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The Council for Responsible Nutrition - a trade company dedicated to upholding and maintaining the integrity of the dietary supplement industry - has decided to revamp its membership dues structure for all voting member, effective January of 2009. The move to change the fee structure was made in an effort to make the CRN more appealing to smaller companies in the industry.

The association was founded to help its member companies responsibly market their products. The CRN also regulates supplements to ensure their safety and effectiveness.

The CRN currently counts several Network Marketing companies as members, including Shaklee, Mannatech, Herbalife, and Pharmanex. Other larger companies include Novartis, Bayer, Dow Chemical Company and GlaxoSmithKlyne. Needless to say, membership is a privilege and adds a good deal of legitimacy to any company and its products.

Marjorie Fine, CRN Chair and Exec VP and General Counsel and Shaklee explained the move, saying, “Our goal in revising our dues structure is to make membership in CRN more accessible across all sectors of the responsible industry. Whether a company is large, medium or small, membership in CRN comes with benefits, including access to: an aggressive, science-based agenda; regulatory and government relations expertise; and proactive public relations programs—all designed to improve the climate for responsible companies. We wanted to create a more equitable dues structure across the board that would still allow us to maintain the high level of membership benefits and service and also enhance the association’s ability to attract more companies to take advantage of our strategic initiatives.”

Dues for voting members are based on sales of the products in the US - which is similar to the way the Direct Selling Association works (DSA). The new dues structure will maintain lower dues for small companies who’s sales are less than $5 million a year as well as mid-size companies with annual sales less than $150 million. In exchange, larger companies have agreed to a slight increase in dues which will be based on a sliding scale based on the size of the company.

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EcoQuest has announced that they have formed a partnership with the American Lung Association. The company caught the eye of the American Lung Association after unveiling its newest air purification product at their national convention.

Over 2,500 distributors gathered earlier this month in Kansas City, as EcoQuest held its national convention and launched the “Gemini” its first indoor purification product. The “Gemini” is a NASA inspired ActivePure Technology with a HEPA Filter.

The American Lung Association was so impressed with the new indoor filter, that not only did they purchased a supply of the new purification products, but they have also asked EcoQuest to be a sponsor of this years ALA Healthy Air Walk.

The Gemini’ combines the HEPA carbon filtration system with EcoQuest’s Ozone free Active Pure Technology, which combines ultra violet photo oxidation and pulse ionization to purify and clean the air. Ecoquest says that the Gemini can cover over 300 square feet for pollen and particulate reduction, and up to 1,500 square feet to reduce germs on surfaces killing germs and mold and reducing smoke and odors.

EcoQuest President Mike Letts said, “We are excited to partner with the American Lung Association on this important cause.” Mike Jackson, EcoQuest’s CEO and principal owner, added, “Working with the American Lung Association to raise awareness about the problem of poor air quality just makes sense. We appreciate the opportunity to get the word out on this fantastic, educational event.”

While I’m not really sure about the technology itself, the Gemini seems to be a great machine with the ability to help clean the air and kill germs and mold. In today’s environment where there are so many irritants in the air, inside and outside, it’s great to have an effective way to clean the air and protect yourself and your environment. And although I don’t understand the technology behind the Gemini, if it’s good enough for the American Lung Association to approve of and partner with, I trust that it works.

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We got word that USANA has settled their lawsuit with Barry Minkow and the Fraud Discovery Institute.

In exchange for dropping the lawsuit against Minkow, both Minkow and the FDI agreed that they will no longer trade USANA stock (NASDAQ: USNA). In addition, the FDI will remove all information regarding USANA within their control from their website and will cease from publishing any future statements about the company.

Minkow, who is a convicted criminal, served eight years in jail for stock fraud and when released decided to dedicate his life to torturing network marketing companies (Nu Skin), (Herbalife) and attempting to manipulate their stocks.

Minkow came out with his first negative report about Usana in February of 2007. Minkow went on to buy “put” options on the stock betting that the price would fall. USANA responded by suing both Minkow and the FDI for defamation and stock manipulation.

Apparently after a lengthy battle, both parties were ready and willing to come up with a compromise although it is very unclear what Minkow gets out of this since it seems he has given up all future chances to attack the company but it seems awfully strange that Minkow would agree to no longer trade the stock and will stop talking about USANA.

Hopefully each party is satisfied with the ruling and they can resume business. Minkow is free to torture and manipulate other companies, and USANA, who is in the midst of a corporate restructuring after a failed attempt to go private, can put another legal battle behind them and move on with creating and distributing its nutritional products.

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When Dwayne Dyer talks about his Net-WORK, he emphasizes that second syllable, work. “Capital ‘W’, Capital ‘O’, Capital ‘R’, Capital ‘K’”.

This philosophy of “WORK” has certainly yielded very positive results for Dyer who—at XanGo- a network marketing company producing a highly concentrated Mangosteen fruit juice intended to promote health- has over 1 million people in his down line. Dyer has built one of the largest organizations in the industry.

Dyer describes two of his greatest influences in the industry; Gordon Morton Jr. and Ken Pontious, two remarkable network marketers who have come to realize that the core ingredient for success comes in the form of a good work ethic. An impressive focus on work ethic is not surprising coming from Dyer, whose 77-year-old father still operates his small optical center—Dyer Optical—and whose mother didn’t’ miss a single day of work in eleven years working the graveyard shift at Beckham Instruments.

Dyer receives over 100 emails a day and countless phone calls. “I feel this is a communication business. You’ve just got to communicate with your organization.” Excellent communication and the building of strong relationships are two of the industry’s big payoffs for Dyer, who enjoys touring various countries to spread the word about XanGo’s products and financial opportunities. Dyer coordinates various activities and events for members of the organization. Whether it is taking groups to houseboat vacations on Utah’s Lake Powell, or organizing XanGo distributor motor biking tours called, Bottles and Throttles, Dwayne obviously enjoys staying active in the industry. It is that commitment to “WORK” which separates Dyer from the rest.

Dyer’s approach to hard work and strengthening communication would be nothing without persistence. When he began as a distributor for XanGo, his family downsized from a beautiful executive home in Texas to a two-bed, one bath rental in Utah. His wife, Melody, entered the workforce, and Dwayne began calling everyone he knew to share this new opportunity. Dwayne worked 10-12 hour days making contacts, and admits that most of the people he contacted declined—including most of his close friends and family (his mother signed on, of course). Dwayne never considered quitting; he believed in the product, the founders, and the compensation plan.

“We have a Billion dollar brand, a product that changes lives, wonderful branding in place, a significant web presence, tools and brochures to help as well as professionals willing to assist every new representative who joins.” Dyer stresses, “sure there is WORK, but we have taken the hardest and most expensive parts out of the equation, now people just have to tell a simple story many, many, many times over 90 days.”

In an industry where only 1 distributor in 17 will actually stay with a business, Dyer demonstrates that hard WORK, communication, and persistence separate those who succeed from those who don’t. Dyer feels that if all of the pieces are in place, the only reason a company cannot double their size is that they are looking for the next Dwayne Dyer-someone that will be willing to tell that company’s story over and over and over as many times as it takes.

Tomorrow Dwayne explains why in his opinion so many fail…

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Phone: 801 885-2828
Email: Dwayne Dyer
Website: www.dwaynedyer.com

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