Joining the community
Introduction
For the NewVistas concept to work optimally, there needs to be around 75000 – 100,000 participants, 40,000 of them limited partners who have invested at least 1 unit of partnership interest. Many limited partners also have a successful business or have retired from one.
Recruiting new limited partners is therefore an essential and ongoing task. The important duty is primarily vested in captains and branch presidencies. While serving their units and branches, captains are keenly aware of each participant’s personal and business circumstances. As the interface for community agencies, captains are intimately involved in their participants’ lives.
Joining pathways
There are three main recruitment tools at the community’s disposal.
First,captains can recruit new limited partners who have learned about the community, want to join, and have either completed or are in the process of selling off their assets to invest their net worth in the community. These entrants must already have a successful business, and be able to raise at least $20,000 as investment into the community.
Secondly, existing limited partners, running successful businesses, can, through their captain, recruit new participants who come in as subcontractors, responding to economic opportunities offered by these businesses.
Thirdly, dependents can work their way through the community and become limited partners. These dependents, most of whom are minors, will start a business at 12, grow it, while saving earnings and building their skills, to become limited partners by 18, and sometimes, as young as 16.
Joining by investing net worth
Recruitment of new participants is an ongoing process undertaken by captains to replace exiting participants, grow communities, or to increase a particular subset of a population. Captains regularly run recruitment campaigns, outreach programs and other tactics to attract more people to join their community.
This form of recruitment targets people who become convinced of the value of joining the community. They already run successful businesses.
Application and vetting
By the time a captain receives an application submitted by such an individual, the Human Relations Agency’s automated system has already given the captain a set of guidelines on recruitment, including who to focus on, with several attributes being considered – age, sex, partnership status, professional qualifications, ethnicity, among others. All these are primarily considered to ensure that there is as much diversity in the community as there is in the society where participants originate.
Often, therefore, when an application comes through, the captain already has a good idea of who they want. The system’s algorithms are calibrated to pick out the desired applications, then forwarded to the captain for further consideration. Captains go through applications with other captains in their branch presidency. This approach gives a balanced process, where nepotism and favoritism cannot fester.
Approval and joining community
When the branch presidency settles on a candidate, they inform the unit where that person is to join. The members vote online whether to approve or reject the candidate. Approval means support of more than half (50%+1) of a unit’s limited partners.
After approval by other limited partners, the the entrant must invest at least one unit of partnership interest, of $20,000. At this point, they are allowed to invest in the community, with a minimum of $20,000, and formally become limited partners.
New limited partners are given 3 years to liquidate any other assets that may not be easily sellable, such as farmland in another country, or old machinery that has been supplanted by newer models.
If the limited partner has intellectual property at the time they join, they transfer this IP to the community after appraisal by the IP Agency (agency 13). The IP now becomes the property of the Community Bank. If they were already utilizing it, they can continue to do so – but under an exclusive license from the IP Agency. If the agency determines that the Intellectual Property would be useful to others in the community, it licenses the IP to another business. The agency pays the IP originator a percentage of the license fees received by that agency.
Starting a business and settling in
The new limited partner embarks on starting a business. They are assisted in this by the Stewardship Agency. The agency offers business management classes in the community context, and helps new limited partners set up the business. They draw up business plans, which inform other agencies of the help they need – from the business plan, the Business Operations Agency knows the equipment and inventory it needs to avail, for instance. The business plan will also include setting up a tutor/instructor business, which all capable limited partners are encouraged to run.
The limited partner also draws a life plan, which seeks to map out their personal and social life. Life plans include plans for their family, life-long learning, membership in social and professional outfits, and any other relevant life decision that will impact their social and economic productivity.
The orientation process will be intense and will take approximately three months to complete. Thereafter, the process is a bit less intense, and can take the form of observation, with captains periodically recommending courses and mentorship where they feel that a limited partner can improve.
