classic example of what I mean. Take the following comment in Travel Weekly from one of the minions who thinks he has it all figured out:

Interesting. So bottom line is – if you read between the lines – “our model simply does not work for travel” AND “it certainly was never going to work being run by people who knew nothing about selling travel” AND “we really screwed up early on by not training agents and not demanding any sort of professional behavior from them” AND “now we’re going to focus on selling the kind of products MLM really works with – things people don’t really need but perceive that they want”.

Read between the lines? Why on earth does someone need to read between the lines here? What’s the matter with what’s actually written?

I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it. What’s actually written either contradicts – or simply doesn’t support the fantasy of the reader.

That my friend is called “spin”.

Now here’s what I find fascinating. Take a look once again at the YTB press release and the SEC filing. Read what YTB stated about this new agreement weeks ago.

Then go out and read how the travel industry made a complete mockery of the press release and the SEC filing over the last two weeks. Inserting speculation here, how they tied the MLM side of our business into this mix to muddy the water, and their overbearing fear and ridiculous perceptions of who we are and what we do.

It’s a complete JOKE!!

And the best part? YTB provided the following clarification for the travel agents sales force to get everyone back on track and separate the facts from all the fiction that the industry has created. And because these Anti-MLM Zealots are never wrong – THEY have it all figured out – YTB is now “backpedaling”.

I swear – these pompous, arrogant pin heads will never realize that the one finger they have pointing at YTB actually provides three fingers that point directly to the source that created this monstrous mess.

And they can’t admit or let it all go.

These people aren’t Rocket Scientist – they’re not even smart business minds.

They’re morons.

Tell you what…instead of reading all the spin and hype about this deal we have – why don’t you get the information from the best source around? Direct from the guys who struck this deal. No hype, no spin, no smoke and no mirrors.

There’s more than enough of that going on right now in this industry – which is exactly why the travel industry “experts” haven’t been able to figure us out.

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A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that ignorance and injustice has never been something I’ve tolerated very well. It’s not that I expect everyone to know everything – people make mistakes (including me) all the time. But – I do expect people to be capable of learning. These “mistakes” are the lessons learned that helped people like Edison invent the incandescent light bulb. I’ve heard that he “failed” anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 times before he figured it out. The actual number of times isn’t important – but the concept that you adjust and correct with each mistake made to end up with success is.

It’s that type of thinking and determination that has helped YTB return to the original name – better, stronger, and with more conviction I’ve seen in a long time.

I’ve had more subscription signups to our newsletter in the last few weeks than I think I’ve had all year. I also had to create a separate category in my Outlook for the private YTB Facebook pages and the notifications that are coming in. My inbox became flooded with YTB posts. (There’s some really useful information there, and it’s always needed a special folder.)

Not everyone appears to be on the same page in sharing the excitement and passion for success that we do. Make no mistake, they certainly see it – and they know exactly what it all means. Our passion and excitement unfortunately gives them a nervous twitch.

From the day it appeared on my blog, (which I can still recall) one guy has produced an entire comedy of errors, missteps, and mishaps. This self-proclaimed “expert” decided to make it his personal mission to pick a fight with me, you, or anyone else associated with YTB. John Frenaye got more than he bargained for when he came trolling onto this blog to pick on what he assumed was just another “lowly MLMer”.

Instead of cowering or avoiding, I responded to both him and his illusions. His perceptions of MLM and YTB simply don’t match my reality or experience. I did see John’s charade as a valuable lesson in exactly what not to do, and how not to think. His so called “problems” with MLM, gave insight into what to avoid. Although by doing this you couldn’t avoid his pessimistic rants, which helps tremendously.

Although John never mustered up enough courage or strength to sit down with YTB face to face to discuss his “issues” with the company and our model, his Internet persona and constant bullying in every nook and cranny associated with YTB did provide insight for not only myself, but YTB to look at the perceptions and adjust accordingly.

I have no idea how this whole thing has worked out for John, but I don’t think it’s been all that pleasant. Nobody likes to be made the fool like I’ve highlighted and documented here. Not that it’s been a bed of roses for me either. Personally, and for others who have gone through this battle with me in YTB however, it’s been a great experience and lessons learned because unlike John, and others like him, we actually know how to learn and adjust from the mistakes we all make.

It makes us stronger, more resilient, and better than ever before.

John on the other hand, just doesn’t make them. “Mistakes” I mean. He’s still just as stubborn and bull headed as ever. Sticking to his illusions that MLM and its people are inferior to him or anyone outside of the “cult” that hasn’t been drinking the Kool-Aid.

