I'm like the kid who has to chose between parents here! I just joined BP recently and I am very fond of the information and mission of BP. I have probably listened to almost all the podcasts and webinars ever day on my way to and from work. (Jscott just listened to you you ironically this morning lol gonna check out your blog later) I know there is always a "Guru's are evil" undertone and BP is kind of the anti-guru place for real estate investors. I too have met Phil and Shenoah and been to the meeting and the "Big Live Event" and left with a few questions. I actually found BP after going to the event so maybe that's why I'm sort of caught in the middle.
There is a lot of "information" given at these events but keep in mind a majority of the people there, it's their first interaction with any sort of real estate investing in person so there's an excitement that is and kind of has to be created about him and what they have done and who they have helped. After meeting Phil and Shenoah they don't seem like malicious people. I also met Brent(the car sales guy) and he actually told me not to spend the $1000 for the VIP and to use it for my marketing (thanks btw) and a couple of his students were there during the breaks to answer any questions that we had. On the other hand after digesting the whole experience it really did feel like the whole thing kind of funneled to signing up for the Big Dog program.
I'm sure the program is great because I see the same Big dogs every week and they attest how great it is and I am even working with a couple of them while doing my own studies to make my way through real estate investing. I tried many times to get into the "Big Dog Room" at the RENC even asked Phil if I could be a fly on the wall since I was working with 2 of his students (1 of whom he recommend to me personally) and he kind of laughed and walked away like "this kid can't be serious".
I don't have $50k or $20k to drop on knowledge, I'm still battling sallie mae which is why I'm glad I found BP but I always here "Go to your local rea" as advice in the podcasts so I guess that's where Phil and Shenoah comes in. I too arrive almost 2 hrs later now and the girls always jokingly ask me "you don't want to here Phil's pitch again?" So there is selling but it's more of a strong suggestive pitch than a hard sell.
I'm glad this thread came up because Houston is huge and I was curious how people outside his events really feel and how he compares to groups/guru's in the area.
