Now Launching: “Services” Hello everyone, I’m very excited to talk about the launch of Services! Repetition is the mother of success: So, before we discuss services, below, let’s do a quick recap on our recent discussions. Recently, we discussed at length (in a post titled “The future of empowr: We need your vote”) where we think the world is headed: We made the argument that, thanks to technology and automation, there’s plenty of ecomomic theory and evidence to support the idea that we appear to be headed to a world of abundance, where most everything we want or need, is in our hands fast, for virtually free… … but only if we get to the future first and exploit the network effect for the benefit of the empowr economy, before other (strictly profit-driven) companies do that first. We asked for, and received your approval, for a bold set of moves desgined to make us the pioneer in that direction. We promised we would start rolling out those items in the coming days. Before we got started, we stopped to have a quick discussion about AMCO cash outs, titled “Where’s my cash out?”… … because a few citizens were showing signs of confusion about how AMCOs worked, so it seemed like a worthwhile pause on our progress to address their confusion. We were right; a number of citizens were confused, and some were expressing expectations that didn’t match reality, so rather than string them along -- by looking the other way while they continued in empowr with those unreal expectations…. ... we decided to slow things down even further… … by having yet another discussion about cash outs, this time titled “Is empowr the right place for you?”. This time, we used a hypothetical example about a group of people that move to the Pacific Ocean to pump up dirt from the bottom of the ocean and create a new island country. Our hopes were that, by approaching the topic in another way (using a story) these citizens would be more likely to understand the disconnect between some of their expectations and reality. The reality is that: 1. Thanks to the sheer willpower (hard work, blood, sweat and tears) of the empowr community – YOU -- the empowr economy has been growing at astronomical (record!) rates – literally doubling each month since last summer. I can’t say enough about this. Your success really goes to prove what can happen when a group of people put their minds to accomplishing something. This wasn’t an easy thing to achieve and everyone gave so much of everything they had to this effort. I am so very proud of everyone – citizens, success coaches and employees. 2. How much cash goes out to empowr citizens is a fairly disconnected subject from the empowr economy: Specifically: When Joe pays Sally $100 (to buy something from her) using his empowr earnings, those earnings are not bringing outside (U.S. dollar, Euro or other) currency into empowr. And then, when Sally takes those new earnings, and uses them to buy something from Henry, that event is also not bringing outside (U.S. dollar, Euro or other) currency into empowr. And then, when Henry takes those new earnings (that he received from Sally) and buys something from Jack, that also brings no outside currency (U.S. dollar, Euro or other) into empowr. … and so on, and so forth. 3. On a side but somewhat unrelated note, outside currency into empowr has also been growing nicely, which has allowed empowr to provide more overall AMCO cash outs to its citizens each month. 4. However, while the empowr economy (meaning sales between citizens) has been doubling monthly… … outside currency (in to empowr) has not been growing at that same astronomical rate, nor was it ever expected to. 5. That means that if someone had an expectation that, with each $1 they sold in empowr to someone else, they would receive an accelerated matured cash out (AMCO) in the approximate amount of $1, their expectation is a false one. As the empowr economy continues to take off, the correct expectation is that the earnings they received (in exchange for products and services provided) can be utilized in the empowr economy to purchase other products and services… … which is exactly how a functional economy works. Just imagine: If everyone that sold a product or service in, say, France, expected to have matching U.S. dollars given to them (on top of their local currency) the French government would go bankrupt in a week. Can you see how unrealistic such an expectation is? Make no mistake, empowr continues to be 100% commited to providing as much AMCO cash outs to its citizens as it possibly can, as it is demonstrating monthly. But as the empowr economy continues to succeed… … and the economy’s growth rate continues to dwarf empowr’s cash influx, it should be absolutely expected that the amount of AMCOs given per $1 in empowr sales, will become a smaller and smaller number. Also, please remember that together we agreed that AMCOs should be used to reward behaviors for “what’s most important now”. That is, as we move forward with the new set of solutions… … that have been designed to address the top pain points you have communicated to us… … pain points such as the cost of acquiring products, plus the hassle and cost of shipping products… … it should have become very clear (from multiple recent posts) that Services, Sharing and Transporting will now go to the front of the AMCO line. -----------------
