PRLog

Feb 17, 2010 – (PressRelease) February 15, 2010 – Dean Blechman, 
Founder of TwinLabs, one of America’s greatest sources for nutrition and health has joined DNA as Its Chief Executive Officer, Chairman Of The Board & Founder of Data Network Affiliates. Data collection  is a  $14 Billion industry. Data Network Affiliates was created to let online and offline marketer join this billion dollar industry. 
DNA is directly involved in providing American business with meaningful, actionable information that will keep America able to compete in the world sales market, and save consumers money by reducing vehicle and property fraud.
Public safety will also benefit, by providing law enforcement with real time information on stolen cars, crime scenes and possible whrereabouts of missing children. 
Private individuals will benefit by being able to receive monthly cash payments for doing nothing more than noticing license plate information on cars they already see parked or travelling. There is no cost at all to become an affiliate of this program. 
As an independent affiliate with D.N.A. you are helping to build databases. You are not selling a product. Instead you get paid to help prevent crime, and help American business regain its world leadership. 
http://jbpublisher.DataNetworkAffiliates.com

Now this just screams SCAM ALERT! SCAM ALRET! DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER! to me but i could be wrong. Since the site hasn’t officially launch yet there isn’t much information out there but I did come across this video:

Troy pretty much covered everything I would say about DNA and this "opportunity". Don’t waste your time or risk your privacy (or mines!).

Next! 

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 even 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!
• Leave a comment with the business information and I will contact you with details.

The other night I was flipping channels and I happened upon the VH1 Behind The Music episode that profiled Lil Wayne, the Grammy award winning hip hop artist. I didn’t intend on watching the whole show but I glad I did. I have a couple of Wayne’s song on my ipod and I think he’s a talented artist. I thought I knew Wayne’s story. I figured it was the typical story of an inner city kid that wassurrounded by drugs and violence and eventually turned to music to make it out the ghetto. While that is certainly part of Wayne’s story there was so much more. As I watched the story unfold I could see that there were clear lessons for anyone chasing their destiny could learn from this 27 year multi-millionaire.

Road To The Top

Born as Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Dwayne Michael Turner and Jacinda Carter, who was then 19 years old, Lil Wayne was forced to bid goodbye to his father who abandoned him and his mother right after he was born. During that time, he and his mother were forced to survive by themselves in the criminal-infested community at Hollygrove division of New Orleans. -www.aceshowbiz.com

During the Behind The Music profile, Wayne described how his father was verbally and physically abusive to his mother before abandoning them.

From www.allmusicguide.com:

[H]e was a straight-A student but never felt his true intelligence was expressed through any kind of report card. He found music was the best way to express himself and after taking the name Gangsta D he began writing rhymes. Combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion, the 11-year-old convinced the Cash Money label to take him on, even if it was just of odd jobs around the office. A year later, in-house producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.’z. Although only B.G.’s name appeared on the cover, the 1995 album True Story has since been accepted as the B.G.’z debut album both by fans and the Cash Money label.

…rumors began flying about Cash Money’s financial troubles and possible demise. The rest of the Hot Boys had defected and Wayne’s planned 2003 album was scraped, coming out instead as an underground mixtape called Da Drought. Wayne became enamored with the mixtape world after Da Drought drew so much attention from the hip-hop press. He used these underground releases to drum up anticipation for his next official album, the breakthrough effort Tha Carter. Released in 2004, the album seemed familiar on one hand with Mannie Fresh’s production, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he laid on the tracks showed significant growth. His marketing skills had become sharper too…

the number one hit "Lollipop," Tha Carter III arrived in May of 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release. An appearance on Saturday Night Live and four Grammy Awards — including Best Rap Album – spoke to Wayne’s mainstream acceptance. He also performed at that year’s Country Music Awards with Kid Rock, but rather than rap, he played guitar. The guitar playing was part of Wayne’s new involvement with rock music

Born Into Failure

I decided to profile Wayne for Successful Failures because he was born into failure and refuse to accept it. How many people do you think are born into similar situations everyday and go on to let the drugs, violence, and despair that surround them keep them locked into perpetual poverty? A better question to ask yourself: how many people have been born into a vastly better life and they find themselves in dead end jobs and locked into perpetual just getting by?  Can you count yourself in that group? At the age of 12 Lil Wayne was actively and aggressively pursuing his passion.  At age_____, what are you doing to go after your passion?  At age 14, Wayne shot himself in the chest while he was home alone.  He drag himself into the living room and dial 911, he held on until help arrives and spent two weeks on life support. He worked his way back and by the time he was 17 he has a double platinum album. Are letting obstacles that you face stop your progress towards your goals or are you pushing them aside and continuing to reach for the gold?

