What is ActionCoach?

Action Coaching is company that offers business and executive coaching to small business owners. In addition to this they also offer the opportunity for business ownership via a franchise ownership model. 

How Do You Make Money?

You purchase an exclusive territory from Action Coach and anyone that seeks coaching from that area will be referred to you. To increase the clients and your revenue, you can hire associate coaches that handle their own client load and you get a percentage of their business.

How much does it cost?

• Total Investment: $68,820-$360,600
• Franchise Fee: $35,000-$275,000
• Royalty Fee: $1,800/mo.
• Term of Agreement: 5 years

Source: Entrepreneur.com

What Kind Of Training and Support is Available?
Training

• Available at headquarters: 10 days
• At various locations: 10 days

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Internet
• Field operations/evaluations

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Source:Entrepreneur.com

What’s Being Said About ActionCoach?

Source: ActiveRain

I’m posting the only the 1st positive and the 1st negative comments from this thread but there is ALOT of information here. I strongly suggest you read the entire thread.

I am an Action Coach and the Action system works exceptionally well. I could have started a coaching firm from scratch, but I found that The Action Coach system had everything that I needed to help business owners take their businesses to the next level. So why reinvent the wheel? We are getting massive results for our clients; generally posting a positive ROI in the first 3-6 months. I would suggest that anyone who owns a business go to the find a coach section of our website at actioncoach.com and do just that. By the way, we practice what we preach-I have an Action Coach as well.

Total SCAM artists. Any of the stuff they tell you can be readily found on the internet for FREE. Don’t waste your time and money on these frauds.

Source: Ripoff Report

On one of the leading U.S. franchise sites, entrepreneur.com, ActionCoach presently claims it has 1089 franchisees worldwide, including 445 franchisees in the US, .however when you do a verification on the ActionCoach corporate website, http://www.actioncoach.com/coachfinder.php the worldwide total comes to only 834, with only 292 in the U.S. This means ActionCoach overstates its worldwide franchise numbers by 30% and its U.S. franchise numbers by 52% !!!!!
 

YouTube

Better Business Bureau

ActionCOACH  USA, Inc has a A+ rating with the BBB. According to Better Business Bureau’s Reliability Report Action Coach has not had a compliant filed against them in the last 36 months.

Sierra Judgment Recovery (SJR) is a company that offers the opportunity to start a home business in the lucurative judgment recovery business. SJR provides training on how enforce the collection of a court ordered debt. Basically, you would be trained to track down and collect outstanding judgments (debt) from people who have been ordered to do so by a court but have yet to do so.  In other words, you would be a one man/woman collection agency ( but hopefully less annoying).

How do you make money?

You do the legwork to find the person and collect the money that’s owed to the judgment holder and you keep a percentage of the money that’s collected.  You negotiate your cut in advance of doing any work.  According to SJR’s website it’s not usual to negotiate a 50% to 60% fee for yourself.  An example from their site shows that its possible to earn up to $2,500 per month part time and up to $8,000 per month if you make this a full time venture.

That sounds good but I don’t want to be a collection agency?

Well according to SJR you really don’t have to be:

We are not talking about standard collection methods here! A collection agency will send dozens of ineffective, annoying collection letters that may result in only a 15% collection ratio. After that, they tend to let the judgment fall by the wayside. A judgment creditor has the legal right to seize bank accounts, garnish wages, and place liens on or seize personal property and force a sale. All of these procedures are carried out through the court system. If you choose not to, you will never even have to contact the debtor. All you have to do is occasionally have them served with legal documents through the mail.

How much money do I need to invest?

The training course  cost $155 for the electronic version and $185(plus S+H) for the hard copy version.

Is this a franchise or Network Marketing (MLM) company?

No, this is an independent business opportunity. There are no royalty or fees that have to be paid to SJR after the initial payment for the training course.

What do I get for my money?

