Are home based businesses big in Japan?

[waiorawealth]

Hello, I just wondered if the home based business works well in Japan? Anyone with any experience with that?

[mr.sumo.snr]

It depends on what sort of business it is. Most locals will automatically assume that the only thing you're really qualified to do is teach foreign languages.

Tell us the your business idea and we'll try not to rain on your plans.

--

[waiorawealth]

Well I market a product here in the US (that is patented) that removes heavy metals and toxins from your body, and in doing so has helped many people get better who had some serious illnesses like hepititus C, cancer, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, shingles, autism, etc.

It is a multi-level marketing company so there is opportunity for all to profit from the distribution of this product.

I just wondered if this type of marketing works in Japan.

Thanks

[Glenski]

Sorry, if a product gets rid of all those things, regardless of patent, don't you think it would have been on world news and someone wouldn't have to sell the stuff out of their home?

Japan just had a couple of scams on medical products here. Be extremely careful.

On a more pragmatic note, just how did you plan to stay here in order to peddle your wares? Ninety days is all a tourist status will get you. After that, you need a visa.

[waiorawealth]

Well Glenski....Waiora decided to market this product through the network marketing process instead of paying millions to advertise on TV, radio, newspapers, etc....

As far as being on the world news....I said the product gets rid of heavy metals and toxins, and as a result some serious illnesses have been helped. I did NOT say that the product has cured or gotten rid of any of these diseases. That being said, it is not a sexy news story to tell the world we can remove heavy metals and toxins....

As for me "peddling my wares"...I am looking for business partners in Japan, I am not looking to move to Japan myself...

Thanks

[Mike Cash]

I'd rather have Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses hold their annual conventions on my front doorstep than have to deal with the typical get-rich-quick with dubious products multilevel marketing zealots. Heaven help us all.

[waiorawealth]

Wow, well that is quite an outlook you have.

[Glenski]

Asking about home-based businesses and asking for business partners are two very different things. Why didn't you just come out and ask what you really wanted, regardless of the product?

As for saving advertising money, you gotta spend some to make some.

Sorry for misinterpreting what you wrote earlier about the efficacy of the product, but to say it "has helped many people get better" implies to some people that it effects a cure. I'd be very careful in wording any advertisements here or in the USA.

[Mike Cash]

Wow, well that is quite an outlook you have.

Remember, just because someone is cynical doesn't mean they're wrong.

And multi-level marketing zealots are some of the most annoying people on the planet. Like Hare Krishnas without the flowers. At some point you'll probably find some of your friends and relatives starting to avoid you.

http://www.iwillchangeyourlife.com/2007/11/12/my-beef-with-multi-level-marketing/
http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-diego-multilevel-marketing
http://www.elaneman.com/post/2/1154476454/multi_level_marketing_is_hypocrisy.html
http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?Itemid=9&id=3046&option=com_content&task=view

[Glenski]

Know what I find most interesting about the Waiora web site?
Their links to presumably scientific information. Click on them and you get a disclaimer that reads, ironically:

"You are leaving this site and visiting a third-party website. Waiora is not responsible for the information contained on third-party websites nor does Waiora accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the website. These links are provided for your informational purposes only."

What's the (scientific) point of providing information links if you can't stand behind them?

[nice gaijin]

The "looking for partners" comment made this whole thread smell like Amway snake oil.

[Mike Cash]

Just look at his user name. It isn't "waiorahealth".

[waiorawealth]

Look you guys can make fun if you like. I have thick skin so I don't mind, but the truth of the matter is that we have a serious product that is backed by some real science, and I assure you that no one goes into business for themselves to NOT make any money, so therefore, I feel the "wealth" is justified.

All I can say is I am sorry I ever posted the question here in this forum. It is obvious you have no interest.

Thanks

[Glenski]

If you don't like our replies, I suggest you stay away from posting this on GaijinPot.com. Those guys will eat you for lunch.
Look you guys can make fun if you like. I have thick skin so I don't mind, but the truth of the matter is that we have a serious product that is backed by some real science...
Then answer the question I posed rhetorically above.
Why does the web site point people towards scientific references, then put in a disclaimer about the information? Very hokey, sleazy, and unprofessional. If you want people to believe the science, say that you believe in it, too, instead of telling people you are not responsible for the information.
I eagerly await a serious reply.

EDIT:
Scientific backing?
The web sites says Natural Cellular Defense has these key benefits (and no others):
Key Benefits
Supports a healthy immune system.*
Helps remove heavy metals, toxins and other substances from the body.*
Helps balance pH levels in the body.*
100 percent natural and non-toxic.*
Safe for long-term use.*

The little asterisk is footnoted on the same page. Have you read it?
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Where is the scientific backing?

