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.

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

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

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

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

“You, Inc.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How do you like them apples?

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

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

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

It’s their company and they make the rules.

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

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

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

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

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

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

That my friends is real – true independence.

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I don’t know if you had a chance to see or even know that there was less of both Rick Ricketts and Kim Sorensen at this years Convention. What I mean by “less” is that both men have lost in excess of 25 pounds each. While neither are at their goal weight, each over time have lost this weight due to new eating habits that must be practiced and maintained over time. Losing 25 pounds doesn’t happen overnight.

The key to losing the weight is following a plan. If you don’t change your eating habits, you’re not going to have much success in loosing the weight.

Truth is, if you have a desire to change anything in life, you need to change or do something different in order to attain that goal. If you were doing things right all along, you would have already attained it.

The same goes for business. If you want to become successful, you follow the same principles of those who are already successful and do what they do. If you follow their recipe, you’ll find yourself obtaining the same business success they have.

The lesson of the $10K Challenge isn’t really about the money, it’s about getting into the habit of working your business on a consistent basis. That’s the true secret to their recipe. The concept of handing out 300 DVD’s is to get yourself into a routine or the habit of talking to someone new each and every day. Like the pounds that came off of Rick and Kim, it will happen over time. There is no magic pill or secret shortcut to successfully completing either task.

There are those that claim that nobody can hand out 300 DVD’s. It’s too big. It’s too hard. This one statement is perfect example of how backwards some poeple think.

$10,000 Guarantee.
The $10,000 guarantee is also a joke. You need to distribute 300 DVDs (at a cost of $1200) per year and follow the YTB provided tracking program. This just replaces the Success From Home deal they had before. The $6,000 program never worked.

Sigh…

I can’t even begin to tell you how foreign, backwards and stupid that type of thinking is. How or why anyone sees a problem with this plan of action simply shows me how dumbed down parts of our society are. Why someone would think about the cost instead of the income is astounding. What this illustrates is a concern over spending $4 per DVD. Instead what smart business minds see is clearing $29.33 in profit per DVD simply for handing a DVD someone and getting a name, phone number, and e-mail address. If you were paid $29.33 each time you complete this simple task would you do it? Of course you would. But because there’s a catch of personal responsibility attached to it, all of the sudden it changes from a great deal to a complete failure for those who can’t think through the entire process.  

This idea that the program never worked, is also a complete crock. Back when the “Success from Home” was first launched three years ago, I immediately saw the value of this lesson and was on board at the very start. Because I followed the plan of handing out just one magazine every day, I disqualified myself from the program because I actually made $6000 in income before the program was complete. Because I followed this simple plan, handing out just one magazine each day, I elevated myself to “Coach’s Corner” after a few months. In the process, I made more than $6000 in actual sales because I followed this recipe for success.

While my story certainly doesn’t guarantee that you or anyone else will make more than $10,000 this go around, those that work the plan the way its intended, are guaranteed $10,000 in income by YTB. But don’t take my word for it…let’s look at the number and see if it worked or not with some actual documentation, instead of the lip service that we’ve become accustomed to by our critics.

I went back to look at the SEC filings during the time YTB was handing out the Success from Home magazines.

YTB’s first “Success from Home” was launched in August, 2006. According to YTB’s 2006 Annual Report filed with the SEC, that same year YTB’s sales force grew from 21,385 to 59,836. Due to the HUGE success of YTB’s efforts of handing out these magazines, and tremendous exposure it provided for the publisher, YTB was once AGAIN on the front cover the very next year. As a result, YTB’s sales force again grew from 59,835 to 131,065 active RTA’s. (Based on YTB’s 2007 Annual Report filed with the SEC.)

If that’s a failure, I’d hate to see what some consider success.

Truth is, there are a small band of blow-hards out there that don’t want you looking at the facts, or simply ignore what’s really going on. I’ve yet to see any of them discuss why the class action was thrown out. I mean not a single word about how or why it got booted. Same goes for my challenge to the industry concerning YTB’s travel commission contracts. While there have been a few comments about it, what I’m finding are more excuses and spin instead of the facts, figures, and documentation that I’ve been asking for.

