Whether you’re just starting your entrepreneurial journey or you’re up and running already, there’s a major threat waiting around the corner.
This threat can affect anybody who experiences even the slightest success.
It’s something that positions itself to seem as an authority figure in the business world and it even gives off the impression that it’s a business entity…
Don’t be fooled by this major threat. Keep your income growing safely and arm yourself with this knowledge…
I’ve come head-to-head with this major threat a few times, and chances are, you’ve probably heard its name…
I’m talking about the Better Business Bureau—aka the BBB.
Are you familiar with the BBB?
Most consumers believe the BBB is a government regulated entity and they rely on it to decide whether they should shop with your business or not. It’s probably because of the word “Bureau” in the name or maybe it comes down to other factors.
Regardless, it is absolutely no way affiliated with any government agency and should NOT be considered such a trusted authority.
But the assumption is that they are government officials and that they have the final say on a business and its practices.
A bad grade on the BBB could mean the downfall of your new business before it even gets started.
But it gets worse…
Do you know how you get a good grade on there?
Well, if you’re not paying their fees, it’s near impossible to get any grade higher than a C-.
That’s right… the way the BBB masks its wrongdoings is by labeling their membership fees as “donations” and by calling their members “accredited businesses.”
It’s [evil] genius really—if you’re alright with having that on your conscience.
The BBB has stated that non-accredited businesses will automatically lose points.
The amusing thing is you must pay up to $10,000 per year to be considered accredited.
Consider the famous chef Wolfgang Puck. He’s stated multiple times that his businesses have receive BBB ‘F’ grades because he refuses to pay the fee.
Ritz Carlton also receives ‘F’ grades for not paying the fee.
So, when your potential customers search your business on the BBB’s site, there’s only a few things you can do to rid yourself of their scam…
The first thing would be to pay their yearly fee, but I DO NOT recommend doing that.
The more feasible way to handle it would be to constructively reply to every complaint you end up receiving on there.
When prospective customers search for your company, they may see the ‘F’ grade, but they’ll see that you’re responsive and that there’s somebody behind the business.
You also need to start collecting positive reviews from real customers. You can use these in the responses to the BBB complaints, but the main thing is to have them on your website.
You can never have too many positive reviews.
If somebody goes to the BBB site, sees that you respond to complaints on there, and then goes to your website to find lots of positive reviews, you might be able to sway that potential customer into understanding that you’re an honest, hard-working business owner.
The thing that really gets to me about the BBB is the fact they’re profiting off the misery of other people.
It’s a major threat to entrepreneurialism and the best we can do right now is spread the word of their crooked acts (on top of replying to any complaints on your profile).
Their business plan is set up to take other businesses down… But it’s not going to happen to yours and ours.