OK, now, with that conversation behind us… … I think almost all of you will agree that it’s now time to move forward. As many of you have grown quite accustomed to, we will need to have this conversation again every 90 days or so, as we’ve repeatedly done in the past… …in order to ensure that the few folks that somehow find themselves with unrealistic expectations, also have an opportunity to figure this out. But that’s OK. Let’s consider it a shared price we all pay for educating new citizens and ensuring they have the right knowledge, mindset and expectations Therefore, let’s get started. Services As you know, the empowr team has been working day and night to get all of the necessary features and improvements in place to build the empowr economy… … with a goal of having virtually everything you want or need becoming available to you in the empowr marketplace. The first of many of these improvements starts TODAY, by enabling all empowr citizens to: • List services now easier than ever before • Sell services locally (to those in your circle of trust) • Secure payment for sales with in-person validation • Hit Daily Goals and receive AMCOs based on your service sales Why the focus on services? Many of you have shared your concerns (pain points) about listing products for sale in the marketplace, including: … “I don’t have products to sell”… … “I can’t afford any out of pocket costs to acquire products”… … “I can’t afford the shipping costs for products”… … “But I have a skill, talent or time that I can offer”… Providing services to each other can often be done, with less (or in many cases, with little to no) out-of-pocket costs. And with lots more services soon becoming available, you’ll be able to buy a lot more with your empowr earnings. For that reason, by making it easy for services to grow on empowr, big changes can begin happening with very little effort. Making it easier to list services Of course, you have always had the ability to list services by going to the empowr marketplace and manually entering in all of the details…  
… but now, with a new “List it!” feature, listing services (and even products, by the way) is about 100 times easier. Here’s how: Simply search for a product or service that you’d like to offer… 
… and then (if you find a service that you too would like to offer) simply click the new “List it” button – to instantly – magically -- list the same product or service into the marketplace… 
… using the same photos, title and descriptions used by the original listing:  
And since you’re utilizing a previously approved listing, your listing will be instantly and automatically approved for everyone to purchase. Just make sure all the listing details are 100% consistent with your capabilities and wishes as a service providder, and adjust any and all elements you want to, such as price. We’ve taken out almost all of the effort of listing a service. Now, you can just focus on providing an awesome service to your customers and reaping the benefits. Soon this process will be even easier as you’ll be able to see the most popular listings for sale based on how many people are offering them – all on a “Hot Stuff” page (more on that in a few days!) Offering services locally Unlike products that can be shipped around the world, with services, you want the freedom to only sell to people within a certain distance from you. For example, if you’d like to offer dog walking or car washing services, you only want to offer that service to people within, say, 10 or 20 miles from you – not to everyone in your country. So, now, with these newly updated buyer requirements, you have full control over who can purchase your services (and products) based on their distance from you: 
As a service provider, think about how far you’re willing to travel to provide that service. Getting and giving credit for a completed in-person service Once a service has been successfully provided, the seller and buyer will want to use the new confirmation process, which I’ll illustrate in a moment. By following this new process, they’re: 1. Instantly marking the service as “Service Received”, so the service provider doesn’t need to spend any time tracking down the buyer at a later time 2. Instantly releasing funds to (paying) the service provider 3. Confirming to the empowr platform that the two citizens did, indeed, meet in-person, at the same location. This helps reduce fraud and enables AMCO cash outs for the seller. Here’s how it works: For best results, you’ll want to do the following using your mobile device, for reasons I’ll explain a moment. First, you’ll need to visit the “Marketplace” tab, and go to your I’ve Bought page (if you’re the buyer) or the I’ve Sold page (if you’re the seller): 
Note: If you’re using the empowr Android app, click “menu” in the navigation bar, and under the “More Features” section, click “I’ve Bought” or “I’ve Sold”: 
 
Once on the I’ve Bought or I’ve Sold page, locate the service that you’ve purchased or sold, and click the “Actions” dropdown to select “Service Received” (if you’re the buyer) or “Service Delivered” (if you’re the seller).  
