Quixtar, TEAM and Me: The End

PREFACE: A few months back I decided to write in several parts my experience as a member of TEAM (f/k/a Team of Destiny) and as a Quixtar "Independent Business Owner" (IBO.) I left the story for awhile but return to it now, skipping over all the bits in the middle and going right to the end.

As I have previously stated, I have no particular axe to grind with individuals in this industry or these organizations. I just want to chronicle how it worked out for me.
_________________

When I last left this tale, I was just starting to get into the business. Someday I'll return to some of the happenings that took place while I was going full steam ahead, trying to build the business, but not today.

I knew I was effectively done in the business in February 2007 when I attended a monthly TEAM seminar in Saginaw, Michigan. The featured speakers were Tim and Amy Marks. Prior to that seminar, I had tried very hard to get some prospective IBOs and one active IBO in my downline to come with me. My wife was (and had been) ill, leaving me to attend the seminars by myself. Not only is it a bit lonely to sit in the stands by yourself, it's not easy to build your business if others are not enthused about it.

I sat that evening in the nosebleed seats of the Dow Center listening to the Markses talk about all their stuff. I'm not interested in their material wealth -- which TEAM people are encouraged to flaunt -- or that they get to spend time with their kids, at least not after hearing about it all several dozen times. I certainly didn't want to hear it as I sat there alone in the stands, watching others talk about their success while my business seemed to be dead in the water. Besides that, I think I was struggling with some low grade depression. My wife was ill, I was working hard at work and in TEAM/Quixtar, it was dead of winter and I was spending lots of money to be in that cold, dark place, wearing a suit on a Saturday night. It was miserable. I was done, though unofficially so. I left the Dow Center in tears knowing my dreams were not going to be met, at least not this way.

Not too long after that February seminar, I did my taxes. The amount of financial failure was almost shocking. From June through December 2006, I think we spent over $6,000 in travel, hotel, books and CDs, meeting and seminar tickets, website and membership fees, dining, parking and other expenses related to the business. I made a whopping $93 "income" in return. $93! Even better yet, the $93 was taxable income (offset, of course, by my massive losses.) You know where the $93 came from? That was our aggregate "rebate" on products we bought through Quixtar/Amway. We spent roughly $2,500 to get that $93. How's that for "passive, residual" income? At least I got to write off the $6,000 plus as deductible business expenses.

Anymore involvement with TEAM after that was purely out of obligation or guilt. I attended a few weekly meetings and kicked around the idea of attending the national seminar in St. Louis by myself. It didn't happen and I'm glad I didn't waste the time and money. I also stopped taking calls from my upline/mentors. Everytime I talked to him, my failures just felt heightened. TEAM does a really good job of trying to convince you that you can succeed. The problem is that if you don't see success -- I saw virtually no signs that I was going anywhere -- you feel like you are letting down TEAM, yourself, your family and God almighty Himself.

We stayed "on system" for another few months, meaning we had CDs shipped to our house weekly. That stopped after my wife emailed our uplines that June and asked to take us off system. For 2007, I made ZERO dollars and had about $2,000 in expenses, maybe a little less. Again, I got to write off those expenses as business losses. I would have rather had the cash in hand, though.

You can read elsewhere how TEAM leaders split with (were kicked out of) Quixtar in the summer of 2007. To their credit, guys like Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady made themselves targets of the Amway crowd by constantly nagging Quixtar to lower its prices. The final straw came, as I understand it, when Woodward, Brady, Billy Florence, and some others raised hell over Quixtar taking on the name Amway. They knew that "selling Amway" would be the death of many of us. It was hard enough to sell Quixtar's system to people but to call it Amway would have been damned near impossible.

As much as I admired their principled stand against Amway -- I never wanted to be part of that company -- I was disappointed that Woodward et al changed their tune on Quixtar. When I was in TEAM, essentially signing up people as Quixtar IBOs, I was trained by TEAM that, for numerous reasons, this whole thing was not a "pyramid scam" or one of those "pyramid thingies." But when Woodward and the others split from Amway/Quixtar and lawsuits started flying, what did they allege in court pleadings that Amway/Quixtar was? You guessed it. An "illegal pyramid scheme." Interesting how that changed overnight.

I've been away from TEAM, Amway/Quixtar and the people I knew from that business for about 2 years now. I'm happier not being in the business. Still, though, I felt anchored to it in some weird way. I also felt the need to defend the business model when I've seen criticism of it online. Perhaps that's just my way of convincing myself I hadn't made a poor decision and wasted lots of money. As much as we did, indeed, waste a lot of money, I think both my wife and I grew in positive ways from the experience. I see success differently. I think I know a bit more about business, I know a lot more about myself, and I know what types of things fit my personality type. Rather than me needing a complete overhaul to fit within a fairly rigid system -- I couldn't even choose my own tie or suit colors -- I try to take the strengths I have and apply those to the things I have to do and, when possible, adapt to new or unfamiliar circumstances. I see the value in growth or adaptation but not to the point of self denial or, worse, self death.

My life in TEAM, though over a few years back, was effectively buried for good a few weeks ago. I held onto thousands of dollars of CDs and books in the event I ever got back into the business. Once it became obvious I was never going to return to the business, I held onto all that stuff hoping to sell it. I put ads up on craigslist, offering that stuff for next to nothing, and go no response. Months went by and that crap took up a full box in our garage. Trash Amnesty day came along -- you can throw out anything you like other than hazardous materials -- 2 Fridays ago and I decided, "Aw, to hell with it. Put all that stuff out at the curb and see if some of the garbage pickers want it." Within hours, those books and CDs -- hundreds -- were gone. Only book style packs were left and I'm sure they ended up in the trash.