• The training course
• Unlimited Customer Support (telephone/online)
• Letters, Contracts, and Forms
• Access to members only website and forums

What Others Say About Sierra Judgments?

Scam.com has a great forum post on SJR I suggest you read the whole thread . Here are some highlights:

While doing research I came across courses such as Sierra pitching judgment recovery as a business opportunity. I am a serial entrepreneur so I decided I am going to give this business a shot. I ordered the Sierra course. To me, it is a fine course, overpriced possibly but fine. It will most likely be the easiest business I have ever started capital wise but it will take work to succeed. In reality, I believe there is enough free information out there so you do not need to order a course but in no way do I see Sierra as scam.

I looked into the program. the problem is people who owe these judgment go to great lengths to hide any assets they have so you can spend a lot to try and locate them and not find enough to satisfy the judgment. [edited for spelling]

My experience with the co. is limited. I purchased the course and am a member with access to their archives and (HELP)forum but did not . I studied but did not follow through. I absolutely do not believe they are a scam of any nature….The course is not REALLY all inclusive in the sense that there is alot of further study in the "legal field of sorts that you simply have to educate yourself on. Again,not impossible. As Christine states openly, you have to love research.You have to be well versed in your state codes, ethics, civil statutes and do your own law research on contracts and alot of other legally proper verbage or you could be sued by an attorney for not following protocol or practicing without a license

WAHM.com

I ordered the starter kit from them about 2-3 years ago and sent out about 20 letters after going to the court house and finding the outstanding judgments. That was a blast looking in those files. I got about 3 responses. I live in Texas and there is a problem that I had with it and so I quit doing it (read more)

Better Business Bureau

Sierra has an A+ rating with the BBB.Read the full report.  My research did not turn up any pending legal action against SJR.

My 2 Cents

• My Scammy Senses aren’t tingling with this one. I believe this to believe a legitimate business opportunity.
• I do believe that SJR is oversimplifying how difficult the process of finding someone who owns a debt and then getting money out of them can be.
• I initially thought this would be a great recession proof business because in a recession so many people are struggling financially that judgments would have to be up.  Then I thought, well if people are broke due to the recession how are you going to get money out of them?!? I don’t think you can garnish unemployment checks.  Can you?
• I would strongly advise checking the laws of the state you live in to see if you need to be a licensed debt collector.
• Someone comment that the skip tracing (hunting down) part of the process is very difficult. she suggested googling skip tracing to get more information. I don’t have the time to do that, one some like to do it and share with the rest of us?
• Based on my research I would recommend this business to someone who has a Investigative type personality. Not sure of your personality type? Click here and take my test and I can help you find the right business for you.

WHAT THEY SAY

The Pitch

As the premier direct seller of essential kitchen tools and part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses, The Pampered Chef® and its sales force of Independent Pampered Chef® Consultants have been helping families prepare quick, delicious meals since 1980.

What do they offer

Pampered Chefs offers a full line of kitchen and cooking related products. The business opportunity that they offer is for you to join their company’s sale force and to sell their products primarily through cooking shows which are in home demonstration parties. These shows are similar to ones that are employed by Shure Pets pet consultants.

Compensation and Rewards:

• A percentage of total sales generated at cooking shows. According Pampered Chef’s website you can earn between $850 and $1,800 per month
• Dream vacations
• Jewerly
• Free Products 

Training and Support

• 24-7 Web courses
• Tele-classes
• local and national sales meetings
• Professional catalogs and brochures
• Monthly magazines
• Weekly sales updates
• Toll free phone support

Cost

To get started with Pampered Chefs you will need to purchase a starter kit. Starter kits come in two varieties, a min kit for $65 and a full kit for $155. Based on the pictures of the kits on the website you get about three times as much stuff with the full ($570 value) than you do with the mini ($200 value). 

Franchise or Independent?