As a buyer: Once you’ve clicked “Service Received”, by clicking “Confirm” on the next page, you’re acknowledging that you received the service provided and will be releasing your funds to the seller: 
As a seller: Once you’ve clicked “Service Delivered”, by clicking “Confirm” on the next page, you’re acknowledging that you provided the service and are ready to be paid. 
Once both buyer and seller click “Confirm” empowr will verify the transaction in seconds.  
Once the transaction is successfully verified, both buyer and seller will be notified that the transaction was successfully confirmed!  
Congats buyer! You’ve received a wonderful service and are a happy customer! (How do we know that the service was, most likely, a wonderful service and you’re happy? Stay tuned – I’ll explain that in a moment). And Congrats seller! You’ve successfully sold and delivered a service; the funds have been transferred to you, and you’ve even confirmed with the empowr platform that you did, in fact, meet in-person with the buyer. And you truly enjoyed working with this customer! (How do I know that? Again, I’ll hit that subject in a moment).
Tips:
• Remember – as a buyer and seller, whenever possible you’ll always want to confirm the transaction at the same exact time, with both of you at the same place. Among other factors, both parties’ GPS locations are recorded, and this is an important factor in the AMCO calculations. We recommend you confirm the service immediately after the service is provided, to reduce the chance of any issues. In this manner, sellers never need to work hard later, to get the buyers to press “Service Received”. • Also, for best results, you’ll want to confirm the transaction from a qualified mobile device. Qualified mobile devices must be iPhone 5 or greater with an operating system of 8.0+ or an Android device with a Marshmallow operating system (6.0 or greater). If the seller is not available to confirm the transaction for any reason, as a buyer, you can still move forward with confirming and paying the seller for the completed service. 
As a seller, if you’ve provided the service and the buyer is unable to confirm the sale, you’ll want to contact the buyer and make sure that they mark the service as “Service Received.” If after 72 hours the buyer still has not marked the service as “Service Received” you’ll have the option to file a dispute against the buyer. 
Remember – marking the service as both “received” and “delivered” is a crucial step in the process, and it ensures that both the buyer and seller receive credit for the transaction. As a service provider, always do your best to communicate with the buyer so they mark the service as “Service Received” prior to raising a dispute. New dispute process We have heard you! You are frustrated with the dispute process, and have asked us to improve that process. I’m happy to tell you that a totally new, streamlined dispute process has been designed from the ground up. And, the engineers have completed development and testing and – guess what -- it has just launched! Expect a new blog post in the next 24 hours, about the new dispute process – after everyone has had a chance to read this blog post.
RATINGS are about to become EVERYTHING on empowr
Many people have commented about “bad sellers” and “bad buyers”. You’ve made it clear that this is an issue that you want addressed. We’ve heard you and, as you’ll soon learn, ratings are about to become an incredibly critical part of being an empowr citizen. Product or Service providers (Sellers, Sharers and Transporters) with bad ratings will very quickly find it difficult to get new customers, as the marketplace and even the profile feed stories will stop showing them and their items to potential customers. Even one bad rating will hurt… … and just a couple of bad recent ratings and they’ll find life getting much more difficult. And the customers (of the Sellers, Sharers and Transporters) that don’t behave well, will also soon find themselves unable to buy much in the marketplace, as they’ll be blocked from bidding, buying, using and transports. Even one negative rating will hurt them… … and just a couple of recent bad ratings will lock them out of the exploding empowr marketplace. The result will soon be that virtually ALL the business will be going to the BEST product sellers and sharers, service providers and transporters… … the ones that are most honest, prompt, effective, courteous and best know how to treat their customers with the respect they deserve. And the ENTIRE marketplace (products, services, sharing and transports) will soon only be available to the best customers.. … the citizens that are most honest, prompt and respectful of the hardworking product and service providers, sharers and transporters. In addition to blocking poorly rated citizens from participating in the marketplace… … the marketplace and profile feed algorithms are being redesigned to push the top-rated sellers to the top of marketplace searches and profile feed stories. That means that someone with a 4.9 or 5.0 overall rating will be many times more likely to be seen and purchased from, than someone with a, say, 4.5 or 4.6 