I know the book industry is changing but this one takes the cake.
What is BookWise:
“BookWise is a book-club / network marketing company with a structure that is not only unique to both the book and network marketing industries, but takes the best from both worlds to help our Associates build a library as well as a lucrative home business.”
“BookWiseTM is the brainchild of #1 bestselling author Richard Paul Evans. Shortly after Evans wrote his internationally bestselling financial book The Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth, he began looking for ways for his readers to “win in the margins”. Unsatisfied with the business models already available, Evans set out to create the most logical, enjoyable home-based business in the world—one with low risk and high potential income. Following his passion for books, Evans, with the help of business experts, developed a revolutionary way to not only build a home-based business but to improve personal intellect and well-being and build a better world.”
and this just might be the first infomercial for books.
Here is the YouTube pitch (of course they wouldn’t allow me to show it here, “Embedding disabled by request”). It is posted by treasurebound who is Carolyn Hartley an Independent BookWise Associate. It is worth the 5 minutes.
Don’t forget to click on the (more) link under the “ONLY $39 TO START YOUR HOME-BASED BUS…” where you will find “WHO ARE THE BOOKWISE FOUNDERS?” There at the bottom of the list is Chief Information Officer Vince Romney.
Here is Vince’s bio from the YouTube page:
You name it, Vince has done it: he’s an officer in the Air Force, world-class athlete; thrill seeker, IT-guru, inventor and entrepreneur. He’s founded companies in medical technology, IT security, database management, statistical analysis, media distribution, and telecom, and has several technology patents to his name. Vince is creating for BookWise one of the most sophisticated web-based network marketing systems in the world that will be the envy of network marketing companies everywhere. He is a highly respected IT architect and integrator and has an impressive list of successes in Web and IT for companies across the world, including Siam Commercial Bank, Philippines Long Distance Telecom, The South African Government, SingTel, and many others. Vince founded his first company at the age of 15.
Then go to the Founders Page at the BookWise website and Romney is nowhere to be found. Even a google search for him didn’t bring up any prominent results from the BookWise website.
Do you think Vince might be related to Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Has he become a liability to the company? or maybe a potential issue for his brother? Either way it got me thinking that this might be a Mormon thing.
Then I see that a guy named Doug Osmond runs many of the events
and that their latest author interview is with Brent & Phelecia Hatch”the best-selling authors of Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World.”
Then I saw that BookWise is an Enlightened Company It was important to the BookWise founders to create an ‘enlightened company’: one with both moral and social responsibility. Not only is a portion of the proceeds from every monthly book donated to charity, but BookWise Corporate donates ten percent of their company profits to charity as well.
Then I was pretty certain it was a Mormon thing and that the charity the ten percent of the profits is going to is the church. Polygamy and network marketing starting sounding pretty compatible.
Here’s more:
What is BookWise? video with Founder Richard Paul Evans and Founder and “Co-Chair” Robert G. Allen’s video. “The BookWise Founders are more than a dream team of business leaders and authors, but a group committed to helping hundreds of thousands of individuals realize their greatest potential through books.”
How it works:
From the BookWise Details section of Treasure Bound:
You receive one hardback book a month and since the “average bestselling hardcover book in America today is about $27, you are really only paying $8 above retail plus shipping.”
I swear I am not making this up
$39 to join which gets you:
– Richard Paul Evans’ bestselling financial book: THE FIVE LESSONS A MILLIONAIRE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE AND WEALTH (a $12.95 value)
– The BookWise comprehensive Associate Business Guide
– Introduction to BookWise DVD
– The powerful CD: WISE UP! How to build your BookWise Business
– 20 brochures to introduce BookWise to friends and colleagues
– 2 BookWise bumper stickers
– 3 BookWise bookmarks
– A BookWise Member Pay Card
– A guide to the 100 greatest books ever writtenthen
then for $35 a month you get:
-1 Bestselling hardcover book of your choice each month—the same quality book available in any bookstore across America.
– Free eBook
– Free Audio book
– 40 – 50% discounts on extra books
– BookWise monthly newsletter
– Free speed reading lessons each month teach you how to read faster and comprehend more. (Coming soon)
– Bestseller Webcast: live monthly interactive online interviews with the bestselling authors in the world.
– TaxWise Training: live monthly conference with top tax experts to save you thousands.* (Coming soon)
– Bob & Rick’s weekly WealthWise Training: live weekly coaching with Rick and Bob on the secrets of wealth. (Coming soon)
– Bestseller Seminar: How to Write and Sell a Bestselling Book. Live two-day seminar with 5 authors who’ve sold at least 1,000,000 of their books and the president of a literary agency that has sold more than a billion copies of their titles. The inside secrets of the book business.
Then $30 a year to renew.
One dollar of your $35 membership fee goes to charity. The other $34 goes to ….”
and then there are the Pyramid categories:
Member
A Member is someone who has signed up with BookWise and can purchase books at 40% off of retail prices (after their qualifying order has been met), but who has chosen not to build a business.
Preferred Customer
A Preferred Customer is a person who does not want to build a BookWise business but still wants to enjoy the great benefits that come from belonging to BookWise. It is only $15 to sign up as a Preferred Customer annually. Preferred Customers will receive the monthly BookWise newsletter, access to the BookWise Preferred Customer website with author interviews, and the ability to purchase books from the BookWise catalog at 30% off. They are also joining the BookWise revolution for a better world as $1 of each book purchased will go directly to BookWise charities.
Associate
An Associate is a person who meets the legal requirements to join BookWise and has purchased a BookWise starter kit. To achieve higher ranks within the company and participate in the various incentive and compensation plans, an Associate must maintain Active status by having a monthly qualified purchase. This is most easily achieved by signing up for the Monthly Book Selection order. As long as an Associate remains Active (with a monthly qualified purchase of at least $35), he/she will be paid Unilevel commissions on all first-level activity in their organization.
A downline consists of those Associates who have joined beneath another Associate.
Sponsor
A Sponsor is the person directly above a new Associate, who has the responsibility to help the new Associate learn the business and succeed.
Enroller
An Enroller is a person who enrolls (or brings in) a new Associate to the BookWise company. An Enroller may place the new Associate anywhere in his/her organization. For example, if Liz introduces Mark to BookWise and signs him up in her first level, Liz becomes Mark’s Enroller and Sponsor. Now, if Liz introduces Jim to BookWise, she has the option of enrolling and sponsoring Jim herself (which she can do for a maximum of five enrollees), or she could enroll Jim under Mark, making Mark Jim’s Sponsor. NOTE: The Enroller receives the matching Unilevel Bonus Commission of the Enrollee.
Qualified Associate
A Qualified Associate is a person who has enrolled at least three Active Associates in his/her organization. In addition to being paid on level one, Qualified Associates will be paid Unilevel Commissions on levels two through eight in their organization.
Wow!