Has anyone taken the Earn 1 K course from Ramit Sethi? I finished watching a webinar earlier this evening and the course ranges in cost from 1200-4000 USD. I am very tempted to try this as I think it may help me to accomplish ERE a lot faster by helping me to make more money on the side. However, I don't want to spend that type of money if it is a complete waste and just a scam. I haven't seen any real testimonials online.
Earn 1 K from Ramit Sethi
I know that some PF bloggers seem to enjoy Sethi's stuff, but to me he just seems like a huckster. All self-promotion. There may be content there but it's gotten obscured with a lot of overly bold claims.
A course would have to be awfully impressive for me to spend $1400 on it. You can do a lot with that kind of money.
Looks like this is the course you were thinking of?
http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bl ... de-course/
A course would have to be awfully impressive for me to spend $1400 on it. You can do a lot with that kind of money.
Looks like this is the course you were thinking of?
http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bl ... de-course/
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jacob
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I notice the following keywords over and over again in RS's sales pitch: barrier, psychological, motivation.
So presumably the primary value here is for RS to provide some sort of inspiration if you don't have it at the tune of $1200-4000. My guess is that this inspiration is combined with standard business advice, which you can find for free on the net or locally in the form of business networks.
BTW I'd read "E-Myth" ASAP.
So to me, inspiration is not worth that much, not by a long shot.
Several bloggers make their living selling "inspiration" and "consulting" for exorbitant amounts. They don't need to make many sales to pull that off. That's why you typically only see reviews from their co-bloggers and affiliates. There simply aren't enough sales to generate user reviews (only 1% of users will typically review a product).
Note that it's not too difficult to earn $1000 IF you have some hard skills. See http://earlyretirementextreme.com/my-4- ... -week.html What's keeping most from this is not a lack of knowledge (which can be found for free) but the work associated with it and the leadership to actually go and do it. Very few want to work 10 hour days to increase their income by $12000/year pretax ($7000 post tax).
So presumably the primary value here is for RS to provide some sort of inspiration if you don't have it at the tune of $1200-4000. My guess is that this inspiration is combined with standard business advice, which you can find for free on the net or locally in the form of business networks.
BTW I'd read "E-Myth" ASAP.
So to me, inspiration is not worth that much, not by a long shot.
Several bloggers make their living selling "inspiration" and "consulting" for exorbitant amounts. They don't need to make many sales to pull that off. That's why you typically only see reviews from their co-bloggers and affiliates. There simply aren't enough sales to generate user reviews (only 1% of users will typically review a product).
Note that it's not too difficult to earn $1000 IF you have some hard skills. See http://earlyretirementextreme.com/my-4- ... -week.html What's keeping most from this is not a lack of knowledge (which can be found for free) but the work associated with it and the leadership to actually go and do it. Very few want to work 10 hour days to increase their income by $12000/year pretax ($7000 post tax).
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jacob
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So if you want to learn how to make money without paying a grand for the privilege, read the E-Myth (the best entrepreneurial book I know), and get involved with your local business network (reading some start up guides for your state should lead you to them). It will have a bunch of retired ex-CEOs and ex-managers who will be happy to advise you on pitfalls, what permits to get, which forms to submit, legal stuff, etc.
Thank you very much Jacob for providing your insight concerning the RS sales pitch. I really appreciate it!! I have indeed read the E-Myth as well as the link above about your 4 hour work week. Both are very interesting reads. As for RS, he is pushing his ability to show you how to freelance and I am interested in becoming a freelance medical writer due to my health occupation background. But after much reflection and after the posts above, I know this information can be obtained at a MUCH more economical rate than what RS is pushing. Thanks again.
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AlexOliver
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Hm. Maybe the trick is to sell 1400$-courses at a sales and marketing cost of 400$ ...
http://www.buymystupidebook.com/
http://www.buymystupidebook.com/
@Felix: LOL! funny website.
RS doesn't have much to offer IMO, 98% marketing and 2% duh advice... Read a couple chapters of his book.
