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I’m going to keep this review of the Get Motivated Seminar short, but I do suggest looking at other reviews of the seminar online. There are some that feel scammed and I think their advice is warranted. I attended the Get Motivated Seminar in Atlanta yesterday and listened to some great speakers like Colin Powell, Lou Holtz, Zig Ziglar, and Rick Belluzo (of Microsoft). Much of the seminar was taken up with high energy and very powerful sales pitches to buy into investing and real estate plans. I read reviews ahead of time so I was extra cautious when I attended, which was good because the sales pitches were very convincing. They dropped a lot of religious comments, some anti-college comments, and other words aimed at the down and out. In hard times like these you want to believe in a better life and future.

My advice is to go to the Get Motivated Seminar and enjoy the famous people. The paid speakers like Lou Holtz are top-notch and well worth your time. You’ll learn from these successful people and pick up some solid tips for life, relationships, and business. Personally, I would avoid the sales pitches and just enjoy the presentations.

Be weary of the evangelical “feel” of the event.  There’s dancing, peppy music, and even a minster (?) that got the crowd to ask Jesus into their hearts.  I have a rule about not trusting anyone that uses religion to promote their business.  I’m not saying they were not legit; it’s just that I’ve seen too many hucksters using Jesus to fill their own pockets.  fyi: I’m Christian.

I’m interested in reading comments from anyone that bought one of the programs. Did it work? Did they try to get more money out of you later? Did they help you as much as they claimed they would? Would you do it again? If you’re working with the Get Motivated group please don’t leave a false comment.

With today’s economy being on the down slope, small to medium businesses everywhere are looking for ways to cut cost while still providing quality service. One of the most effective ways to do this is by swapping to an Internet phone service.

In the past, people have been somewhat leery of VoIP phone service as there have been problems with clarity and connection. However, Internet phone service companies have worked diligently in recent years so that these issues are now the exception rather than the norm. They have worked hard to

improve call quality, added more features, and are accessible to anyone who has an Internet connection all for a fraction of the cost of a traditional phone service company.

You can choose from Wi-Fi VoIP or traditional Internet phone service which is plugged into your computer and connected to your phone. Both are economical and have the same calling features available. The biggest difference is that with the Wi-Fi you can use the service anywhere you get a signal and the traditional Internet phone service requires cords. In addition, there are some people who have questioned the amount of privacy in using an Internet phone service. Studies show that the risk of eavesdropping and spam are the same for Wi-Fi and traditional VoIP.

Some of the best providers of Internet phone service for the small business are those that are offered through the larger cable networks, with the top 4 being Bright House Networks, Cablevision/Optimum Voice, Comcast and Cox Communications. In addition, Comcast is noted for its audio quality, which works much better than that provided by AT&T.

If you are looking for a VoIP provider for your small business based purely on price, then you will want to check Internet phone service providers Vonage, Ooma or Phone Power. However, the experts at PC World magazine have recommended Vonage as the best choice for businesses where travel and phone calls to Europe are frequent as Vonage offers the best pricing as well as the largest selection of features.

For the small to medium business, using an Internet phone service makes you more accessible to those you work with, but without the added expense of extra office help or a fancy phone system. Why not consider a VoIP system for business and start having more money for building your business?

Image by Kai Hendry

I’ve mentioned this company before, but my experiences with Charter Cable were so bad I can’t help but mention it again. I believe the only reason this company is still in business is due to cable monopolies. If people had a choice I don’t think they would choose Charter for their television and Internet services.
I get direct mail pieces from Charter often. They offer great deals, some that are very tempting, but then I remember the terrible time I had with them. Charter’s customer service was deplorable, their billing was wrong month after month after month (sometimes in my favor, and when I’d call they couldn’t even fix that), and even after I canceled and returned my equipment to them they sent letters stating we hadn’t returned our equipment.
Getting free of Charter was one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I’ll never go back. When I talk about my experiences with Charter others tell me their Charter Communications horror stories. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask other Charter victims about their experience.

It takes a good salad for me to take the time to write about it, but Wendy’s new salads are just that good. My favorite is the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, and my wife’s favorite is the Cobb BLT Salad, but she also likes the Baja Salad. It’s hard to eat healthy these days. We are all in rush. We have kids, jobs, traffic, and a lot of fun things to do that keep us from treating our bodies as we should. That’s why I’m so happy to find a quick and easy way to get a good meal.

I want to thank Wendy’s and other fast food restaurants that are finally creating tasty and healthy ways for us to eat better. Sure, they’ve had salads for years, but those salads were boring and not that great. These new salads are winners.

My teeth are not as stained as most thanks to a professional whitening a couple of years ago, and the random use of various white strips including the Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolving Strips. Since my professional whitening it hasn’t been necessary to use the strips more than once or twice a month for maintenance. I have been happy with the Listerine teeth whitening strips for this purpose because they stayed on my teeth well and I didn’t have to worry about removing them, although I usually had to brush or chew gum after because all the strip pieces didn’t dissolve.

Recently my wife bought the 3D toothpaste from Crest and I was impressed so I decided to try the Crest 3D White Strips. I am now a fan. After the first use I saw a huge difference. This is a big deal because, like I said, my teeth were already very white. I didn’t expect to see such a big difference. If you’ve never used a whitening strip before you’ll probably see a huge difference after the ten treatments and if you’re buying them for maintenance you’ll probably be surprised when you reach the next level of white.

