Have you been seeing ads of people in their garage in front of a bunch of books for some reason? Yes, I wanted to share my thoughts on are online financial gurus legit.
Before we start I advice you to watch this video, because it walks through those finance gurus “business model” very well.
I wasn’t really thinking on writing an article on the subject. I know most of my readers are people who can think on their own and would most probably not fall for those shady methods and thousands of dollars worth of courses.
After all their target customers are not exactly people who want to do their own research. And you know that I am all about doing your own research and try to teach people how to do that.
But if I can stop even one person from falling in this trap I would be very happy. Now let’s get to the point.
Who Am I Talking About?
If you watched James’s video you now understand who am I talking about. There are loads and loads of people on Youtube and online in general that follow the exact same template. They hook you with promises on bright future, quick money and rosy sunsets on an exotic island.
And not only that. You can notice a very similar pattern across many, many Youtubers. They start out, start running ads, gain a following and start pushing various courses worth thousands of dollars. Think about it. What kind of course would justify the price of $5,000?
I mean, even courses explaining detailed subjects such as computer science or software engineering cost way less money than that. You can check yourself – go on coursera for example and have a look through some of their courses.
And those are courses developed by legit academics, you receive a full syllabus and proper information on the subject you want to learn. And they cost a fraction of the price of those Youtube courses. Why is that?
Well, easy- it’s because those Youtubers don’t really sell you a course, but rather a dream and some form of illusion. They bank on insecure and vulnerable people and get as much money as possible from them. And there is a major difference between them and people developing proper courses.
Proper courses are made by academics and genuine teachers, educators. Those guru courses are made by salesman. And there is one big difference between them. Teachers want you to learn, they create things with the idea of someone learning something from it.
On the other hand online gurus are salesman. They create products, so they can make money. They don’t really care what you learn or if you learn something at all. What matters is you buy the course, so they can make money.
Are Online Financial Gurus Legit?
You have probably successfully guessed my answer – not, they are absolutely not worth it. Of course, as everything else in the world, there are exceptions. There are a lot of people online that sell courses and many of them can be helpful.
But all those shady courses worth thousands of dollars are not worth it at all. But here’s the thing- there is nothing illegal in what they are doing. Generally speaking their business model is highly unethical, but perfectly fine from legal point of view. In fact it is a very profitable venture for them. With the rise of social media people are more and more insecure and vulnerable to all those influencers.
After all who wouldn’t want to just quit their job, hop on a Lamborghini, travel into the sunset and live happily ever after? Sadly, nothing in life happens as easy as those online commercials make it out to be.
But here is what I can do for you. I can explain on how to spot those fake gurus and how to avoid their products. Their products can come in loads of different forms – courses, subscription services, stock alerts and all kinds of magic formulas.
How To Spot Fake Gurus Online?
Here I suggest you watch the video above, it explains everything very well. I really don’t need to add anything to it in terms of their approach and “business model”. In short- all those gurus follow the same pattern and use a lot of pushy salesman tactics. They talk loud or use words in caps lock, so they can grab your attention.
They paint a rosy picture and promise you hundreds of thousands of dollars for whatever they are selling, they make it seem super easy and so on, you get the spiel.
Then they use scarcity to make you buy their product today. Which is really funny to me how it works. A lot of them explain how there are limited places left on their online course. But when you think about it that’s a digital product. It’s an already make online course, it’s not like it’s a shirt, or a meal or whatever.
There is no limit to those courses, they can send a trillion of them if they want. It’s just a file sitting somewhere that they share. But they use those tactics to make you buy it now and as stupid as it sounds it obviously works.
How to Avoid Falling in the Online Guru Traps?
Most people would generally spot those shady practices and just ignore them, but small % have trouble making the difference. That’s who they are targeting. So let me explain how to avoid that happening to you. It’s actually not that complicated.
Do Your Research
A lot of problems can be solved with good, old-fashioned research. And here is how you can do it. Let’s say you fell into the trap and are in front of a decision on whether or not to buy a $1,000+ course, or a mastermind plan, or whatever catchy word they come up with.
So what you can do is pretty simple. Go through the course’s syllabus. If there is no syllabus, but just a bunch of catchy words – click exit and don’t look back. I mean, who would not be happy to share what is in the product they are selling? That’s right – shady salesman with dubious intentions.