And that my friend is exactly why this personal crusade of his and this battle that’s waged inside his head has been going on for at least the last four years. He hasn’t learned a blessed thing.

You might be thinking to yourself, “If an old dog like TravelPro can learn a few new tricks, certainly someone like John can – couldn’t he?

Not exactly.

I’ve heard it said from more critics than just John, that cynics think we MLM’ers are so caught up in the cult and drunk on the Kool-aid that our identity becomes attached to it. Without a YTB or another MLM to hang on to, we’re lost without any meaning. Truthfully, I think that concept speaks more about themselves than it does about any of us.

See, the whole idea of MLM is to teach the average person how to change from an employee mentality to a business owner mentality. The heart of MLM, what makes it tick and beat, is ground floor access to a business that will teach anyone who is willing how to become a real true entrepreneur and business owner. The problem as I see it, isn’t actually the MLM business itself, but the actual person running the business.

I look at the traditional business I came under contract with a couple weeks ago. The territory was run into the ground, and the old manager is filing for bankruptcy. If it were MLM, critics would be yammering about how the model failed. Now that I’ve been working this new business a few weeks and have done a couple P & L’s – I can’t for that life of me figure out how he couldn’t make this work – other than the fact that he didn’t know how to control expenses, and honestly was just plain lazy.

In other words, the model and the territory are just fine – it’s the business owner who didn’t put the proper time and effort into it that landed him in bankruptcy.

Network Marketing is not different. There’s a reason why the word “work” is in there – it takes “work”. This idea that you pay money and just sit back and collect checks is the most absurd notion there is in the MLM industry. You’re paid based on activity and results. No activity equals no money. To put it another way, you get out of it what you actually put into it. How it’s perceived by some as any different than any other business is a big red flag that they actually don’t know anything about business or what it takes to succeed.

For critics and cowards like John or the folks in the Class Action who have an average of 6 months of business experience among them, it’s just easier – or rather more comfortable to point the finger at MLM. They never notice the three fingers pointing right back at them.

I know commissioned sales can be a real drag – even overwhelming. It used to create its own nervous twitch inside me way back when. You have no idea how lucky you are to have a company like YTB, a product like travel to sell, and a mentor like Coach, Scott and Kim to learn the ropes and overcome that fear. And, yes, you’re even lucky to have someone like John to show you exactly what not to do and how not to think as an added bonus.

Considering where I’ve been and where I am today, I wouldn’t trade any of it in. I feel nothing but confidence and success because I knew who was right and who was dead wrong.

You too can rid yourself from that nervous twitching when you know who and what to join up with.

Ain’t no doubt about it for me.

It was Y-T-B.

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Remember the group of ambulance chasers that filled a Class Action suit just a day or two after California did?

Well, they’re at it again. (sigh….)

Apparently, being told “no” more times than I can count over the last 3 years isn’t enough and the group has been able to “vacate the judgment” and have it sent back to the Honorable Judge Murphy to re-hash this mess all over again.

For those that don’t know legalese “vacating the judgment” basically means the panel of three Judges put a “void” stamp on Judge Murphy’s dismissal and it’s being tossed back yet again.

Over the years we’ve had some very stern comments towards the Plaintiff’s in this case from the District Court.

Here are some of the quotes we’ve seen towards the Plaintiff’s in their motions (yes, plural) to dismiss:

“ungainly monster of 39 pages containing 133 paragraphs“

“In fact, pursuing discovery in the hopes of turning up something that may lead to a lawsuit seems to the Court to be the very definition of a fishing expedition.”

“As a general rule the Court is not fond of “ill-founded requests for reconsideration of matters previously decided,” given that such requests “needlessly take the court’s attention from current matters and visit inequity upon opponents who, prevailing in an earlier proceeding, must nevertheless defend their position again and again.”

“the Court does not intend to spend a great deal more judicial time than it already has spent in hashing over with Plaintiffs“

“So long as they are in this Court, however, litigants and their counsel do well not to treat the Court’s rulings “as mere first drafts, subject to revision and reconsideration at a litigant’s pleasure“

And my personal favorite:

“authorizing a court sua sponte to strike “redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter” contained in a pleading“

I have to admit, after being raked over the coals so many times by the Court like this, mustering up the nerve to go back takes balls. (Excuse the metaphor.)

But such is the life of an Anti-MLM Zealot. Remember, they’re right, we’re wrong and there’s simply nothing one can do to calm the fears and outrageous perceptions they have surrounding a business model that’s been around for well over a century now.

