Consumer Beware

Desk Lamp Daddy was a business that began with a phone call from Thrive Learning Institute of Utah. The call came as I was earnestly searching for a way to earn money from home, to become more entrepreneurial, and to be able to live my dream of eventually living at the Church of Shambhala Vajradhara Maitreya Sangha Monastery. While sure of the goal, I was growing impatient to make it a reality. My plans included a move to Arizona to begin working at the meditation center associated with this monastery, and there were no teaching jobs available for the next year in that area. Some kind of life preserver, like the promises Thrive Learning Institute offered, sounded very inviting.
So my vulnerability to the call from thrive Learning Institute was quite high. The initial phone call from ended up costing me $8,900.00 in training fees to Thrive Learning Institute. I was promised a refund if I did not earn that money back within a year (March 3, 2010). But the salesman assured me that most people earn the initial investment back within 4-6 months. I was to be developing an on-line store front with goods procured from dropshippers.
I eagerly launched into the development of Desk Lamp Daddy under the tutelage of Thrive's coaches. For the next three months I spent every spare minute doing research and using Thrive’s web building program. This amounted to 100’s of hours. I skipped exercise and sleep in a push to get the business under way quickly so that I could begin earning back that $8,900 that was now sitting on my previously empty credit card.
Unfortunately, all the effort and money did not pay off. Nearly one year later, Desk Lamp Daddy has yet to turn a sale. I am in Arizona living my dream of working at the meditation center, paying the bills working for the rather low hourly wages available in the community. And very glad to have a job! Thrive Learning Institute will have a chance come March 3, 2010 to live up to their promise to refund training fees.