Institute For Independent Business Sold on Hype and Lies, Delivered Reality Parsippany, Parsippany New Jersey

I have been an associate of the IIB for 4 months. I have been a management consultant for 22 years. The reason why I joined was to have access to 5000 experts. The system works and it is all because of the skills and expertise available at a touch of an email request. Those who complain about this Institute and those who have failed and left it are frankly inept and expect something for nothing. The IIB will not make me a better consultant, but they supply all the tools and contacts that I was struggling to find when working alone. Its simple as that. The cost may seem high, but in the long term it will be a fee well worth paying. If I fail it is down to my abilities, being lazy and cynical such as the complainants filed on this website. So get of your butts and be constructive. There is no rip off here.

I am furious at the comments made on this website regarding our association I've been an associate since May '08. I have quietly gone about my business since accreditation. I have 4 Business Support Programmes signed, and I also coach two clients. My earnings are in access of 100,000, anualised, so far. All my clients are within 30 miles of my home.

I found the training and practical help to be hugely valuable and the specialists I've used so far to be excellent.

One of these days I will get to attend a regional gathering and I look forward to making new friends.

But you know what I like most about The IIB, its that you can take what you need from it and use your own strengths on top. As for the disgruntled, they'll always be with us.
Beware of people who point fingers at all but themselves.

Best Regards to All, especially my fellow May '08 Associates.

Jack C

I became an accredited associate of the IIB 2 years ago, and the lead up to the Residential Business School (RBS) did not paint any false pictures for me, but did emphasise that hard work and dedication was necessary to succeed, and this is certainly true.

The literature sent before the RBS should make it clear to anyone that you are being provided with a methodology to sell your services and not a cast iron guarantee of obtaining business. Indeed, the Distance Learning Manuals received before the RBS provide a wealth of information about running a business for yourself, and therefore if you have a modicum of common sense it should be clear at that stage what the IIB is offering. Some criticism could potentially be levelled at the appointments received after the RBS, but surely that's the time when we should be using our past business contacts to best advantage - a warm lead is far better than any telephone appointment to an unknown company!
I have found the IIB to be an excellent source of information on every topic, sourced from a highly experienced and international group of business executives who will always endeavour to assist their colleagues with any query or job at hand, and I value the network enormously.

Unfortunately there will always be some individuals who expect everything in life to be provided on a plate, whereas the majority of us have learned how to fend for ourselves.
I for one trust that the IIB will continue to grow, and particularly in these unprecedented economic times provide a beacon of hope to those businesses that are desperately trying to survive - maybe we should include some of the 'disillusioned ones' in that context?!

Lydia,

I take offence to your statement that the IIB sells (to) potential Associates on hype and lies'.

In my opinion the IIB sells / offers the following:

An extensive and rewarding training in the midst of a motivated and switched on group of senior professionals. Thereafter the IIB provides communication platforms (online and offline) to exchange work opportunities and assistance in all imaginable fields.

I have been an associate of the IIB for the past 3 years and have found that the associate network has not only offered me valuable advice but has kept me up to speed with the latest developments in the broadest possible sense.

As with every organisation the recruiting process can never be 100% successful and a very small percentage may be selected who at the end of the day do not have the drive to take action and make a success of the thriving environment they have entered into.

I am very sorry that their frustration needs to be posted on this forum discrediting an organisation that has a 25 year history and possibly putting my source of extra expertise and collegiality at risk.

Diederik van Buuren, AInstIB
The Netherlands

Rip-Off Reports wants to have insider information on the operations of companies that are the source of complaints so here are my experiences and knowledge of the IIB.

The Institute for Independent Business International represents to me the only valid option for anyone considering building their consultancy and advisory service to small and medium enterprise owners, not only in the UK where the IIB is based, but anywhere in the world where small businesses represent the backbone of their respective economies.

The model developed by the IIB is universal. The training is crucial and must be followed to the best of anyone's ability in order to be successful. It does take hard work and discipline and some people like Lydia are afraid or incapable to devote energies to be successful. Each Associate must also have the instinct to develop business opportunities into successful endeavours. If anyone does not have the basic business instincts, they should look for a job.

My insider information is totally contrary to what Lydia in Philadelphia reports. I was preceded by only one Canadian Associate to become accredited by the Institute for Independent Business. I went into the enrolment procedure with my eyes wide open and did my due diligence at their suggestion. I did not give my money to the IIB but rather invested in myself and into my business to acquire a reliable network of very talented Associates and a huge resource of business knowledge to assist my efforts in providing professional help to my clients.

