If you look at the reviews of Ultimate Voice Recorder and Sanity, almost every bad review is complaining about not being able to record, which is because a lot of people downloaded it and found out they had and unsupported phone. If the developers of those apps were smarter, they would have put a note up like “Record My Call” does that tells people which phones won’t work. ( see http://nathanielkh.wordpress.com/android-app/record-my-call/record-my-call-phone-compatibility-list/ )

Examples for Android are
Ultimate Voice Recorder
Sanity

If the Call Mynah let me continue to dial with my iPhone Contacts I would buy in immediately.

I have way too much invested in my contacts and notes to try to manage another set of contacts. I have over 8,000 contacts and use Contacts as my CRM application. I wouldn’t mind moving to a different contact manager as long as it could synch with an app on the iPhone and desktop. Apple Address Book is not a real business application.

I carry two cell phones to solve the call recording problem. I have moved CallRec from Palm to Palm for years to be able to record conference calls at the data storage and computer security companies that I work with.

I actually have one I’ve been testing. I will have a review post up shortly but the long and short of it is: Not impressed.

http://www.dynametric.com/CRA-125V_BlackBerry_recording_adapter.aspx

There is no DC to AC or AC to DC conversion going in either of the circuits. In fact the idea behind this is to isolate the low voltage circuit (which operates on low voltage DC) from the high voltage light (or whatever you have on the 120v side).

The first circuit is simply a switch that you can use to turn on an off a high voltage circuit.

In the first circuit ( low voltage switch circuit), Is it an AC to AC converter or AC to DC convertor??

Sweet, would love to hear how it turns out.

Thanks

I haven’t watched this week’s episode; it’s waiting on the DVR. So, I can’t comment or make a comparison. I re-read my post though and you’ll note that it was not the concept of “Smash Lab” that I had a problem with. It was their testing methodology. As soon as I watch the MB episode I’ll let you know what I thought… maybe I’ll make a post comparing the two.

Sorry about the food. Glad this post will help you.

I’d just like to recommend to all those who come across this page that they send Apple a request for the call recording feature at the iPhone Feedback page, here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Cheers

Morten

Sweet, glad it’s going to be of help to you. If you can share your results hit me up with pics, etc. – adam@adambyers.com

Thanks for the tip – at the time the server was running VMWare ESX so I don’t think that SMBus or anything like it would have worked. It’s still a good tip for those running an OS naively.

Really instead of chopping the wires you should use the SMBus to control the fan speed according to temperatures. Software like SpeedFan can talk to alot of system management chips. The opteron systems are likely to use ADM102x management chip which SpeedFan supports. There is also a SpeedFan service out there so you dont need to keep a user logged on.

Hope this helps.

8buttons

It seems your hate for Apple prevents you from forming proper and coherent sentences.

PhoneTap has all the same issues as all the other iPhone apps that record phone calls… See my other two iPhone Call Recorder posts for the reason why these apps suck:

http://awaitinginspiration.com/2009/08/iphone-call-recorder/

http://awaitinginspiration.com/2009/11/iphone-call-recorder-v2/

I’m not sure why Apple or Google don’t allow access to the mic or earpiece in their respective API’s. It could be that they feel it would expose some liability because call recording laws vary from state to state. Or it could just be that they don’t feel anyone needs access to those functions – they can’t themselves see a reason to include access in their API’s, so it’s just not there. Or, it could be that they are worried that if apps have access an app could have a negative effect on calls… and people are apt to blame the phone and not the app.

Video is a good idea… maybe if I get some time I’ll post one.

What are your thoughts on PhoneTap?

Aloha,

STeven

Also, I think that your review would come off better if you did a little video of it working!

Feel free to notify me of any other apps/product that you find that will record conversations via the iphone.
Aloha,

STeven

BTW http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632612.aspx has the details on each parameter of that string, if you are curious.

http://awaitinginspiration.com/2011/07/iphone-call-recorder-call-mynah/

Should just be a matter of snipping the wires coming from the fan, splicing a Molex connector onto the fan leads (with the appropriate connections being made to the 5v supply) and plugging it in to an available Molex plug. Or, you could splice it directly to a 5v lead from the PS.

I will say that I find it disturbing your going to do this on a clients system. Read the post again and you’ll find that the original modification was for a server I have at home. I’d never do something like this (or lower the fan speed) in a production environment.