Joining with a subcontract
Another, more common path to community participation will be by starting off as a subcontractor. By attracting subcontractors, the community responds to social and economic circumstances, so that its economy and social makeup are optimized.
The entry process for a subcontractor is initiated by a limited partner who, as their business expands, identifies the need to enlist more hands. The role of subcontracts is to enable businesses to delegate some of their business, while still maintaining overall control. For instance, a successful nurse may have more clients than he can efficiently service. He can contract another nurse to take care of some of the work for him and enable him to review and offer expert advice when needed.
Identifying need for subcontractor
A limited partner identifies a need to subcontract by performing a thorough audit of their business, which identifies that even with extra efficiency, there is need for another person to offer services for the business to thrive. The limited partner thereafter conducts a search for available professionals in the community and is satisfied that the skills or input they need are not available among participants. After amending their business plan to reflect this reality, the limited partner drafts a list of the professional attributes of the subcontractor they need.
With an explanation of what they need from a subcontractor, the limited partner approaches their captain, who handles the next phase of the process. First, the captain consults the automated system and observes their unit to determine the personal attributes of the person who should be brought in.
With the complete set of information, the captain uses means at their disposal, including putting out adverts inviting applications, consulting with other captains, among other actions intended to generate interest and applications from the target population.
The automated system receives these applications and undertakes initial vetting. The captain then has an opportunity to only sift through the most suitable candidates. The captain makes the decision, thereafter, communicating the name with some relevant information to the limited partners in that captain’s unit. The limited partners study the information and vote virtually to approve or reject the candidate. Approval means more than half of the limited partners approve.
Contractor-nominated subcontractor
In some instances, the limited partner seeking to subcontract already has the person they would like to have recruited. In such cases, the limited partner communicates the reasons for the subcontract and proves their business’s ability to handle the additional obligation. The captain checks out the candidate, and if satisfied that they are a good fit, initiates the next step, where the candidate is approved or rejected by other limited partners with whom the captain serves in the unit.
Subcontract signing and next steps
Once approved, the new limited partner is notified. They can then contact the limited partner, with whom they will sign the subcontract.
The subcontract is well detailed, with information on:
- Duties of the subcontractor and the contractor to each other
- Management of relations between the subcontractor and other businesses in the community
- Payments (contract consideration)
- Contract term, termination, or transition to other status.
By signing the contract, the contractor also commits to putting up $20,000, which the community, through the Capital Bank, considers the subcontractor’s partnership interest/ investment in the community. The contractor will obtain the money by taking a loan from the Community Bank, guaranteed by their partnership interest.
The community is indemnified by the contractor so that failure to repay the loan is borne by the contractor. To ensure that the contractor’s participation is not put in jeopardy, a contractor seeking a subcontractor must have at least 2 units of partnership interest (i.e., $40,000).
As a limited partner, the subcontractor is starting a business. They will be full-fledged community participants, living and working in the community, though they can delay their physical entry by up to a year as they transition.
As a limited partner, the subcontractor can access services offered by community agencies. They will be able to rent space, obtain factoring services, and get help with their business and life plans. While their business plans are largely covered by the subcontract, a subcontractor will still need a business plan, strengthened by marketing and risk management plans, as it is anticipated that they will succeed and grow.
Dependents – transition to limited partnership
Limited partners join the community with their dependents – including minors (under 18 years old), and the elderly who are no longer able to pursue economically gainful employment and have signed over their power of attorney to another person.
Minors are groomed from an early age to start a business, participate fully in the community, and lead purposeful lives. The education of minors, from 5 years of age, takes place all year round, consisting of three lessons per day – reading, math, and writing, for four days a week. By the time a person reaches 18 years, they are highly accomplished academically and have the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in the field they have pursued.
Preparation for limited partnership
When children approach 12 years of age, they start preparing to set up a business. They will meet with their captain, and assisted by their parents, interact with village presidents, district president for life planning, and other public servants for further insights on how to proceed.