You may be asking yourself at this point why these “victims” don’t just recoup their investment from the Illinois Settlement that set aside $150K for those who want to grab it. I can’t say for sure, but I’d speculate that the Attorney’s in this Class Action have spent way to much time and money on this over the last three years, and they’re desperate to get something out of this witch hunt. The Attorney’s after all will get a far better “pay day” than the entire Class combined. Just like California who pocketed $875K in the California settlement, leaving a mere $125K for the victims the suit was designed to protect.

To add insult to injury concerning this pleading, it was revealed two years ago that the Plaintiffs in this case have an average of 8 months of dabbling in the business.

Here’s a list of the who’s – who and their time spent “selling travel”.

• Courtney Speed – 4 months
• Kwame Thompson – 4 months
• Grace Perry – 5 months
• John Stull – 6 months
• Faye Morrison – 11 months
• Jeff and Polly Hartman – 18 months

On Saturday, when I wrote about the companies renewed focus on Travel, I revealed that I personally didn’t make money my first year in the business. (2005) Going back, my total commissions for travel was less than $26.00 that year. That said, I did however have bookings that produced travel commissions in year two and beyond.

For example: A client books a cruise with BandBVacations.com today for July, 2012. A deposit is made of around $100 per person for that cruise at the time of booking. Obviously, a cruise line can’t pay commissions to the agent based on a deposit that’s a fraction of the total sale. But somehow, YTB is expected to produce that commission, otherwise it’s labeled as “unprofitable”.

Second, while the suit claims that all the plaintiffs in the suit were both RTA’s and Reps with the company, it’s my understanding that at least one of the names listed was only a Rep, and never paid a dime to YTB to become an RTA enabling said plaintiff to even sell travel. Kind of hard to make money selling travel when you don’t even have a booking engine. In addition, a Rep position is, as it always has been – free. If it wasn’t free, then people would be required to actually “pay for the opportunity to recruit others”.

Payments to YTB Travel is as they’ve always been are to enable someone to sell travel with our Host Agency. Just like Nexion, Uniglobe, Expedia Cruise Ship Centers, or Coral Sands Travel. It’s a business like any other. What you do to produce income from it is up to you. But I’d highly recommend spending more than four or five months at anything you try before you up and quit. That my friends are the individual’s shortcomings – not the business.

I have no clue how long this go around will take to muddle through. I do however, hope that this go around will separate truth from the glorified hype and outlandish claims made by a group who has used words like “failed”, “corrected”, “deficiency”, “amending”, “incorrectly”, and “realized after 100 hours of arguing” in their pleadings over the last three years.

Such is the case of this suit and these Plaintiff’s that have more lives than a cat.

Idiots.

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UPDATE: It’s a miracle!! The witch is not dead. Actually – I think the proper word right now would be “irritated”. (By yours truly.) Within two hours of posting this – our boy John pulled up a month and a half old rant he never bothered to publish to save face. (Hell, even my wife warned me that what would happen.)