This is an independent business opportunity. When joining Pampered Chefs you become an Independent Consultant.  It’s the same as with Avon or Amway.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Program Critique

I invested 15 years in the Pampered Chef and now the sales organization I built belongs to my Director because I was unable to meet monthly sales quotas. All my years with Pampered Chef mean nothing on a resume because no corporation will look at that experience and take it seriously. I had to go back to school so I could find a job. Don’t let anyone tell you this is a great opportunity. If you are looking for reliable income, get a real job.

MLM Review Kings

You are paid a percentage of the Pampered Chef sales that are created at each party. You are also paid a percentage of what the people you are able to recruit into the business sell. The difference here is that the higher you move up in the company, the less money you make off the people you have placed under you. So really the best way to make the most money is to sell, sell, sell!

Network Marketing Review

Pampered Chef could be a great opportunity for those who love sales, talking, meeting new people and cooking. However, this type of direct sales opportunity may not suit someone looking to build a business beneath them and make residual income from their downline or from leveraging the internet.

My 3 Cents

My wife wanted to earn a little extra money, so she got talked into purchasing $300 worth of Pampered Chef product in order to become a consultant. She then got talked into signing up for their personal websites. She tried selling the product and using the website for a few months, but couldn’t make enough contacts, so she chauked it up as a loss and at least she got a lot of Pampered Chef products to walk away with. A few months later, they auto recharged her bank account for renewing the website (which she did not authorize and which she hadn’t used in months). She called them and they told her that they were authorized to recharge her bank account because that was their standard business practice. She told them that they had agreed when she first set it up that they wouldn’t do that and wanted it cancelled and refunded. They told her that she didn’t have it in writing and that they would cancel the website but only give her back a few dollars (nowhere close to what they charged her). We filed a unauthorized charge claim with her bank and have been now fighting this for nearly 3 months. Pampered Chef is a rip off and couldn’t treat people fairly if they tried!

YouTube

 Only the first half of this video is relevant to Pampered Chef. You can stop the video after the 3:56 mark. 

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

Pampered Chefs have an A+ rating with the BBB. The BBB has 51 complaints filed against them in the last 36 months. All complaints have been resolved according to the report. You can read the full report here. 

MY TWO CENTS

• This business did not get my Scammy Senses tingling. This appears to be a legitmate business opportunity
• I would’ve liked their website to be a little more informative. Particularly when it comes to the compensation plan I felt that site was light on details. A video explaining the comp plan would be great
• Not being a big shopper i can’t say this with certainity but the prices for some of their products looked high to me. I wonder if consultants can give price breaks at the cooking shows.
• Speaking of the cooking shows, I have this feeling that these types of businesses that rely on home parties do better in suburban and rural areas as opposed to inner cities. I could be wrong but I just don’t see this as being an urban thing.
• I’ll use myself as an example, I’ve lived in New York City all my life and I’ve never heard of Pampered Chef before doing this review.
• One of the sites I quoted stated that this is a great opportunity for those for love sales, meeting new people, and cooking. That sounds like a SOCIAL or an ENTERPRISING personality type. Click here to discover why personality types matter in selecting a business.
• I thought the lady in first video I featured made some real good points about the hidden costs of these types of businesses. And her point about only making 20% commission is worthy of great consideration.

• You get the opportunity to own a online retail store selling pet products but they do the heavy lifting.
• Open your online Pet Store with an inventory of over 1,000 pet products.
• You help others profit from the Internet if you recruit them as a PetShop.biz Independent Affiliate.
• You earn income from the sales of your recruits (your downline).  