Thanks guys,

Chris

I’m closing comments on this post because reading, and responding to comments from people who have drank the Kool-Aid is a futile effort that is a waste of my time. Not a single person who has defended TEAM INA or Amway has offered anything to the conversation but anecdote and insults. Not one of them has provided anything beyond anecdotal evidence to support their assertion that the average participant in TEAM INA and/or Amway make money.

Your always welcome to get in contact with me via the methods listed in on the Contact page. Hopefully, the additional effort required will weed out idiots.

Adam

Apparently the subtleties of sarcasm escape you.

Oh yeah, well I’m sending this on my iPad 2, while riding a fucking unicorn. You don’t have a unicorn? SAD.

desktopwidth:i:2040
desktopheight:i:735
winposstr:s:0,1,1025,0,2040,735

The problem here is when the rdp session starts, it starts at the position 1025,0 with the size 2040×735, but always has the scroll bar on both side, meaning I have to drag the bottom right corner of the rdp window to expand it to the actual 2040×735.

Does anyone know a solution to it?

It depends. The Default RDP session is save in your Documents Library. You will need to show hidden files and folders (Organize –> Folder and search options –> View –> Show hidden files, folders, and drives) to see the Default.rdp file.

Otherwise the rdp files is wherever you saved it to…

? what’s the name of the file? I searched all of C: for rdp.* and couldn’t find it.

I propose a use for my old iPhone 3G.

Use that phone as a Call Mynah device

Jailbreak it I dont care I just need a recorder that has no recording active indication features

I’ll pay.

I totally sympathize with the need for “on the fly” recording as you so aptly put it. Like when you’re in the middle of a conversation and you’re like, oh crap, I should be recording all of this. A solution that would allow you to do that without having to interrupt the call would be ideal.

Just thought I’d throw that out there. Ultimately, I’ll take whatever I can get though.

Stay tuned. I’m working with a company that is making a great solution for recording phone calls on any cell phone.

Sorry to use your comment section as a place to lament, but I am so bummed that its so hard to record calls on my iphone. I knew this was a feature I needed, and naively assumed there would be an application. Now I wish I wasn’t locked into this iphone service contract for another year and a half.

Unfortunately, I have no background in electronics whatsoever, nor the time to learn, and wouldn’t dare to attempt this project.

Gawd, what’s my best bet now? Those iphone apps that charge per minute seem annoying and that voice that warns the other party doesn’t work for me. (In my defense, I’m not recording calls to sabotage someone, but just to make sure I don’t miss any important complicated detail in a call, and then I erase the file, and I’m aware the laws vary by state).

I can’t believe there’s nothing out there. Well, if you’ve got any other recommended solutions I’m all ears. (And, well, if you’d reconsider selling one of those things you’ve got my email. A hundred is totally reasonable).

Good work figuring all that out. Seems complicated.

I have not built this yet. Keep in mind a couple of things – I’m not a structural engineer so my design might not be the best in terms of stability. It’s simply a concept.

Also, utility poles are strong but not necessarily good for weight bearing. It’s not their intended purpose to hold a small structure, just wires.

Unless you are aware of how the pole was sunk in the ground I’d be very cautious about relying on it for support.

Again, the drawings are simply a concept. When I get around to building this I will very likely add support and not rely on the utility pole itself at all.

Common sense goes a long way. If you don’t know ask someone who does (i.e. a structural engineer).

Just a standard metal bit. Only used one. The metal is pretty soft, it’s a cheap weight.

thanks!

Doug

Thanks for taking the time to let me know you found it useful.

I went to Taiwan in 2005 as a missionary. A woman that was suppose to be the leader of a congregation in her church, was so wrapped up in Amway that she had no interest in her church responsibilities. Fortunately, she was involved in another church & not the one I was a missionary in.

Shortly after I got married years ago, I got a call from a priesthood member from the congregation I grew up in. He mentioned that he wanted to come visit me, but wouldn’t say why. I thought that was cool since I very rarely had priesthood come visit me at home & I was looking forward to the fellowship. Sure enough, the man was trying to get me into Amway. Grrrrrr. I was pretty ticked off. Very unethical to use his position for personal gain at the expense of someone looking for church fellowship. Fortunately, my church beliefs/convictions keep me firmly planted above & beyond that congregation. Avoid these scams like the plague.

Glad you find it useful.

