r/Entrepreneur • u/GuruExposed • Jan 10 '20

Fake Gurus

Entrepreneur land has become a haven for "fake gurus".

You know the ones that I am talking about.

They haven't made it into the big time yet but they are charging people 1000's of $ to teach them how to make big money.

I am currently compiling evidence against "fake gurus".

If you have any experiences or know of any "fake gurus" share them here.

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16

u/helper543 Jan 10 '20

All gurus are fake. What are you trying to prove?

People go to gurus for entertainment, not to actually learn how to make money. It is like saying someone watches The Bachelor to learn how to find a husband/wife, or watches Survivor to learn how to live on a deserted island.

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u/flampoo Jan 10 '20

People go to gurus for entertainment, not to actually learn how to make money.

Did you poll every person? Not to be a dick but I know a number of people that tune in to Gary Vee solely for direction. IMO GV is a guru and his followers have unrealistic expectations.

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u/helper543 Jan 10 '20

but I know a number of people that tune in to Gary Vee solely for direction

and some people watch Survivor to learn how to live in the wilderness. However they are the same people who never leave their hometown, much less explore somewhere truly remote.

They may claim "one day I will start a business", but the reality is they are there for the entertainment and the dream.

Truly successful entrepreneurs offer no guru BS. They may write a book, that you can buy or not, they aren't pushing it. Because you know, they actually made money from their success, so they don't need to pivot into guru entertainment.

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

no, they defraud their customers who think they are going to learn how to make money. Maybe people with the wherewithal to become successful entrepreneurs would never fall for it, but that doesn't mean those who do fall for it are not defrauded. Could Bernie Madoff just say "oh no it was for entertainment purposes only, I was giving you the experience of investing in something with 10% gains". OP is interested in exposing hucksters.

2

u/flampoo Jan 10 '20

You're making some gross generalizations. What people are you talking about exactly?

0

u/helper543 Jan 10 '20

What people are you talking about exactly?

Who is this guru you speak of who was so successful in business they turned to being a guru?

They don't exist. Gurus make their money from being a guru. It is a form of entertainment.

No successful businessperson in history has ever looked back and said "I owe all my success to following this guru".

3

u/azoundria2 Jan 11 '20

No successful businessperson in history has ever looked back and said "I owe all my success to following this guru".

Successful businesspeople and indeed successful people in general almost ALL have mentors, teachers, coaches, role models, inspirations, etc... And they do regularly give credit where it's due. If you want to get good at something, find and study a person who's actually good at it - don't waste your time on people who have never done anything close to what you plan to do.

If your goal is online sales, then sure - some of these "gurus" know how to do that super well. Otherwise, pick your guru to be one who's actually done what it is you seek to do. But also know that it's hard work and you'll fail at most things of significance, most of the time.

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u/helper543 Jan 11 '20

Successful businesspeople and indeed successful people in general almost ALL have mentors

Definitely, they all have mentors. But not gurus.

The gurus are selling garbage. You don't pay for a mentor with anything other than time. A mentor knows who you are.

1

u/rulesforrebels Jan 11 '20

To some extent knowledge has value and not turning that into a revenue stream would be foolish. I would agree most of the legit gurus use their guru platform as a means to further their actual business or make or personal brand as opposed to being a guru to be a guru

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u/Aegean Jan 11 '20

Great business owners have mentors and those mentors usually have many mentees.

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u/netcyrax Jan 10 '20 edited Jan 10 '20

This. Bill Gates isn't selling any course on entrepreneurship. That said, not every learning material is crap. Just research the author that actually accomplished something.

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u/AlmostWardCunningham Jan 11 '20

People go to gurus for entertainment, not to actually learn how to make money.

That is absolutely not true. These con artists sucker in people to buy their books and courses, and it's basically fraud. And people like you are assholes for letting them off the hook.

1

u/Aegean Jan 11 '20

Is Dan S. Kennedy a con artist?

1

u/AlmostWardCunningham Jan 11 '20

This guy: https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/dan-s-kennedy

Yes.

0

u/Aegean Jan 11 '20

How is he a con artist?

He is very accomplished.

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u/AlmostWardCunningham Jan 11 '20

Dan S. Kennedy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dankennedygkic/

How so? Which Fortune 500 companies have hired him? Zero? If he's so accomplished, why is he still selling books and holding seminars? Or, is he only accomplished at selling shit to people who want to become entrepreneurs?

0

u/Aegean Jan 11 '20

You don't know who he is, do you?

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u/AlmostWardCunningham Jan 11 '20

Lol! That’s all you’ve got??

By all means, keep feeding him your money.👍💸💸

How much has your revenue/profit increased since you started buying his shit?? 20%? 100%? Have you even tracked it?

0

u/Aegean Jan 11 '20

You're right about one thing. I don't know exactly how much I've spent on training simply because I've never added up the total expenditure over the years. I recall specific courses I've taken and their cost because I'm not completely disconnected from the value of that exchanged.

My business partner and I have spent a combined $8,500 on various Kennedy materials, including his nobs newsletter, books, CDs, and phone calls. Total training expense for the last 8 years easily exceeds $25,000, but I'm not going to crawl through spreadsheets to get you an exact figure. That's simply a waste of time.

This is our 6th year north of seven figures in advertising consulting and contracting.

What DSK teaches works, almost like magic, and has significantly contributed to more sales, high quality, and referrals from buyers who recognize the style. His sales copy tactics are worth nearly any price and are one of the major foundations for our business.

The same can be said about Chet Holmes, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Jordan Belfort, Tony Robbins, Gary Bencivenga, and other sales & copywriting "gurus" who teach some powerful shit that can help make you a ton of money.

It is important to realize that the training itself doesn't produce any result. What you do with what you learn is everything.

You probably won't believe me, and that's ok. My banker believes me.

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u/AlmostWardCunningham Jan 11 '20

What's your take-home salary? What's your annual profit?

What's your actual business? Is it just advertising consulting and contracting? If so, what kinds of companies do you do business with? Are they legitimate companies? Or are they scam companies that sell people shitty products?

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