Anyone Ever Heard of Fortune Hi Tech Marketing (FHTM) Canada? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Gundo · 12-10-2009, 10:57 PM

So my wife went to some song and dance presentation by this company called Fortune Hi Tech Marketing tonight downtown. And I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about these guys? I know it is a "Multi Level Marketing Company" That requires X amount of start up capital and then you get your friends to buy and you get a cut etc etc etc.

Now I just simply wondering if ANY of the good folks on Calgary Puck have ever heard of anyone they actually making money from something like this.

Kjesse · 12-10-2009, 11:38 PM

Yes I've heard of that company.

I have one acquaintance.... like a friend of a friend from my hometown, who always gets sucked into these things. She was in and out of that one pretty fast, probably the shortest she's been in one. She has a regular job but constantly gets into these multi-level marketing things. She has never made a dime but still thinks it will work some day.

The MLM proponent will blame her lack of success on her, but she's quite a dynamic, energetic individual who, if anyone would succeed in a network marketing endeavour, it would be her... lots of friends, talkative, fun, etc..

I've seen probably 20 or so people get into MLMs over the years (not counting Tupperware, Candle Parties, Sex Toy Parties, etc... the 'one shot' MLMs) and not one time have I seen anyone turn it into something of substance.

Their presentations are pretty powerful (not just FHTM...like timeshares, its a hard-sell that tugs at your desires... but I have seen some of the FHTM slides)... you might want to let your wife try this one on the promise that you cap her expenditures, and if it doesn't work, she won't do it again ...

If you stop her at the outset without letting her learn her own lesson, you might regret it!

Edit: And does she really want to pitch all of your friends continually to buy stuff from her... I remember being pitched by a friend in the Amway MLM in the 90's and I (and all of his other friends) became quickly annoyed at the constant pressure to buy soap, or whatever.

Edit: seach google... wow. Its not the bad stories that bother me, but how many apologists appear to spending way too much time defending them. Its just not 'real' in the way they do it. Here's a link to a bad story:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Warnings-A...ing&id=2314695

RougeUnderoos · 12-11-2009, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delgar

Edit: seach google... wow. Its not the bad stories that bother me, but how many apologists appear to spending way too much time defending them. Its just not 'real' in the way they do it. Here's a link to a bad story:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Warnings-A...ing&id=2314695

That story about a get-rich-quick scheme ends with a link to another scheme about how to get rich, quickly.

To the OP -- I doubt I'd be considered as one of the "good folks of CalgaryPuck", but I have never met or heard of anyone who has made money in this kind of operation.

Seems to me that they are based on Dale Carnegie's failed first book, "How to Annoy Friends and Make Some Huckster Rich".

Me, I'd stay away from any business that used the word Fortune in their name unless it was a game show, a stuffy magazine or a Chinese restaurant. And I'd be leery about that restaurant too.

Rathji · 12-11-2009, 06:45 AM

I went to one of their presentations, and to concept seems solid. You switch your cell phone, VOIP provider and some other things through them and get a couple friends to do the same and you will make a small amount of money every month. Problem is that they don't have any of the large providers on board in Canada yet, so unless you want to switch your cellphone to Bob's Cell Phone service, it seems like it won't work out exactly like they claim it does in the states where they say they have all the big corporations involved..

Nage Waza · 12-12-2009, 10:47 PM

Run from these types of schemes. They hype up the crowd and get people to buy in. Real money makers require real work. This is not one of them.

fatso · 12-13-2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

...

To the OP -- I doubt I'd be considered as one of the "good folks of CalgaryPuck", but I have never met or heard of anyone who has made money in this kind of operation.

...

Hey, if it counts at all, you're good folks in my books Rouge.

chummer · 12-13-2009, 12:39 PM

Just say no.

Kipper is King · 12-13-2009, 03:19 PM

Don't walk away from this. Run. Whatever your wife puts into that, she will not get it back.

hockeycop · 12-13-2009, 04:20 PM

From your description, it is a textbook pyramid scheme. Stay away.

FlamesFanInOilCountry · 12-13-2009, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeycop

From your description, it is a textbook pyramid scheme. Stay away.