The only downside I noticed was that the strips “bunched up” and were easy to ruin before use thus wasting 10% of the supply. This is a common problem however with white strips and the best tip is to be careful when removing the strips and placing them on your teeth. Another common downside to whitening strips is that they can bleach your towels or clothes so wash your hands after using them and resist the urge to wipe the residue on your clothes. The cons are the same as any other white strip I’ve used, but the pros for this strip make it well worth the higher cost over other teeth whitening strips. I highly recommend the Crest 3D White Strips.

I just gave blood a few minutes ago. My donation to the American Red Cross was simple and quick and I experienced very little pain. In fact I hardly noticed when they put the needle in my arm, and I didn’t feel it at all when they removed it. I try to donate blood at least four times per years. This was my third blood donation for the year.

I’ve donated often the last few years, but before that I occasionally donated: after 9/11, after other disasters, when it was very convenient. I started donating as much as possible when I was doing research for a book about my father. In 1989 he was in a terrible accident that almost killed him and left him head injured and physically handicapped. During my research I learned that 30 people donated blood for him and he received 12 units of that blood. Now, when I donate I do it for my father and in honor of those that cared enough about him to overcome their fear of needles to help a friend and loved one.

If you can donate blood I hope you will. It doesn’t hurt very much, and the personal reward is much higher than the minor pain. Every day someone needs blood to survive and you can know that you’ve helped to save lives. Donating is your chance to make a real difference in the world.

Is IQ Derma a Scam? I think so

Regimen Review

I’m getting close to 40 and when I saw the Web advertisement offering a trial of a product that would make my face look younger I was interested. When I started to order the “free trial” I noticed an almost ten dollar shipping cost so I didn’t complete the order. Soon after they offered me the trial of the products for a much reduced shipping rate of less than two dollars so I accepted. This was a bad idea.

First, the product didn’t work all that well. Maybe a little, but nothing spectacular, and definitely not near what I felt the ad insinuated. No big deal. I lost two bucks and that was that. Or so I thought.

Then I get a 90 buck charge on my credit card. I disputed the charge and found that it was subscription that I’d been signed up for. On the receipt for my two dollar shipping & handling charge ($1.95) at the bottom a paragraph basically stated if I didn’t send the product back I would be charged $89.50. Wow, I missed the tiny print.

I don’t think this product is worth 90 bucks. I don’t think it’s worth ten. I know, I know shouldn’t given my credit card to a company with images insinuating so much. I made a mistake that I thought would only be a two dollar test. I hope you don’t make the same mistake.

Other’s also feel that they have been scammed by IQderma / Glow.com and you can read their words at the links below. There are some positive reviews online, but I suspect many of them are false and made up.

Derma and the Grand Illusion
Lies and Scams, Truth in Advertising and IQ Derma
RipOff Report
Kronos and Glow www.glow.com is a scam

Do I feel cheated by Glow? answer: YES
Do I feel like I was manipulated bo Glow.com? answer: YES
Do I think IQ Derma used tricky sales practices? answer: YES
Do I think you should do business with this company? answer: NO

Update
The nightmare with this company continues. Now my credit card has all sorts of charges and reverse charges and charges again from this company. I have filed a BBB complaint that I hope resolves this issues and gets me my money back. The company that sold me this product (should I say tricked me?) is Intelligent Beauty. Of course it’s hard to know who they are when they seem to operate Glow.com, IQ Derma, and sell products like Regimen.

There is no need to be misleading.  This company could still have made money by selling good products and being honest.  Instead they chose the low path.  I’m sure they are keeping everything “legal” but there is often a big difference between legal and right.

BBB Business Page for Intelligent Beauty, LLC

Below is the Complaint Experience from the Better Business Bureau for this company:

“Some complainants allege they receive unordered merchandise, or experience difficulty cancelling future shipments after agreeing to a “free trial offer.” Other customers complain of unauthorized charges to credit or debit cards, or that the company fails to issue credits or refunds on returned products. Some complainants allege they incurr unauthorized charges to accounts after cancelling, or for products never ordered or received. Customers complain they are unable to contact the company to effectivley implement cancellations. The company responds to some complaints by shipping merchandise, agreeing to accept returns, or issuing credits or refunds. In some cases the company advised complainants they were ineligible for a refund due to the length of time since purchase. In other cases the company denies having any record of the customer’s previous attempts to cancel services, or claims the customer was enrolled in a continuity program.”

This blog is now going to take a new direction. When I first built Next Modo I wanted it to be a place where I shared Internet Marketing and SEO news and info. This didn’t work out. There are too many great blogs already covering those subjects and unless I wanted to dedicate myself to Next Modo 24/7 I had nothing to add. So the blog has been floating around without a real purpose.
For some time I’ve been thinking of writing reviews. Reviews of websites, reviews of products, reviews of services, reviews about anything and everything I come in contact with. I love sites like Yelp and Kudzu that allow users to post their experiences. I trust those sites and will often select a restaurant or service based on other’s experiences. This site is now going to be a place where I post my reviews. Like I said above, reviews about anything.
I’m not going to use this just as a place to trash services and products, but I will use it to do so if they provide poor service or sell me junk. The Internet is too big and too powerful for companies to screw around with consumers any longer. You can’t just spend money on ads and get away with producing crap. It now takes more than a good ad campaign to pull one over on consumers. On the other hand, if you are a great company the Internet is also your friend. I plan to be friend and foe to great and bad companies.
So, here we go…

If you know anyone that is assisting in Haiti please send them this information about a new (and free) mobile phone app that translates English to Creole, Creole to English and contains a Creole French dictionary.  This Creole English Translation App was built to assist those helping the people of Haiti. 

I love Chick-Fil-A.  Sure, their food is good, but it’s the staff that really makes Chick-fil-A great.  Every restaurant franchise and business could learn something from them.