OK now this is where things got weird and uncomfortable. He calls me today notably irritated that I missed the time window to view the link. (why there was a time window I don’t know and it was never explained.) As a matter of fact, nothing has been explained other than the fact that he wants to introduce me to a web based business that he owns. At any rate, once he sensed my alarm at what almost seemed to be a rebuke from him, he quickly invited me to a general meeting which I quickly dismissed due to other commitments. It was then that he and I agreed to meet at a Starbucks on my lunch break tomorrow. Not five minutes later did he call me back and try to reschedule me for that evening after work stating time conflicts. I reluctantly agreed knowing and stating that my time will be extremely limited at that point.

After having concluded that conversation I left on my lunch break but feeling left with a bad taste in my mouth. Everything was starting to sound more and more like a pyramid scheme (oops I’m sorry multilevel marketing scheme.) What irritated me the most was that he was not forthcoming with ANYTHING!

I would have anyone on this thread who defends these practices understand something. I am no stranger to these so called recruiters. In the industry I work in, I have had all kinds of these people approach me, from AMWAY to Primerica to CutCo to Neuvo Riche! However this is the first time I have been approached in such a creepy and clandestine manner! I am glad I stumbled across this thread because I thought I was savvy and knew the tricks. @ Chris , there may well be opportunity in this company and those like it, otherwise why would there be so many “recruiters” lurking about in banks and retail stores? The problem Adam is trying to make isn’t just about questioning the potential success and profitability of members, he is also calling this INA company and those like it on the transparency (or lack thereof) of their practices! @ Adam, I agree and like what you had to say (save for the wanton atheist references/quips yes you are absolutely entitled to your own beliefs, I just don’t think your examples fit the context just my opinion .) I think you presented your evaluation of this company and those like it with intelligence and backed it up with sources of your own unlike those tea party morons (there a wanton reference of my own! lol) I thank you for posting this thread and saving me from wasting my time on this business that I know for a fact that I am not interested in! I am sending Mr. Rich and E-mail right now to let him know I “respectfully decline” his offer of partnership.

By the way, I didn’t even know he was part of Team INA! I had to extrapolate it from his e-mail address!
Thanks again!

For the very last time – My e-mail is adam [at] awaitinginspiration.com send whatever documentation you have to that address. I’ll look it over at my leisure and if it is compelling I will re-formulate my opinion on TEAM INA.

If you (or any other TEAM INA scammer IBO) cannot deal with me the way every other company I deal with does then I’m sorry. I’m busy, and I really don’t have time to deal with anyone that requires me to sit in front of them while they blather.

I get calls every day from companies that want me to listen to their pitch. I tell them the same thing, e-mail me your information, I’ll look at it when I can and if I’m interested I’ll let you know. I’m busy and don’t have time to listen to sales pitches all day. I’ve never run into a company that doesn’t understand and respect that. I don’t think I’ve ever had a company refuse to do business with me this way.

Otherwise, go blather somewhere else.

I don’t condemn Jeff’s methods, because I’m not 100% sure of his intentions. If he was legitimately interested in a surge protector, then great. If he wasn’t then I don’t believe that is the right way to go about it. I don’t know what he saw in you at the time to begin the discussion about business. I can’t condemn the intentions or actions of someone else without that information.

We aren’t trained in any specific way to approach people in Team INA. There is no step by step process to meet someone and give them a cd. There is a process to the follow up and showing the business plan in order to disclose all the correct information and provide as much information as possible to help the prospective IBO to make an educated decision.

Ah, see how you ignored my point that what Jeff did was not honest and transparent? The fact that everyone defending TEAM INA has failed to denounce Jeff’s method is all the more reason I believe that this is how TEAM INA scammers IBOs (as you call them) are trained.

This is becoming tiresome. Unless you can offer something other than your testimony I’m going to end this discussion. Otherwise well just be going around in circles forever.

We do business person-to-person. If you want to know what Team INA is all about find a representative and ask if they will take the time to sit down and review their business plan with you. It is as easy as that. If you aren’t willing to do that then, I can’t think of any other way of making that work for you. We are like many companies in the sense that we don’t just share our business plan to share it. Nor do we just post it online. I don’t know of any Fortune 500 company that does. We are willing to share it with those that truly want to know, but they need to make the time to get infront of someone.

As I clearly stated in the post and reiterated several times: my issue with Jeff is, why didn’t he just say “Hello, I’m with TEAM INA and I’d like to discuss an business/investment opportunity with you. Are you interested?” instead of putting on a whole big show about his need for a surge protector. He was not honest or transparent. In fact he was dishonest and opaque.

