The switch from the slightly niche – and perhaps suspiciously received – multi-level marketing ventures championed by early pioneers such as Amway to the household names such as Buffet, Trump and Kiyosaki came with the Internet. Whilst you didn’t have these ‘business gods’ in your room helping you with your venture, it really did feel like it.

Wealth Masters International and LifePath Unlimited are two of the bigger players of the 2000s, both bringing vast opportunities to those with the ‘get up and go’ to make it happen. Acceptance and media coverage have helped a great deal and films like “The Secret” assisted in getting the idea into many more homes than would otherwise be possible.

About 50 years ago Amway led in the birth of the home business industry. At the time it was a simple choice for anyone to get involved. You purchased your products at a reduced cost and also made money on the products purchased by people that you referred.

Of course people recognized the potential income from promoting it as an income source and the first millionaires from MLM were created.

Over the next 35 years the MLM concept was exploited to the point that many of the opportunities were thinly disguised money games. The reality quickly became apparent that creating a strong income required a lot of dedication and very few people were successful.

Then the next paradigm shift occurred. In the mid 90’s the direct sales model of network marketing exploded. With the direct sales model people earned much higher commissions and didn’t share the profits with all the multiple levels above them. The ability to make one thousand dollars instantly inspired people to new levels of success and created a real opportunity for the average Joe to begin earning a multiple six-figure income in less than a year.

The next big shift occurred recently with the widespread growth of the Internet. The ability to reach out across the world brought about the single biggest growth rate in the history of the industry. This brought about huge growth in the Canadian Home Business industry.

Now the biggest shift is taking place. Home business goes mainstream. Top financial minds and entrepreneurs like Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are highly recommending and purchasing network marketing companies. Forbes Magazine recently predicted over 79 million people will start a home based business over the next 3 years. Coupled with the trend to provide high quality in demand products the industry is making the shift to mainstream.

In years gone by most home businesses relied on physically meeting potential customers and required literally thousands of customers to earn a significant income. In the late 90’s the home business industry began to evolve resulting in what is commonly referred to as Direct Sales. This concept greatly reduced the number of customers needed to earn a significant income, but many of the products and the high cost of international calling still left most Canadians out in the cold. In 2004 Liberty League International burst onto the Internet. With the ability to market to both the U.S. and Canada via the Internet and by taking advantage of low cost calling plans and Voip, many Canadians quickly became successful entrepreneurs earning multiple six figure incomes from home.

Beginning in 2006 Canadian entrepreneurs began having moderate success with a relatively new player in Direct Sales, Wealth Masters which is primarily a financial education company. The bulk of the information is centered on U.S. financial structure and left many of the Canadian’s neutral on the opportunity.

The new big kid on the block, LifePath Unlimited, is quickly becoming the high end home business of choice for Canadians. Not only have they capitalized on the booming personal development industry, but their product also prominently features both U.S. and Canadian luminaries.

Forbes magazine recently predicted more than 79 million people will start a home business in the next three years. With the technology in place Canadians are poised to lead the pack.

Best Buy Canada

iPod Touch 16GB – $435.99 ; ($399.99 USD @ bestbuy.com)

DVD Player – $69.99 ; ($54.99 USD…)

GPS Device – $449.99 ; ($349.99 USD)

37′ LCD – $1299.00 ; ($999.99 USD)

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Total at BestBuy.ca – $2,256 CAD vs. Total at BestBuy.com – $1,805 USD

Thats about a whopping $415 difference!.. and oh yeah, last time I checked…

1 Canadian dollar = 1.029654 U.S. dollars

Canadians are facing hugely discriminatory prices. I do understand that maybe the cost of shipping and other expenses may be a little higher, but that still doesn’t reason the $415 difference I just noted above. Don’t get me wrong, it is not only Best Buy Canada that is doing this – it’s all the retailers. As Canadian consumers, we need to negotiate on the prices we are facing, and apply pressure to the retailers to help resolve this issue.

Some retailers are moving towards rebates, discounts, and price cuts to prevent Canadian shoppers from buying the same items south of the border. Hudson’s Bay Co. announced that it was going to renegotiate import contracts to cut retail prices by between 5- and 25-percent. The lower prices should start coming into effect by Friday at the company’s Zeller’s stores. Mr. Flaherty (Finance Minister) lauded the Bay’s move, saying it’s exactly what he’s asking of retailers.

I applaud Mr. Flaherty for applying some pressure to retail during the past few weeks. Although it seems to me as if he is afraid of stepping, or at least receiving criticism for stepping in to the free markets; And honestly, he shouldn’t be. It’s a matter of saving Canadian consumers, retailers, and the economy of Canada. What were to happen if all Canadians were to travel to the United States for their Christmas shopping? It sure wouldn’t be a pretty thing for Canadian retailers nor the economy – but as for consumers.. well, let’s put it this way… they sure would be getting the “best buy”.

On top of that, in the back of investors’ minds was the recollection that it was the 20th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, when the Toronto stock market dropped 11 per cent and the Dow Jones industrials nearly 23 per cent on concerns about interest rates and slowing economic growth.

On Friday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 330.37 points or 2.23 per cent to 14,001.66, for a loss of 2 per cent on the week. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials erased 366.94 points or 2.64 per cent to 13,522.02, for a loss of 570.53 points or 4.2 per cent this week.

“We had a great run, from August 16th until a week or so ago, some pullback was to be expected,” said John Johnston, chief strategist, The Harbour Group at RBC Dominion Securities..

