I got a letter in the mail telling me about a Rich Dad seminar that was going to be in the area. I love these get rich seminars. They are always entertaining. I have read a couple of the Rich Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki, and they were okay. I am not really big on the writing style. But I have picked up a few ideas from them. The theme of the seminar was “Learn To Be Rich Training”. So I signed up.
I arrived at 5:30 for the 6pm seminar. The only people around were the seminar people. I quickly checked in, and got my name tag which read “I Invest In My Future”. The signs said “What the rich teach their kids about money that the poor & middle class don’t”. The guy said the doors would open at 6pm, so I left to get some food.
I got back at about 5:45, and now there were now lots of people waiting to register, or waiting to get in. Most of the people were informally dressed in t-shirts and jeans or even shirts.
The doors opened at about 6:05pm. I took a seat towards the front. The were projecting motivational success quotes on the screen while playing music. People flowed in. I am guess there were between 125 and 150 people there. There was a package of stuff on display titled “You Can Choose To Be Rich”.
The seminar got started about 6:15, and was all about real estate. I don’t remember it saying that in the flyer that I got in the mail, but it might have. But when they called on the phone to remind me, they kept mentioning the real estate seminar.
The trainer guy came out. He was a very good presenter. He would get the audience involved without making it look as forced, or mechanical as some other presenters I have seen.
I am not going to go over everything that was covered in the seminar. But a large chunk of it was success stories of people who used the training. He talked a lot about the deals he has done. During a small chunk of the seminar he talked about his personal life, about running a foster care home, and adopting a young boy. A relatively small part was informational.
He talked a lot about the Cash Flow 101 game. I was intrigued, and considered buying it. There is also a Cash Flow 202 game as well. But then I looked it up this morning on the net, and see that it sells for hundreds of dollars. Hundreds of dollars for a board game? Give me a break! Maybe I will check out eBay.
Overall, the teaching to sales pitch ratio seemed pretty low. They were mostly trying to sell you on the $495 Rich Dad Academy (regularly $995, but $495 if you sign up at the seminar). I wonder what they would do if you called up the 800 number, and held out for the $495 price. They would probably make an exception…oh!!! you were at the seminar…I talked to my manager and he said I could give you the $495 price…yadda yadda yadda.
The seminar got a little slow towards the end. I considered leaving, but figured that this close to the end, I might as well stay and get my free audio CD. The seminar ended about 8:30pm. I grabbed my free audio CD, and went home.
I also attended a seminar like this one in Lansing Michigan. I was please with the presentation and I opted to take the next step and purchase the 495.00 seminar. I knew this would be about real estate and that is what I am interested in. The amount of training information I received and the fact that I can bring a person with me to the seminar seems fair. It is less the cost of a college class and my college classes don’t teach me everything I will learn about real estate and I look forward to what this seminar has in store.
Comment by David — September 13, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
The 3-day $495 seminar is really just a 3 day pitch for their Advanced Training Courses which are offered through Rich Dad Academy, and which START at $12,000.
I have never owned property before, so i decided to check out a Kiyosaki Seminar put on by one of his disciples
It was an informative seminar for a newbie such as myself, but it was really just a big plug for a 3 day seminar a month away (which I knew) . The speaker spent over an hour, over the course of the 3 daysAnyway, I decided to plop down the 500 bucks to check it out, as I was given a huge handbook for real estate with it, and it seemed to be of big value and somewhat legitimate
The 3 day seminar just ended this weekend , and i did feel like i learned alot of techniques that I didn’t know before in that it was an overview of many possible streams of income involved in Real Estate. However, this 3 day seminar was a HUUUGE plug for their “Advanced Training Courses”, which START at $12,000 for ONE course.
They are now selling a software package which is alleged to dig up foreclosures before all of the other services do, and it costs 1500 PLUS a 40 per month fee, and is only available if one takes the “Advanced Training”
I definitely didn’t want any part of it after that, because i felt that there was enough of an overview to where i could start asking the right questions to the right people, with the right materials in order to succeed.
The thing I am curious about is what they are going to plug next after one is in the advanced training
Comment by Anonymous 1 — October 29, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
Been hearing this so-called Rich Dad. But I still don’t know the details of this yet. I hope this would be discussed further here.
Comment by Cyprus Apartments — November 29, 2007 @ 11:19 am
My wife & I attended the 2hr sales pitch & the 3 day Learn to be Rich Seminar/sales pitch for $495.00. It was a huuuuge sales pitch but also had a few gems of information. (Probably just teasers to get you into the advanced training.
I have tried to research the advanced courses to see if they are true education or mostly sales pitch.
For an investment of this magnitude I want to know the advanced courses will really teach something useful without all the sales pitch.
Has anyone used the R.E. Software that is sold with the advanced course packages? It seems pretty impressive but is it really?
Comment by Chris — December 11, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
Hi guys, I have also read the Rich Dad Poor Dad book by R. Kiyosaki. However, I just thinking, is it still applicable to this day? considering the interest rate is sky rocketing?
Comment by g00db0y — February 13, 2008 @ 7:05 am
Hey people, I am a sophomore in high school in Knoxville, Tennessee and I will be attending this 3-day seminar with my dad this Friday, Saturday, Sunday. As I expected the seminar to be great, after reading the comments above I found it kind of flattering to some people who said that it would be a rip off paying K’s amount of money for more advanced training. Well as I high school student, I foresee the world that the people who are limited in as a high schooler. Way before in my life I thought I wanted to be an orthodontist or medical field area job. I had completely ignored the idea of businesses and real estate. I thought it was boring. After reading the first series “Rich Dad Poor Dad” it had changed the paradigm concept in my brain thought that was very enticing to me. I really before hand thought of being someone in the medical field like an orthodontist would be fun but not as money making, but to real estate I had found the ideas of becoming rich instantly. I had got more interested and had continued to read the series of rich dad poor dad and read the book “why you want to be rich” by both the biggest real estate developer and investor Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. I had definitly got more interested and that is why I had attended that seminar that held in my city, which lead to me to attend the $495 3-day seminar with my dad. My dad is also an open minded person, he seeks new ideas to live life too which is great having him with me for support on this subject.
