Ideas on being a non-guru guru

[Ryan Webber]

Ok, so I have a deep interest in helping people understand how to be successful in real estate. I'm an entrepreneur at heart and I would prefer to make money giving the time, knowledge, and experience I have to other people.

I've "mentored" many people for FREE and unfortunately 95% of the time its a complete waste of MY time. They give up, fall off, don't follow through, get distracted, etc. within a couple weeks or months and they're done. It can be a little frustrating. I make a respectable income with my real estate, but I've put in years of my life and hundreds of thousands of dollars into figuring out how to do what I do. I still have to work many parts of my business to keep it growing, so when I take time to give to others in business I'm taking away from my own business.

I've kicked around the whole guru thing for years and personally I HATE most guru's. I hate their slick sales pitches and empty promises. I hate how most of them are just out there for a dollar. I hate the whole idea of over-promising and under-delivering.

I truly want to help people, I want to make money doing it, and I don't want to have to sell my soul or convince someone else to sell me theirs. :D

So my issue or question to the group is do you have any suggestions on how to balance the 3 factors here - my desire to truly help people, my desire to not just be another "guru", and my desire to make it profitable for the time I would put into it?

[Valerie Pedigo]

Ryan,
I'm not sure if someone mentioned this idea...
Have you thought about partnering with or becoming an instructor at a local college? So many more colleges and universities have entrepreneurship departments/degrees. You could not only have curricula focused on REI, but how to run and manage a business, etc.
There are a lot of adjunct opportunities all over the country and online. You may not get a percentage of your students' deals, but you would get to help others, make a little money, and show your expertise. Good luck with whatever you decide!
-Valerie