Welcome To EcoQuest

(updated 7/3/07)

This section covers my story but its bigger purpose is to give new people an understanding of our program's potential and staying power.

It helps answer these questions: How does EcoQuest work?

Is it a good company? Do the products work?

Can a person be successful?

I am somewhat of an artistic person. That is to say, I have a creative flair and an inclination to think outside the box. So as long as you are willing to tolerate a page or two of background, I think you’ll like this.

If EcoQuest is not for you, maybe you shouldn't join. On the other hand, I agree with the poet: “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” With that in mind, let me say: "The risk for trying EcoQuest is small and the rewards—ranging from financial benefits to family advantages and self-development—can be very great."

Most people cannot know immediately if they are destined to be “a natural” for this business. Nor can they predict how lucky they will be. Luck will sometimes make a big difference. If you are on the wrong road at the wrong time a drunk driver might get you. If you buy the right lottery ticket you might be rich.

If you like what you see after hearing a reasonable overview, give EcoQuest a try. In the simplest way, you can sign up right now going to www.infinity2.com. There's no great value in analyzing something to death when the ante is only $25. Just get an air purifier—or perhaps 11 air purifiers, if you want to copy what I did—and get to work. Or start with a Wellness Business Pack and an Autoshipment of nutrition products.

The first part of my story will take us back to 1950. I was a third grade student in a small California town and new to my school. Making friends was hard because I was a minority student by race and by size. But an assignment came along that really suited me. We were asked to bring Korean War clippings to school for the class bulletin board.

Each morning I scoured through the LA Times and collected war articles. Often I had to make a value judgment and sacrifice one article for a better one on the other side of the page. I also scouted around for magazines. My family didn’t buy magazines but I got them from other people’s trash. The photos were better. Clip, clip, clip. For nine months, I was the number one bulletin board kid.

During that period, the Times ran front-page articles on chain letters. The Post Office Department was challenging them, and the stories captured my attention! An enterprising person could get total strangers to send dollar bills in envelopes…and it was legal. But some people were complaining and the Post Office was speaking out against these letters. However, this, the articles made it clear that the system was legal.

The claim that 10 mailings would multiply into 100 and from there to 1,000 was false. The return rate was terrible, and the stories the big returns people were seeing were made up. Chain letter pros beat the odds by mailing thousands of letters and relying on the Law of Large Numbers. Their strategies were explained. They wouldn’t just mail to every Tom, Dick, and Harry. They used “targeted” lists. Neat! Some people were more likely than others to go for chain letter deals. Then they put their own alias names in all the pay levels. They helped amateurs do mass mailings and, in so doing, created a sub-system of people who were hoping to get rich. This multiplied the results without costing the pros a dime. Wow! I was getting it.

At 9 years of age I had found my career. No occupation had ever sounded as interesting. By working smart I could beat the odds. It was clear that most people were not willing to think the whole thing through. Only a tiny fraction of all who tried chain letters were able to break even. But the smartest of the smart were making a profit. Bobby Giddens was seeing light at the end of his life’s tunnel. A life of great success and satisfaction seemed possible—and not a single adult was ever consulted.

One day the axe fell. The headline read, “Post Office declares chain letters illegal.” I felt my whole life pass before my eyes. I was doomed to becoming an airline pilot, a petroleum engineer or maybe a salesman.

Eighteen years later, as a young Navy flight instructor in Kingsville, TX, I showed up at 8:00 PM at the home of Glen & Carolyn Bolton to attend a business opportunity meeting. I had no idea what that meant. No one would tell me the name of the company or if selling was involved. I hated the cat and mouse game they were playing, but I brought my checkbook. An hour later they revealed the name Amway and started showing the products.

I understood the system immediately—including its subtleties. It was my first exposure to multilevel marketing and it amazed me that I had not discovered it before. I was hooked, and I assumed almost everyone would be interested. I wanted what the speaker was promising:

1. A business that could be started with very little money ($2,500 - $3,500 in EcoQuest). P

...2. A lot of top end potential ($150K a year is possible in EcoQuest -- I've made up to six times that much). P

......3. Work from home (this even provides some tax advantages). P

.........4. No complex qualifications, licenses, or employees were needed. P

............5. No territorial restrictions (I enjoy travel). P

...............6. A parent company to handle a lot of the red tape. P

..................7. Leverage potential—I could enlist the efforts of others (herein lies the true power of MLM). P

.....................8. Residual income potential—an opportunity for financial independence. P

........................9. A program I could share with others. P

...........................10. Selling was not a main requirement (reread this; it is very important). P

11. Leadership and strategy—areas where I had some skill—were paramount. P

...12. Unlimited opportunities for promotion (not based on office politics). P

......13. I could start part time. P

.........14. I could start tomorrow. P

............15. A lot of room for creativity (don't think for a minute that what we do is "just selling"). P

...............16. Excellent products (so they said—I later decided this was not true in that company).