The preparations are timed to ensure that by their 12th birthday, they are ready to start a business. They can access all community services, though their parents or guardians handle all obligations. For instance, if a minor’s business includes renting space from an agency, the minor’s guardian will be responsible for rent payments.
While they are starting and running a business, there is a subtle balance to be had – the minor is not always intending that the business they start will be their life’s profession. Instead, the focus is on teaching them business skills which they will employ in whatever profession they pursue in future. Customer relations, negotiation skills, financial management, and time management will be essential in every business, and will serve them well when inculcated at an early age.
Another key focus is saving. Children, as they serve and earn, are still under the care of their guardians, and will therefore not be expected to pay for their housing, education and other lifestyle costs. While they can indeed use the money, it is hoped, and taught, that they need to save as much as possible. If they succeed in saving, they can be admitted as limited partners earlier, leading to increased income, and even more help from community agencies.
While children have a duty to start a business as early as 12, their parents, as limited partners, also have an obligation to ensure they succeed. The community trains limited partners sufficiently so that they can in turn guide their dependents to ensure that they succeed. This also includes being keenly involved in their children’s academic journey, so that they can be as qualified as possible in good time, and therefore, find it easy to launch businesses even ahead of time, or at the very least, compete in securing subcontracts.
Limited partnership at 16
If a minor succeeds in saving $20,000 by their 16th birthday, they take the steps needed to become limited partners, and if their captain deems them ready, they are admitted. Therefore, the four years – between when they are 12 and 16 – serve as an important period in their education journey, business mentorship, and in preparing them for limited partnership, and therefore, full participation in the community.
By the time a minor reaches 18 years of age, they are already proficient in the profession they intend to pursue. At this age, for instance, if a child has been studying to become a lawyer, they have completed all the coursework. They can sit exams for the bar, or any other certification needed to practice in the profession. It will additionally be crucial to their business if they have already become or are ready to become limited partners.
Limited partnership at 18
It is not mandatory that every minor, on reaching 18 years of age, must become a limited partner – many may not have raised the minimum investment amount, while others may be unready for a myriad of reasons. However, because of the community’s robust education system, and focus on building business management capacity, many minors will become limited partners before their 18th birthday.
If a person is fully qualified, has reached 18 years of age, and has not yet saved enough to invest, their guardian still has the responsibility to care for them as they put their affairs in order. The guardian is incentivized to help their child make limited partners because of the cost associated, as well as the need to set their children on a solid road to success, where they can access community services.
Limited partnership by subcontract
As the guardian continues to care for the 18+ dependent, the dependent vigorously seeks subcontracting opportunities. The captain closely monitors the process and may recommend other approaches, for both the parent and the child, to hasten their success. This may include additional classes, information on subcontracting opportunities, and even recommendations to other captains seeking subcontractors.
Due to dependents’ qualifications – having progressed through the rigorous community-based education system, and in-depth knowledge of the community, and 6 years of training on business management, it is likely that their hunt will be much easier.
Once a dependent secures a subcontract, and the limited partner they will collaborate with puts up the money, they will immediately become limited partners, as with the normal subcontract arrangements. The subcontract will run for three years, during which time the new limited partner will further prepare themselves to run their business, put their life in order, and pursue further education to be successful once the subcontract period ends.
Limited partnership by community sponsorship
In extreme cases, a dependent may fail to secure limited partnership for many years, increasingly making it difficult for their guardian to provide for them. This is often a a direct consequence of the guardian’s failure to empower their dependent, as well as the community’s failing to facilitate the dependent to succeed.
Such cases demand that the community step in to resolve the situation. Sometimes, it may be that the skillset possessed by the dependent is not applicable, yet another indication of the community’s failure. The community will prescribe corrective action to enable the dependent to start a business.
It will also sponsor them, providing the $20,000, or the balance needed to get to the amount, considering that the dependent might have been saving in the Community Bank as they managed their business when they were minors.
