~~~ FAQ Page ~~~


What is ModusVarious? - A FAQ

Who are you guys, and what do you do??

The owner/partners of ModusVarious are a bunch of roommates that are all involved to some extent in web and computer technologies. ModusVarious is our vehicle to market our services, and those of our friends and associates (affiliates).

Some of the services that we can provide are system administration, computer repair, web design, perl scripting, Excel VBA, and small database design and maintenance.

Why should I use MV affiliates?

Because we're here, and ready to work! ModusVarious affiliates have a broad variety of skills to offer, and don't have a big fancy office and bureaucracy to wade through to get your work done! Look through the resumes and skill lists, and if you see something you need, give them a call. Make your own arrangements with that person for hours and payment.

If you do web design, why is your site all web 1.0 and archaic?

You know the old saw about how cobbler's children have no shoes? Same type of thing - we haven't gotten around to seriously overhauling our site with all of the nice CSS and HTML 4.0 (or whatever) that is "current". It's a moving target, and this site is supposed to be simple, not a whizbang showcase. So no Flash, javascript, php, CSS, CMS, jsp, blah, blah. If you want the latest and greatest, you probably want a professional marketing and advertising firm.

Is MV an agency?

<Shudder!> No. We are simply a services consortium, with individual affiliates making their own agreements and working for themselves! We eventually may offer office services, but not yet. MV affiliates are free to work through other agencies as they wish. We simply provide a single location for them to post their qualifications and services offered.

What do I get if I become a MV affiliate?

Right now, an umbrella name and a small web presence and/or link. Eventually, we hope that affiliates will be able to purchase small business office services from us on an a la carte basis, but that's a long way off.

What do you charge to be an affiliate?

Currently, nothing. IF we ever get to the point where we are offering real, tangible services that cost us money, THEN you would pay for whatever services you were signed up to use.

What are the restrictions on affiliates?

Ethical business practices, judged (possibly somewhat arbitrarily) by the owner/partners of ModusVarious. We want the name and reputation of the company to be unimpeachable, and we will do our best to insure that it stays that way.

    Right off the top, we WON'T take:
  1. MLMs (multilevel marketing schemes) - regardless of how "great" the product seems to be
  2. SPAM scams - If you sell by mass e-mailing ads to people who have not "opted in" you are not wanted here and will be dropped.
  3. Gambling, Pharmaceuticals, Drop-Ship schemes and other shady stuff. We are not that credulous.
  4. Blatantly adult/porn goods - Use an adult auction site, please. They have the legal and financial muscle to support it.
  5. Illegal Goods or Services - If an affiliate is caught selling something illegal, the affiliate takes the rap and the legal fees, including anything we get hit with. This includes fraud and fraudulent billing. If we catch you, we will either report you, and/or drop you without notice.

Do you provide any business services for me?

Right now, no. Your business is your business, and other than web linkages, we do not provide any financial, advertising, or legal services. We encourage you to advertise and promote your services independantly, and refer your clients to other ModusVarious affiliates for things that you can't provide for them.

Do you do billing and W2 stuff?

No. You are strictly 1099, and you handle your own billing and collection. If you have doubts about a company's willingness to pay (or pay promptly), you might want to work with a more traditional contract house as well.

How do you make money?

We make money??? Seriously, right now ModusVarious exists to act as an ad-hoc advertising vehicle for small consultancies to "group" their services in one convenient location. Eventually, we would like to be able to provide a "business framework" for small consultants so that they would not have the burden of providing everything up front.

Services that we *want* to include would be answering service, a referral database, and e-commerce/credit card processing. Currently this is strictly a bootstrap operation, but inquiries from VCs wouldn't be taken amiss.