IBOAI Board Suspends Five Directors

On August 9, 2007, Quixtar terminated the businesses of 15 IBOs for breach of contract and other related claims. Subsequently, five members of IBOAI’s Board of Directors, all of whom had also had their businesses terminated by Quixtar, were suspended by the Board pursuant to the IBOAI Board By-Laws. Another IBO, a former director, was removed from his position on two Board committees. This still leaves a strong and experienced group of directors to carry on the mission of the Association, with others to be elected to vacant positions by the end of the year.

The Board of Directors of the Independent Business Owners Association International retains its firm belief in the founding ethical and moral business principles which created the opportunity still available to all Independent Businesses powered by Quixtar. It supports the rules and regulations which it has helped to shape since 1959, in partnership with Quixtar.

At the same time, while any partnership will experience differences periodically, the Board remains unanimously committed to working with Quixtar’s leadership towards our common goal – business and personal success for each IBO.

Sometimes a tree needs to be pruned to become healthier. This is what the Board believes has happened recently. As a result, the future is brighter for all active IBOs.

Comments

[Joe]

So these board members were suspended or did they resign? On their blog they say they resigned. Which is it. Jim please comment on this.

[Scott]

How can you call the loss of that many long standing and highly respected board members only "tree pruning"????
More than one of the members of the board who resigned were past presidents.
This blog is the opinions who disagreed with those who resigned and is therefore not very reliable.
Don't forget that among those lost were Don Wilson, Billy Florence, Randy Haugen, Fred Harteis, and Chuck Goetschel. Not just Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady.

[michelle]

wow....what a shake up. This business just got harder. Thanks for your efforts, but what will we tell people now? As a board with so much experience, what should we tell people?

[William]

"It supports the rules and regulations"

I sincerely hope you MEAN this and that it applies to rules such as the customer volume rule, politics & religion, making "system" kits mandatory on sign-ups, etc.

To have credibility you should "support the rules and regulations" consistently, and not pick and choose which one you follow.

[SD]

So are you all going to do anything about the high prices of the products and how hard it is to convince not only myself but outsiders to spend all that money plus s&h on them? I have yet in my 3 years as an IBO been able to build and maintain a customer base and the repeat answer as to why they do not order from me more than once is the price. And what about the name change? I did not sign up for an Amway business. If I knew it was going to change I would have never signed up. Can't that be breach of contract? I am certainly going to have an attorney look into it and if so then I should be allowed to join any other opportunity that might come along if feel like it without a waiting period. It is my business after all right? or was I deceived into thinking that I was an Independent Business Owner and that it is my business or it is really that I am a contract employee of Quixtar? B/C if it is my business then I should be allowed to build and manage it my way not the Amway way. I do the work- I don't see them out in the living rooms night after night sharing the dream with prospective IBO's to put in my business- I do believe that it is me and my husband. And I certainly do not remember signing a franchise agreement-last I checked this was not McDonalds. I have also lost faith in the IBOAI board-you are in the bed with Alticor/Amway/Quixtar/Whatever they choose to be called today corporate bigwigs and out to protect your organizations from being terminated if you say one little thing tht might go against them. A spine is a terrible thing to waste so use it and stand up for what is right and just. Let's boycott SA8 and the other high price exclusive products just like the Bostonians did the English tea! After not making triple profits on these products the prices will be lowered quick enough! Just say no to High Prices and no to Amway! Wal-Mart certainly has no problem with rolling back prices to maintain a loyal client/customer base.

[Eric]

Pruning huh? Well you pruned away some of the best minds that ever had input on this business. I don't know all of what happened, for all I know it could have been totally appropriate and called for, and I'm not sure what you think of when you think of pruning, but I don't think the word applies here.

[Mark]

Who is the author of this blog? Are you a Quixtar employee, an IBO, or a member of the IBOAI board? In keeping with Quixtar's touting of transparency, I hope the author will reveal himself. Thanks.

[Jonathan]

Mark, the "author" of this blog is, essentially, a committee of IBOAI Board members, staff and consultants. Some of us (like me) are moderators, here to approve your messages and make general comments like this. Board members and staff will be addressing substantive questions.