Not too upset. He’s supplied some of the best content and some really great laughs over the years. Based on his history, and the outdated rant, I see no evidence that will change.

~~~

Honestly, I never thought this day would come. I’ve run into my share of zealots and cynics over the years, but have never seen the likes of anyone so obsessed and disturbed as the “Coach” of the Anti-MLM Travel crowd. By default, anyone in YTB would know that person to be John W. Frenaye. One of the most arrogant, confused, and condescending dolts I’ve ever witnessed during my tenure with YTB.

I first caught a glimpse of John’s irritation with YTB back in 2007 with an article he wrote using MSNBC as his platform. It was his last article for MSNBC. You can only imagine how unamused the editors of MSNBC were with anyone “double dog daring” folks like John did for that soap box article. His last rant on MSNBC however was only the beginning of the type of outlandish and eccentric stunts pulled over the next 3 to 4 years of a one man battle to rid the industry of Travel MLM’s.

A few short months later John showed up as a commenter on our blog in an apparent attempt to educate me on his “issues” with Travel MLM’s. I still remember the coy attitude and the intimidation tactic – as if he had it all figured out. It was to become a trademark of the almighty Frenaye. At the time however, I did see John as both a challenge and an opportunity to correct not just misconceptions and misrepresentations the industry had about MLM – but bold face lies about our people our Founders, and our company.

I’ll always give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Call it an asset or a fault, but I did befriend John because I did agree with a few minor points and issues that needed to be cleaned up in our industry. One of those issues being a love of travel and service to others. Perks in our industry known as FAM’s are a privilege and a tool to sell more travel to paying customers – not a right simply because you call yourself a “Travel Agent”. MLM is a business, not some discount program or get rich quick scheme.

And that’s how our discussions began.

When it was my turn to clear the air that nobody actually paid for the opportunity to recruit others, or that gross travel sales were actually 4 to 5 times the amount of travel website sales – that’s where we ran into problems. See, John, like so many other zealots who think they’re the bees knees find it difficult to communicate, learn, and educate themselves to find a resolution. I suppose the reason for this is that if they actually did – there wouldn’t even be an issue. Zealots need controversy in order to maintain their charade.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Network. It’s a 1976 film that takes a cynical look at TV networks exploits that stars a very deranged ex-TV anchor. The film has one very famous quote that I’m sure you’ve heard of: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.“

That’s John Frenaye in a nutshell. What John saw in YTB at the time, was the biggest – baddest Travel MLM out there. Remember, nobody was able to do what YTB did – they all folded before YTB Travel came along. Sure, other Travel MLM’s were a nuisance and frustrating – but since they were so short lived – they weren’t any real threat.

YTB was a different animal all together – it had legitimacy attached to it. Carnival Pinnacle Awards and listings smack dab in the middle of Travel Weekly’s Power List aren’t something Travel MLM’s are even capable of doing in the eyes of an anti-MLM zealot. And because YTB was morphing into a host agency powerhouse, the only thing John could do was go on a rampage for the next couple of years, finding (or fabricating) any issue he could dream up to shame YTB into submission.

I can’t complain too much because he gave me some fabulous content to show how you should never just walk – but run from zealots like John if you want anything close to sanity or the truth.

Some of my favorites include:

• An amended Class Action suit John dubbed was “powerful” yet was thrown out of court just days later for being “redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter”. (Boy – does that shoe fit huh?!)
• The claims that Candi May couldn’t possibly be a legitimate Travel Agent, or had been courted by Carlson Wagonlit only to find YTB as a better alternative.
• When CLIA slapped John with his hands in the cookie jar over claims that CLIA was playing favorites with YTB and not abiding by the rules set for all agencies.
• The church parsonage which Coach Tomer and Chris donated to a church – which John conveniently spinned into a “lease”. (The idiot even provided the court documents himself to show it was a legitimate donation.)
• The perfect “Gotcha” turned sour. An outdated 32 year old law in Rhode Island which John dug up that required all Agents to be bonded. That is, until John brought attention to it – and instead of enforcing it, Rhode Island repealed the outdated law.
• And of course we can’t forget John’s hopes and the dreams that were dashed in both California and Illinois shutting YTB down and ending our existence all together.

I’ve lost count how many times we were warned that Coach, Scott, and Kim would ride off into the sunset. The warnings of bankruptcy. How the stock was being manipulated. And the ultimate dream – how YTB would get out of the travel industry all together.

Aside from being proven wrong and outed for outlandish and false claims so many times over the years – probably the straw that broke this dolts back was the revelation that John really wasn’t the saint he claimed to be was made public.

Look – nobody’s perfect and we all make mistakes. Lord knows I’ve made my share in my lifetime and so has YTB. The key difference between someone like me and a company like YTB is that we can at least acknowledge we’re not perfect and either make amends and/or correct the mistake.

And it’s that type of acceptance and humility that enables me to keep writing here and YTB to keep selling travel during events like we had last night with Sandals.

