Rich Dad "Advanced Training" seminars? 40 posts by 23 users

Posted: 08/17/2008 at 09:16AM

Has anyone taken the plunge and attended any of the "Advanced Training" courses put on by the Rich Dad Education company? Last fall I attended a three day seminar put on by Rich Dad Education, but because of the steep price (and some mental red flags that went up during the seminar), I declined to sign up for any of them.

The first warnings started sounding as things got underway the first day when we were forbidden to network with anyone during or outside of the classroom, we weren't to challenge any of the ideas of the instructor, nor were we to conduct "research" on our own by using the Internet. They also wanted to protect their "proprietary" information, so they wouldn't allow you to record any of the sessions. Note taking, it seems, doesn't seem to threaten that.

I later came to find out that the Rich Dad Education seminars were essentially repackaged Russ Whitney products, and many people feel scammed by the whole process.

I understand that the basic training seminar is mostly motivational in nature and is designed essentially to upsell the attendee into purchasing one of the "advanced training" seminars that deal with a specific area of investing, anywhere from wholesaling to large development deals.

The basic training courses are $495, and if you can withstand/ignore the high pressure sales tactics, I felt that I did actually receive my money's worth in terms of knowledge and useful information. But the advanced courses range anywhere from $7,000 all the way up to $45,000, if memory serves. That seems like a ton of money, but if it's something that returns your "investment" back to you in increased profits from doing better RE deals, then I would assume most would feel the high cost would be worth it.

My question is, has anyone attended any of these courses, and if so, do yo feel that you got your money's worth by attending? I see precious little information anywhere on the Web regarding reviews of these more expensive training courses.

Perhaps attendees sign contracts forbidding them from talking about their experiences? I figured this would be the place to find out.

Todd

Posted: 08/17/2008 at 09:44AM

Understand that the Rich Dad Seminars is a marketing company. They give you a “free” seminar so that you’ll buy the $495 class, the $495 course is used to sell you $7,000 advanced course. The advanced course is designed to sell you the mentoring program. It’s all about upselling, they want you to believe that you will find out the success “secret” at the next class. The reality is that you learn by doing, did you learn how to ride a bike by going to a seminar? No, you learned by falling down and skinning your knees, then you got up and did it again. Education classes are your training wheels but until you actually get out there and do it you will not learn how to really be successful.

Posted: 08/19/2008 at 06:00PM

Just for those that are wondering, I can vouch for the Rich Dad Advanced Training courses. I have only taken 2 (plus we had our mentor out - that is worth so much more than what we paid for it) so far and I am already a full time real estate investor well on my way to creating the lifestyle of my dreams. I will have the ability to retire at an extremely early age thanks in a huge part to these classes and the training I have received. I can understand the doubts that have been expressed, believe me we all have our doubts. But I strongly believe in the statement that an entrepreneur will pay for their education, whether they pay for training or they jump in and make the mistakes that cost them money. We would have left a lot of money on the table if we had done deals without the training. I believe, without a doubt, that the classes have more than paid for themselves. And I still have 2 more classes to go before I upgrade... And I will upgrade because I KNOW that it is worth it. The knowledge, the networking, the experience, and the relationships created is priceless. But if you were wondering about what matters on paper - the money - it pays for itself ten fold! Don't get me wrong, I completely agree that every person reaches a point where they just need to get out there and do it, make something happen! However, our personal process of getting things going would have gone so much slower if we hadn't taken these classes. In less than a year we have established our company, done some deals that have more than paid for the classes and quit our jobs to do this full time. And we love it! I hope this provides a little light on the subject. If you have any questions, I would be happy to do my best to answer them. Good luck in your investing and I hope you make the right choice for you.

Posted: 08/20/2008 at 09:19AM

Nate,

Thank you for your post and giving us some insight as to the value of these courses. With such a steep price, I had to weigh the benefits of the courses with the financial impact it would have created. In other words, if it were a financial strain where I could *just* afford to enrol in a seminar, but my credit cards would be maxed out or I tapped into an equity line of credit, would this have been an advisable course of action? Given the high-pressure sales tactics at the seminar I did attend, I was led to believe that attending these advanced trainings would be worth the sacrifice of becoming over-leveraged, if I can use that cliché. To me, that was a red flag and was the deciding factor in deciding NOT to participate. I understand they wish to encourage and reward action and seizing the moment, but I wouldn't want to get myself upside down financially just to make it happen. Their apparent unwillingness or inability to offer financing or offer other arrangements effectively sealed the deal for me. If I had unlimited resources, I believe I would have taken a chance on it, but given my financial situation at the time and some of the reviews I read about the tactics that the Rich Dad team was using, I decide to defer that education until another time or when I could find out more about its value.