[Michelle]

I have to agree with one of the other comments...we are truely losing some of the best minds in this business. We really need more explanation to help us understand what really went down. I mean Don Wilson, Randy Haugan, and Chuck G...these are men of integrity...what happened and who do we believe?

[dj]

still no one is saying anything that matters to me. The IBOAI should be trying to reach out to the affected IBO's. Quixtar claims to be reaching out but most of us have heard nothing. Businesses and people are at stake here. It is now obvious that we will not get the real story here, so just let us know what the plan is for retraining the affected organizations so we can make a decision about our business and move on with our lives

[ROS]

Like most of the others who commented on the 15 IBOs who were terminated (as well as the IBOAI Board members who were suspended, also being some of the same who had been terminated), I too was greatly saddened that because of the actions of these IBOs in choosing to violate rules which could have put all of our businesses at risk, forced Quixtar to terminate them.

I have learned much from their inspiration, success and insights. However, when they failed to change when given the opportunity, they left Quixtar with little choice but to terminate them, and they themselves are solely responsible for the consequences of their actions.

I am truly sorry to see them go.

As for those who were in their LOS, and others who were affected – I encourage you to continue to keep your dreams alive, stay focused and commit to follow the right principles, always encouraging others, never detracting.

We must all do our part in making sure we are setting the right example each and every day for our organizations, and to show others that we are serious about making corrects as needed, and staying true to our founding principles as laid out by the DeVos and Van Andel families.

Everything we do and say has impact on each of us.

Quixtar and the IBOAI Board are doing their part.

I commit to you that I will do my part to make sure my actions are right and always reflect positively on your businesses and I hope I can count on you to do the same for mine.

Our businesses, our reputations, our futures depend on it. The world is watching and waiting…

Together, we have a bright future!

Sincerely,

Ros

[dj]

Jonathan

How do I know if it is a board member responding or just another person with no facts and an opinion that I don't care about?

[Jonathan]

DJ, Board members have been asked to ID themselves as such when they write comments. At the same time, some of them will probably choose to make the point that they are speaking for themselves, not for the Board. Official Board/IBOAI announcements will be made by people like Jim Janz as Board Chairman or Connie Altschwager as IBOAI's Executive Director or will be in the form of press releases and "official statements" like some of those you've seen here already.

Hopefully, though, you care about the opinions of your fellow IBOs, too! We want to hear from everyone, at all levels of this biz.

Thanks for participating!

Jonathan

[chris]

does anyone know who this is refering too "Another IBO, a former director, was removed from his position on two Board committees"

[chris]

how does the restraining order affect the team functions?

[Jonathan]

Chris, the IBOAI's restraining order has nothing directly to do with TEAM, it has to do with "breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and violation of the Michigan Uniform Trade Secrets Act."

Quixtar's restraining order, which Quixtar talks about here:

http://tinyurl.com/2tbbyw

addresses the business end of Orrin Woodward's operation more. Your question about the impact on Team should be directed to Quixtar, and I know that Quixtar sales reps and others are happy to speak with Team members about this transition and how it affects them.

[David P]

As I understand it, due to the injunction, and their stated desire to avoid disparagement (which was one of the things requested by these IBOs of the corporation), the TEAM IBOs in question are NOT running a blog. As of yesterday, they have posted a total of four news updates on their site, none of which read anything like the Alticor blog titled "Just Go, Team!"

All concerned should remember that every disagreement has two sides. The TEAM's leadership has always behaved as men & women of integrity, and have spoken at many conferences, including some held by IBOs *still on the Board*, always being greatly appreciated, especially as they taught on "the Team Approach" (the specifics of which, i.e. sponsoring in depth, had been approved, with caveats, by Quixtar Legal years ago). The corporation has always provided a seamless product, bonus, and shipping system.

We may have to decide whom to believe, but both parties are not currently free to speak to the same degree.

I, for one, am concentrating on continuing to follow my proven upline's advice (yes, I'm in TEAM) and build my INDEPENDENT business POWERED by Quixtar.