A Croatian article (Megamin, faith, hope, and placebos -- a critical review) says this (red emphasis is mine):
Megamin is a registered nutriceutical in Croatia. Allegedly, it consists mostly of a naturally occurring zeolite (aluminum silicate) ion-exchange material tagged with vitamins and minerals. Mass-media claimed that Megamin possessed strong anticancer properties although it had not been tested through an appropriate, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial.

Why Croatian articles? Most studies I have just perused came from mice, chicks, pigs and cows in Russia or Croatia. I see that the same authors keep cropping up on these animal studies. No problem with that, but in one study they say that various blood levels of minerals are "not affected", while in other articles they put a more positive spin on it by saying that "no adverse reactions" were seen.

One Croatian report directed at physicians says this (red emphasis is mine):
The contact of zeolite particles with gastrointestinal mucosa may elicit the secretion of cytokines with local and systemic actions. Reactive silicium ions might react with biomolecules of the intestinal epithelium, and if resorbed, do so in other cells. Mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of zeolite particles have been described, resembling such effects of asbestos fibers. Thus, local and systemic effects of zeolites may be complex and interrelated, and an objective assessment requires appropriate experimental models.

The web site proudly boasts half a dozen "clinical studies" in progress. Its own disclaimer that follows reads:
The following are a list of clinical trials and studies currently underway on Waiora's products. Results from these studies will be posted here at the conclusion of the trial or study pending formal publishing of the trial or study in peer-reviewed medical journals.

NOTE: The following are the only clinical studies recognized by the Company.

Readers take note that any trial underway means nothing until the results have actually been published! Trials do not guarantee success of anything! I speak from personal scientific experience on this, as I was employed in a major pharmaceutical firm for several years. Companies where my colleagues have worked have literally fallen by the wayside or lost serious respect and funding because a clinical trial failed.

[centrajapan]

Obviously it depends what you want to sell. If you want to sell a product to the Japanese market here are a few things I learned. Japan has a very high standard of quality control. Things which were completely fine in Scandinavia would go as defect in Japan. Scandinavia too has a high standard on things in general. Don't assume that since it sells well in your home country that it will do the same in Japan automatically. Listen to the market. Make adjustments. This is where the debate will be. You are willing to make adjustments in return of how much you can sell. But if you don't make any adjustments you will have a harder time selling your product.

I will give you an example. The things you get in Ikea in Japan is different than the Ikea in Sweden or USA. It looks the same but it isn't. For instance furniture you get in Japan is smaller than the furniture you get in USA. Ikea has made adjustments to the Japanese market.

[Glenski]

Good points, centrajapan. Drug testing is different here than in the USA, and so is the approval process. Also, dosages are lower.

[Pachipro]

There are already pleanty of products on the market that remove heavy metals and toxins from the body. Just go to any health food store and you'll find them, or do a google search. They are patented also.

It's the multi-level thing that makes me suspicious as multi-level products are way over-priced compared to similar products on the market, and if it's just one product, you'll have to recruit a helluva lot of people and sell alot of product just to make enough money to pay your rent.

Before anyone decides to do something like this they should check out Scam.com (http://www.scam.com/index.php?) and check the thread for MLM scams or similar sites on the web.

[Mike Cash]

And it isn't as though Japan weren't already infested with the MLM vermin. Just one more flavor of scam in a country overflowing with scams.

[Pachipro]

I just did a simple google search with the words Waiora scam (http://www.google.com/search?q=waiora+scam&hl=en&start=10&sa=N)and came across hundreds of pages indicating it was a scam and that the founders are being sued, etc.

MLM may be a good way of making money as has been written about many times in trade and financial magazines, but there're way to many MLM scams out there taking advantage of the individual looking to make a quick buck without doing much work. One thing they always say though in the trade magazines is, "be prepared to work your *** off many hours/day for a long time before you see any rewards, and possibly lose the respect of your frinds and family. MLM's are said to be akin to a stunt man trying to keep many plates (your network) spinning on a stick before one falls. The work never stops and once you stop spinning the plates or let them fall, you business disintegrates."

How do I know this? Been there, done that and after 5 years in the Grandaddy of all MLM's I discovered what a scam it was and how greedy those bastards at the top were. Yes, I did make money also, but not as much as some would have you believe or I was coerced into saying. As I said, the basic premise is good and money CAN be made in a decent company and with the right rules and organization, but it's the way they did it and conned people that made me leave the business when I had built a pretty decent one. Maybe someday I'll tell that story.

[ET_Fukuoka]

MLM = Fail
...and please go to the gaijinpot.com forums because I love to read them blast people like you!! I like to think we are a lot nicer here. ;-)