It's really, really common sense basic advice, the most completely obvious financial moves ever. Like not paying overdraft fees. That and irrelevant stuff like getting lower credit card interest rates and home owner's insurance.
Probably the polar opposite of Jacob; a bunch of easy to digest, fluffy advice that requires no thought and little effort.
RS doesn't have much to offer IMO, 98% marketing and 2% duh advice... Read a couple chapters of his book.
It's really, really common sense basic advice, the most completely obvious financial moves ever. Like not paying overdraft fees. That and irrelevant stuff like getting lower credit card interest rates and home owner's insurance.
Probably the polar opposite of Jacob; a bunch of easy to digest, fluffy advice that requires no thought and little effort.
To be fair, the earn1k thing is probably more than simple tips about overdraft fees. Having seen some of the blog, I am sure there is some good advice in the program. I'm just doubtful it's 1400 worth of good advice.
Usually the scams say "make a million by spending $100.". This program is funny because it seems to claim the opposite (earn 1k by spending 1.4k). But at least that's honest. I tend to imagine that program quality improves as the claims approach plausibility. Earn1k seems so unambitious as to be plausible. It's still funny though.
Usually the scams say "make a million by spending $100.". This program is funny because it seems to claim the opposite (earn 1k by spending 1.4k). But at least that's honest. I tend to imagine that program quality improves as the claims approach plausibility. Earn1k seems so unambitious as to be plausible. It's still funny though.
er... Earn1k is just a catchy title. The idea behind the course is to become a freelancer & earn $1000 (or whatever) per month. He takes people's business ideas pulls them apart if they're crap or retargets them to a more profitable market if they're not.
I've been a subscriber to his email list for a while & I'm not really sure why. I have a vague recollection that there used to be the odd useful bit of information, but I can't honestly remember anything that I've taken on. At the moment the emails are just a lot of sell. Which I have to admit he is pretty good at. Everything is very personalised, the emails are a constant message of "you can do it, invest in yourself, spend money to make money, people who don't spend money on courses have no right to complain..." He really emphasises how the course breaks down all the fears that stop you setting up on your own. Unfortunately this also emphasises all the techniques he is using to break down the psychological barriers that are stopping you from shelling out for the course.
Ramit & Jacob do have some things in common. He challenges many stock PF blogging staples such as renting vs owning, credit cards are bad etc. Both believe all the information is out there, it's just that most people won't act on it. Keep an emergency fund, plan for the worst etc..
There are of course many things that Ramit preaches that Jacob would sigh & shake his head at.
& there are many things that Jacob preaches that Ramit would write an exclusive 5,000 word email JUST FOR YOU extolling the complete idiocy of this approach & why anyone who would consider doing such a thing is pathetic.
...which is why I spend more time here!
I've been a subscriber to his email list for a while & I'm not really sure why. I have a vague recollection that there used to be the odd useful bit of information, but I can't honestly remember anything that I've taken on. At the moment the emails are just a lot of sell. Which I have to admit he is pretty good at. Everything is very personalised, the emails are a constant message of "you can do it, invest in yourself, spend money to make money, people who don't spend money on courses have no right to complain..." He really emphasises how the course breaks down all the fears that stop you setting up on your own. Unfortunately this also emphasises all the techniques he is using to break down the psychological barriers that are stopping you from shelling out for the course.
Ramit & Jacob do have some things in common. He challenges many stock PF blogging staples such as renting vs owning, credit cards are bad etc. Both believe all the information is out there, it's just that most people won't act on it. Keep an emergency fund, plan for the worst etc..
There are of course many things that Ramit preaches that Jacob would sigh & shake his head at.
& there are many things that Jacob preaches that Ramit would write an exclusive 5,000 word email JUST FOR YOU extolling the complete idiocy of this approach & why anyone who would consider doing such a thing is pathetic.
...which is why I spend more time here!
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Plain_simple
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Maybe I misunderstood something but I thought that the earn1k course was free. His pitch said: <Earn Your First $1,000 – And More. Starting With This Free Tool>. That's on the front page of http://earn1k.com/.
Where does the 1400$ come from?
Where does the 1400$ come from?