Why does the TEAM INA website (ina.net) have absolutely zero information on who/what they are, what they do, etc., etc. It’s just a login page. That is certainly not transparent.

Why, after asking so many times has no one shown me the business plan that you insist exists. Please, send it to me (see the contact page for my e-mail address) I’d love to look it over and if justified I will change my stance on TEAM INA.

You can talk till your blue in the face but until I someone gives me more than their anecdotal testimony then I have to base my opinion on the evidence at hand.

The Business Plan that we then provide is all of the structure and proof of profitability that you are asking for. It outlines where the money comes from, what is required to be met to reach certain income amounts and how to calculate your profitability on an individual level. We also talk about goal setting and strategy to highten the profitability as quickly as possible to make back your initial investment and create real hard numbers in profit. The exact numbers and figures that the FTC approves us to use are given. All the disclosures and legal safeguards are also provided so you can feel comfortable to make your own decision as to your potential within the business model. After all of your questions are answered and IF THE IBO IS INTERESTED ON HAVING YOU WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION, they make ask you to be a part of the team at that point.

It also doesn’t make sense for you to project your idea in anyway that I or any IBO is after your investment money to get signed up. We don’t touch a dime, nor to we get paid for your presence or acceptance of our business plan. I have only been upfront and direct with you throughout our discussion. I don’t take offense to your questions or attitude in anyway because I can genuinely understand how you feel the way you do. I just ask that before you smear an idea about an organization you get the facts. You decided to make an assumption without talking to anyone credible with information about the business practices and structure.

This just reminded me of the quote: “Don’t shoot the messenger.” You shot the messenger before you could have even decided if the message was good or bad and came to your own conclusion based on the other opinions of people that also shot before hearing the message.

I defend Team INA/Amway Global because out of the two of us, I alone have seen the full business plan. I alone have seen their business structure, bonus schedule and product line. I alone have done the appropriate research to determine it’s legality as a business based on court rulings not personal opinion (or in your words semantics). Your case about this whole situation is more than anything a frustration that Jeff wasn’t quicker to pull out a diagram and numbers and figures for you to make a decision on the spot. Or that he didn’t tell you I’m with Amway Global where in you could say… no thanks I don’t want to sell soap.

It is hard for us to do what you ask because we are bound by law to give proper disclosure and true to life facts with bonus figures and growth estimates that have been approved through the proper legal channels so that we don’t promise people what they can make. That is why my income statement or anyone else’s in this business is not valid for us to share as proof of profitability. It is against the law for me to say that as anything more than “In my personal experience…I have made this.” But once again you are asking for proof from, in your own words, a stranger who you have no confidence in. You would think that you would respect an organization that takes the time to provide all the information first before asking for any finacial or time commitment.

Bottom line is that you are a passerby of a company that you know nothing about telling others that it is a horrible, illegal, unethical business because they asked you to listen to a 15 minute cd. When in fact you just didn’t have the balls to commit to a get-together with Jeff where he was willing to give you all the information you are asking about. I don’t know if you are scared that you were going to be brainwashed, or that we are going to trick you into signing on the dotted line, or that you just aren’t confident that you can say “NO”, that is for you to figure out.

I have never had an individual or couple (since I mainly do this as a couple so that spouses don’t feel the same way you do once their other half comes home) walk away from either a one-on-one discussion or larger group meeting pissed that I did the process the way we do. In fact, after giving them even more information that they can review and research we normally set up another meeting to answer any questions that have arisen from their research. Then I follow that up with another meeting where they meet some of the other members that will be supporting and working with them.

We give people all the time they need because we aren’t just looking for anyone to be apart of our organization. Imagine…a company that walks you through about 4 different appointments that on average for me spread over a 2 week period for most prospective IBO’s before they and you decide if it is a viable business plan for their organizaion and your family. That is why people don’t walk away from our Information Sessions talking negatively about our business model. It is because, if they truly did their homework, they understand the validity of our business model and the potential that it has even more today than ever before.

Don’t be fooled that if you say enough times that we are an illegal scheme or that we just want to take your money that it is true. Ask yourself if you truly have heard our business plan and how our business makes it’s profit. How much doesn’t each IBO get as far as a bonus at the different tiers? Today more than ever people need to learn how to make money on their own whether it is a minimal amount each month, or a larger amount of side income. Not everyone has the free time to take on a second job. Not many opportunities come along that most people can afford with all the training included in the process and them truly being able to schedule it how they want around their own life issues.