A smile came over my face when I saw someone else had taken all that material. Part of me hoped that whoever took the books and CDs would learn something. Another part of me thought, "Ha ha! Sucker!" And yet another part of me was simply glad to have them gone; they were symbols of failure I no longer wished to keep in my life.

Taking a break from the Quixtar/TEAM story

My plan was and still is to tell my story about my short stint as a Quixtar IBO affiliated with TEAM. I planned to pick up the story at my attendance at my first monthly seminar. Because this story has so many layers, I am going to take a break from writing about it for a few weeks.

Just to whet your appetites, I will say that I had some fantastic experiences that I would like to describe. I also had some really difficult times, some intense moments of self doubt and frustration. Through all of it I'd like to think that I grew. I definitely see money differently. I also am still of the employee mentality, which is something that has to change in the lives of people that want to be successful in MLM's/direct marketing/network marketing businesses.

When the inspiration hits to pick up the story, I will.

Quixtar, TEAM and Me Part 2

PREFACE: I've decided to write in several parts my experience as a member of TEAM (f/k/a Team of Destiny) and as a Quixtar "Independent Business Owner" (IBO.) Some names (mainly the people we worked with closely or who are 'bit players') have been changed for various reasons, mostly to avoid hurt feelings or embarrassment that might possibly be caused from perceived negativity in these pieces. I see no reason to change the names of the leaders of these particular organizations. They are well known folks, especially here in Michigan. I have no particular axe to grind with individuals or these organizations. I just want to chronicle my experiences, both good and bad.
_________________

Part 2.

I came home from our meeting with Mark and Vicky very intrigued by the business I was shown. I had a sense that I would be involved but I still wanted to "check it out" before committing to anything. We had several CD packets, one which included the book Have Fun, Make Money, Make A Difference, by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, and a video of a talk by Brady.

I couldn't wait to read the book. What I found in it was fascinating. to me, the business plan made all kinds of sense. I appreciated that Woodward and Brady also made it clear that this wasn't a "something-for-nothing" opportunity or a "get-rich-quick scheme." It was going to be hard work but, with perseverance, the hard work would pay off. We watched the DVD together but didn't finish it. I found myself annoyed by all the talk of toys and what seemed to me to be conspicuous consumption by TEAM leaders. I felt like the material aspect of success was too highly promoted, something I've never felt differently about since first being introduced to TEAM/Quixtar.

We were in the middle of a dispute arising from the sale of our previous home, having some difficulty with the buyers, so I didn't want to join the business until after that was remedied. Vicky invited my wife and me to a Tuesday night meeting in Brighton, Michigan, which seemed like a good way to get more information while taking this all into consideration. Mark ____ (last name escapes me) and Bill Lewis, who only a few months thereafter went Diamond, were the speakers. Mark was great. Bill was fantastic.

Everyone made sure to tell us what great leaders Mark and Vicky were and how lucky we were to be associated with them. Vicky, to her credit, was fairly transparent about that. Humbly she explained that is TEAM's way: edification. It also helps sell new people on membership.

I remember being a bit unnerved by the fact that nearly every man there -- several hundred -- was wearing a black or navy suit, white shirt and a red tie. Vicky explained that was based on studies that show dark suits, white shirts and red ties make a man more "relatable." You can do whatever study you like, but that never sat well with me. It seemed too much like a uniform -- TEAM leaders called it that -- and gave everything a bit of a cult feel. I am a professional and still do not understand why a nice blue tie wouldn't work just as well as a red tie.

The meeting was fueled, almost literally, on X-S energy drinks. Many people there had them as X-S was a product heavily promoted by TEAM. Quixtar was (and maybe still is) its exclusive distributor and the payback to IBOs for X-S was decent. Besides, the drinks were pretty darned good.

In the next few weeks, I did a lot of internet research. I argued with friends about the apparent logic of the business model. I got a good handle on some of the leading products. I kept in contact with Mark and Vicky every few days.

After the better part of a month, and after another meeting with Mark, my wife and I decided to join. We went to Mark and Vicky's house and completed the necessary forms and paid our fees for Quixtar IBO registration and TEAM website access. I was very excited. I just felt like this was our ticket to financial freedom. Some of my excitement was tempered with a smidge of disillusion when I found out that we were joining Quixtar, owned by the parent company of Amway. I had gotten past most misgivings about Quixtar, but I felt like I had been buffaloed a bit. I had not only been told that we wouldn't be joining Amway, technically a truth, but that Quixtar was just a "shopping portal." In reality, Quixtar was 100% control of whether or not I would have my own business.

Even so, it was like Christmas when we got our first shipment of products. I couldn't wait to try everything. The costs of all the products, within the first few months, was shocking. I kidded myself into belieiving we weren't paying a lot of money -- a few hundred dollars a month -- for energy drinks, some cosmetics, home goods like napkins etc., energy/snack bars, and some other non-perishables. I bought into the company line that I was "buying from my own business" and that the "rebates" defrayed the costs of the products. Shipping, too, was quite pricey. We found within 3 or 4 months that we really had to scale back on orders because we were buying things we didn't really need because we committed to buying x-amount of dollars of "business volume" per month.

Next time: I attend my first TEAM monthly seminar.

To be continued...