While they’re busy coming up with excuses, I’d suggest following a proven recipe for success that’s been enhanced considerably to help you track those DVD’s and now has the added bonus of a mentoring program. The choice is yours. Personally, I’d prefer being partnered up with those that have proven themselves successful with the help of the YTB Success System. This may be a new program for YTB, but its been proven to work companies like Avon, Homemade Gourmet, and DHL in years past. (And its included with your $10K Challenge)

It’s such a simple and easy step that not only teaches success principles, but enables you to create the habit of a successful business practice. And the best part…even if you don’t make the big bucks with YTB and recruit thousands of people, you’re still $8,800 better off financially for being what some would consider a “failure”.

So go ahead and fail. I dare you. In fact…I double dog dare you. ;-P

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I had originally scheduled a post on the new struggles of Royal Caribbean today, but one of the lesser known critics commented that I should write about them again. I decided that not only would it be a good idea, but a lot of fun to point out how they’ve completely botched another attempt to point the finger at YTB, but ended up pointing three back at themselves.

It never ceases to amaze me how low some people will stoop in an attempt to slander our fine company and our people. We’ve written at length about the lies, the misinformation, the false speculation, and how they love to distort and deceive in an attempt to tell the general public what’s wrong with YTB. Why they are so afraid of our company, I’ll never know. But even with all the evidence that proves them wrong, they continue to come back for more punishment.

As someone who has been calling a spade a spade for two years now, I make no apologies, nor do I feel the need to excuse how the lies, myths and false information goes against every fiber of my being. What I find most interesting is that instead of answering direct questions or accusations, I’m called names, they poke at my physical appearance, or try to tell me that I’m overreacting and being defensive. Reality is; that type of behavior is designed to get me off the subject at hand and put the focus on me instead of the real issue.

If you don’t like the heat, you should stay out of the kitchen. The hotter it gets, the more I know how much I irritate and frustrate our critics. That’s worth every slanderous comment, false accusation, and punch below the belt, which in turn reflects more on them than it ever will me. While they would love to have me join in the fun, they appear to be doing just fine without my participation. Besides, I would never want to distract them with actual documentation and facts that would highlight how clueless they are on their own turf. 

You may remember today’s subject from a battle won here just last year. While it frustrates our critics that Candi May has remained deaf and mute to any of the critics claims and false accusations, ignoring the jealous crowd of critics has enabled her to continue to build her business and remain quite happy with YTB. Like me, her self respect and self worth isn’t tied to a bunch of overzealous critics who can’t seem to get a life. Those who were at this years Convention probably remember Candi May and her “Travel Like a Rock Star” presentation. She has that same speech on her new blog and when the critics found it, they needed to mix things up, and I got to tell you…they botched it up.

If you either listened to her speak or take the time to read her post, Candi is abundantly clear about her experience in the traditional arena. She’s been travel agent for 24 years and gave examples of her experience as a traditional agent. For the traditionalist who want to keep these perks private however, they took issue with her stance and decided to attack her ethics, intelligence, and character to make it sound like she was deceiving everyone. (Much like they attempt to do with anyone else associated with YTB.

In her post, she states,

“I’ve been in the travel business for over 24 years now and for the 21 years before I was in YTB I was a traditional travel agent and eventually owned three travel agencies in Downtown Louisville. But, 24 years ago I was young, broke and inexperienced in the travel business. We took our first “agent rate” trip to a place called the Don Cesar in beautiful St. Petersburg Beach Florida.”

Sounds pretty clear to me…how ’bout you? Sorry to say, not everyone got that message. According to No Travel MLM’s Candi is called out for deceiving the general public. John writes:

This does sound wonderful, but there appears to be some serious sleight of hand going on here. Is anyone surprised? Well, John Travolta turned 50 in February 2004. And according to another post on Candy May’s blog:

I joined forces with YTB in June of 2006 and that is how this journey began.

John believes he has one of his infamous “gotchas” here with proof that one of our leaders is lying. He’s extracted one line from another post that is totally unrelated to her traditional agent journey and used it in an attempt to throw it back in the face of YTB. But take a look and read her first post in it’s entirety. You’ll find the following statement which can be found smack in the middle of her first blog post when she states:

“I started in the travel business a little over 24 years ago as a traditional travel agent.”

A statement that our critics hope you don’t find in the first post so they can pound their chest and slander someone so they can feel better about themselves and the traditionalist who got away. The only slight of hand here is by John. Either that or he has some sort of disorder that causes memory loss. (More evidence of THAT below.)

Candi also talks about a booking contest with a company that specialized in Mexico. She won that trip by booking lots of travel. She went completely free including round trip air to a beautiful resort called the Royal Hideaway in the beautiful Mayan Rivera.