Don’t be the one that deters someone from asking questions because you wrongfully claimed a business to be illegal or unethical. Get the facts.

I’m not saying that you have to prove that I will make money from the investment. Obviously, even the most sound investments carry some risk. What I am saying is that you have to show evidence that the investment is sound; that it can be successful or at least has the potential to be.

You are offering your testament (“I have made money from doing this”) as evidence that it can be successful, that it’s a sound investment , and that given at least the amount of work you’ve put into it that it has the potential to be successful.

What I am saying is that you testimony, your word, is not enough for me and that (if I were even the slightest interested) I would require more than then your word (the word of a stranger) before I’d hand over my money to you.

The fact that you (nor any one else defending TEAM INA/Amway) have not condemned the methods your pal Jeff used to try to pull me into the TEAM INA scheme makes me believe that you don’t disagree with them… that makes me believe that you are not the type of people (i.e. honest) that I’d want to to business with anyway. I mean is it really too much for me to ask for honestly and transparency?

My advice is you stick with a job behind the scenes that doesn’t require any innovation or requirement to measure your own ability after a business plan is presented. In most investment opportunities by the way…they don’t prove it is successful before someone invests…they provide a business plan to show how the money will be made.

I apologize if you thought that I actually wanted to meet with you or anyone else to discuss my involvement with TEAM INA. I don’t.

In my previous comment I was referring to a very hypothetical situation in which we meet and you pitched TEAM INA to me.

But your right, if we did meet it would be a waste of time for both you and me. I imagine the conversation would go something like this:

You: gimme your money.

Me: Why?

You: It’s for an investment.

Me: What kind of investment?

You: Listen, do you want Fun Freedom and Riches beyond your wildest dreams?

Me: Sure.

You: Ok then, gimme your money.

Me: How will I make money on this investment?

You: You buy stuff and they send you a check based on what you bought.

Me: That seems backwards. Have you made money from this?

You: Oh, yes! I’ve made gobs and gobs money.

Me: Can I see some financial statements to that affect?

You: what do you mean?

Me: Can you prove to me that you have made money from this investment your trying to get me into?

You: Oh, right. Well, those are details and details muddle things up. Just gimme your money.

Me: So, you won’t give me any proof that this investment has the potential to be profitable?

You: That’s a personal question.. you asking about my finances.

Me: Well, your asking me for money. That’s personal.

You: Just gimme your money already.

Me: Give me some evidence that this is a sound investment.

You: Evidence muddles things up, just take my word for it. Gimme your money.

Me: I think I’ll pass.

You: Your missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime!

Me: Be that as it may… I’m not going to “invest” in something without evidence that its’ a sound investment.

You: Gimme your money.

Me: Goodbye.

You: Gimme your money.

Me: Tell you what, when your earn your first million from your little scheme you can call me and tell me “I told you so.”

I’m sure you will find someone in the area that would be more willing to work with you if you are truly looking for an additional opportunity for some income. I don’t just looking for anybody to show this business to, just those that are really open to looking at something outside the box.

I’m in the Vancouver WA area and if your information is still current, Oregon has quite a few representatives around. Good luck on your search.

You are making a claim, I am simply asking that you provide evidence to back that claim up. That is not unfair of me.

Obviously, I’m not expecting that you would dish out your financial statements in a public forum. However, if we meet privately for you to pitch your idea, plan, investment, or whatever to me you’d bet your ass that I’d expect you to show me facts and figures to back up your claim that investing in, working for, or whatever, TEAM INA can be profitable.

In any case, nothing you’ve said has explained or excused the sleazy way Jeff tried to pull me into his scheme. Is what he did a standard TEAM INA practice?

The reason that you don’t have a right to know how much I make is because you will not be a partner but an independent business owner. This is similar to a Real Estate Agent or any other independently contracted job. The efforts and output of this type of retail business is based solely on ones individual effort, therefore knowing what I make will in no way relate to what you will make. Knowing the bonus schedule and how to make the money will allow you to determine on your own what is realistic for you. I was under no assumption when I was a Realtor that I would be making what the top Realtor of my Brokerage made because there are more factors that just paying for my Realtor’s license to show the income.

My point is tha I’m not offering a partnership or an investment opportunity in my company. I’m offering a product line through Amway Global and their connections that are willing to share in their profits if you take ownership of creating some customer loyalty to their brands. Similar to purchasing a franchise where they don’t guarentee any earnings just for buying their franchise but they provide the tools that they have shown a higher rate of success.

