It's amazing how much can be made from so little!

Or, it could also be said "Much To Do About Nothing."

With a 'zzzzdddddip' I pull back the 'rip strip' on the back of the FedEx envelope, and 'Voila,' here is my IncomeAtHome.com 'Internet Business Starter Pack.' A glint of shiny paper, and a slight blue glow inside the envelope reveal a slick, glossy, sixteen(ish) paged 'booklet' with a DVD snapped into the back page. And, their step-by-step insert of what I have to do before my first real phone appointment with my 'mentors.'

On their step-by-step insert, it has a special note: "If anyone else will be involved in the decision making process, they must also have completed the internet business starter pack with PRIOR (emphasis theirs) to our phone appointment."

They continue with "Our business is EXPLODING (emphasis theirs) and we only book one appointment per person. If a true emergency arises and you cannot make this appointment, we require a 24 hour courtesy call so that we can give your appointment time to someone else."

After reading just the cover note/insert, I can't quite decide how to feel about it. The insert makes it sound exciting that 'I have made it through the first step of the qualifying process,' but at the same time, has a very dictatorial tone about all the things I MUST do in order to be prepared for my next meeting with my 'mentor/personal coach.' I can't help but bounce back to the prior uneasy feeling I got when I was talking on the phone with my 'mentor,' and she said that she essentially was not going to answer my questions about who they were, or what company they represent. But hey, I've got their 'Internet Business Starter Pack,' I'm sure the rest of the answers are in there ...

'We're in the Business of Changing Lives,' and "Now Is The Time to Turn Your Dreams Into Reality!" it says is headlines at the top and bottom of the cover.  ... The very un-PC political commentator/satirist-side of me says 'what? No minorities on the cover? Just a white family, white lady, and a mature white couple?' ... And, the claw-fisted graphic designer in me (I work proficiently using a 8 year old copy of Photoshop 7 thank you), asks "what high school senior did they get to layout the cover? I hope the inside isn't as crappy as the cover"' ...

For those of you pissed off at me for making a racial representation observation about the cover ... take a look through the entire booklet, 'nutin' but white folks all the way through. I figured that if there were left-wing radio hosts promoting this program, they would want to ensure there was proper racial representation. In fact, the only racial minorities you see between their website and their 'Internet Business Starter Pack' are the Black/African-American radio hosts promoting it. It's just an observation & I'm just sayin ...

OK, back to the 'Internet Business Starter Pack'

Unfortunately, the same person who did the cover artwork, laid out the rest of the booklet. Just because you put something on glossy paper, doesn't mean it's necessarily better.

Anyway, the first thing they go into is the Master/Slave argument.'Are you going to be a Master, or are you going to be a Slave?' Being someone who has fought to be self-employed for years, it is an argument I fully understand. But their pseudo heart-wrenching & heart-warming stories, wrapped with a slight hint of class warfare (you know ... 'stick it to the big corporation' ... wait, isn't whomever is behind this a huge corporation? ... but I digress), reads like a fairly crude copy & paste from the intro materials used by virtually all of the current multi level / network marketing 'home-business opportunities' past & present. They also try to build the case that a more traditional home business/self employment is simply way beyond what the reader could ever afford or could do themselves. The play hard to one's fears of financial security. And, they even take a quick swipe at Amway ... whose structure their parent company essentially duplicated.

But now it's time to get excited. IncomeAtHome.com has what it takes to be successful, and it's time to get your goals on paper. 'There is something magical about writing out your goals' they state. I won't argue that writing out your goals is a key step to success. How else can you reasonably track your progress? What's different here is that they have yet to reveal who they are, or exactly what you will be doing, yet now they want you to fantasize for a moment about what you would 'do with the extra money,' or 'what would you do if money were no object.' In the sales game, this is used as a tool to a) get the sales prospect's mind to take a certain level of ownership, but also to collect useful information when it comes time for a 'harder sales close.' ... "What about your dreams of traveling the world, " or "How are you going to fund your grand children's college education without this opportunity?"

Admittedly, I skipped writing down my goals in their booklet. I'm probably a not-very-good IncomeAtHome.com sales prospect....

So, we read on. Page six, page seven, page eight. ... The tell us about the benefits of 'cashing in on the Internet,' working from home, and an introduction to their 'unique online marketing system.' Page nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, page after page of fluf about being a small business, growth of the internet, mature/senior population, the health & wellness industry, potential income, and the final push of what your next steps are. Wait! I have now made it all the way through their Internet Business Starter Kit, and they still haven't told me who the parent company is, or even any specifics about the health & wellness products their business is supposedly wrapped around.

Wait, wait, waiit! The DVD! There has to be more information on the DVD. Surely they can't go through an entire booklet and DVD without revealing who they actually are ...

There's a little over Seventeen minutes of video in the DVD presentation. They have the requisite pretty-boy in a Ferrari who also does the 'hosting,' pictures of beautiful homes, interviews with folks who are successful withh the IncomeAtHome.com system, and some minor fluff about the still un-named health & wellness products thrown in for good measure.

Ten dollars, a rude 'mentor' call, seventeen minutes of video, and a bunch of glossy booklet pages later, and I am no closer to knowing much of anything about this 'business opportunity' than I did after hearing the radio advertisement the first time. But, IncomeAtHome.com is still 'dictating' steps to me as if I somehow fogot how to put on my own pants this morning. So, I send an email to my 'mentor,' ... or is it 'personal coach?' I'm not actually sure, as they interchange the two terms at will. Even on their own coversheet.

My Email:

I received my package from FedEx today & reviewed the booklet and watched the video. I am interested, but a little peeved that after reading through and watching everything, I am still not told who the company actually is, or what the product line is. Just that it's in health & wellness for baby boomers.

If you have time, I would prefer to speak sooner than later (tomorrow), so I can make an educated decision about this opportunity ... sooner than later.

So you know, my strengths are in web design and internet marketing, and that is why I replied to this program. My business partners and I have a few online properties going up this year, and any product or program I am promoting will benefit.

Please feel free to call me @ xxx-xxx-xxxx at your soonest convenience. I will be here working though the evening.

Thank you,

The Reply:

I am so sorry but I do not have any appointments available before tomorrow at 2 pm.

At that time all your questions will be answered so you can make an educated decision as to whether or not you would like to move forward with this opportunity.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but as I said our business is exploding and appointments fill up very quickly.

Looking forward to talking to you tomorrow.

 Now I am not just a little bit uneasy, but actually becoming a little ticked off. What kind of BS game are they playing? If they are so proud of who they are, and the product line they represent, then why haven't they just come out and said it? I get it, IncomeAtHome.com has a multimillion dollar marketing campaign wrapped around this, you are busy, and getting allot of calls, but basically a 'suck it up till I have time for you?' Not impressed.

IncomeAtHome.com = ???

Read More