According to John, Royal Hideaway will not accept a YTB agent on a FAM because YTB has lost their IATAN accreditation. The IATAN requirement for Royal Hideaway might be true…might not. I have to ask however why IATAN is relevant when you win a trip that’s provided by a company the specializes in Mexico? Small detail that again either escaped him or he was holding his breath in the hope that you’d miss that this was a contest provided by the supplier, not something she asked for as travel professional courtesy. But it just might work for the casual reader who is only interested in finding something negative, or a reason hate a company or poeple that are still sticking around after two years of pitching the same tired old line.

Remember the memory loss I eluded to earlier? I find it hilarious that John is trying this line again:

She claimed to have been flown to Minneapolis and wooed by Carlson who wanted her agency to join the conglomerate, yet no one at Carlson has any records of her name or her agency.

Are we to assume the this goof simply forgot that we’ve covered Candi’s affiliation with Carlson with two letters, one signed by Roger Block himself, and the other from Linda Fox that came with a Formal Agreement that was deemed by John as being authentic just last year? These two documents did convince him at one point, but he doesn’t remember that embarrassment now? I think it’s more accurate to speculate that we’re back to the denial phase now that it’s a year later and again crossing our fingers that nobody remembers how badly beaten and bruised he got the first time he pulled the same stunt.

If you say the same lie over and over, maybe it might come true? Maybe you can get someone to believe you this time. Or maybe you simply get caught for the same tired old story because you’re too thick headed to admit you’ve ever been wrong even once.

Not this group. They go on the attack and attempt to deflect in order to save face. We’re overreacting. I’m coming to Candi’s aid as her knight in shining armour to defend her. I’m wearing a man bra!

One of the other chums, who’s can deflect with the best of them attempted to turn the tables and put the burden of proof back on me. The pitch here is hat you actually need an IATAN in order to get an agent rate and since YTB does not have IATA accreditation, we’re not eligible for FAM’s.

Ainsworth tries this little line to intimidate and demand an answer:

Doug, you’re the once coming across as stupid. You’re right in stating that the first paragraph is speaking of Candy’s years being a TRADITIONAL travel agent. The whole blog post is about her years as a TRADITIONAL travel agent, and all the things she got to experience. None of the things she mentions here happened since she joined ytb! What has she gotten to experience like these things in the 3 years that she has been with ytb, hmmmmm? Answer that, Mr. Know It All.

Okay chump, since you asked, I do know of an offer Candi received from YTB THIS year:

Hey my special friends…I have an incredible opportunity for my distinct travel professionals: Check this out…

I am looking for a few of our Travel/Group specialist to join me on a FAM in Cancun late next week. The only cost is for the flight…THAT”S RIGHT!…ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE IS FREE!

Oasis Hotels and Resorts is one of my finalists for our Riviera Maya/Cancun and Dominican Republic destinations. They have a scheduled FAM to view 5-6 of their resorts…

If you know of others that focus on Groups, I could extend this to them…

And just how do I know that Candi got this special invite for being a Travel Pro with YTB? Because I got it too.

That’s right! Those of us who produce and book lots and lots of travel like the moral of Candi’s story still get offers.  And note, no magic IATAN is required, no calling the resort, no worries about if we could get in…YTB was invited and for those of us who work hard and book travel, the invitation was passed along to us.

That’s something that Traditional Travel Agents don’t want you to know. Suppliers actually invite YTB just like they do any other agency regardless of accreditation. What suppliers look for is productivity. Suppliers actually consider YTB a valuable source of revenue because we produce. While IATAN certainly provides proof of that with a minimum of $5K in commissions earned, it isn’t really required for the VAST majority of the trips that are offered.

And what would a post from these critics be without the personal insults that Candi couldn’t make it as a “real agent”. I suspect that before long the insult will be that Travel MLM has come up with a far superior product offer for those that are serious about staying in the travel business. (Which is what Candi saw years ago because she’s smart, not some dead beat.)

To prove my point, I have a challenge for the smarter than average critics out there that like spout off that a traditional host is a better alternative.

Provide me documentation of just one Host, one Agency, one single Brick and Mortar that:

• offers 80%-100% commission contracts.
  
• pays cash bonuses of up to $10K when you hit performance levels for travel commissions earned.
• AND completely covers the cost of your Medical Insurance and provides a $150,000 Life Insurance policy.
• Oh, and you need to give me that “hat trick” for less than $500 start up and $49.95 per monthly overhead.