1. Retail Sales
2. Residual Monthly Income
3. Referral Bonuses
4. Company Matching Bonuses ($5 per when your recruit, recruits someone)
5. Recycled Matrix Commissions

In order to be eligible to receive bonuses and commissions, I must develop and service customers. At least 70% of my “Personal Volume” must be sold to my customers. I will not purchase products solely to qualify for commissions or bonuses

• Custom Website (like theirs)
• Custom Ad Banners
• Training and Support Website
• Support Forums and Affiliate discussion groups
• Sales Tracking System
• Easy Duplicable System
• Toll Free Support
• No Accounting Fees
• No Annual Membership Fees
• Earn $1,000 per Filled Matrix
• Unlimited Matrixes
• Unique "Drop & Roll" Compression Plan

• My first impression of this site is that it is a legitimate business opportunity.
• My ‘Scammy-Senses’ are tingling slightly. I don’t like that there is very little independent information, good or bad, available about this company. And that fact the BBB doesn’t have them listed is concerning.
• I don’t have any pets so I can’t speak to quality of the products but they do appear to have a large selection to support the market.
• The biggest challenge with an opportunity like this is how to make your site stand out from the other people who offer the exact same products on their site.
• I’m not a fan of their website. I think they should showcase their products better. Perhaps a downloadable catalog like Shure Pets offers.
• The Personality Type that matches this opportunity is Enterprising. 
   

Need Help Finding That Perfect Business?

Do you have a business opportunity that you are interested in but not sure if it’s right for you or if it’s legitimate? Let me help you find out. Drop me a line with the name of the company and I’ll make it the focus of an upcoming review. What’s the benefit to you?

• You get a second opinion from someone who is dedicated finding true business opportunities.
• You get the benefit of my time and knowledge of researching businesses for free
• BONUS GIFT!! You get to fill out my Business Matching questionnaire and I’ll use it to determine if the business you are interested in is a good match for you.  That’s a $49.95 service available to you for FREE! 

This review was compiled by guest reviewer G.M. Shu. If you would like to be a guest review please leave a comment and I will contact you 

What They Say

Pitch

In a nutsell, Amway (parent company:Alticor) claims to give you the opportunity to make money by selling products and by sponsoring/mentoring/training others as Independent Business Owners. Like similar Multi Level Marketing (MLM) companies, you recieve a percentage of the revenue generated by any of the IBO’s you sponsor.

Products

Amway offers a various products that their IBO can sell. Product categories include Nutrition & Wellness, Beauty, Bath & Body, and Home. You may have heard of some of their brands: NUTRILITE®, ARTISTRY® Skin Care,  L.O.C.® Multi-Purpose Cleaner.

Cost

According to Amway’s registration contract  the cost for joining is $137.75. This fee covers "Business & Support, IBOAI Support, and Product Info Pack". Additionally, several sites have reported that Amway encourages new IBO’s to purchase several self improvement/ motivational books and CDs. The cost of these materials can push the inital investment much higher.

What Kind of Support Do They Offer

Amway offers several ways to support IBO’s:

• Your sponsor
• Training-online, video, and instructor-led trainingMarketing
• DVDs, online sites, magazines, brochures, and free websites
• ProductsCustomer support

What Others Say

Ripoff Report: 28 reports filed against Amway. All of the reports were negative, here’s the most recent one

….My start up cost was 140 dollars. That money, I was told was to pay for my start up kit and for my 4 websites. Only maybe 2 close friends actually signed on the business with the full 140, the rest did 60 to mainly get the websites. Oh and remember my friend I mentioned earlier, the cousin of my upline and sponsor? Well, he also signed on with me as my upline since he signed up first. None of my friends including me have made any actual money since we’ve been in the business. Sure I’ve received checks: 1 for 6 dollars, another for 38 dollars and the last for 50 dollars, but that money still doesn’t exceed even my start up cost. Plus it was basically forced so that I would go on to the next bracket, I didn’t do anything my upline just bought a bunch of random crap. To be honest my friends also haven’t really done anything either except my one friend Neill who was occasionally selling some products to his mom. And basically not really seeing any money from that anyway, he was probably getting 10-20 dollars for selling like 200+ dollars worth of Amway garbage.