My sincere best wishes to all who want freedom for not only their family, but for all who honestly and truthfully seek it.

(BTW, Chris -- My wife and I went to a TEAM open last night, where our diamond showed the plan, and will continue to attend the scheduled seminars & conferences. As the the moderator's answer implied, those of us still in the business will continue to pursue it. Best of luck to you.)

[Jonathan]

Chris, you asked:

does anyone know who this is refering too "Another IBO, a former director, was removed from his position on two Board committees"

...the answer is Billy Florence.

[KNP]

Pruning? Most gardeners wouldn't advise cutting the trunk off the tree and then call it pruning!! It sure feels like there's a collective sigh of relief from the remaining board members now that those who resigned (which were those who were rocking the boat by trying to bring positive changes for ALL Quixtar IBO's) are gone. The IBOAI and Quixtar just lost the leadership who were going to take this industry to a point of respect and massive success.

[Team Member]

I have a question, why did Fred Harteis back out of the lawsuit? Did the AmWay Mob get to him? Was he a mole for AmWay, pretending to support Team? Where's Harteis' integrity? When the going gets tough...Harteis bails out?

[Corleone]

IBOAI board - when were you informed about the company's plan to for this "transformation" and the changing of the Quixtar name? Did you read it in a press release from Jun15 like everyone else? Looks like the company moved the cheese....so much for the title of IBO. IBOAI has no teeth and is nothing but a tool to make the "IBOs" appear to have some say-so in business affairs. All this talk of freedom and independence through owning your own business and participation in the free enterprise system powered by Quixtar - whatever, all we ever were is a 1099 sales force.

[dj]

I have been monitoring this blog since it came out, but I am done today. I was mistakenly under the impression that board members were going to be taking part in this forum. My emails also go unanswered. Hope that wasn't rude, Oopsy.

[Moderators Comment: DJ, no, actually, it wasn't rude. Snide maybe, but not rude. Look, we understand you're with TEAM and probably hopping mad right now, but understand that the legal action taken by the IBOs who were terminated took the IBOAI Board by surprise. We threw this blog up VERY quickly and are trying our best to get up to speed with all the communication in the Blogosphere. There are only a handful of Board members who are Internet savvy, and they have had their hands full, in the near term, with legal matters, plus our most prolific writers -- Jody and Kathy Victor -- have been dealing with the tragic death of Jody's mother. So, perhaps, you could be a bit patient and cut us some slack?]

[Aron Gannon]

This is in reference to items I read on the Woodward et al vs. Quixtar website. One of their main gripes was over the high price of Quixtar products, and that they are not marketable to clients, thus turning the business into a pyramid scheme. When I registered my business I told my sponsor that I wasn't going to sell anything. However, much to my surprise I love the products so much that selling them has been quite natural. Since I use them every day, I can speak from experience. I hope that Quixtar doesn't lower quality to try to bring the prices down. I think it was Zig Zigler who said, "I'd much rather apologize for high prices than apologize for poor quality." In the timeline of events portion of Woodward's website they describe a tour of Walmart with a Quixtar executive to illustrate the high price of our products compared to Walmart. I'm just a little guy IBO, but I never thought it was our objective to try to compete with Walmart on price. Walmart doesn't strive for high quality, just low price. It would be better to compare Quixtar with specialty or health food stores where you can also find expensive food supplements. I'm not interested in enduring the inconvenience of shopping at Walmart, or using the lower quality products. Also, many of Quixtar's home and personal care products are very competitive with the big discount stores' products if you convert item prices to cost per use. I made an Excel spreadsheet after gathering data at a few stores to prove this to myself. I feel silly that I'm stating something so obvious. How did these former IBOs whom I had so much respect for come up with this goofy stuff to try to discredit Quixtar? Several of them have been speakers at my team's seminars and I've learned from them by listening to them speak on audio recordings. According to the web site I mentioned earlier, these former IBOs were frustrated with Quixtar for several years. They were very good at hiding this frustration when they spoke of all the blessings of the business and the lifestyle it enabled them to live. However, I agree with many of the writers on this blog that it is sad that their businesses were terminated. I was also surprised by the extra kick that they got with the venomous language in the "Just Go TEAM" article. I would have expected an expression of remorse that Quixtar had to take this action.