Fact of the matter is that they can’t and that my friends scares the livin’ daylights out of some of the traditionalist who live in La La Land that these traditional host are a better deal. That’s why we have deceptive posts like John’s and the loyal band of thieves to keep up with the charade about YTB being a flawed business model and that Candi couldn’t make it in the traditional arena.

In this current economic climate, coupled with how badly beaten the traditionalist have been from suppliers the internet, and the change to self service, YTB has a safer, more profitable alternative for those who are serious about selling travel bar none.

Spout off all you want about me, Candi, Coach, Scott, Kim or anyone else associated with YTB folks. We already saw this model for what it is. We’re already in and enjoying the best compensation the industry has ever seen. If you want to come along, feel free.

But if you want to spout off, lie and slander based on jealousy…can it. Like so many times before, it’s only going to show that nose of yours is getting bigger by the day.

Oh and John, since you’re big on being the spelling ace…it’s Cand”i”, not Cand”y”. ;-P

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If I asked you who Mark Zuckerberg is would you be able to tell me?

I wouldn’t have been able before this weekend. (So don’t feel too bad if you don’t.)

Rather than keep you in suspense, I’ll just come right out and tell you Mark is a former-Harvard student who created Facebook. When it launched in February 2004 it was used to communicate between other Harvard students. It quickly gained considerable notoriety and was soon being used at Stanford, Columbia and Yale. Zuckerberg ended up dropping out of Harvard to pursue his dreams and began running Facebook full time.

When Mark Zuckerberg showed up in Palo Alto, he had no car, no house, and no job. In August 2005, “thefacebook” (it’s original name) was officially called Facebook and the domain facebook.com was purchased for a reported $200,000. Today, Mark is at the helm of a smokin’-hot social-networking site. Back in 2007 it was projected that Facebook would generate $969 million in revenue, with 48 million users, by 2010. At that time The New York Times and others reported that Yahoo had made a $1 billion offer to buy Facebook.

Zuckerberg and his partners turned it down.

That was 2007 and it’s now 2009 and Facebook has far exceeded expectations. Back in April this phenomenon went over 200 million registered users, with 100 million logging in and using a combined 5 billion minutes every day.

I found a couple other stats that blew me away:

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I’ve worked in several different industries throughout my adult life. I spent the vast majority of that time in the radio industry from the early 80′s to the mid 90′s. I also spent time in the Golf industry, and later in the Security and Home Automation industry before I found YTB. I quickly realized that each industry has it’s share of bickering and finger pointing. Every industry has it’s share of people who do nothing but start rumors either to discredit or get a leg up on the competition.

If you combine all the years I spent in the other industries, it doesn’t hold a candle to what I’ve seen in the Travel Industry in the 4 years I’ve been involved with YTB. The backstabbing, the ranting and raving, and the accusations that are thrown around in this industry is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

I have to hand it to the Traditional Travel Agents, they are an extremely passionate group. Please don’t take that as any form of admiration however. Any type of admiration turns very sour when the passion is as misguided and so dysfunctional that you see grown adults belittle and scorn each other in public forums. Because all they do is bicker the industry is left fragmented and unorganized. Travel MLM’s have come and gone for over a decade now. The industry has been outraged over the MLM model and Card Mills, but because nobody can agree with one another, Travel MLM’s are not only still around, they’ve gained considerable traction in the industry.

I was looking over the data I have on how people find this blog earlier in the week. Several search terms popped out at me for consideration for an article. Before I had an opportunity to research the story, a “Google Alert” came last night that put all the pieces together in one very well written article in Travel Agent Central.

In the article Peter Stilphen, an industry advocate, seems to be convinced that OSSN (Outside Sales Support Network) now caters to the MLM industry and has said so publicly in an open letter. OSSN of course denies the allegation and is going to great lengths to shut Mr. Stilphen up. OSSN has even gotten legal counsel involved to contact Mr. Stilphen numerous times to confirm the allegations with documentation and facts. Typical of most critics however, Stilphen has ignored the request for verification. What this has boiled down to is nothing more than an “Am not” – “Are too” type of argument that once again is being played out in the open for everyone to see.

Why am I not appalled over this type of conduct? Because I’m sorry to say it’s more the norm than it is the exception. Once again, instead of promoting solutions, benefits, or guidelines that have been a real sore in this industry for well over a decade now, we have more bickering and finger pointing.

