Intuitive Career Solutions - Saginaw, MI
To start this off I'd like to cite this post as a lot of it is still very true, though it is 2 years old at the time of writing. I wanted to make my own secondary post to spread more awareness. There's a list on here that i will also relist shortly here but there's new company to add to this list under the umbrella: Intuitive Career Solutions.
"Innovative Client Connections, Excel Elite, Visionary Branding, Blueprint Dynamics, Elite Breakout Marketing, Evolve & Elevate Inc, Precise Advancement, Kodiak Associates, and a few more are all the “companies” under this Innovative Client Connections umbrella. One look at any of these companies Instagram pages and you can smell the DevilCorp through the pictures of celebratory pizza parties & bowling alleys. Scary part is that’s just a small piece in the Smart Circle scam. Google Smart Circle, DS-Max & DevilCorp and you’ll find everything you need to know." - direct quote
https://www.reddit.com/r/Devilcorp/comments/1fgmvv1/scam_circle_innovative_client_connections/
At the end of the day there are a plethora of bad recounts on here regarding these companies and I experienced or could at the very least see some of the things that were going on.
I'm on a throw away account as I'm sure they would figure out who I am based off my username and I just don't want to cause issues. I didn't leave with any true bad blood but that's just because they never knew me well enough to even get to know what I'm thinking about everything.
I think that the owner of ICS is actually a really sweet and caring girl who is being taken advantage of in this scheme and is very unfortunately continuing the cycle of abuse to her employees. I recently left ICS/EBM (Elite Breakout Marketing) after working there for 3-4 months and I want to tell you guys my experience so you guys can make a more educated decision on this program...
They entice you with telling you that you'll make management in 4-6 months making 70k a year. They tell you that you'll be able to write your own schedule and have as much freedom as you want or need!
First I was told that I would be making $15.50 an hour then I was being told after starting that I was making $13.75 instead and that the pay difference is because ICS is a newer company and can't afford the $15.50 that EBM could afford. I was also told that although the program is supposed to take 4-6 months that they knew it wasn't realistic for everyone and not to get discouraged if it takes you a bit longer. Some other people in the organization were mentioned it taking them 10+ months to get through "the program". I was also told that I was going to get bonuses for clocking in on time and never did. When I never saw the bonus I stopped caring about being on time or early.
While I was a trainee I worked until 5pm. This was being at the office by 9am every day Monday-Friday (no issues) then getting to my store by 11 and working there with someone else until 5pm. The worst part about being a rep in training for me was the fact that it took me way too damn long to get out. I finally got out of training and was so excited to strive for leadership. I shadowed all of the office training, attended all of the necessary meetings, did everything that I was supposed to do in order to move onto the next phase and start building my team.
Once I was out of training and was now a client rep I was now expected to stay until 7 which I was also fine with and understood. Where I started having issues is when they'd start expecting me to stay late. I have a kid and the person who watches said child while I am at work also depends on me to give them a ride for work and with me having an unstable job at the time I was more likely to make sure that he didn't lose his job for being late. Anyway, they'd say stuff like "if you don't meet your standards you need to stay late so you can hit them." but then absolutely contradict themselves saying that you need to go home rest and take care of yourself but how am I to do that when I'm working 9am-7pm 6-7 days of the week? I have no time for doctors appointments, no time for my kid, no time to clean, nothing.
I was burning out fast but I tried to keep going because I saw the financial potential that it had and wanted to stay in it long enough to figure out what business I wanted to start up first and work on the steps to get there before finding my way out. We would attend Zoom meetings at all hours of the day. 9am, 10am, 2pm (yes during lunch break you have to Zoom), 7pm, 8pm, 9pm... they were endless... then they would have "team outings" but wouldn't message me about them until it was way too late then would seemingly get upset that I wasn't there.
They'd tell me to network with people that are in a position you want to be in then when I'd do that they'd seemingly get upset with me for not going to my own leader instead which just feels very childish... They also preach accountability but seemingly want to take none. Once in a call my leader said "I only hang out with the people that I want to be like and with the people that I think will do well in this business. So if I don't hang out with you outside of work then that should say something to you." and maybe she was directing that to someone else who ended up quitting shortly after; but it certainly made me feel like she didn't believe in me. When I brought this up to her trying to open up a bit more she got MAD at me saying that she'd never say anything like that and that I just misunderstood her and that it hurts her feelings that she goes to bat for me when people tell her that she should fire me and she sticks her neck out for me and I have shit for sales in return.
While networking once I talked to someone who tried to relate their situation to mine. Without giving too much detail I am a single parent with no family it is just me and my kid and the friend that watches my kid from time to time. This person I networked with from a different office told me that when he first joined the business he was also looking for people who had kids- I didn't even know this man had a kid mind you- then proceeded to tell me that you just have to make sacrifice and you have to give up the time now to have more freedom and more time later when you have all this money saved up and you have a lot of offices under you and blah blah blah... yes I understand that, that's not the issue I have.. the issue I have is that he then tells me that he only has partial custody of his kid and only sees them every other weekend.... meanwhile I have to actually raise mine full time not just part time. He then tells me about someone who is a senior leader and has 3 kids but she has a mom, sisters, a husband, etc. people to help her raise her kids- it's just ME. They were effectively asking me to abandon my child which I obviously was not willing to do.
My biggest issue is that I was doing my best. Everything that they were telling me to correct my issues I was applying. I just wanted them to put me in a "greener" store. They never did. They would tell me that I need to buy more professional clothes meanwhile I have a kid to take care of and bills to pay - my paycheck doesn't just sit in my bank account. Then when I find out my leader gave someone else 1.5k to fix their car when they started but wouldn't even give me less than $100 to buy some "better" clothes (think suit and tie/blazer/etc.) my feelings got a little more hurt. They're sitting here telling me that I'm gonna do great I'm a crazy salesperson I just need to lock in my confidence and my objections but they aren't acting like it and my mama always told me that actions speak louder than words.
The last thing I'll leave you with is this place is that they are MESSY. I was told that Amanda and Brian used to date but broke up then Brian started messing around with Crissy but Brian and Crissy stopped and Brian started hooking up with Danielle but Danielle cut that off and started hooking up with Eddie and that's all I know... just to not give (real) names..
At the end of it all I think that I did learn some things and it did change my outlook on some things in life in a positive light but at the end of the day I'm glad that I decided to leave. I was neglecting myself, my health, and only giving my kid the bare minimum all for a bunch of people who probably never had the capacity to care the way they said they did. And not because they just don't but because they're too consumed in the metrics and the numbers and their own lives to actually care about how things impact others.
I hope that these people find what they are looking for in life but please do not get into this if you do not have the resources to get into a business like this. It's also lowkey a scam but we don't have to talk about that part...