No, it's not a "textbook pyramid scheme".. A pyramid scheme is defined as an organization that does not deal in product and only transfers money. A pyramid scheme would ask for X amount of cash for an initial investment, which would be spread to the person who recruited you and the person who recruited them etc etc.

FHTM (No I am not involved, but I have done research) involves an initial investment for an extremely overpaid business license, which then gets paid to your recruiter and their recruiter. FHTM does involve selling phone and internet time to fullfill their legal requirments, but their money is made by constantly recruiting other people, because that's where virtually all of their profit comes from. I would avoid it because it doesn't seem to be an organization based on coaching people and developing them to create residual income, but more an organization based on continually recruiting people for the use of a single paycheque.

Hopefully this helps.

Ace Handy · 12-13-2009, 05:33 PM

Stay away from this stuff man. You'll make little money and all your friends will avoid you and your wife because they'll feel you're always trying to sell them on it. Not only that, they'll talk about you and your wife behind your back because you're always trying to sell them on it. Your friendships will suffer even more because you won't understand why they don't want in and they won't understand why you won't back off.

I've seen it happen with Arbonne, Quickstar, etc.

Ford Prefect · 12-13-2009, 05:40 PM

Anyone inclined to try an MLM scheme, why not just give your money to me. I'll be honest enough to tell you I'm just taking your money and you're not going to get jack out of the deal. At least with my offer you won't be mislead or disappointed.

hockeycop · 12-13-2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlamesFanInOilCountry

No, it's not a "textbook pyramid scheme".. A pyramid scheme is defined as an organization that does not deal in product and only transfers money. A pyramid scheme would ask for X amount of cash for an initial investment, which would be spread to the person who recruited you and the person who recruited them etc etc.

FHTM (No I am not involved, but I have done research) involves an initial investment for an extremely overpaid business license, which then gets paid to your recruiter and their recruiter. FHTM does involve selling phone and internet time to fullfill their legal requirments, but their money is made by constantly recruiting other people, because that's where virtually all of their profit comes from. I would avoid it because it doesn't seem to be an organization based on coaching people and developing them to create residual income, but more an organization based on continually recruiting people for the use of a single paycheque.

Hopefully this helps.

Yeah, I saw that after googling it. I was going of the OP's initial description. You are correct. Still an operation that I would stay well away from. It has "lose money" written all over it in the future.

RedMileDJ · 01-04-2010, 02:30 PM

I met with a couple involved with this today. I've been invited to a "presentation" tonight down at the Carriage House Inn.

I'll let you guys know what happens. I'm skeptical, but my folks were with Amway/QuickStar for over 13 years...and it worked for them. In fact it was our main source of income for a long time.

We'll see what happens...

Cheers!

Redliner · 01-04-2010, 04:53 PM

I worked in corporate support for an MLM company for about 5 years and all I can say is STAY AWAY. It was part of my job to organize the big pep rallies and motivational speakers and basically oil the gears of the brainwashing machine. The job was fun, (paid OK, lots of travel, etc) but I ultimately ended up leaving the company because I couldn't get comfortable with the ethics (or lack thereof) of their business model.

Some people enjoy MLM and make an obscene amount of money doing it, but the vast majority who sign up never see a dime come out of it.

jar_e · 01-04-2010, 05:02 PM

If it sounds too good to be true...

RedMileDJ · 01-04-2010, 08:40 PM

Just got home.

I'm not going to get into details, but I have never been involved in such a high-pressured pitch in my entire life. I kept on asking for more information and asking questions and I was asked over and over to "sign up, sign up!"

There were people signing up right away without asking the "right" questions, etc, etc. Was kind of sad how some of the reps prayed on their fears and dreams.

Anyway, I'm going research it a little more. The business seems legitimate, but I need know exactly HOW income is made, besides signing people up. Just seems a little weird that these other companies (AT&T for example) would pay me to sell their products when they already have their own reps, advertising, etc, etc.

There also isn't a lot of Canadian companies, that I recognized. So that has me kind of concerned as well. Needless to say they didn't get any money from me tonight.

I'll let you guys know what happens. I plan on attending another meeting next Monday.

Cheers!