Once again…we have to ask…”How’s that working for you so far?”

I’ve read numerous times that Travel MLM’s give professionals a black eye. When you look at something like this, you have to wonder why some don’t look in the mirror and realize that professionals are doing a fine job of punching themselves and providing plenty of back eyes of thier own.

I’m not a member of OSSN, but I have gotten updates and e-mails from this organization for years. They’ve been beneficial to me in as much as to provide information about industry trade shows and supplier training that educate and enable me to be more productive in the travel industry. While there have been many offers to join the organization, thier policies prohibit anyone involved in MLM’s from joining. While they do offer a “TRUE” credential, I can’t justify switching to anther host simply to carry a “TRUE” card. For someone like myself, CLIA offers the best training and accreditation now that they’ve upgraded and enhanced thier program. As we’ve learned however, even an organization like CLIA isn’t immune to the fighting and bickering going on between “professionals”.

The last time I wrote about Peter Stilphen was well over a year and a half ago when Royal Caribbean decided to pull the plug on YTB. At the time Peter was on the Board of Directors of an association called PATH. With Peter’s urging, PATH convinced Royal Caribbean that they needed to terminate it’s relationships with Travel MLM’s and Card Mills. To this day, we’ve only been able to verify two agencies that have ever been terminated by RCL while over a dozen other Travel MLM’s are still in good standing and booking with the cruise line. One of the agencies terminated being Joystar and the other being YTB.

Worked out well, don’t you think?

Although Peter has been a very outspoken critic of both Joystar and YTB over the years, I really don’t pay much attention to him personally. He’s simply lumped into the mix of outspoken critics who buys into the social “meme” I wrote about on Wednesday. He is however, one of the longest tenured critics surrounding Travel MLM’s that I know of. He and Bill Alverson (CEO of the now bankrupt Joystar) started the rumblings over a decade ago when Bill started the first Travel MLM called TravelMax. (Also long gone.)

Back in March I picked up another open letter to the industry from Paul Henderson of ProTravel Network, who has also grown tired of finger pointing and the bickering in the industry which adds further proof that the industry has no clue how to resolve the issue of industry credentials. Because the industry hasn’t been able to come up with guidelines, anyone associated in the industry is fair game when it comes to pointing fingers. Peters most recent crusade to eliminate “cards” has him yelling at OSSN now, an association that’s promoted by PATH by the way.

I honestly can’t tell you if the industry is ever going to get along with each other. I find it a real shame that an industry which evokes so many good memories and emotions for it’s clients in the form of vacations and exotic locations, has such a difficult time finding it’s “happy place” when it comes to communicating and getting along with each other. I’ve never seen such enormous ego’s, and so many experts in all my life. For me, it’s another reason why I stick with YTB.

You would think that some of these old dogs would wake up and learn some new tricks after so much time spent doing what they do with no answers or resolutions in sight. Unfortunaly that’s not my call or within my control. Because of the suppliers and clients I spend most of my time with, the professionals end up being a nessasary evil in the industry that I simply endure while learning, growing, and making my own way in the travel industry.

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A settlement that was suppose to set the record straight concerning YTB, it’s model, and it’s business practices is still somewhat of a circus out on the internet by a few clowns who think they’ve got this company pegged. Now that we have the settlement out in the open, and the public has access to the legal documents that were filed, I’m beginning to wonder how someone can in good conscious keep pitching the lies and myths about what YTB is or isn’t.

The twisting and spinning started at the very top with Attorney General’s press release that critics want to pitch as the be-all-end-all concerning the settlement, while most in YTB want to bring up the actual court documents that were filed as the final say in the matter. When the settlement was final I wrote that I was “taken aback” by the press release when I read a copy and paste of the Attorney General’s interpretation on one of the blogs. It wasn’t until I dug a little deeper and found the filing from the Attorney Generals web site that I found the actual court papers. Only then did I realized how the press release and the court documents didn’t match up. (And I’m stating that as politely as I possibly can.)

Even with the court documents, there are those that need to hammer away at their square peg to make it fit this round hole. I’m not sure at this point if some of the critics are just playing dumb or if they have no clue what’s about to transpire on Monday when YTB 2.0 is launched. I’ll help clue them in on Monday when all the income disclosure statements are made public and the terminology between Associate and Rep is made clear. What they think is going to handcuff the top recruiters in the company from earning what they want is shown to be yet another myth. I’m willing to bet there will be some outbursts about loopholes and how we should be drug into court for having a better understanding of the new rules than they do.