My humble and sincere 2 pieces of silver on this: Let's not waste too much time on RS or others' approaches. Their milieu and clientele are different to this forum.
Even with someone as articulate and well-read as Venkat at ribbon farm, who writes on anything from garbage to consumerism to office politics, I never get anywhere in my discussions with him on the feasibility of suggesting "frugality" as a possibility to bring about a logical closure to the problems he highlights on his writings on those topics!
It takes a real shift in mindset to accept that economics and trade/barter have their place under the Sun, but have been allowed to be placed on a pedestal.
. Many can't, won't, don't want to (shift the mindset, that is), or have a vested interest in maintaining status quo
Even with someone as articulate and well-read as Venkat at ribbon farm, who writes on anything from garbage to consumerism to office politics, I never get anywhere in my discussions with him on the feasibility of suggesting "frugality" as a possibility to bring about a logical closure to the problems he highlights on his writings on those topics!
It takes a real shift in mindset to accept that economics and trade/barter have their place under the Sun, but have been allowed to be placed on a pedestal.
. Many can't, won't, don't want to (shift the mindset, that is), or have a vested interest in maintaining status quoI think a lot of it is hype.
If you already have a skill that in and of itself is something people will pay $50/hr for, getting the side income is more a matter of living in the right location and putting an ad up on Craigslist. I'm thinking things like tutoring/test prep, specialized editing, programming, etc. In these cases people are probably not earning side income because they already have a job that covers their living expenses and they would rather have 5 hours a week of leisure time. I do some contract editing work on the side from time to time and the main thing that stops me from spending even 5 hours a week on it is that 5 hours a week is actually a LOT of extra time when 40+ hours of your week are already gone on a job. If you are already into ERE though, this kind of thing could be useful if your portfolio is having a bad year and you want to leave it alone for a while to recover or there is some particular item you want to purchase that is a bit beyond your typical budget.
If you don't have a skill like that and you are thinking more of building a side business, then it might be useful to have someone tell you what is wrong with your business plan or what specific steps you need to take. However, I'm very skeptical that a successful business can be built without at least an initial time investment of considerably more than 5 hours/week. Even someone like Tim Ferriss (sp?) who claims to be running a hugely successful company on 4 hours/week still put a lot of time in initially building that business. So then as much of the barrier is whether or not you're willing to initially put in more than 5 hours.
I think if you are looking at building a lump of net worth that will allow you to be FI, increased frugality is definitely something to pursue first. I'd only start pursuing side income after all other expenses have been cut as much as possible. Remember, since your savings are all on post-tax income, you'd actually have to save less than $12k/year to see the equivalent of earning $12k more per year.
If you already have a skill that in and of itself is something people will pay $50/hr for, getting the side income is more a matter of living in the right location and putting an ad up on Craigslist. I'm thinking things like tutoring/test prep, specialized editing, programming, etc. In these cases people are probably not earning side income because they already have a job that covers their living expenses and they would rather have 5 hours a week of leisure time. I do some contract editing work on the side from time to time and the main thing that stops me from spending even 5 hours a week on it is that 5 hours a week is actually a LOT of extra time when 40+ hours of your week are already gone on a job. If you are already into ERE though, this kind of thing could be useful if your portfolio is having a bad year and you want to leave it alone for a while to recover or there is some particular item you want to purchase that is a bit beyond your typical budget.
If you don't have a skill like that and you are thinking more of building a side business, then it might be useful to have someone tell you what is wrong with your business plan or what specific steps you need to take. However, I'm very skeptical that a successful business can be built without at least an initial time investment of considerably more than 5 hours/week. Even someone like Tim Ferriss (sp?) who claims to be running a hugely successful company on 4 hours/week still put a lot of time in initially building that business. So then as much of the barrier is whether or not you're willing to initially put in more than 5 hours.
I think if you are looking at building a lump of net worth that will allow you to be FI, increased frugality is definitely something to pursue first. I'd only start pursuing side income after all other expenses have been cut as much as possible. Remember, since your savings are all on post-tax income, you'd actually have to save less than $12k/year to see the equivalent of earning $12k more per year.