..................17. Cost effective products (definitely a misrepresentation in that company).

.....................18. A helpful system (mostly a misrepresentation in that company).

........................19. A lot of people were succeeding (an outright lie in that company).

...........................20. A challenge! This was definitely true. P

21. Wholesome, middle-America “my kind of people” were involved. P

Even though I HATED the baloney they had put me through during the week before the meeting, I liked the rest. The big pluses for me are marked with P. In items 16 through 19 I share some negative feelings about the way that first program appeared to me after I worked it for a while.

I immediately bought some products from my sponsor and the next night I had my first meeting.

If this was worth doing, it was worth doing NOW. I viewed it kind of like a race. I didn’t like the idea of being on the bottom of the heap. The way to the top was to build it through recruiting and the way to learn the ropes was to get involved. My enthusiasm was high and my sense of urgency was maxed out.

I started discovering the realities of multilevel marketing (MLM) the next day.

1. It was a lot harder getting people to meetings than they made it seem. [This hasn't changed.]

2. Everyone wasn’t as interested or as positive as I was. [This is frustrating but it doesn't make a good person quit.]

3. The products weren’t as fantastic as Amway claimed. Nor were they a bargain. [EcoQuest/Infinity2 products are much more solid in these areas.]

4. Almost all MLMers lie about the money they make. Beginners simply repeat what they have been told. When they finally debunk some of the lies, they have trouble backpedaling and telling the truth. [EcoQuest is much more honest. I have never misrepresented my income.]

5. Even if they don’t puff up their gross income, people still misrepresent their net income. They also take their highest monthly check and annualize it to a yearly figure, which is simply not true. Lying is a problem in MLM. But I really liked the good parts of MLM. If only it could be cleaned up!

I worked Amway for 8 months and learned some valuable strategies. I hated the misrepresentations, including the claim that I could save money by buying products at “wholesale.” Even at wholesale, those products were 2x or 3x as high as store products. This difference could not be justified with quality, which was average to my assessment. Nor did I like the brainwashing tactics they used.

My next experience was with Shaklee—the vitamin company. I joined in 1970 when vitamins were still new and exciting to the American public. That was a good decade for vitamin companies and I did well. I set a growth record to the rank of Lifetime Master Coordinator (it can’t be broken because they’ve changed the plan) and was a celebrity for most of my 17 years there. I loved the work and my many friends but the glitter faded when the company stopped growing in 1980. The promise that new people could make money started to ring hollow.

Then came a dark period. From 1987 to 1995 I bought distributor kits from 20 MLM programs. I worked a few of them and had one company after another go out of business right out from under me. I became an MLM junkie and made no progress on reducing my $300K debt. Two-thirds of my debt was to IRS because of underpaid taxes in the final two years that I made good money. I lost all of my assets and wondered if there would ever be a way out.

Enter EcoQuest—then known as Alpine Industries or just “Alpine.” In March of 1995 I got a phone call from a guy I hadn’t talked to for six years. “Do you know what my brother Mike is doing?” he asked. Then he brought me up to date on how his brother, Mike Jackson, had become a big celebrity with Shaklee and then accepted an offer to become the co-owner of Alpine. Mike had resigned his Shaklee position. Wow!

Doug Jackson then told me, “This is my fourth month with Alpine and if things continue the way they are going I’m on track to make $12,000 this month.” He added, “Bob, I’ve been thinking about calling you for months but I wanted to get some success under my belt before I tackled you. This company has potential and I think you can become the top guy if you decide to work it. They’re back about where Shaklee was two decades ago, and some people are making very serious money.”

I was thinking, “I’m not interested.” By the way, that’s what most prospects think when you first approach them. It’s normal. But I kept listening because Doug had that big piece of bait on the table—$12,000 in his fourth month. I figured he was exaggerating…and I wondered if the company would last. Most significantly, I wasn’t sure if I had another burst of MLM energy in me. I was really burned out.