Oh…it’s going to be fun to watch! ;-P

In the meantime, since we all get a reprieve from “recruiting” this weekend due to the maintenance going on with our marketing sites, I wanted to share these gems with you. We found them on Yahoo Finance and I thought it would be a good read for helping separate fact from fiction. (There’s been a lot of that going on lately.) I thought it might come in handy for those times that someone finds the Attorney Generals press release and takes what is written as fact. Remember, you also have the court filing too, but this was actually well written and helps clarify what the new income disclosure statements have to say before they are released to the public on Monday.

Setting the Record Straight – Part 1 25-May-09 08:46 pm   

In his opening statement and throughout his press release, Attorney General Brown continued to make disparaging and misleading comments (sixteen to be exact) about YTB and its operations – this in spite of the fact that his the CA AG agreed to and signed the Stipulation and Final Judgment which reads, “Nothing in this Stipulation or the Judgment shall be construed in this or in any other proceeding as an admission by any of the parties of any fact, conclusion of law, issue of law, or violation of law, nor shall compliance with the Judgment constitute or be construed as an admission by any of the parties of any fact, conclusion of law, issue of law, or violation of law.” View Court document: http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n1737_ytbstipulatedjudgment.pdf

Let us not forget the fact that the State alleged certain wrong-doings and the Defendant denied any wrong doing in this filing, and after a series of meetings wherein all parties gained a better understanding of the facts, concessions were made on both sides, and the parties agreed to a settlement. If YTB were in fact guilty of operating a gigantic pyramid scheme, there would not have been a settlement.
Allow me to set the record straight on a few other points made in the CA AG press release

Setting the Record Straight – Part 2 25-May-09 08:49 pm

CA AG: “Until now, the only way that consumers could demonstrate the website is if they had already purchased one for $449.95. The stipulated judgment requires YTB to establish a free demonstration website that must be used when recruiting others.”

CA AG: “By contrast, recruiting others to purchase websites, and having those purchasers recruit others to purchase websites (and so on), was much more profitable. Members earned money based on how many websites they sold, as well as how many websites those they recruited sold. These multi-level sales, combined with the required purchase of the $449.95 website, formed the foundation of YTB’s pyramid scheme. “

FACT: Reps (those who sell travel websites) are NOT required to purchase the $449.95 website, and they are NOT charged a fee to become a Rep. Reps have access to existing websites, although many do want their own website for the same reasons as those who are purchasing a website to run a travel business.

FACT: YTB had 209,595 Reps at year end in 2008, and it had 89,826 travel site owners (TSOs), which means that 120,000 Reps did not purchase a website. Furthermore, not all of the TSOs are Reps, so the number of Reps who did not purchase a website is actually greater than 120,000.

Setting the Record Straight – Part 3 26-May-09 03:55 pm

CA AG: “YTB falsely promised customers they could get rich quick by selling travel online,” Brown said.

FACT: YTB makes it very clear at its meetings that this is not a “get-rich-quick” opportunity; it involves a lot of hard work. Anyone who has ever attended a convention or Red Carpet Day event knows this for a fact, because this is covered in detail at meetings, which are on video and verifiable. Disclosure statements are also posted at meetings.

CA AG: “In 2007, the annual median income for those selling travel was $39.00, less than one month’s cost to operate the website. The majority of consumers who purchased YTB websites made no money through the sale of travel, and many lost money through continued website operations.”

FACT: In 2008, the annual income of Referring Travel Agents (RTAs) who attended First Class Training was as follows: Low $7.92; Average $490.32; and High $26,966.10. The Annual Income of Affiliates (website owners who had not taken First Class Training) was as follows: Low $0.00, Average $143.37; High $25,368.62. In 2008, 43,670 (49%) of all website owners made no income, thereby reducing the average annual income to $111.26 (median income $49).

FACT: Travel Site Owners (TSOs) are free to cancel their websites at any time. There is no long-term commitment, and they can cancel at any time by notifying their bank or simply calling YTB customer service.

Setting the Record Straight – Part 4 26-May-09 03:56 pm

CA AG: “Until now, YTB has made wildly misleading claims about how much people can earn from selling travel. This included videos of YTB agents driving luxury cars and holding up $10,000 checks, and making misleading statements about millions of dollars earned in commissions.”