average rating. Again, we have heard you, and we agree that it’s time to protect the economy and marketplace that you have been working so hard to build and make successful. In the coming days and weeks, empowr is about to become a place where we’ll only encounter highly legitimate and effective sellers -- and only incredibly respectful and responsive customers. Ratings transparency Along with everyone’s ratings being used by the empowr platform to block all buyers, sellers and transporters that are not rated well… … everyone’s ratings will soon appear at the top right of their profiles, making it transparent to all, the kind of person they’re dealing with. Again, we heard you on this topic, and you’ve got our word that the quality of marketplace participants is about to rise dramatically. Expect a blog post on this topic (ratings) in the coming days. Right now, all you need to do is simply take a moment (one single click!) to rate each other (1 to 5 stars) as honestly as possible, after each transaction. And this is your chance to start fresh with an awesome (5 star) rating, as a product or service provider, and as a customer. And finally… • Services will now count towards your AMCOs For the first time ever -- your confirmed service sales in April will go towards your May AMCOs. To maximize your AMCOs from your service sales, you must be sure to confirm your sales with your buyer at the same time, and the same place. If you are not in the same place, you will still earn from your service sales – but you won’t earn AMCOs from those sales… … so be sure to communicate with your buyer to ensure you are able to confirm at the same location. Yes, we know that this approach has a flaw – that certain types of services that are not offered in-person will still not be elgible for AMCOs… … so we promise to keep thinking about solutions for how to accomplish that, without being overrun by fraud. As always, if you have any ideas, please don’t hesitate to share them. • Services will also count towards your Daily Goals Another feature we’re redesigning, based on your feedback, is the “Daily Goals” feature. You’ve asked for more flexibility and choice in the activities required to hit Daily Goals… … and we’re working on bringing you that. For now, your confirmed ("Service Received") service sales will count towards the listing portion of your daily goals, exactly the same as your product sales do. For every three $5 (or larger) product or service sales that are marked “item/service received”, you’ll be credited with hitting your daily listing goal. Note: In order for your service sales to count, you’ll need to confirm your sales with your buyer at the same time, and the same place. Haven’t sold anything recently? As you sell more items throughout the month, the system will backfill your daily listing goal for any days in the past you may have missed – so that you are always receiving credit for the sales and transports you make. Soon, you’ll also be able to hit your goals for transporting and sharing as well. Earning a piece of empowr (with stock options) As a reminder – over the next 3 months (April, May and June) – your stock option points will be tripled for every Daily Goal that you hit. If you hit 80% or more of the possible Daily Goals in that period, empowr will then double that final (already tripled) number. That means that you could earn 6 times more potential empowr ownership by hitting your Daily Goals at least 80% of the time, in the next 3 months. If you haven’t started on this yet, you should start today to ensure you don’t miss out! Summary I hope you agree that now, it’s time for this community to rise up and do for services what, together, we did for products: • It’s now super-easy to list services – you can now list many services in just minutes • You can be assured that only citizens that live close to you can purchase your services • And with the new confirmation process, you’ll receive your earnings instantly, as soon as you’ve provided the service • For every three (3) $5+ service sales that are marked “Service Received”, you’ll be credited with hitting your daily listing goal. • The new confirmation process also allows empowr to confirm that the provider and buyer were at the same location, based on their GPS location, helping to block fraud and opening up AMCOs to you • And with the new focus on ratings, the time is now to achieve 5 star ratings and become among the first to catapult yourself to the top of the marketplace directory and profile feed stories, making life much easier for yourself going forward
Any questions? We’re here for you.
Your President,
Brian Woosley
Note: Your comment may be deleted.
This post is NOT about cash outs or any other topic but Services. We’ve spent a lot of time recently discussing cash outs, and we can all agree that it’s time to allow our citizens to focus on other topics without having to read through a barrage of comments that do not relate to this post’s intended topic. Therefore, I am asking customer service to join me in deleting any comments that don’t directly relate to this post’s topic: Services.
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