Doug handled me wisely. First, he didn’t talk too much. He laid out his bait. He complimented me and said I could be great. And he offered to send some info. What’s not to like about that? [I'm telling this story because of its training value.] Being new, Doug had the luxury of being able to play dumb when I asked how the plan worked and other such details. He kept insisting that this company really needed someone intelligent like me. He said I could figure it out and teach him. Doug was fantastic and I’ll be forever in his debt!

I had never seen or heard of an air purifier. I had never smelled the ozone freshness that comes out the front. I’d never seen the onion or ammonia demos. I just knew that I needed money and Doug was saying I could make some. I was protesting that I wasn’t interested but in my heart of hearts I was eager to see what he would send.

His packet contained a handwritten note and 30 letters from Alpine customers. The few pieces of company literature hardly mattered. One testimonial talked about smoke “disappearing from the air.” There was one from Pillsbury, another from Century 21, another from the U. of North Carolina athletic department. There were letters from private homes, salons, restaurants, car dealerships and veterinary offices. Indoor air purification was versatile and more impressive than I had imagined. Smoke odors were eliminated, skunked dogs were cleaned up, salon smells were reduced, and people often commented on the “rainforest freshness” of their air.

Those letters impressed me. Without a doubt I was going to buy the dealership. Whether I would do anything or not I really didn’t know. My main thought was that if a good sale were to drop in my lap, I’d be a fool not to have the dealership. The startup tariff was only $25. Remember, I had yet to lay eyes on an air purifier.

Then something wonderfully lucky happened. Doug offered to pay my way to the home office.

“Here’s the commitment I ask of you,”  he said.

“If you like what you see and think you can make $100,000 a year or more,

I’ll expect you to come aboard and give a major effort.” 

I readily agreed.

I wanted to see one or two of the top earners. I don’t know what you can tell from looking at Ev Nelson or Wayne Zimmermann, but I wanted to lay eyes on them. I suppose I wanted to see if I thought I could measure up. Maybe I wanted to get a sense of what kind of people they were. I can’t say what I was looking for but I knew I’d recognize it.

Mike Jackson was showing me some things in the computer when Ev drove up in her Cadillac. As she walked toward the entrance Mike said he had just sent her a $25,000 bonus check. He introduced us and I could immediately see that Ev was a solid backer of the company. She was open and honest. There was no attempt to put on a false front; and even though I wasn’t going to be in her group, she welcomed me sincerely. Ev Nelson passed with flying colors!

Two hours later I attended the company’s weekly meeting. They covered the products, their vision for the future, some testimonials and selling. The selling scared me. I’m a visionary, a strategist, a teacher and a leader—not a sales guy. That night I wrestled with the question of how many units I’d have to sell in order to qualify for my monthly bonus check. By morning I had it solved. I had to move 4 purifiers per month; I didn’t have to sell 4 to retail customers. There is a difference.

There were guys in the room who had sold THOUSANDS of units. Holy cow! That’s $300,000 profit from each 1,000 units sold. Conroe Erickson had made over a million dollars from selling. Zimmermann and his group had done a lot with Trade Shows. I’d never heard of an MLM program that offered that much up-front profit. This wasn’t traditional, ho-hum MLM; this was more of a hybrid company.

The fact that the company did manufacturing was interesting. It was rare—almost off the radar—for a new MLM company to do manufacturing. I was sure there had never been any other company that brought an important new technology to the world via this system of distribution. This was a great sign.

I began to think: I have an opportunity to be part of the success story.

That’s what I want—an opportunity to make a difference.

The “volumes” (PV = Point Value) these people were posting were astonishing. One guy came to the meeting with a $59,600 check he had just collected from a customer. It was for 60 Eagle 5000 units—one of our commercial products. His profit was $30,000. That sure looked good. Other managers were earning big checks with relatively small groups.

The thing I wasn’t impressed with was the product. Oops. Do you think I’ve blown it with that remark?

Here’s what I mean. I was VERY impressed with the testimonial letters. It was clear that a lot of people were loving indoor air purification. I was also impressed with the marketability of the product. Some serious selling was going on. But I didn’t think I PERSONALLY needed an indoor air purifier in my home. My air didn’t stink. I didn’t smoke. I didn’t think there was an air quality problem in my home. On top of that, the XL-15 was cheap looking. The lint screen on the back didn’t fit very well. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to sell it for $600. [Today's top selling models are attractive and impeccable documentation is presented in the Proof Book.]