John, on the other hand has apparently moved on. While his charade and escapades will be documented on the Internet forever, like the comments section that he was once so proud of haven’t been updated in almost a month. Best I can tell, he’s found another hobby with yet another startup and another site called Eye On Annapolis. It has nothing to do with travel or MLM’s thank goodness. It’s more like a city beat type thing and frankly – I’m pulling for him that it works.

I honestly don’t know if John will ever come to terms with the MLM model. A good portion of these types of Zealots never do because emotion often overrides logic and common sense. In that same vein however – logic never changes like emotions do and that’s why MLM and Direct Sales has survived for more than a Century.

Letting go of a three or four year obsession however is a step in the right direction. The daily rants and spinning have finally come to an end for both John and YTB. The end of another chapter in our journey together in an industry I still love and respect – both MLM and travel.

John’s relevance in the travel industry started to erode with his “double dog dare” in 2007. It’s been a very slow and arduous process over the years. I’m not going to speculate his escapades are completely dead like the Wicked Witch of the West (although it’s a fun title) but the further we get away from this type of behavior the better off the travel industry as a whole will be.

It’s a bad mix nobody really needs.

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We’ve been writing our weekly newsletter for the last three years now for YTB and ZamZuu business owners. It’s been one of the most rewarding things we’ve ever done. The compliments and appreciation we get from subscribers means more than we can truly express. What started out as a team newsletter has spread throughout the company. Today, we send broadcasts reaching thousands of YTB and ZamZuu subscribers.

While our publication is designed and written for existing members of YTB and ZamZuu only, there are those who have subscribed under false pretenses. Opting to lie about their identity under an assumed name and e-mail address with the intent to play “Mall Cop”. After the California Settlement was reached two years ago, I was contacted by the Home Office with a list of “violations” from the Attorney General’s Office in California.

The AG had incorrectly charged that our publication was being used as a “recruiting tool” which was most certainly expressed by overzealous critics who desperately wanted to have my publication shut down.

After seeing so many desperate and childish stunts which feed Zealots uncontrollable obsession over YTB, we were well prepared for such an outlandish accusation. We set up our newsletter to verify our members with a valid ID and website address. We also used a double opt in feature to ensure that everyone who signed up actually verified with us they did indeed want our publication.

No shenanigans on our end.

These precautions were two fold. One, I wanted to make sure that everyone receiving this information was actually in YTB or ZamZuu already. And two, I fully expected the trolls to sign up – which they did – and were promptly deleted.

While their first attempt under real names and e-mail addresses were banned from our system, the sleaze then resorted to lying. Finding a YTB member in their local area that mirrored a location close to their own IP address, these parasites sucked off the other site owners ID and website address with a newly created gmail.com account and presto! Success in having our publication diverted to their inbox anyway.

Pretty elaborate scheme don’t you think? That’s the kind of bizarre behavior I’ve come to know while they pretend to be this noble, honorable “Mall Cop” for pour, unsuspecting souls. Truth is, they’re as dirty as the day is long.

A quick fix for the entire Attorney General debacle was a report of my entire list of subscribers with valid ID and website address, verification IP address, minus the user last name and e-mail address. The report clearly validated all subscribers were already in YTB and opted in under their own free will. A letter explaining that it was highly improbable that I was “recruiting” existing YTB website owners based on this report was also sent to the Home Office.

Not sure if it was the last time the AG or the Home Office ever heard about these “violations” again, but I certainly haven’t.

Interesting how morals, ethics, and honesty have no place for an obsessed Zealot that has to be right. When it comes to justifying their perceptions and perpetrating their fears and misconceptions to the general public, all this ethical stuff is mere window dressing they like to hide behind. It’s not just my newsletter they’ve infiltrated either. They’ve signed up as free Reps with the company, have become Fans of every Facebook page YTB or ZamZuu has, and have subscribed to every YTB and ZamZuu publication and newsletter they can get their hands on in order to feed their uncontrollable addiction.

With the latest settlement with the Attorney General in Illinois behind us, a new push by these imbeciles is once again in full swing. Obviously, they’re a bit upset that YTB was able to come to an agreement with another Attorney General and we are able to continue our business model. That’s what normal adults do – come to an agreement. Critics however have resorted to intercepting a new round of private correspondence, making its way to the internet with lists of supposed “violations” to say “see I told you I was right”.

While it’s clear that these correspondence are designed for “members only” – it’s upsetting the owners of these publications. Therefore, I’m offering up a list of items or precautions that you should implement in order to protect your publication and our fine company.

First, you need to accept that there will be sleazy little liars who will do and say anything in attempt to save face or to justify their position. Its part of the game they play. While I certainly don’t agree with it, getting upset and frustrated about it gives them the power and the control. You can take every precaution you want, and they’ll find a way to gain access. They’re that desperate for information and they need something they can spin against you and the company.