WAHM.com: 

I was an IBO with Quixtarseveral years ago, some family members are still IBO’s… Good products, the comp plan is ok. Since I am in Calif.it is easier and cheaper to drive to the store for the bulk of the products they offer. I know it works well in areas that are not as populated, but a hard sell for many….

YouTube.com

Positive:

Negative: (note: This Dateline expose is from 2006) 

Part 2 

Just Plain Funny: 

 Better Business Bureau

Amway is listed under 3 names in the Better Business Bureau. Amway, Quixtar, and Alticor.  All have an A+ rating. Only Quixtar has any compliants, 28 to be exact,  listed against them

Final Say

Overall Grade:   No Grade

I was personally involved in the Amway “culture” and prefer to abstain from influencing your decision…Now that we got the disclosure out of the way.  It should be noted that the culture of the company “called for” a lifestyle/mental change to narrow for my taste. Meetings, talks, reading materials, friends all related to the Amway …well way.  This might appeal to some and not to others. 

What They Say

The world’s largest direct seller of beauty and beauty-related products. With $10.7 billion in annual revenues in 2008 (up 8% from 2007), Avon and its approcimately 42,000 associates no serve valued customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

The Pitch

Avon has been committed to being the company for women since 1886, the world’s largest direct seller of beauty and beauty-related products.

Is it a product or service?

A Product- world’s largest direct seller of beauty and beauty-related products.

Is this a Franchise or an independent business opportunity?

Representatives are independent contractors, not employees of Avon Products, Inc.Representatives can earn income in two ways: by selling Avon products as a traditional Representative, or by selling and also recruiting others to do the same.

“is a multitiered compensation program that gives top-selling Representatives, known as Leadership Representatives, an enhanced career path. The program allows Representatives to obtain earnings from commissions based on sales made by the Representatives that they have recruited and trained, as well as profits derived from their own sales of Avon’s products. The program limits the number of levels on which commissions can be earned to three and continues to focus on individual product sales and service to customers by Leadership Representatives.”

The Cost

It’s a pay as you go system. You “pre-sell” their products by using their catalogue, you place orders, receive them, sell them, pay for them and repeat.

Do they offer money back guarantee?

 100 percent money-back guarantee

What Kind of Support Do They Offer

• Web-enablement tools and online training
• Avon provides training for all Representatives around the world
• Training and access to local management
• Web-enablement tools and other cutting-edge online training opportunities
• Participate in a retirement savings plan

What Others Say

Better Business Bureau

Avon is a corporate partner with the Better Business Bureau. They have a rating of A+.  The BBB has 76 compliants filed against Avon. Most of the compliants have been resolved.  Read the full report here. 

Final Say: Overall Grade A+

The products pretty much sell themselves. The only downside is that there may be other “reps” working the same customer base as you. And then it becomes, who they like better.

This review was done by guest blogger Jaime Berguido. Jaime is an assistant investigator here at the Home Business Private Eye. If  have a company or service that you would like to review and post here please email me. 

WHAT THEY SAY

The Pitch

YTB offers people the perfect opportunity to transform their lives by combining the powerful information – handling capability of the Internet with the world’s most dynamic product—travel—and the personal touch of independent, home -based business people.

How Do They Do It  

The Company operates through three subsidiaries: YTB Marketing, Inc. (formerly YourTravelBiz.com, Inc.); YTB Travel Network, Inc.; and YTB Franchise Services, Inc. YTB Marketing, Inc. markets Internet Travel Centers ("ITC" or "ITCs") formerly referred to as internet travel websites, on behalf of YTB Travel Network by use of Independent Marketing Representatives ("Reps"). YTB Travel Network operates home based travel websites which book online travel transactions, collect payments, collect licensing fees, and pay travel sales commissions. YTB Franchise Services was formed in March 2009, to serve as the corporate entity to offer the proposed/ contemplated franchise offerings in the future for the Company.