5 Lessons That You Can Learn From Lil Wayne’s Story

1. You Can Come Back From Anything. Lil Wayne is proof that you can take a bullet point blank to the chest (strongly not recommended) and go on to win a Grammy. If you’re starting a business and you’ve made mistakes it’s not end of the world, or even the end of your business. Learn the lesson of that mistake, regroup and figure out what you need to do to get back on track, and get up and do it!
2. You Have to Work Harder Than Anyone Else. The scene of Behind The Music episode that caught my attention was when Wayne was detailing how he finished a 3 hour concert, watch a couple hours of Sports Center, and then when to work producing another song–at 3 AM in the morning! He’s a workaholic (in 2007 GQ Magazine gave him the title of  Workaholic of the Year). There’s always going to be someone out there with more talent than you or someone who is more knowledgable on a subject. But a strong work ethic evens the playing field and could even give you the edge.
3. Change the Game. Wayne incorporated the use of mix tapes into marketing hype for his upcoming albums. Others had certainly done the same thing to a degree but Wayne change the game by making it such an intergal part of the promotion process. Conventional business wisdom says you should stick the tried and true methods of doing business because they’ve been proven to work. I don’t disagree with that but keep in mind, we live in a crowded world. And collectively our attention span isn’t what it used to be. Sometimes you have to stick out from the crowd and sometimes that means changing the way the game is played.  
4. Do You. Now, Mr. Carter does have his faults. He has been arrested for drug and weapon charges and he has needed to go to rehab for substance abuse. Wayne freely admits to his faults and makes no apologies for who he is. He accepts himself, flaws and all, and continues to do the things that have made him successful. Are you letting your flaws hold you back? There are 3 things you can do with your shortcomings: You can work to improve them, you can hire somebody to cover those areas (i.e. not good with numbers? hire an accountant), or you can let them keep you from going after what you want in this life and stay miserable.  
5. Never Assume. This is the lesson I learned the most from watching Lil Wayne’s biography. Because I knew a few his songs and seen a few of his videos, I assumed I knew enough about Lil Wayne and I could probably guess at the rest. In truth I knew very little about him. Don’t assume anything, always take a look behind the surface. This goes for your business as well as  your personal relationships and friendships. 

How To Stay Motivated to Reach your Goals

How to Stay Motivated or Inspired to Reach any Goal

How to get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Jonathan Sprinkles-Getting and Staying Motivated Pt.1

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.

(My apologies for being late with this week’s edition, I was under the weather.)

 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 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! 

What do you like most about working with Avon? Least?

I like the fact that I am my own boss.  I can set my own hours and dedicate as much, or as little, time to the success of my business.  There really isn’t anything that I like least about Avon because I am impressed with every facet of the business.

What was your initial investment? How long did it take you to become profitable?

My initial investment was only 10 dollars.  I received a start-up kit which included campaign brochures for two campaigns, an Avon tote bag, some product samples, and basically everything that I needed to jump-start my business.  My Avon business started to become profitable when I started to dedicate time to advertising and getting the word out about it.   

I have used and loved Avon products for years.  I started selling just to have access to their products and to be able to purchase them at a discount.

You definitely have to have people skills to be successful at selling Avon.  It is important to provide personal service to your customers and to show them that you appreciate their business.    

I maintain my drive/motivation by attending monthly sales meetings at my District office and engaging in networking with my fellow Representatives as well as sharing ideas of best practices.

Don’t be discouraged by others or by your own lack of confidence.  You have to believe in your own ability to be successful.  Also, if you want to become an independent Avon Representative, contact me and I can point you in the right direction.

It is important to maintain contact with your customers to keep them up to date on current product offers and promotions.  Additionally, the goal of every single day is to share Avon with at least three other people.

I wouldn’t recommend that anyone leave their job unless their business is established and turning enough of a profit to address all of their financial needs.  This kind of financial freedom requires a lot of time, work, and dedication.

The thing that has surprised me the most about working for myself is that I am really good at it.  I think we can be our own worst critics sometimes and tend to stand in our own way of being successful.  The biggest challenge is managing having a career and dedicating enough time to running your business.  The way that I have overcome that challenge is by scheduling time to devote to my business daily.

I would have started sooner.

My children inspire me to be the very best that I could be at everything that I do in my life.  They also encourage me to be successful so that I may provide them with the best possible life. 

 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 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!