Second, most systems have a double opt in feature – use it. With the current CAN-SPAM Act that is in place, it’s not just jerks you want to protect against; it’s the FTC. Signing up someone to your mailing list is a practice we’ve never used. If your information and content is the quality it should be, you’ll get plenty of subscribers the right way. Every single subscriber we have has verified with our system they want our publication.

Third and I know this kind of sounds obvious – but put a disclaimer on your sign up page and in your publication something to this effect:

This newsletter is for information purposes for existing Website Sellers and Website Owners only.
It is not to be used as a recruiting tool for anyone outside the YTB company.

It won’t keep the pin heads out – but it will protect you in the event a pin head tries to play “Mall Cop” and claim you’re trying to recruit the general public or violating any rules.

Forth, and I know you’re not going to like this – but either turn off the “forward to a friend” feature or make sure your subscribers know that it’s only to be sent to existing team members. We’ve never used the “forward to a friend” feature for this reason: There may be some really good content that your subscriber wants to share with team members. Those team members however, may not want or feel the information is necessary. An issue we’ve had for years are folks who forward our publication out to team members and the team member unsubscribes the subscriber who sent it – because they don’t want it. (An unsubscribe link is also mandatory with current SPAM laws by the way.) Disabling this feature keeps complaints to a minimum because it’s only going to folks who actually subscribed.

An alternative for team members is having them forward your opt in link and have team members subscribe on their own. What you’ll find is an open rate that extraordinarily high, and a complaint rate that is practically non existent.

And finally, look over your data. We were able to spot our unauthorized troll by looking over our data. When Aweber changed their pricing along with their terms and conditions on us about a year ago, we had to upgrade. While we were upset at first having to pay more for exceeding 2500 subscribers, the new system and reports it offered showed just who was clicking what.

Low and behold, we found that one edition of our publication that was ripped off and posted publicly on a Zealots blog had over one dozen clicks from a single subscriber. A dozen clicks on the same link? Maybe two or three, but that amount raised a red flag. While the subscribers ID matched his website, and the IP matched where he lived – we found this subscriber based in Annapolis, Maryland had two subscriptions. One with a legitimate, unique domain, and the other with a Gmail account. The high click count came from the Gmail account – so we knew who was real and who the liar was.

It took me no time at all to delete the overzealous little twit.

If you have a newsletter and send correspondence to your team, I realize that you’re doing your team a service. I know all about offering news, support, training, mentorship, and positive reinforcement. It does have value and is a worthy and important part of being a true leader. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to acknowledge those traits because they’re so jacked up on hateraide. They simply can’t get past this idea that all you do is recruit and pick the pockets of poor unsuspecting souls. That’s the mantra rattling around in that empty space where a brain should reside. While they have no practical experience to base this limiting and false belief on – trying to change it is a complete waste of your time and effort. Just realize that they own that belief and you don’t have to.

So there you have it folks. Take it from me. These idiots have done it to me dozens of times and to no avail. Follow these simple steps and you not only protect your publication from being squashed, but you protect our fine company as a whole.

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Back in 2008 I wrote my first e-Book and boy was it a huge hit! At the time it was released to the public, there was a massive backlash going on in the travel industry concerning YTB’s rapid growth and clear signs of success. Travel Agents, already beaten and downtrodden by the Airline industry and online booking engines saw a virtually unknown Network Marketing company explode and take hold in the industry. And it scared the living daylights out of them.

The book entitled “What The Critics Know About YTB” was in reality an April Fools joke with a very distinct message. What made it both a joke and message to anyone who obtained a copy, was the book had nothing written in it. Yep, 100 blank pages. Even more comical – those who didn’t get it at first responded with – “There’s nothing past the first chapter?”

I still have this book and story of how it came about in my auto responder series to help new members of YTB and ZamZuu understand just who these people are and how their own fear and anger prompts the attacks of our fine company and our people.

Tomorrow marks the three year anniversary of this blockbuster e-book. (I’d like to call it a “Best Seller” but it was never actually for sale.) While we are three years removed from the vast majority of the drama that was conjured up by critics and detractors, to this day there remains one lone fool who still fits the mold of my brand of “critic”.

Probably the most difficult aspect when dealing with critics that I’ve had to overcome is they never really learn anything new. Heck, I’ve seen cases were they never even admit to making mistakes. It’s a level of arrogance I still don’t understand, but have come to accept. While I still find them irrational and incredibly dysfunctional, after three years of fighting tooth and nail to justify themselves and their position – they’ve become extremely silly in the way they think and act. Which made the April Fools date perfect for an e-book like mine.