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Concojones
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Guys, please do a little homework before making stupid remarks such as "why pay $1400 to earn $1000?" I've seen a few Earn1k excerpts that he gave out for free, and it's solid.
If your goal is to earn a bit on the side to take your retirement date closer by a few months, I'd say, make do with the free advice from Ramit and others, or better, go cut lawns. Your payback period is simply not long enough to justify too much of a time/money investment.
If freelancing will bring in money for decades to come, or it's just a lifestyle dream, then don't let that dream go because it may cost some money. If paying Ramit can bring you closer to your goal, do it. Be frugal, not cheap.
If your goal is to earn a bit on the side to take your retirement date closer by a few months, I'd say, make do with the free advice from Ramit and others, or better, go cut lawns. Your payback period is simply not long enough to justify too much of a time/money investment.
If freelancing will bring in money for decades to come, or it's just a lifestyle dream, then don't let that dream go because it may cost some money. If paying Ramit can bring you closer to your goal, do it. Be frugal, not cheap.
I'm enrolled in Earn1K. The course is $1200 not $1400.
Ramit's program is targeted at people who already have a full time job and need help with the self-promotion and marketing aspects of running a side freelancing business, and it makes perfect sense for those sorts of people.
It does not make sense for anyone who really needs the $1K he promises. If you can't afford $1200 to invest in yourself, you should not be investing in the program.
A month before he launched Earn1K, he spent a month giving away his material, promising that the very best stuff will be saved for the subscribers. I thought his advice was solid, a lot of it is basic commonsense business stuff, stuff you'd learn in business school but not in your career.
He's interviews a lot of self-made business owners and ask the questions you wish you could ask them, like "No, what did you really do to get that *first* paying customer." He gets straight to the root of problems concerning the would-be freelancer.
If $1200 is a lot of money to you, don't take the course, because it's not meant for you. I'm not sure if enrollment is even open right now. It's broken up into a much more manageable schedule of 4 payments of $300.
I would not recommend Earn1K for those on the ERE track, unless you're really not happy with how much you're earning and saving. Ramit has a lot of philosophies that conflict with ERE, and it shows in his material. He does not believe in frugality, don't bother counting your lattes, it leads to unhappiness.
I'm a student of lifestyle design, so I read all of this sort of material I can get my hands on. 4HWW, ERE, Vagabonding, Earn1K, I can't get enough of it.
Ramit's program is targeted at people who already have a full time job and need help with the self-promotion and marketing aspects of running a side freelancing business, and it makes perfect sense for those sorts of people.
It does not make sense for anyone who really needs the $1K he promises. If you can't afford $1200 to invest in yourself, you should not be investing in the program.
A month before he launched Earn1K, he spent a month giving away his material, promising that the very best stuff will be saved for the subscribers. I thought his advice was solid, a lot of it is basic commonsense business stuff, stuff you'd learn in business school but not in your career.
He's interviews a lot of self-made business owners and ask the questions you wish you could ask them, like "No, what did you really do to get that *first* paying customer." He gets straight to the root of problems concerning the would-be freelancer.
If $1200 is a lot of money to you, don't take the course, because it's not meant for you. I'm not sure if enrollment is even open right now. It's broken up into a much more manageable schedule of 4 payments of $300.
I would not recommend Earn1K for those on the ERE track, unless you're really not happy with how much you're earning and saving. Ramit has a lot of philosophies that conflict with ERE, and it shows in his material. He does not believe in frugality, don't bother counting your lattes, it leads to unhappiness.
I'm a student of lifestyle design, so I read all of this sort of material I can get my hands on. 4HWW, ERE, Vagabonding, Earn1K, I can't get enough of it.
I signed up for the course's initial offering and was underwhelmed enough that I requested a refund. I just didn't get value from the course. Really you're paying for the community of like-minded individuals and for Ramit's particular style of motivational speaking. (And, if you pay for the higher tiers, you also get live and personalized coaching.)
He's an excellent example to study if you'd like to learn about marketing and promotion though!
He's an excellent example to study if you'd like to learn about marketing and promotion though!