• Escalating gasoline prices pushed Canada’s annual inflation rate to 2.5 per cent in September, a sharp increase from 1.7 per cent in August and the biggest jump in consumer prices in over a year.
• The Canadian dollar jumped 0.85 of a cent (U.S.) to 103.55 cents — a level last seen in mid-1976.The TSX Venture Exchange was off 37.29 points to 3,010.02. The Nasdaq composite declined 74.15 points or 2.65 per cent to 2,725.16 and the S&P 500 index edged 39.45 points or 2.56 per cent to 1,500.63.
• On the TSX, the energy sector fell 2.75 per cent at the end of a week where the price of crude had surged almost 7 per cent up to Thursday’s close on speculative buying and worries over tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

Source: MarketsBlog, the Globe and Mail (Oct. 19/07)

“Even though the increase in sales is expected to be partially offset by the currency impact on … costs incurred in Canada, the company expects to exceed its previous guidance of five to six cents earnings per share for the third quarter,” the Vancouver-based company said today.

The initial sales increase was set at about 15-percent.

“Strong sales volumes, with additional benefit coming from the impact on sales of a strengthening Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar. On a constant-dollar basis, the revised guidance translates into a mid-20s percentage increase over 2006.”

Lululemon Athletica, completed a successful IPO during the summer, and has met and surpassed investor and analyst expectations. Lululemon is a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company. (More info here)

The iPhone unlock is still a bit complicated, and requires both soldering and software skills. It is estimated to take about two hours to perform the hack. The details are publicly posted on Hotz’s personal blog. There is, supposedly, another iPhone unlock method for those who do not wish to physically (open, solder, etc.) unlock their iPhones. The details of this unlock can be found on iPhoneSimFree.com.

With the iPhone unlocked, and the process publicly available, there will most definitely be a form of arbitrage in Apple’s iPhone market. The industry will involve the purchase of U.S. iPhones, unlocking them, and sending them for use in Canada, and other countries worldwide. I will be eagerly watching to see how Apple responds to this challenge…

“That’s the big thing”, said Hotz, “That’s exactly, like, what I don’t want. I don’t want people making money off this.”

The 1.5 million toys have been recalled during the past weeks. (More info on the recalls here)

Killino is the same attorney who’s lawsuit helped to a recall of defective Chinese-made tires.

Mattel officials, or representatives, were not available for immediate comment; but Mattel’s CEO stated during the company’s latest recall, that due to the company’s more aggressive testing methods, more toy recalls may announced in the near future.

The company is recalling 436,000 toys due to high lead levels, and an additional 18.2 million with potentially dangerous small magnetic parts. The recall includes a number of product lines including various “Polly Pocket” dolls, a “Barbie Doll and Tanner” magnet, a Batman action figure sets and a die-cast car from the Pixar movie “Cars” (“Sarge”).

“I apologize for the situation we are all facing,” Robert Eckert, said Mattel’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We’ll continue working very hard on the standards, and if we see more issues, we’ll promptly notify people.”

Health Canada also said it is working on providing updated information to the public about what this recall means for Canadians.

This news, as you may or may not know, comes just a day after the Chinese CEO who was responsible for the production of Mattel’s first massive toy recall, committed suicide (Suicide story here). It’s not surprising how far this issue has escalated in the media, considering it concerns the present (and more importantly, the future) safety of our import products, and the success of China’s crucial export industry. But I still do believe we won’t hear much about this, as soon as the chapter closes. Companies, especially Chinese, will surely tighten their safety measures after the exposure and pressure they have been recently faced with (and I’m sure we’re not done).

The following is the details of the recall, according to the press release issued by Mattel Inc. :

Mattel voluntarily recalled 63 magnetic toys sold at retail prior to January 2007. Magnetic toys recalled within the U.S. include 44 Polly Pocket(TM) toys, 11 Doggie Day Care(R) toys, 4 Batman(TM) toys, 1 One Piece(TM) toy, and the accessory part of 2 Barbie(R) toys. For additional information regarding the magnetic toy recall, contact Mattel at (888) 597-6597, or visit the company’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com.

The Sarge toy from the “CARS” die-cast vehicle line was manufactured between May 2007 and August 2007. For additional information regarding the Sarge toy recall, contact Mattel at (800) 916-4997, or visit the company’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com.

A full list of products is published on the company’s Web site at www.mattel.com, as well as by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Consumers should immediately take these products away from children and contact Mattel to arrange return and to receive a voucher for a replacement toy of the consumer’s choice, up to the value of the returned product.

Maybe Nardelli isn’t the worst pick in this case; as a matter of fact, he might handle this post well beyond expectations. The reasons for Nardelli’s tarnished image would no longer be present in working for a private company:

1. Nardelli wasn’t a real stock price mover – Home Depot’s remained stagnant over his six-year tenure. This won’t be a problem anymore, considering the company’s gone private.
2. Nardelli was weakest in dealing with regular folks (Home Depot’s store managers). Okay, so how will he deal with labour unions? Answer: Chrysler president Tom LaSorda will continue to be the point person in labour talks.
3. Nardelli had a problem listening to and dealing with shareholders, which obviously won’t be a problem at private Chrysler. He can focus on fixing the business, while leaving public relations to others.

Maybe he’s the perfect CEO for a private company. Who knows? Either way, it’s a gamble. Chrysler’s selection is risky and controversial, but if it proves to be a success, Nardelli’s image of an imperious boss will be flipped around to one of the best business leaders of his time.

The way I see it is this: Chrysler is on fire. If Nardelli points the fire extinguisher appropriately, the fire will extinguish; if not, Chrysler will only burn in larger flames.