When I saw the news about the sale of the Home Office and the money that was proposed – the very first thing that came to mind was “This is really going to tick someone off.” Even fools realize that several million dollars would be beneficial to anyone receiving it. You need to understand however that a clock has been ticking since late 2007 to 2008 with dreams of our company going belly up. While I barely see most of these Zealots around any longer, several were adamant that the company wouldn’t survive past 2009. (They don’t want to be reminded, so it was much easier to just fade away I guess.)

Not my boy John however, he’s fighting to the death. (Preferably ours in his case.)

The Class Action filed against YTB has been a perfect example of how people just won’t learn. It possess a brand of arrogance that they’re views are the only ones that are right no matter who or what you represent.

The Courts have not only dismissed this case a half dozen times, it’s referred to as nothing more than a “glorified fishing expedition” by the Courts. Other descriptions from the Courts include “redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter“. Yet these fools have been pummeled by the very system they beg too more times than I want to remember – returning for more punishment. They’re currently appealing one of the six rulings against them. Oh, and they tried to file in State Court with essentially the same line of bull they’ve always used – and SURPRISE! The state court rejected the complaint and removed it to Federal Court where motions to dismiss the suit are currently on the docket for these Zealots yet again.

I mean good Lord – when might you call a dog a dog instead of a cat with nine lives? This is exactly the kind of stupidity that makes me think these people are insane. They keep regurgitating the same line over and over and over again – hoping, dreaming, wishing, praying that they’ll get a different result the next go around.

For the record, and I know this to be true in California – and suspect all courts in Illinois carry the same tune – the Courts really didn’t care to waste their time with the Attorney Generals complaints either. I’ve actually seen the head critic spin this as YTB wanting to settle the one remaining case in Illinois with Lisa Madigan. Truth is, it was Madigan’s Office who offered not the other way around. However, unlike arrogant critics, YTB is working with the office to help resolve wording so everyone (well, maybe not everyone) has an understanding of what they are purchasing and what’s actually free.

Not sure, but I suspect the Z-Kit was a result of these negotiations since some people didn’t perceive the “booking engine” as an actual product. (Booking engines are products you buy for a traditional business like Nexion, or Cruise Ship Centers, but not for MLM I guess.) The Z-Kit is the kind of product that’s more in line with traditional Network Marketing because you have something you can actually touch.

But just because you have something simple and straight forward- there’s always going to be that lone fool who’s going to make it look like MLM has is doing something wrong.

Case in point – a blurb I found while reading about the YTB 2010 Annual Report:

YTB/ZamZuu makes a ton of money off of the people that attend the convention. The revenue for the 2010 convention was $322,000. (Page 16) and the expenses were $457,000 (Page 17). So if you do the math that means that the gross income from the convention was $779,000. At $199 to attend, that puts attendance in the area of 3,900. A number YTB did not disclose. But, it is clear that for every person who attended the convention, more than $80 went directly to YTB’s bottom line. That is a 41% commission YTB earned on this event! Most companies tend to make their events affordable. Yes, most make money, but most don’t gouge.

See how that works? Only in MLM can you add revenue and expenses together so the company gouges it’s members. Last I heard (from my 9 year old daughter no less) you add revenue and subtract expenses. And because he’s the only one who can be right – he uses this new “fact” he’s dreamed up (sorry make that “uncovered’) to fuel even more anger and resentment towards the company. And you better believe he’ll warn the YTB faithful this summer that YTB will make a sweet 41% profit margin on the gullible who attend this year.

Makes you wonder just who the gullible one is now doesn’t it?

There were several other numbers in this report that mysteriously couldn’t be found in the actual SEC Filing. I have no clue where they came from honestly – he was (in his own words) “taking a good guess”, and “extrapolating a bit more” than anyone really needed to. But that’s just John being John. Playing the “expert” and words like “extrapolating” make you sound a lot smarter than you really are.

By the way – I think “extrapolating” means “make it up”. He’s never considered the hundreds of millions in travel the company has sold as the focus. The $25 million sold on the “recruiting” side somehow equals more than the $252 million sold on the “travel” side. Again, “gross sales” has always been replaced with “net income” for travel so they can focus on what they fear most – recruiting.

Oh and one more thing before I go. What guy prices out purses and girdles? From what this fool says, both Gina Alexander and Ghiada are overpriced? Is there another fixation other than MLM that we don’t know about?

I just find it odd that he knows so much about women’s apparel and garments.

Or is it just another case of a train wreck pretending to be some sort of expert?

Ah well, the charade continues as “Life According to The Almighty John W. Frenaye”. I have to admit, his escapades and illusions have provided some great content for this site over the years. With the way he bumbles and stumbles with outlandish speculation and absurdly bizarre perceptions it’s actually been fun. (I do enjoy slamming the poor guy.)

With the anniversary of my e-book, and one of the better April Fools jokes I’ve played, I suppose I should thank him for the all the content and for still being the biggest fool I know.

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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Three years ago, YTB’s most famous cynic came bursting onto this blog with the mission to tell me – you, and anyone else who could stomach it – that MLM and Travel was a bad mix. When John Frenaye landed here, it took a nanosecond to figure out how this guy ticked. It’s a very standard and predictable M.O. that works by categorizing, separating, hiding, judging, condemning, attacking and rejecting.

