Re: Small bussiness owner loophole?!

[Patte Rosebank]

It’s exciting to start a new job, and you’re full of enthusiasm and new ideas, but be very careful.

There’s a big difference between being the owner of a company and being an employee. And it’s not just the bookkeeping. There are liability issues as well.

I’ve worked for some of these types of marketing companies, and a lot of them are quite unsavoury.

Since you are only being paid commission, you are not technically an employee of the company, but a contractor. Read through that contract very carefully. It will list all the terms of your job, and will include quotas and other responsibilities, and it will be weighted in favour of the company, not you. You will have no job security, and YOU will be responsible for paying any income tax. The company may also have a “delay” clause, which allows them to withhold any commissions until they’re sure that the lead is a GOOD one—i.e., the sale has completely closed and there’s no chance the buyer may back out. And beware of promises of “free training”. That just means, “We won’t pay you for your time here.”

Be very careful with this company, and with any other company that pays only commission, no salary. Such companies have an extremely high turnover of employees, because the work is so soul-destroying for so little money.

Google the company name, and see if other people (employees and customers) have posted stories (good, bad, or otherwise) about their experiences with it. Talk to other people who work for the company (not just the few top-sellers that the company wants you to talk to), to find out just how long they’ve worked there, and what their average daily and weekly earnings are. Some of these companies will claim to have big-name clients. If this one does, contact some of those clients directly. (I once interviewed for a job at a marketing company that claimed to have worked for some major sports teams. I phoned the offices of those teams, and the teams were very interested to hear that some shady marketing firm was claiming to have worked for them!)

Check with the Better Business Bureau and the Department of Labour (Employment Standards Office), to see if anyone has filed complaints against the company.

Be especially careful if the company asks for your bank account information, so they can direct-deposit your commissions. This is often the classic set-up for a scam to steal your identity and clean out your bank account.

And don’t underestimate burn-out. You may be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the first week, but all that rejection will take a toll, especially on the fragile ego of someone with ADHD. I was lucky to last a month in a job like this. I tried two other ones, and lasted only a couple of weeks in each—making it very clear that this wasn’t the right sort of job for me.

As for your belief that by going to an event and handing out flyers, you’ll be able to get 100 names, my experience says that the rejection rate is around 98%. People may take a flyer, glance at it, then throw it away. A lot won’t even take the flyer. Even by talking to them directly, you won’t do much better than that, particularly now that people are so concerned about identity theft. They’re much less likely now to provide any personal information unless THEY have made the first move. You’ll be lucky if you get 20 good leads in a day.

So do your homework first, and then, if you still think it’s a good idea, then give yourself a week to try it and see how you do. (The company itself may give you that trial period, by setting a quota. If you don’t meet the quota, then you’re out.)

Don’t lose your enthusiasm, but DO use your head!

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