[Lynn]

I have one question to be followed by a couple of comments...If Quixtar products are so competitively priced, why can I go to the Estee Lauder site and find at least one item priced lower at retail than a comparable, competing item is priced at IBO cost? I used Estee Lauder as an example because Quixtar listed them in competitive information. Orrin, Chris & company ALWAYS supported Quixtar (the right thing to do) even while they were working diligently in the background to try to get Quixtar to consider changing their pricing structure. Of course they want the opportunity to leave. If you worked for an employer whose pay and benefits were not competitive, would you not find a new job? Should you be required to sit at home for 6 months not earning a salary because you only want to have a better life for you and your family?

My best friend of nearly 40 years refused to consider joining my LOS when she found out about the Quixtar affiliation (based on a negative experience she and her husband had with a non-Team affiliated IBO). I couldn't even get an opportunity to present the plan to my hairdresser and her husband because he had been contacted by a non-Team IBO who told them they could only join by invitation (sort of a "this is your only chance so you better take it" attitude). Or how about the night my group met at IHOP after an open and witnessed a group of non-Team IBO's conduct a meeting-after-the-meeting in which the leader said "Don't contact anyone over the age of 30". I could hardly believe my ears!!! Don't let it slip that I'm over 50 or I'll never have the opportunity. Orrin & Team don't discriminate. They believe that EVERYONE is entitled to this opportunity. Maybe Quixtar should spend some time investigating the members of those non-Team organizations. I, for one, have had a bear of a time trying to get people to understand that all groups working through Quixtar are not equal.

I have not seen one disparaging comment made in print by Orrin or Chris or Billy or Randy or anyone affiliated with Team. I have, however, seen at least one disparaging comment made by Alticor. I abandoned a 20-year relationship with the Mary Kay organization (as a user and consultant). They did not try to stop me from pursuing an opportunity with Quixtar even though the Artistry line is in direct competition.

And finally...to quote Jim Payne "And, we should note that no IBO has left Amway or Quixtar and successfully launched a competing business." That came directly from a Quixtar communique. Does this mean that there are no competing businesses to Quixtar? Would that make them a monopoly? Does their price-fixing and non-compete clause mean that we have no recourse? It's difficult to retail over-priced products (especially located near the largest military base on the east coast where the pay is less than the private sector) and we can't leave. Makes me feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. The leaders of Quixtar do not care that the people who are fighting so that we may remain free are essentially priced out of this business opportunity because they refuse to lower costs. They might consider learning from Sam Walton's experience. His heirs are in the Forbes top 11 richest Americans. Maybe less really is more. Oh, and I signed on with Quixtar, not Amway. Thanks for your forward-thinking in ensuring that my business will now be even more difficult to promote (she said with sarcasm).

[Moderator's Note: Lynn, we have to disagree with your contention that IBO leaders whose business was terminated made no disparaging comments. Their lawsuit against Quixtar is FULL of disparaging comments and allegations.]

[Fred Harteis]

A RESPONSE FROM FRED HARTEIS:

1. I did not back out of the lawsuit. I had no knowledge that a lawsuit was being filed and did not authorize anyone to include me as a party to the lawsuit. This fact was conceded by TEAM's attorney to my attorney earlier this week. I had never read or seen the lawsuit. I had never spoken with the attorneys who filed the suit for TEAM. TEAM's intentional and reckless conduct in causing their attorneys to place my name on the Complaint has and will continue to cause substantial damages to me and my family in our Quixtar businesses. The damages that we are sustaining are amply demonstrated by this comment from "TEAM Member."

2. No one exerted any pressure on me to make any decision. I never intended to join any TEAM member in a lawsuit against Quixtar in the first instance.

3. I have never received any compensation from the TEAM training system. And while we're at it, I do not agree with the sale of BSM without the supporting a business that offers consumable products. A system that is promoting the system itself and focuses almost entirely on income from the system is improper and not something in which I will engage.

Fred Harteis