FACT: Reps do make high commissions by selling travel websites, and many of them do drive luxury cars, many earn $10,000 bonus checks, and many do live lifestyles that some people envy. This happens to be ONE of the business opportunities that exists at YTB; and if someone has the type of personality and ambition to build an organization of Reps to sell travel websites, then their income potential is only limited by the amount of time and effort they put into it.

FACT: People join YTB to sell travel, sell travel websites, or both. If someone wants to become a Referring Travel Agent (now called a Travel Site Owner) and build a travel business, they pay a $495 one-time fee and $49.95 per month for their travel website. The success of their travel business is based entirely on their efforts, and YTB provides them with an outstanding travel site with travel portals, search engines, exclusive YTB travel deals, and great training. Whether one signs up to sell travel or travel websites, YTB rewards Reps and TSOs with bonuses based on their levels of achievement. Remember that YTB sold $425 million in travel in 2008.

FACT: YTB has spent millions of dollars on the development of its sophisticated travel website and its business model, and they are continually making improvements to it. They provide training and benefits for those who want to sell travel and to those who want to sell travel websites. It’s unfortunate that the CA AG wants to penalize an individual for pursuing both opportunities.

Setting the Record Straight – Part 5 27-May-09 03:59 pm

CA AG: “Most YTB travel sellers make no money, and in fact rack up high costs.”

FACT: Those who are truly serious about building a travel business and put forth the time and effort can be successful. As stated previously, of the RTAs who took the time to complete and pass the First Class Training in 2008, the average annual income was $490.39, with the low being $7.52, and the high being $26,966.10. Some will see the TSO opportunity as a way to supplement their household income. Not everyone needs a five- or six-figure income, although with hard work, group bookings, and enough people booking through one’s site, it is possible.

FACT: A one-time fee of $495 is hardly unreasonable for a business start up, and the monthly cost of $49.95 for an online, professional travel website with all of the features mentioned above is extremely reasonable. I would hardly call that “racking up high costs,” as the CA AG has stated. Remember that YTB sold $425 million in travel in 2008.

FACT: A lot of people want the travel website so that they can book their own travel and refer family and friends to their site. They can plan family cruises or trips to places all around the world, and YTB offers a number of exclusive travel packages to places like China and the Holy Land. Additionally, YTB has partnered with a number of nationally-recognized companies to benefit YTB online store owners. To be more specific, following are just some of the benefits that are available exclusively to TSOs: Limited Medical Benefits that offer affordable coverage with no underwriting or pre-existing conditions; a discount program saving up to 60% on entertainment, theater, or online shopping; discounts on tax preparation, cellular service, office supplies, computers, and shipping; and, of course, an online shopping mall, where TSOs can earn cash back on virtually all their purchases at over 600 stores (Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Target, etc.), and they will earn a commission on purchases made by customers they have referrred, plus those who were referred by their customers and so on. One could own a travel site, pay $49.95 a month and never sell a penny’s worth of travel and still enjoy benefits that offset the monthly cost of the site.

Some people purchase a travel site with good intentions, but they never take the time or get serious about building a business. They love having the site, however, because it’s convenient to book their own travel, the site is easy to use, and it’s fun and exciting. It gives them an identity and something to share with others. And, let’s not forget about the other benefits listed in the previous paragraph. Since when is it a crime to buy a business, pay a monthly fee for a website and not generate any significant income? But let us not forget that YTB sold $425 million in travel in 2008.

The important point to remember is that no one is forced to stay with the program. A TSO/RTA has the ability to cancel his/her website at anytime by notifying his/her bank or simply calling YTB Customer Service.

Setting the Record Straight – Part 6 27-May-09 06:10 pm

CA AG: “Prohibiting YTB from – Stating or implying that their travel rates are comparable with those of travel booking sites such as Expedia or Orbitz.” And, per the Judgment itself: “Defendants shall not state or imply that rates or costs available through Defendants are the same as, or comparable to, other major travel booking websites, such as Expedia or Orbitz, unless Defendants also state in a clear, conspicuous manner, that rates differ and that the Defendants’ travel rates are not necessarily the same or cheaper than other travel websites.”

FACT: YTB doesn’t proclaim their prices to be better than Expedia or Orbitz; in fact, at meetings, they say YTB’s prices are comparable. The fact of the matter is that YTB’s booking portal leads the shopper to many of the same vendors used by Orbitz, Travelocity, etc; and in most cases the prices are the same. They certainly ARE “comparable.”

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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