Early last year, a friend of mine acquired reservations for a business seminar at a prestigious hotel located in the town I live in. Upon arriving at the meeting place, a pleasant individual greeted us by the door. I also noticed a large eBay poster visible near the entrance of the hall. My friend and I were under the impression that we were attending an official eBay seminar. Hooray! But when the seminar began, I gradually felt the sinking feeling that I was in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone. Not only did the seminar have nothing to do with eBay, but also the way it was presented to the audience was very deceptive. They used a lot of misdirection techniques and a lot of times, the speaker capitalized on the insecurities and fears of those who were in the audience who might happen to be financially in need. He made it sound as though it would be the end of our chances for financial independence if we miss the opportunity to join their ?elite? Internet business program. And as expected, it became a ?numbers game?. Out of the estimated one hundred fifty people who were present, based on the quick glance I gave at the sign up table before walking out of the room, I?d say about 20 to 25 people signed up for the program which made each one cough up $3,000 dollars!

Now ladies and gentlemen, I know that marketing a business requires persistence, consistency, tact, money, (depending on how deep your pockets are) and smarts. These are some of the reasons why we have a lot of successful advertising and marketing companies out there. But this I know, that no matter how extensive and expensive the marketing system is, it still must be based on ?decency and honesty?. Those who use flowery words and appeal too much to our desire for the good life should be scrutinized. (I am reminded of those infomercials on TV that keep showing the viewers images associated with success. Supposedly real people who became rich by using their ?system? like the guys in a yacht, sailing away on the waves of the ocean, drinking their pinacoladas or the lady posing with the latest high-end model sports car in front of a huge house that obviously costs millions of dollars. The images and testimonials are almost endless. Funny though, because throughout these shows, they keep telling the viewers of how great the ?tried and tested? moneymaking system is. But the reality is that after investing my time watching through the programs, I am still left clueless as to what the heck the product or system is all about! They never tell you. Hmmm?I wonder why?) People who cannot and will not go direct to the point regarding their products or whatever they are offering should solicit our suspicion. These people often use vague and misty marketing strategies that make them resemble more a magician than business people. Some would even make you believe that they can guarantee that your business venture with them is fail proof.

So be careful, folks. Do your research before investing those hard-earned dollars of yours. Do not let your emotion and desire for the good life get the best of you. Take the time to check things out. Avoid emotional decisions. Make decisions based on logic and accurate information. There is no substitute for information that is legitimate. It is the foundation of a sound decision. I would rather have one real and legit piece of info written down on my notebook than a hundred shady half-truths written in an expensive book.