Southwestern Advantage Blog

Recent events in the news  reinforce the notion that any child can fall prey to sexual predators. Such a horrifying notion makes most of us cringe and quickly change the subject. But the responsible parent faces this possibility squarely and takes steps to keep children safe. As a parent, here is what you must be aware of: 1. Notice that sexual predators are most often known personally by their victims. They are not “strangers.” Most predators do not snatch children off street corners. Most predators get to know their victims very well. So don’t teach your children to distrust strangers. Teach your children to distrust anyone who acts strangely. 2. Predators often are counted as family friends and are trusted members of the community. This is not an accident. Predators carefully craft their image so that adults admire and trust them. Pay attention if an adult friend seems too friendly and takes too much interest in your child. 3. Predators act like children to cover up th...

Safety tips from Southwestern Advantage in dealing with a door-to-door salesperson *Knock-Knock* I wasn't expecting anyone. Who could it be?.... Ah, a salesman. I know,  everyone has to make a living somehow, I get it; and  I'm not a rude person, I'll at least hear you out. So, tell me what you've got today. And if you really want to be taken seriously, show me why I can trust you.   As Communications & PR Director of our nation's oldest direct sales company, I research shady traveling sales crews that too often pollute the reputation of our time-honored industry. I often find a commonality with them: many of their paying customers never receive the products that they ordered. That's a problem. In fact, that's one of the main problems with these rogue door-to-door sales companies -- a small few can tarnish the reputation of the majority who are honestly earning a legitimate living by using a respectable face-to-face business style.  So how ...