QRIELLY: Indenture vs. Independence

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Indenture vs. Independence

Funny how this works...these two words...Indenture and Independence... reside side by side in Webster's New World Dictionary. Check out these definitions:

Indenture - a contract binding a person to work for another person for a given length of time, as an apprentice to a master.

Independence - freedom from the influence, control, or determination of another or others.

Now here's the question. When did we transition from Independent Business Owners to Indentured Business Owners?

Here is the answer: 2003

Before 2003 Quixtar had no clause in any rule book, manual or contract forcing us to be indentured. Here is the rub...they slid this indentured...uh...I mean..."no-compete" clause in without letting ANYBODY know! Say it ain't so! You mean to tell me this Goliath of a corporation with all their attorneys allowed the contract to be changed without informing business owners? Yep. But it gets worse...they then proceeded to "Auto-Renew" every business owner at the levels of Silver and above! They in essence took the top producers and signed the new contract for them! Nice work big Q. Here...I'll hold the pencil...you move the paper. But, on the chance that I might actually SEE what I am signing, make sure you blindfold me first. I would love to know who is responsible for this!

Does ANYBODY even know that they are locked into this thing? Probably not. The contract that new IBOs sign says NOTHING about a no-compete. Once you are locked in, you can take a couple weeks off from work and isolate yourself in a quiet place to scour through the manual where you may be able to locate the rule if you are specifically looking for it...maybe not. Even if you did locate it...its a bit late isn't it. Anybody remember that Tom Cruise flick "The Firm"? "Mitch...no one EVER leaves the firm!" Not alive anyway!

Follow this logic...I get started with the big Q. I unknowingly sign up to be Indentured. I become disatisfied with the direction the big Q is taking. I decide to resign, and they quickly accept my resignation with the following statement..."We accept your resignation and we would like to take this opportunity to remind you of rule 4.6.2 which states 'You got your family and friends into this, but we own them now. If you try to talk to them, you are at legal and regulatory risk.' " They follow this up with a note to my family and friends that states 'Q'Reilly has violated our rules for years and we terminated him today. If you talk to him, you may be at legal and regulatory risk." Wow...that makes for a quiet Thanksgiving dinner!

See how that works?! I mean...who built your business? Right...you did. Who owns your business? Right...they do.