You really want to know what products…I believe that currently there are 425 products ranging from laundry detergent and bar soap to air purifiers. Vitamins, light bulbs and anything else that you use in your home every day are also available. Anything that is manufactured by Amway Global can be sold for retail profit. We also make income by Purchasing products online from companies like Best Buy, Sears, Office Depot, Barnes and Noble, Omaha Steaks, Shop.com, and about 12oo other companies all that pay us a percentage of the purchases that we make through them online at the same price that you would pay through their website.

It is in creating loyalty to our online costco where they sell brand name items and their own brand as well. They make the best profit off their own things. Team INA is strictly a marketing company that promotes the Amway Global Business model in a way. They are one of about 37 different organizations within the Amway Global umbrella that have their own way of marketing the business plan.

In the most simple of terms Team INA promotes a way to redirect your buying habits out of the local store to purchase directly from the manufacturer through the Amway Global Portal and have them delivered directly to you. I get my Cheerios delivered to my home and get a check at the end of the month, and if I have a minimal amount of customer volume that in my case is approximately $150 in customer purchases of the name brand products per month. When I do that the FTC says that I deserve to get a percentage of the total gross business profit based on my percentage of the volume.

Really we are product based because we offer so many, just if you can buy it from yourself and get a few others to buy the things they are already buying from you instead, you can make some money in the process.

Your talking in circles… the success rate of business, or the inability of people over 65 to pay their bills is irrelevant to the point of this post. I will give you credit, you did answer how much you had to initially invest to get started… though you didn’t explain what that fee was for.

Of course if someone is asking me to invest money into a business I have the right to ask questions and seek evidence that the investment is a sound one. Any real business seeking investors (or partners) should expect to have to prove either that the company can be profitable, or that it already is.

So yes, if you (and others) insist on shoving it in my face that your involvement with TEAM INA/Amway has been profitable, I think that it’s perfectly reasonable for me to ask that you prove it.

Walk into a bank. Tell them you’d like a business loan. When they ask to see your business plan have them listen to the TEAM INA CD I was given. When they ask to see the product, or service you plan to sell, talk in circles and avoid the questions. Let me know how well that goes for you.

Regarding the links you provided in your previous comment: the BBB giving Amway a good rating is hardly evidence that TEAM INA is legit. First of all the rating is for Amway, not TEAM INA. Second, despite being “BBB accredited” since 1979 their complaint history only goes back 36 months. Third, the BBB has received criticism regrading its relationship with business (did you know you can buy pay dues to get accreted?). (see: http://tinyurl.com/28flyuu and http://tinyurl.com/28hvqlt)

What I take away from the FTC statement is this: It’s semantics, the FTC called Amway a multilevel marketing program, which are legal. Multilevel marketing, pyramid scheme, to me it’s all the same. Fact of the matter is the vast majority of people who involve themselves in multilevel marketing programs do not make money. Most are designed for one purpose, to make the people at the top lots of money at the expense of those at the bottom.

I can understand your frustration when it comes to not knowing what Team INA does. Team INA is an organization within Amway Global of IBO’s that strictly follow a business model that promotes smart shopping while maintaining moderate retail customers. This design differs a bit from the Amway Global model and adds more structure to the building of the business for long term profit. Mainly we put the consumer in the game of sharing in the profit of their own and their customer’s purchases based on their participation in the retail process.

Amway Global has contracts with over a 1000 manufacturers, many of which you probably buy products from daily already. By side-stepping some of the middle men and having the products directly to the customer we create a pool of profit that we can share between us. A common misconception is that the person on top earns more that the person below. This is untrue as you would learn if you went a little farther with Jeff or even another INA IBO if you would feel more confortable.

I can’t really tell from what I read if you own your own business or if you work for someone else, but I am in the Banking industry for my full time job. Just like I tell my Personal Bankers that it is their job to profile the customer through asking the appropriate questions to find out what the customer’s needs are before they ever make a recommendation on a product or financial plan since it would be a waste of time if the customer truly doesn’t have a need for what you are offering.

Team INA uses cd’s or links to do the same thing. We are truly looking for self-motivated people that are open to looking at something different. Obviously this isn’t for everyone and it takes a specific desire to overcome some of the obsticles that we work through. These tools help trigger interest in certain people that have some of the needs we that we can help with. The Team INA prospecting method using the CD’s and the links online truly allows us the leverage to do this parttime without taking away from our normal 9-5 that pays our bills in the beginning.

