Phoenix EQ Holding Co. Inc., also referred to as EcoQuest Holding Corporation Inc., the business that owned Eco Quest International, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition about eight weeks ago.

Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code doesn't mention a process of liquidation of the business, but instead allows for reorganization under the United States bankruptcy law. This happens so that the debtor company can propose a plan for reorganizing the business that will keep it running and pay creditors after a while. The gathering of creditors also took place in December, and apparently, the company has over four million dollars in unprotected claims against it from its largest creditors and only "$0-$ 50,000" in possessions.

Between 2000-2009, EcoQuest was a big manufacturer and distributor of air and water purifiers, situated in Greeneville. These products were being sold by means of a network system that comprised thousands of independent representatives. This network appears to have covered the United States and a number of countries from Europe, Asia and Australia.

The business experienced a substantial growth, developing new products and employing in the area above seven hundred persons while it was at its peak, a few years ago. It had around fifty million dollars in gross profit both in 2007 and in 2008. According to its president, CEO and majority stock holder, Mike Jackson, it had a distribution system of about one hundred thousand active independent distributors.

Nonetheless, sales profits dropped sharply with the onset of the economical recession and, after unsuccessful attempts to obtain third-party funding, in March 2009, a big percentage of the possessions of EcoQuest was sold to a subsidiary of Aerus Holdings LLC. Mike Jackson said at the time, talking about his resolution to sell EcoQuest, "I had nowhere else to turn." (as cited by the The Greeneville Sun).

At the moment, Phoenix EQ Holding Company is the defendant in a number of lawsuits started by creditors all over the country. This can be an unhappy example of a success story transforming suddenly into a nightmare, for all the people involved - management, production work force (which was reduced to 200 people) and, yes, independent distributors. Many of them could have another business, but I believe that most were mostly dedicated to EcoQuest. This story involved great money loss for all.

What could you do, as a distributor, to avoid this decline from happening to you for a second time? The single sure method is not to let your carrier as a marketer along with your income as well, rely on one organization only. Businesses thrive and may collapse all of a sudden, and you'll be left with nothing. Your career and earnings should depend on yourself entirely, and on the image you have managed to create for yourself. If you have managed to promote yourself as a marketer over time, instead of promoting the company and its product, then you will suffer no loss, as the people you have sponsored and led won't scatter after the opportunity has has proven unsuccessful; instead, they'll follow you to whatever good business opportunity you guide them to, as they believe in your knowledge and experience.