Like Wheatie said in the previous post, I too would like some more information about what they've taught you. I don't want you to divulge any "trade secrets" by any means, but whatever you feel comfortable sharing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for replying,

Todd

Posted: 08/21/2008 at 11:53AM

Noelia,

That's great! That's actually the type of response I was hoping to hear. Perhaps I came across in my previous post as a tad dismissive of the methods that the Rich Dad Team utilized to get one to sign up for the "advanced" classes, but I in no way wanted to minimize the value I received from attending the $495 3-day seminar. And aside from the sales pitch, I felt that both my time and money were very well spent.

Given your review of the advanced training, I am now starting to look at the courses in a much more favorable light. Initially, when looking for some feedback of others' experiences, I did come across some reviews that cast aspersions on Rich Dad Trainings, often pointing to the fact that the Rich Dad Education program was essentially a repacked Russ Whitney product. Feeling a little disappointed, I decided to wait on such "investments" in my education until I felt a little more confident in getting my money's worth. At this point in my life, $20,000 is still considered quite a bit of money and didn't take parting with it lightly.

I'm glad you posted, Noelia, and I hope there are others out there who would be willing to share their experiences as well!

Todd

Posted: 08/21/2008 at 12:10PM

Nate and Noelia -
Thanks for sharing your input on the classes. While I appreciate that you've taken the time to endorse the classes that you've taken, perhaps you can share some more with all of us?

Both of you have joined BiggerPockets, and posted on the site only 1 time.

Both of these posts happen to be endorsements of 1 product/service. I think your endorsements would likely carry more weight if you were more active on the site prior to your posts or since.

I have a funny feeling that we're going to get a rash of endorsements from people who continue this trend of joining with the sole intention of promoting RDPD.

Do any of the moderators smell something funny here?

Posted: 08/21/2008 at 02:47PM

Todd,
I started out over 13 years ago buying rental property the wrong way. (Using my money and credit) I then spent over $30,000.00 dollars educating myself. I made $321 thousand dollars in my very first year after being educated. I can assure you that I wouldn't have made that if I listened to the people who told me NOT to spend the money.

I spend $20K-30K each year still today on a wide variety of topics and I have made 10 times what it cost me to attend those seminars that I wouldn't have otherwise.

The people who whine about getting educated either aren't educated or haven't implemented anything they were taught because it's easier NOT to take action and easier to just say it doesn't work.

Let me also be clear and say that because of my education in real estate I've taught and helped hundreds of students around the world become financially secure. I started teaching real estate Investing only because I had so many people asking me how I did it and I charge a hefty fee for my services because...

next time someone tells you NOT to Educate yourself ask them how much money their making in real estate and I can guarantee you that their information is probably worth exactly what you paid for it... NOTHING!

Posted: 08/23/2008 at 08:57AM

Matty,
In my first year I did 16 deals total.
On one deal I made $72K Net.

Here are the numbers I bought the property for $110K. I put 12K into it to fix it up that I borrowed from my mother and paid her 15% interest.

I actually borrowed $20K total for fix-up and holding costs. I then sold the property for $210K. This property was on a lake in a very nice area in Lake Mary, Florida. This was a probate property.

I did 7 Wholesale deals with paydays ranging from $5K - $15K.

The remaining deals were all fix and flip and I used NON of my own money to do these deals.

I used hard money lenders who I found at my reia club. They only charged 1point and 16% APR.

I still to this very day will NOT use my own money to fund deals or go down to a bank for financing. I use Private Lenders and I pay them 15% APR Accrued Interest and NO payments until the property is sold.

I'm finishing up the paperwork on a deal in Greensboro, NC where there are 22 unit apartment and 34 seperate duplexes and quadraplexes. The Owners mismanaged them. They now need to sell. They only owe $572K the 22 units alone appraised for $910K.

The owners are letting us take it subject to for the balance owed and my private lender will loan whatever we need to close and fix-up the properties.

Today I won't purchase a property unless I'm taking it Subject To the existing financing and I will not sink my money into any deals. This is what I mean by Investing the right way.

Posted: 08/25/2008 at 09:56AM

Hi Tom,

Wow--It was good to finally get an honest account of what to expect from these "advanced" trainings. Thank you for sharing your experience. I now see that the other posters who were "pro" on the trainings did indeed only have one posting each, so I think it's reasonable to assume that they are more likely shills for the Rich Dad Education company.

The impression I got from having read Kiyosaki's books was that he was a man of integrity. Unfortunately, what these courses are doing to people seems to belie that sense of confidence and trust.

Pressuring people to get their students to raise their credit limits so they can then turn around and max out their credit cards and put themselves in serious financial peril for for the sake of education seems to contradict anything and everything the original Rich Dad series had to say about "Financial IQ." Sad.

Anyone else out there with a similar experience?

Todd