With the investment available, the dependent now becomes a limited partner and can proceed to other steps in life and business planning.
Perpetual guardianship
In other instances, a dependent is not yet ready to be a limited partner. Besides not having accumulated the $20,000, they may not have managed to get themselves a useful skillset – for instance, dependents of limited partners who only recently joined, or those who have had a hard time setting up their business. In other instances, there may be limitations – physical or mental inability to acquire the necessary skills, for instance.
In their business plan, a guardian of such a dependent must show how their business will be able to cater for their needs. Where there are are shortfalls, the captain should and other community public serbants where applicable will help the limited partner so that their business can take care of their needs – including those of the dependent.
Where the guardian is no longer able to care for the dependent, the community, through the unit that that dependent belongs to, contracts a limited partner to be a guardian to that dependent. The limited partner may be offering such services. For instance, a limited partner may have a business caring for young adults with level 3 autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The unit will pay that limited partner to take care of a dependent, with the limited partner assuming all responsibility for the dependent.
While in some cases, it may be difficult to ever have a dependent become economically productive, the community uses the available channels and resources to ensure that, even those with intellectual or physical limitations can perform tasks that enable them to have a business and earn a profit. The community intends to have as few dependents as possible, especially those who are above 18 years, and will therefore look for ways to give dependents in this category as much help as possible to become productive.
Community – sponsored guardianship can in many instances involve a guardian who specializes in a particular field and can help the dependent in a professional way. Some limited partners can start working with children with autism from an early age, for instance, as their therapists. They will use the knowledge in their possession to have the dependent develop as normally as possible, even opening a business, gaining their mental acuity due to treatment and other interventions, and by the time they are 18, have them ready to become limited partners.
For this reason, some guardianship contracts may only be temporary, designed to enable a person to get off their feet and gain useful skills that can earn them a subcontract, or convince the community to sponsor them.
Leaving the community
Voluntarily or otherwise, limited partners can leave the community. A limited partner may decide that they no longer want to participate. NewVistas communities maintain an open-door policy regarding exits, so that those who wish to leave can do so without bureaucratic impediments.
When a limited partner wants to leave, they do so with their dependents – unless they have been appointed to guardianship by the community. They do so in writing, with the communication serving as a notice on the transfer of investment and the clearance of any obligations due to community agencies. The exiting limited partner will be cleared, so that any factoring, equipment, space, or any other services are settled.
The community will then refund the limited partner’s investment, and any funds held in their community bank savings and fixed deposit accounts. As they were joining the community, a limited partner committed to withdraw their fixed (term) deposits at the rate of 2% per day, and investment at 2% per month. This means that the limited partner will have their savings after 2 months, and investment after 2 years.
Exiting the community can also be involuntary. Limited partners, while they participate in an economic system, also appreciate that they will enter a social unit. The unit, as a primary building block of the community, has immense influence over participants. Participants’ individual success translates to the community’s success, and ultimately, the community’s. For this reason, participants will find it in their interest to have successful participants in their unit.
Due to their interest in the participants’ success, and their role in admitting them to the community, as part of the approval process, limited partners have a right to decide whether another limited partner’s continued presence in their unit is desirable. In addition, captains, who interface community agencies with participants, have a great vantage point to view participants’ progress, and determine whether they ought to be in their unit, and by extension, in the community.
A limited partner or the captain can recommend that another limited partner be expelled from the unit. When this happens, the captain convenes a unit meeting, where the limited partners cast a vote to approve or reject the proposed ejection. If more than half of limited partners (50%+1) approve, the limited partner will be expelled from the group. If not, they continue being members of the unit. However, the process, regardless of the outcome, serves as a powerful wake-up call to the subject of the vote, informing them that they need to shape up or be axed.
When a limited partner has been expelled from a unit, they have the option to apply to join another unit. The limited partner can only do this three times. If all three units reject them, that limited partner can only either join another community, or leave the NewVistas community altogether.