I see no parallel between being a property owner and running a pyramid scheme, which is an illegal business structure that works by recruiting new members to pay a fee to join, who then receive fees themselves by encouraging other new members to join. 

The rest, as they say, is immaterial and perception, in my opinion.I've also been in the "professional working world" for 12 years, and I can honestly say that your college, to a recruiter, is like "oh, that's a good school" or "oh, i never heard of them" -- once you get the experience nobody gives a damn about your GPA or your school.

You develop the systems and the on-the-ground team yourself - downside: it will take you too long to do it and you will spend several thousands of dollars visiting the place where you're going to invest, recruiting members of your team and then training them not just one time but on an on-going basis.

a popular thing, I'm hearing and seeing in many recruitment databases is families are leveraging online schools to fast-track through HS?

A very high profile HR recruiter house sat in some of the most expensive homes in Georgia. 

I put together a investor/partner team, recruited my wife Kathlynn to manage the business, applied for an SBA loan through a local bank and worked hard to convince the ACE Corporation itself this store was worth saving.