Basically, Team INA does the Amway Global business the way they do for specific business purposes. We don’t appologize for this because from all the experiences that were referenced above, all the interactions with IBO’s were cordial and positive. The assumptions of a scam, which are legally proven to be incorrect and documented through my links above, included all the negativity. We are a very positive organization that gives those that want to learn about this opportunity in a safe environment without presure or manipulation the ability to do so and those that don’t, we give them their space.

If I were to give a Seminar I would create my agenda as the speaker in my own format to best relate to the class and get as much information accross to them in an orderly fashion. During my lecture I would then be able to read the groups needs based on their questions and interactions so that they walk away with the most comprehensive understanding.

Those who truly want to know about Team INA and their business model find a way to attend either a one-on-one appointment with an INA/Amway Global IBO or a larger Open that does the orientation of the simple plan. Unfortunately many people want us to give them a snippet of information in a nutshell of what we do. The human brain then makes an assumption based on personal experiences of someone that they know, who knew someone that had a relative, that did something with Amway and sold products door to door way back when, and believe we are doing the same thing so they say “no”. That is how I had initially perceived it with my parent’s experience as Amway IBO’s in the early 90′s. That isn’t a very informed decision and is a waste of time.

To answer your question about income being earned. It is just as inappropriate to ask someone what they make in our business as it is to ask one of your coworkers. Although for some reason people always feel that if I prove that I can have made money in this business they will somehow gain belief. Truly the opposite happens. From my own experiences they begin to come up with other reasons why I would be able to make that kind of money and they wouldn’t, so I don’t make it a habit of sharing that information. The other fact that is interesting is if someone was to open a new restaurant the majority of his friends and family would think it was an incredible idea and support him. They would also understand that income at the beginning is probably in the red for quite some time. Today people even come out of college tens of thousands of dollars in debt before they have even started creating income in the work force. According to statistics that were shared with me during training on my Banks Business Banking products 95% of all new businesses fail in the first 2 years in the traditional work environment and half of the remaining fail in 5 years. This truly leaves 2.5% of new businesses being considered a success.

Why should the Amway Global business be measured against a higher expectation of success? We can’t base Amway as a successful business opportunity by the average income of an IBO either. I work with many IBO’s who don’t have the intent or desire to make more than $500 a month in this business. They only want to do enough to cover the need they have, which may just be to cover a car payment. I have a couple folks that just want to move out of an apartment and into a home and that will only take a couple hundred dollars more a month. We have created a game plan to make that happen for them. I wanted to be able to have my wife come home from work and be able to accomplish one of her dreams to be a stay at home mom. September of 2oo9 we were able to accomplish that. Now my belief has grown in what is possible and all I have to do is keep doing what I have done to get her home to accomplish our new goals. So, I guess that would be the answer to your question about hard proof that we make money in this business. My wife is glad that I have been able to work it out.

My investment in this business was a joke compared to how much I spent on my college education to never even utilize my degree since the market for Loans and Mortgages fell out. We paid $350 roughly and of that $350 about $200 of it was used to buy an intro kit of usable products that my wife and I were able to use to gain experience with some of the more profitable products for us a new business owners.

It currently costs, under the Team INA model, $225 to get started. I always suggest that people allocate about $100 month to get the tools and training they need to run the business. Most business owners understand how rediculous these amounts are for an opportunity like the one we offer because they know how much they spend on theirs and normally it is in the thousands monthly.

More importantly 80% of the people today at the age of 65 are unable to write a check for $700. Neighborhoods that are considered Elderly are seeing more and more of their residents having to go back to work to cover their everyday expecnses. This also makes it hard for the younger generation to get into the work force with less jobs and more than ever that need them. This means the next generation is not getting the experience of employment that we had such an easy access to at their age.

I hope you can see that we are just trying to provide tools and training to those that want to challenge themselves in a legal business opportunity that allows them the security of owning their own business and growing it to the level that their abilities and dreams allow. If you get more information about how our bonuses are paid you will also see that we can’t make money by recruiting people to join. We strictly get paid by a percentage of the profit from the products that are moved through our organization which is how the regular box stores make their money.

I make more money in this business that the 7 people directly above me because of the business model and how it is profitable when you learn to make others successful. It isn’t profitable to join with the expectation that others will make you a millionaire without having a good amount of work invested in the process and becoming a good leader.

