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Am I being sold snake oil?
So I met with a gentleman yesterday who is an Executive and Business Coach. I sought him out after attending a local REIA meetup. He was of course incredibly convincing, has mastermind meetups, and seemed very genuine, but at the same time seems to be a very good salesman. I can be very vulnerable and realize this in myself. This is the first time I've ever sought out services like this. To attend his mastermind and get access to those things he offers he said it was $2,000 upfront then $747/month.
Seems expensive, but for those that have done things like this before or done courses like that is this reasonable?
Hard for anyone here to give you advice because we do not know what he's providing to you nor do we know what you seek. What is it you feel you're missing that he can provide for that fee?
Have you spoken with any other mentees?
To me, that's a LOT of money to pay. But if on the backside that knowledge is going to increase your monthly intake by $10k+, it's probably money well spent. As mentioned earlier, we don't know where you are in business and what he's going to do for you.
@Tchaka Owen well I’m currently pretty well doing the business by myself. My wife is on board, but not active with things. So, primarily, I am trying to get myself around other like-minded people. A lot of my close friends do not dabble in real estate like I’m trying to. So that’s my primary goal is getting around other people that are doing the same as myself!
Currently where I am at is I have a duplex and a single-family house. Put 20% down on the duplex and did a BRRRR on the single-family
@Cory Lucas - since you're comfortable with your progress, what's the purpose of paying $11k for a year of it? An alternative is to get more involved in your local REIA and take a heavy-hitter out to a very good lunch. Do that with a few hitters and you're out....$500? Yet you'll get good insight into their techniques. Perhaps there's a very successful local investor, reach out to him/her. If you took the top 3 players to lunch or dinner quarterly, you'd spend a lot less yet gain a lot of knowledge. Most successful investors are willing to share their methods. Good luck!
Originally posted by @Cory Lucas:@Tchaka Owen well I’m currently pretty well doing the business by myself. My wife is on board, but not active with things. So, primarily, I am trying to get myself around other like-minded people. A lot of my close friends do not dabble in real estate like I’m trying to. So that’s my primary goal is getting around other people that are doing the same as myself!
Currently where I am at is I have a duplex and a single-family house. Put 20% down on the duplex and did a BRRRR on the single-family
If you want to continue buying similar properties you don't need an expensive mentor.
Ask him if he has any cobra available, that stuff is the best. In all seriousness, this guy is definitely out to get your money. I would ignore him. Try to get to a meetup, or talk to some fellow investors on BP or a virutal meetup. Sounds like you're on the right track if you are already BRRRRing properties. Believe in yourself, Cory.
On a personal note, if you want to bounce ideas off someone, you can hit me up. I've got a 2 flat and closing on a SFH soon.
@Forrest Williams LOL on the Cobra and I appreciate the offer. Careful what you wish for I may take you up on it ;)
Hey @Cory Lucas lots of free stuff has some value. It depends on how much value you need.
When I go to the "free" seminars, I can pretty much figure out what the people are talking about and dont need to go to the $10k follow up seminar. Take what is being given out for free at the REIAs and networking. AND HERE.
My number is on my profile also.
It sounds like you are moving along well without this mentorship. As suggested you can open up your circle of friends by going to meetups and on sites like this to meet people you get along with and have an interest in real estate. In today's society, we have too many coaches and mentorship programs run by salespeople, not operators. Those who are doing don't have time to set up seminars and try to sell $10k courses. I think finding like-minded investors that have nothing to sell will be more beneficial in long run.
Best of luck
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Originally posted by @Cory Lucas:@Jay Hinrichs he said it was a 6 month commitment...
well then 6k to figure out if you have any benefit.. I have seen folks go on to do great things with paid training.
as well as seen many and its probably the majority do nothing with it.. and end up selling their books and tapes on E bay for 50 bucks.
thats where i would start E bay look to buy every guru's books and tapes you can find listen/read all the material and see if there is anything you learn from that.