Then let’s say you do find a syllabus. If it is filled with a bunch of catchy phrases such as “secret method” or “my number one secret”, “the one thing that will change your life” just click exit and forget about it. A simple thought can make you realise how incredibly shady and fake that sounds.
Just think about it – what can possibly be that secret thing? What could possibly make it so much more than everything else in the space? But such words grab your curiosity and your mind goes wild and you start wanting to see what that secret is. You start wondering what this one thing could be. After all, if it costs $5,000 to know, it will probably be something incredible, right?
I am sad to inform you that there is no such one secret key to happiness, or to success, or to wealth, or to whatever they promise you. Everything is a methodical grind that takes years of dedication and work. If you see someone online that promises otherwise – he is most probably trying to take your money.
Check Their Niche
This one is the most obvious one that I am not sure why not everyone does. So all of those incredible gurus “specialise” in a certain niche right? They promote things such as dropshipping, FBA, stock trading, real estate, crypto currency etc.
I will give you a little secret. Literally everything they say in their courses, or seminars, or whatever, is available online for free, or for a small amount. Yes, you don’t get to see videos with sports cars and exotic islands, but you also get to keep your hard earned money.
I will say it again – everything you want to learn is available online in one way or another. I have learned everything in my life by doing simple online research and reading books.
In fact here’s a little challenge for you. Think about something that you want to learn, whatever it is. Type it into Google for some instructions on how to learn it and see what happens. Chances are there are most probably tons of resources on the topic, most of them for free.
Too Good To Be True?
People in general have a very good intuition, but sometimes we neglect it, because we want to believe things that we deep down inside know are not true.
A very good example are those online gurus that promise you becoming a millionaire in like a month. I know it’s not true, you know it’s not true and they certainly know it’s not true. Then why are there still people signing in to their courses and plans? Because they want to believe it’s true.
But, as I said, we have some form of intuition and with a little common sense it’s fairly easy to spot unethical people. So, next time you have an off feeling about someone, just follow those 3 steps. Do your research, check their niche and get a general sense of the person infront of you.
That’s actually one of the main reasons they count on urgency so much and they want you to do everything now and offer “limited places” to all of their products. It’s because they don’t want you to think, do your research and make an informed decision.
Because no one in their right mind would make the informed decision to buy a $5,000 course from some random dude popping up in a Youtube ad.
My Advice
My advice to you is simple- there is nothing wrong with wanting to get rich, or being financially independent, or living on an exotic island, or whatever is that you want to do. But reaching those goals is a bit harder then those gurus make it seem to be. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
What you need is a plan, dedication and to SIGN UP TO MY SECRET MASTERMIND COURSE, ONLY NOW, ONLY $5,000, ONLY 10 PLACES REMAINING!
On a serious note though – you do actually need a plan, you need patience and you need dedication, at least if you want to achieve something long-term. But here’s some good news- you are capable of doing pretty much everything that you want if you put your mind to it.
Take me for example- just 3 years ago I was just another Eastern European degenerate, who couldn’t even speak English. And today I do what I love and I can at least start making some plans for financial freedom. I am very far away, but even making distant plans is a huge improvement for me. I mean 3 years ago I didn’t even know what the heck that is.
So if I can do it, every single person reading this can. You don’t need secret formulas, or a rich, greedy dude selling you courses to do this. A simple online search can do much more for much less.
Summary
Social media is growing rapidly and it’s influence on people gets bigger and bigger. Here is a study from Netherlands on the average time people spend on social media.
You can see almost 30% of people in the ages 18-25% spend between 3 and 5 hours every day on social media. Chances are every one of them sees multiple ads of those online gurus selling their lifestyle. And guess what? Young people don’t have a fully developed mindset yet and those things can influence them.
When they see those ads every day they start becoming self-conscious. I mean look at those guys with their Ferraris, while I don’t even have a car, right? And they eventually fall into the trap and end up spending thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars on courses and other dubious products and services.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to develop your own self-thinking, ignore those pushy salesmen and develop your own plan. You can learn pretty much everything you want with an online search.
Hope you found that article valuable, I really don’t want you to fall into those shady tactics. If you find the article interesting please share it with people who might be easily influenced by those fake gurus. Thank you all for reading and stay safe.