Yes, I needed 14 appointments to complete my original 10 and the four that did not qualify were replaced quickly. I am still in touch with 6 of my original 10. The appointments work if you approach each one as instructed during the Residential Business School.

My clientele was developed with the confidence that most of my clients' challenges could be met with the help of other Associates. The IIB is the furthest thing from a scam that I could imagine. The ones who consider it to be that are truly not ethical hard-working business people.

Andy Roy, FInstIB
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Rip-Off Reports wants to have insider information on the operations of companies that are the source of complaints so here are my experiences and knowledge of the IIB.

The Institute for Independent Business International represents to me the only valid option for anyone considering building their consultancy and advisory service to small and medium enterprise owners, not only in the UK where the IIB is based, but anywhere in the world where small businesses represent the backbone of their respective economies.

The model developed by the IIB is universal. The training is crucial and must be followed to the best of anyone's ability in order to be successful. It does take hard work and discipline and some people like Lydia are afraid or incapable to devote energies to be successful. Each Associate must also have the instinct to develop business opportunities into successful endeavours. If anyone does not have the basic business instincts, they should look for a job.

My insider information is totally contrary to what Lydia in Philadelphia reports. I was preceded by only one Canadian Associate to become accredited by the Institute for Independent Business. I went into the enrolment procedure with my eyes wide open and did my due diligence at their suggestion. I did not give my money to the IIB but rather invested in myself and into my business to acquire a reliable network of very talented Associates and a huge resource of business knowledge to assist my efforts in providing professional help to my clients.

Yes, I needed 14 appointments to complete my original 10 and the four that did not qualify were replaced quickly. I am still in touch with 6 of my original 10. The appointments work if you approach each one as instructed during the Residential Business School.

My clientele was developed with the confidence that most of my clients' challenges could be met with the help of other Associates. The IIB is the furthest thing from a scam that I could imagine. The ones who consider it to be that are truly not ethical hard-working business people.

Andy Roy, FInstIB
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

My experience with the IIB has been for the most part a positive one, certainly in stark contrast to Lydia's experience. I am a former business owner who, after divesting myself of this enterprise, earned my living as a marketing consultant for many years prior to my accreditation with the IIB in 2005. At that time I had decided to refocus my efforts on consulting to the SME sector as a generalist. The IIB training was very helpful to me in this regard and I have since benefited from the knowledge base represented by the IIB network. My practice is healthy and I attribute part of my success to the IIB.

As a veteran consultant I had a major leg up in my ability to capitalize on my IIB investment. It is without question significant, however it is also worthy in terms of fast-tracking the establishment of a consulting practice and being better equipped on many planes to succeed. That said, for most people making the transition from employee to consultant is very difficult. The fact is that regardless of one's work experience, level attained or tenure, most of us are not cut out to be independent consultants. There is only one way to determine this, and that is to be placed in the position. Some will enjoy an acceptable measure of success, some will excel and others will fail. Failure, however, will not be a result of the IIB's approach (or any other organization of its sort). It will be a result of the individual's lack of suitability for the consulting vocation.

No organization is perfect and not all of their practices are beyond reproach. That said, borrowing from my own experience Lydia's comments are for the most part unfair, unbalanced and inaccurate. If you have what it takes to be an independent consultant, the IIB will help you and its worth the investment. There is no shell game.

I have been a US Associate of the IIB since September of 2005. My experience has been markedly different from that of Lydia, and believe that interested parties should hear from the large number of us whose experiences have been satisfying and rewarding.

Because the quality of the candidates has been called into question, let me start by saying that I was an Executive Vice President of a bank holding company with several billion dollars in assets. In addition, I had been a commercial lender to family owned businesses for years. I believe I qualify.

It is significant that the folks with grievances are not clients of IIB Associates but rather potential, present and former associates who feel they were sold a bill of goods. There is no question that the Parsippany group's sales tactics are aggressive, and candidates with no experience as independent entrepreneurs may have been "oversold." Because I had been on my own for several years and knew what it takes to sell consulting services, I never paid much attention to the hyperbole; I knew that in the end it was going to be my efforts that sold me.

I think the truthful response is something along the lines of: "I'm aware that some candidates were disappointed with their experience. After all, independent business ownership is not for everyone, and some new associates are always disappointed. The failure rate for new consultants is about the same as it is for all new businesses. I'd be far more concerned if it was clients complaining."

No one promised me any specific earnings from my association with the IIB, but I can attribute a satisfying living to the training I received, particularly in the area of client acquisition. The greater value has come from my experience in working with other associates world-wide. That experience has been uniformly excellent. There are some very fine consultants within the IIB and I don't regret going through the process.