 Here’s YTB’s marketing video that illustrates what they offer (It’s close to 10 minutes long–you were warned):

 How Does it Cost

YTB Marketing generally charges an initial fee of $449.95 for the setup of an ITC plus $49.95 per month for web-hosting fees.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT YTB TRAVEL

Ripoff Report:

Then you have to shell out an additional $175 for their training session to become an RTA(Representing Travel Agent) and that doesnt include a $50 a month website maintenance fee. You do the math how much do you think that comes out to? 675(initial $500 set up and $175 training fee cost) + $600(total cost)to maintain website for one full year paid in $50 installments)comes to about $1275-that’s a lot of money to invest into a business especially if you don’t have that kind of money. 

If someone were to invest a total of $1275 over the course of 1 year in a business that can create a positive retrun on investment, I would challenge them to seek out other business opportunties, or even franchises that can claim the same low cost start up and maintenance. Franchises often require one to have a minimum of $25,000 working capital up front and can cost up to $1 million dollars for franchise liscense fees,plus monthly loyalty fees. (Examples – UPS, McDonalds, Jani King, Matco Tools, Jazzercise) – there are many more. I know this because I did the research. There is never a guarantee of success in any venture. Not even buying a name for $25 to $100K or more. 

Know this…The bonuses are real. The profit sharing is real. the free 100% health care coverage is real. the 100.000.00 life insurance plan is real, the 1000.00, 10,000.00, 50,000.00, 100,000.00, 500,000.00, and 1,000,000.00 bonuses are REAL. Hey how cool is it to make enough extra money that you can give a third of your money up for taxes and the 2/3 left is more than enough to live on, what a blessing  

YTB has been identified by Royal Caribbean and others in the travel business as nothing more that a MLM card mill. Pretty soon they won’t have anything to ’sell’ other than the pyramid opportunity. Watch this group like a hawk before spending money. 

All of these business’ are sharing the same business model, it cost me way less to be a YTB rep than it did with my pizza business’ and the income potential is a hundred times better. Do I have to work, answer is of course. I tell people about the business, if the model makes sense to them, good if not, also good. What’s the beef? There were lot’s of pizza business’ in my areal some did great others closed their doors. Does this mean the pizza business is a rip off?

 Scam.com

Look I don’t want to get bogged down into trying to determine exact numbers….. As has been posted its a pointless effort. I think you can just step back and say for at least the last few years:

Recruiting comisisons are higher than travel comissions.
Membership fees are higher than travel comissions.
Most RTAs don’t sell enough travel to cover the monthly fees.
Many people become an RTA but never sell travel.

     Chris n

 

Marketing commissions: 16,136,795

Travel comissions: 1,608,688

Total Comissions: 17,745,483

Travel Comissions: 1,608,688/17,745,483 = .0906 rounded to 9%. For the quarter, 91% of the comissions paid out were recruiting comissions. only 9% of the comisisons came from selling travel. There are a lot of people on here that are lying – go look for yourselves – the numbers are straight from YTB.  

      Chris n

What They Say 

This section gives you an overview of the business or service.  I try to highlight the major selling points. The information in this section comes directly from the company profiled. I am not affiliated with the company and receive no financial benefit if you choose to do business with the company.

 Pitch

Entrepreneurs across North America are raking in big money selling temporary airbrush tattoos (tats). We at TAT International (TI) have put together complete, turnkey Power Systems to put you into the tat business at minimal cost. You can be up and running in one day.  And, we guarantee that any Power System will prove its worth in 30 days, or you can return it for a full refund minus a small return fee. 

What Do They Offer

  Now the question you’re probably asking yourself right now is…"Is Shure Pets the right business opportunity for me? Well, Click Here to read my review of the company and discover if it’s right for you.

 American Billing Systems offers entrepreneurs a turnkey system that will help them “start your own medical billing and cash flow services business”.

Is it the right opportunity to help you realize your goal of working from home? Click here and find out for yourself.