@Cory Lucas hello and happy Tuesday! I would ask yourself this question...Am I buying this service/program to change something about myself I know I can do but lack the confidence? If your answer is “yes” walk away and find some people, Meetups are a great place, who you can network with for free and learn the ropes.
Unfortunately, in this industry, there are plenty of people selling “secrets” for a pretty penny, when, in reality, there are no secrets. There is hard work, taking risks, learning from your mistakes and having some fun along the way. Most of these opportunists take advantage of people who just need a little confidence, because there is no secret sauce.
Good luck and have fun! If you have specific questions, feel free to reach out. Thanks
@Sue Hough good stuff! Truly appreciate the insight and kind words, along with the opportunity to reach out if need be. Thank you
@Cory Lucas mastermind groups and coaching can have a huge effect on increasing performance. That being said, plenty of people go through these programs and end up with nothing besides a big credit card bill. The coach usually blames the participant, saying they didn't apply what they learned. Some people benefit from coaching and others do not. In reality you can get the same results without a coach. I say that because many successful people never had a coach to guide them. Still most successful people had a mentor, friend or life partner who helped them in some way. It is hard to say what is best for you, but I do know that program costs a lot of money. See if they have a money back guarantee.
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Originally posted by @Sue Hough:@Cory Lucas hello and happy Tuesday! I would ask yourself this question...Am I buying this service/program to change something about myself I know I can do but lack the confidence? If your answer is “yes” walk away and find some people, Meetups are a great place, who you can network with for free and learn the ropes.
Unfortunately, in this industry, there are plenty of people selling “secrets” for a pretty penny, when, in reality, there are no secrets. There is hard work, taking risks, learning from your mistakes and having some fun along the way. Most of these opportunists take advantage of people who just need a little confidence, because there is no secret sauce.
Good luck and have fun! If you have specific questions, feel free to reach out. Thanks
I agree with this statement as it relates to vanilla real estate investing IE buying rentals or fix and flipping wholesaling etc those are all basic concepts that are not terribly hard to figure out.. However there are niches that are what I would call advanced strategies and usually these are done in the back end of these transactions the stuff you really have to dig for.. I know in all my years doing this I learn things each year that I did not know or working in all the different states I do I find it fascinating how real estate on the surface is the same but how we actually transact is so very different in each jurisdiction. And for sure generic guru programs don't dig into what's legal and what is not in each state. One example in Oregon for instance if your going to buy 1 home and fix it up to sell to the public you MUST have a developers license or a GC license. You cannot buy a property and just hire a GC very few investors simply don't know this and learn the hard way when they get shut down and fined.. I did not know I ran a foreclosure flipping business for more than a decade before this came to my attention flipped probably 300 plus homes.. LOL So now each of my LLC's that has a different project has to have the developers license. its a pain there is no test but its a bond and insurance and not every one can get bonded these days.
I know having done a lot of work in Chicago how tough that city can be as well.. no one is going to teach you this you just kind of learn it.
so bottom line unless this person has some very narrow niche // or its just a raw raw thing to motivate you chances are there is nothing unique and I am not talking about getting rich with tax overages or some of the other things that get recirculated constantly.
It all depends on what he can teach you. Will you make more than 11k in a year with the info that he provides to you? That is a pretty low bar to clear. That could be a single wholesale deal.
@Cory Lucas Seems pretty expensive yes. There probably plenty of real estate networking events in your area or nearby if that's what you seek. It it's information, I can't imagine that he has any secrets that you wouldn't be able to find on the internet (and here on BP). Just my thought though!
@Joe Splitrock as always your advice is insightful and always appreciated. Thanks for chiming in
@Jay Hinrichs thank you for the feedback. Always appreciate and respect your opinion. I’ve read a lot of your comments on threads and your knowledge seems immense! So, I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on here for me
@Josh Caldwell $11K is still a lot of money to me sadly enough, nonetheless I see your point. Thank you for the feedback