I hope this helps with some information. I still left room for you to learn more through a Team INA IBO if you truly want your questions answered and if not I wish you success anyway. I always appreciate people that aren’t affraid to work hard for their dreams and goals as long as it is in a legal moral and ethical way.

Thanks for your blog and I hope I contributed to the conversation in a positive way and respected your opinion.

Chris

What you, as well as everyone else who has defended TEAM INA and Amway have failed to do is explain what, exactly, TEAM INA does. What do they sell, how do you make money, how much are you required to “invest” in order to participate, can you offer empirical evidence that you have made money from working with TEAM INA?

So far no one has answered these questions, or offered evidence that they have profited from working with TEAM INA.

What I’m left with is the impression that the people defending TEAM INA and Amway suffer from complete and utter self-delusion.

This is what intrigued me most as I first started on the road to building a business under the TEAM INA Business model within the Amway Global Distributorship. I am an extremely skeptical person and always have been (spitting image of my father). I too really needed to get the facts and do the research before making a decision for my family.

I learned from a successful friend who owned his own Real Estate Brokerage that I trained under as a Realtor that if I want to learn how to be successful at something or learn of what is necessary to be successful at something I need to learn it from those that have succeeded at it, not those that have failed. I’m also religious and I found when I was living in the south if you want to learn about a specific religion, it is not the best practice to ask the questions to a religious leader of another faith. Getting the pure information about a business or whatever is the most important…opinion means nothing.

I knew of Amway before I became an IBO for them because both of my parents had joined while I was younger and never made anything of it. I decided that I was going to avoid the never ending opinions of Google searches and really focus on the companies that monitor business and enforce pyramid/ponze schemes. I figured they would have a good idea of whether this is a legit business or not. So I visited the FTC website and also the Better Business Bureau to see what they say.

Here is what I found:

http://www.bbb.org/western-michigan/business-reviews/multi-level-selling/amway-corporation-in-ada-mi-15000624

http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm (please reference the 3rd paragraph in the section titled “FTC Precedent from the 1970′s)

I found that the Amway Global organization set a precedent that there needed to be a distinction between pyramid schemes and legitimate businesses in the MLM industry. Ray Kroc had the same battle with the FTC over the Franchising mentality where it was argued that by taking a percentage of the profits of a business owner in return for the support needed to run the McDonalds model and product line.

This helped me to make an educated decision. I also learned that Amway Global is a Distributor and Team INA is a seperate organization. Everyone that is in Team INA is an Amway Global IBO, but everyone that is in Amway Global is not in Team INA. It is similar to the popular food distributor of Cisco Foods. They supply the food for both McDonald’s and Ruth’s Chris Stakehouse. Same products, different delivery. I found that intreguing and so did my parent’s when I informed them that I was involved in Amway. They were supprised at the difference in business focus and plan from how they were taught to build an Amway business.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that this business is unique to normal business methodology. In order to truly decide if the business plan is good, you need to see the full way that Team INA has designed their business plan. Team INA is accredited with Amway Global which means they meet the highest level of guidelines enforced by Amways Global in order to meet the FTC guidelines to be a successful MLM w/o being and illegal pyramid.

It has been a blessing to my family in many ways, and a blessing in my current employment as well because of all the unique skills and struggles you go through that I wouldn’t have been able to learn from anywhere else, in my opinion.

Keep working hard at whatever you do, and make as much of a difference in others lives as possible and I think that can equal success.

Thanks for your post Adam.

Respectfully, Chris

No problem.

You obviously know far more than I have the time and patience to learn about electronics. Would that work with your unit? I came across a box that seems to be similar to yours, the “cell tap” made by JK audio. Would it or your box work with the bluetooth adapter and a stereo recorder to separate the audio channels?

~RC

Google “DELUXE MINI TIE CLIP MIC”. The store where I bought it at was called The Source.

There are probably more than one manufacturer who produce mics like these. The important thing is that they fit in your ear, and perhaps omnidirectional makes a difference as well. All I know is that I was faced with two and the price difference was $30ish. I figured the extra money could be worth it

Later,
L

In retrospect, I wasn’t very clear was I . Here is the link to the mic I use. When you take off the foam bulb, it fits quit nicely in my ear. It pics up what I am hearing as well as what I am saying very well. It is very portable too, although still a pain to have to turn on the digital recorder and mic(although the mic battery can last a long time if left on, but no battery meter), while driving, or embarassing while around other people . An iPhone app would certainly rock for me

Hope that helps some folks out there

L Brown (=^_^=)