Consumers Have All The Power!

Stop Competing, And Start Cooperating!!

Let me ask you a question; "In high school, were you taught how to unite consumers so you could change the world, become wealthy, and build a multi-million dollar global business?" Neither was I! Yet, today I have already "been there and done it."

I was taught to sit down, follow instructions, comply with all the rules, work harder, get into college, work hard some more, follow more rules, get a good job, work harder still, pay my taxes, raise my kids to do the same thing, and retire on all my savings!! Even though 96% of the American population never achieves this goal, we continue to teach this myth every day, insane!

I was very fortunate, at age 32, I could see that this life model was not working for most of my friends that were 20-30 years older than myself! Yet, they still believed that this process would work for their kids. Making the same mistake over and over, yet expecting a different result is simply crazy.

I had played by all the rules! Working my way through college and earning four degrees with honors. Without school loans. Yet, here I was with everything! Everything crazy! Operating three new clinics, signing business loans, managing partners, employees, overhead, stress, working 60+ hours a week, getting tired, gaining weight, losing sleep, and realizing the American Dream could become a nightmare. We were in an economic recession, the markets were down and interest rates were through the ceiling! This was the early 1980's.

As an individual consumer I had a lot of limits! Time limits and limited knowledge. Yet, I knew that all real wealth came through leverage and networks. The true difference between ordinary income and world-class income was one word: LEVERAGE. Individual consumers, when united, are the most powerful and leveraged forces in our economy. Look at Costco, Walmart, McDonald's, or Starbucks, all of them are consumer-driven mega businesses!

Let's face it, the speed of life today is hectic and fast-paced. I knew that TIME was my most important capital, and yet I was overdrawn!

My priorities got pushed aside by noisier demands on my personal time and energy. I felt out of control. After a full day at work I had no time left for my other dreams. No time to learn, innovate, grow, be with my family, or maintain emotional and physical fitness. I am sure you can relate! Right?

As a professional, I had income but no spare time. Even my income was no longer certain as larger global forces began to impact our economy.

That all changed in a moment of clarity, in the mid-1980's. We improved an idea that has been around for hundreds of years. The power of buying communities or co-ops. We united the buying power of thousands of our colleagues and millions of our patients. As individuals, we each had very limited buying power. But, united, we were able to control and demand more VALUE in the market place. Our group was a runaway success, much like a Costco, Walmart, or REI. Why? Our business created more VALUE and TRUST for millions of consumers, AND the industry that supported them!

This collaboration was driven by our ability to use computer technology. This technology helped us manage thousands of accounts and millions of dollars of invoicing and data. Everyone benefited - from the manufacturers, to our coop, to our accounts, and then ultimately each consumer. The speed, efficiency, value, and the quality of every experience was enhanced. Massive leverage saved everyone millions of dollars, as we grew our sales to over a billion dollars!

Prior to this dramatic change, I was also concerned that I might work my entire life without feeling that I had made a real contribution to my fellow citizens, that I would have lived without making much of an impact. Can you relate with me?

Today, I feel much different. Today, we can all be heroes! We can all contribute! We can leave this world better off than we came into it! We can all live a life of significance! We can all have financial security! How?? By taking back control of our buying power. In 1994, we began to unite regular folks like you and me, into a united consumer movement. We no longer had trust in big corporations, government, special interests, politicians, big banks, big pharma, big food, or any faceless bureaucrat trying to run our lives. We took back our lives! Creating a better way to live!

Technology has leveled the playing field for ordinary hard-working folks. When we united our purchasing power we became more powerful than big business. The center of power is shifting back to local and decentralized consumers. When we unite, we can ask for much more from those organizations that want our precious consumer dollars! We have always had the power, but we have let powerful forces control our behavior. We stopped the madness! We took control! It felt amazing!

The same technology that will eliminate millions of traditional jobs over the next few years can also be used to our advantage and create millions of new-economy jobs. Every business on the planet wants your consumer dollars! Just look at Uber, only seven years old, and worth 68 billion dollars! Or AirB&B, worth 25 billion dollars. Yet they own no cars or hotel rooms! What they do own is the ability to link millions of consumer transactions between those who "have", with those that "need". This is the core theme of the Sharing Economy!

So, what you "have" at the end of the month are a few extra dollars, not much, so you don't feel very powerful. But everyone still wants you to spend those dollars in there businesses. What you "need" is more income and more time freedom. What companies "have" are products, and what they "need" are your limited consumer dollars. The shared economy creates the platform to combine our consumer power and demand more for our loyalty! It is simple, and it works! They get our business, and we create a better way to live!

The Sharing Economy creates more "value" from idle assets. Your car is idle 96% of the time, yet the average auto costs over $700 per month to own. Uber provides a micro-entrepreneur access to consumers that need a ride, therefore helping the Uber driver create more "value" from their idle assets (their cars). This is now playing out across the asset spectrum. From homes, to boats, to tools, manufacturing equipment, commercial properties, and private jets. Anything underused can be optimized, recycled, reused, or shared. This has the potential to transform our entire notion of "ownership". It can also save our planet billions of dollars in raw materials that need not be used to create assets that are underused buy society. This will lower our taxes as governments better manage their assets. This will save strapped-consumers millions and provide the New Economy with thousands of new jobs and lifestyles.

The Global Consumer Buying Group is my grand challenge to every consumer on the planet. Our business links consumers with global technology platforms to create home-based businesses that will empower every consumer on the planet to prosper in ways that were not possible only a few years ago! Creating a better way to live!

Read my BLOG article: The Consumer Revolution and You! This article will help you find out how you can create a better life for you and your family in this bold new economy!! A better way to give, and a better to live!