Today, the name John Frenaye is synonymous with Anti-YTB after three years of rants and obsessive – compulsive behavior. Daily life consists of prowling the Internet for any tid-bit or morsel of food that can be reworked or rearranged and thrown back out in an attempt to justify his radical cause. His obsession has also compelled him to join every Facebook Fan page YTB or ZamZuu has – opting in under various aliases on several YTB newsletters (including ours), and even joining YTB a few years ago as a free “Rep” just to gain access to company information and communication to rework and refine with his own twist in an effort to satisfy his immense appetite over YTB.

Proper etiquette, rules or boundaries have little place for someone who needs to feed a powerful addiction. Nor is there any room for reasoning or solution based alternatives. All “pro” statements that don’t conform to the “Frenaye Creed” are quickly met with a direct rebuttal or even better – an abrupt and public reprimand. Many have described his uncompromising behavior cult like.

John is personally responsible for spreading his “creed” to every available board, forum, and blog, promoting his radical thinking and perceptions. Always watching – always monitoring the vast amount of communication and sites about YTB, just as soon as there’s a comment to support YTB – you can bet that John will be there to distract everyone from the topic at hand to trash the model, company, Founders and members.

After years of incessant rants – about the only option anyone has these days is the “ignore feature” found on these forms and boards to protect your computer (or your mind) from being infected. I have very little knowledge or care about what he’s writing these days, but there’s only one person I can think of that fits this description:

“Obviously, from your blog you will spin anything to the negative against this company. Some of it may be for good reason…some of it seems like an old crazy girlfriend I dated in high school.”

What’s also obvious is that John’s reputation precedes him.

While I’m years removed from the confines of alcoholism, I remember what it’s like to be consumed by addiction. How the compulsion controls every aspect of your life. True, to outsiders who see the daily rants, it looks to be bizarre and dysfunctional. For John however, life feels quite normal – even “right” because it’s so routine.

His own blog throughout the years, has been the home port to spew all that’s wrong with YTB. He’s prided himself on an open blog forum that allows all views and positions. A few months back however, his open blog forum policy was drastically changed and comments have since been shut down – completely.

The only views expressed or allowed are those of the owner now. Mind you, it’s no big loss. In fact – I applaud the disposal of daily rants and trash talking designed to keep emotions, rumors and fear at a frenzy level.

However, when I heard about the excuse in this thread (sorry, no direct link because Ainsworth is also on “ignore”) – I couldn’t help but think how John has deceived his own flock. Has John told his followers that someone was attacking his kids on Facebook?

Mind you, I would agree that would certainly be enough to scare any parent. (This one included.) If that were truly the case, I’d even feel applauded over John’s situation. It’s just not right – and if I find documented proof this is the case – beware.

Truth is however, from what I know about the comments made on his blog – they weren’t about his children at all – but about John and his personal failures as a young adult and travel professional. After all the years of poking and prying into everyone else’s lives and publicly posting them on his blog, someone has finally had enough and exposed the real John Frenaye and his less the perfect behavior and past on this site.

Several members of YTB have known about John’s troubles for some time, including me – but nobody has stooped to this level before. I’ve been asked on several occasions to post these findings in the hope it would turn the tables against John. Some have even speculated that it would shut him up.

About all it would do for sure would provoke more anger and resentment. John’s clearly not able to look at himself or his views as anything less than admirable and above reproach. With John’s bizarre behavior and ridiculous spin over the years, I’ve really never seen the need to add this information into the mix. In my opinion, the documentation provided here related to YTB would conclude this guy isn’t playing a full deck.

Some may consider this new blog unfair or underhanded.

If that’s the case, would it be underhanded for John to purchase “thefactsaboutytb.NET” to link to his blog? Would it be considered unfair that John also created a “Zam (space) Zuu” fan page to mock and poke fun at the name, our members and our Founders? Would it be considered a personal attack that John posted a link to a news story similar to the one about him surrounding one of our Directors? How ’bout posting personal bankruptcy findings?

John’s been guilty of all these offensive and abusive actions over the years. Frankly, I’m somewhat surprised it took this long for it to show up in cyberspace. When you play with this kind of fire, you’re bound to get burned sooner or later.

With that said – I have no idea if John’s going to wise up or straighten up. It’s not my place – and I’m completely powerless in helping him at this point. The only person that can help John is John – that much I do know.

My hope however, is this information will help you let go and move on like I have. John’s perception of YTB is similar to telling me the sky is purple. Rant all you want about it – it’s not going to change the color from blue to purple simply because you yell louder than I do – or make believe you know any more than I do.

That charade ended the second he barged in here and he opened up his mouth.

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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