That’s why I was there: to check things out. I’m reporting my first impressions. I had to weigh my negative questions against the evidence they were showing me. You’ll have some negative thoughts, too.

These things were selling like hotcakes. I’d seen evidence! And the testimonial letters were real. About 100 people were present and it seemed like everyone had a story to tell. Plus I experienced the onion test with my own eyes and nose.

This brings us to the point where you might be at this very moment. Some things about EcoQuest seem incredibly good; others things seem problematic. You have to make a value judgment just as I had to do when two Korean War stories were back to back on the same sheet of newsprint.

I chose to go forward. The company wasn’t perfect then and it’s not perfect now. But I’ve had an incredible 12 years (by the way, we changed our name to EcoQuest in 2000). I love my work and I love my people. In my first partial year I earned $99,000 in bonus checks and about $3,000 in sales commissions. The next year my bonus income totaled $596,000. It was a rags to riches journey. By December I had completely repaid $200,000 to IRS and $100,000 to other creditors. I had also prepaid my income tax for that year. My annual earnings have risen since then.

EcoQuest is a good company, but let’s face reality...We’re not the most important company in the world. We are not as critical as Microsoft or Wal-Mart or the telephone company. America would be in a real mess if farming went under or if the food distribution system broke down. Your city would be a disaster area if your power company blew up. By comparison, if EcoQuest were to disappear it would only hurt a few of us. That’s my reality check. I’m not asking you to believe anything false or act like a member of a cult. I want you to join EcoQuest for valid reasons!

1. WE GROW BY RECRUITING! -- the same way General Motors or Office Depot grows. Don’t think that MLM companies are the only ones that recruit. All companies grow by adding people. We want your skills, your enthusiasm, your ideas, your contacts, and your friendship. These facts about our company will help you make the right decision.

2. OUR PRODUCTS HELP PEOPLE. We can prove what they do scientifically...such as our ability to kill bacteria [we every have proof that our technology kills Avian Influenza]. We can demonstrate our products in just a few minutes. We can make the smell of an onion disappear from your hand. Smoke disappears in our Living Proof demo box within five seconds. We have thousands of letters from happy customers and almost an unlimited number of oral testimonies. We’ll let you visit the home office and attend one of our Success Institutes. And we’ll let you try an air purifier. Prove to yourself how it works.

3. OUR PRODUCTS ARE PROFITABLE. Our profit opportunity is unique in all of home-based business. Not everyone is a good salesperson. But those who are can make thousands of dollars in their first month. Even modest salespeople do well. Sell 3 Fresh Air units and you make over $750. If this takes a year it’s still a satisfactory return on a $35 dealership. What if you are able to do this much every month?

4. OUR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IS SECOND TO NONE. I’ve tried to convey in this overview that this is not a get rich quick deal. There is a lot of work. A lot of learning is involved; and some upfront costs. I invested $4,700 to start with 11 air units, and I stand by that startup strategy. The cost today would vary from $3,200 to $6,000. There are less expensive ways to get involved, too. Don’t invest thousands of dollars unless you are willing to work. Our top people earn millions. That’s the potential.

5. OUR TRAINING AND SUPPORT ARE THE BEST. I started in MLM at age 28. Now I’m 65. Believe me, I know this industry and no company has ever offered as much solid training and support as EcoQuest does. At your earliest convenience, come to Greeneville and attend a Success Institute. Listen to our Conference Calls. Read our Success Manual. Read my book called Fish Food and review additional pages on this website (click on the link at the bottom to get to the HOME page). You’ll be pleased to discover that we present ourselves forthrightly and honestly.

6. OUR VISION AND COMMITMENT ARE REAL. We have stayed on the cutting edge of air purification technology and we are committed to maintain our position of leadership. Our vitamin company, Infinity2, is a leader and pioneer in the use of enzymes as part of supplementation. Our primary owners, Mike Jackson and Korean War Veteran Colonel Lee Roper, are committed to making the company ever bigger and better.

7. I’M REAL. I hope you have enjoyed my overview. Elsewhere in this website you will find training, problem solving information, marketing ideas, up-to-date meeting details, and inspiration. More is added from time to time. I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletters. $30 gets you 21 issues (per year) of Chippy News and Leader Only News Exclusive.

Sincerely and enthusiastically,

Bob Giddens