I also besides real estate investing thought of other ways to make “big” money. Investing into the “Iraqi Dinar” is a big one also. I have recently bought dinar for a relatively cheap price. The dinar that I bought now would be worth 3X the American Dollar about 10-20 years ago. Since then, it fluctuated to a real cheap price $1USD=1206IQD currently. But researches say that the dinar will probably not reach that mark again but it will definitely someday reach up to the 1/1 mark.
Well that is all I got to say for right now. I will post again how the experience goes during this 3-day seminar this friday and please leave comments for me and questions! Thanks!
D Hu
Comment by D Hu — March 26, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
I took the 3-day class and signed up for coaching and advanced training. My personal situation changed after signing up and they offered no refunds for unused classes/services.
Based on their refund policy (three days to think about it or no refund is available), I will never use Rich Dad Education again.
Personally, with the terrible refund policy, the rude responses from my inquiries, the hours on hold to evaluate my options (or lack of options), and no resolution other than them keeping my money — NEVER SIGN UP FOR A SERVICE THAT THE UNUSED PORTION CAN NOT BE REFUNDED.
PERSUE OTHER OPTIONS, Not Rich Dad Education!
Comment by SH — April 26, 2008 @ 8:51 am
The way these greedy piranhas get rich is by getting folks to attend their “free” seminars or (or “sellinars” to be more accurate)and signing up suckers for information one can basically get for free through the Internet or library. Do yourself a favor and read as many books on real estate investing as you can, and find a good local real estate investor who can be a mentor. You won’t have to go broke listening to platitudes and fluff, and you might actually learn something.
Comment by Anya — May 1, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Hello everyone, I hope that you can take a min to share your experiences with Rich Dad Education with our site to help others. Also look for help on how to get your concern addressed. http://WWW.RICHDADREFORM.COM
Comment by Rich Dad Reform — May 1, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
I attended today and loved it! I decided not to attend or buy the 3 day seminar, but the free seminar had great info. I went to look for industrious, hardworking partners wanting to help me with global expansion. I met great people and we will see. If you know anyone that wants to work hard for 1-3 years in order to have finanacial and time freedom , let me know. The best! But, I loved today! I love RK!!!
Comment by kelly — May 7, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
I go to the free seminar, then registered for the 3 day $495 seminar. The next day, i asked for a refund by phone, as required. However, they charged the money anyway from my credit card. I don’t know what to do now.
Comment by Cynthia — May 5, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
My wife and i signed up for the stock class. baslicly the same thing. 2 hour seminar pushing a 3 day $495 class schedualed in a month. i hope they teach us the basics of getting started as being we are brand new to this. i hope they don’t waste our days trying to sell us more stuff.
Comment by d in hawaii — May 13, 2009 @ 8:17 am
I also attended a seminar like this one in Lansing Michigan. I was please with the presentation and I opted to take the next step and purchase the 495.00 seminar. I knew this would be about real estate and that is what I am interested in. The amount of training information I received and the fact that I can bring a person with me to the seminar seems fair. It is less the cost of a college class and my college classes don’t teach me everything I will learn about real estate and I look forward to what this seminar has in store.
Comment by PB — May 28, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
YOU MUST READ THIS — we attended the one night 3 hour seminar and followed it up by the three day seminar in toronto – seminar was more of a motivational sale pitch to buy more from Wealth Institute Academy (WIA) – We signed up for three courses at $13K and then decided to cancel within the three day — Cancellation policy kicked in and we received a full refund within a month (only good part of this story) — Rich dad edcation followed up with a phone call and offered their coaching program for $7229.30CDN — After a three hour phone call, we realized what we were promised was not what was unfolding before us – We were told we could not cancel at this stage and asked to call a customer representative — After several attempts at chasing rich dad education over the US, we call our mississauga office which processed the refund for us for the mentoring program — The credit card company adivsed us to wait 30 days before filling a dispute for a $8200CDN charge on my credit card (not $7229.30CDN as confirmed during registration) — Every phone message left with Rich dad education hed offices across the US resulted in general mail boxes , NO ONE RETURNED OUR CALLS EVEN ONCE. I wrote three letters explaining what took place during our three hour phone call — Once the 30 day passed, we disputed the charges through the credit card company, sent 22 pages supporting our claim of fraud and theft — the three hour phone call was on feb 25 — Mid may rich dad edu offered us $5100 refund which is unaccepteable — The credit card company is pursuing this as we speak — the amount of time i have spent writing emails and letters and spent making phone calls is not worth the aggrevation and the way rich dad education performs business interactions is criminal — June 2, 2009 – we are waiting for the credit card company to give us the good news or bad news — in my book, what we were put through is called FRAUD and THEFT — WARNING to anyone wishing to do ‘business’ with rich dad education, wealth intelligence academy, wealth management inc are all ONE in the same company (although no one on the phone will acknowledge this) — KEEP AWAY
Comment by AOL IN TORONTO CANADA — June 2, 2009 @ 10:57 pm
If Rich Dad Poor Dad offers
a acourse for £350 to do
somes serious RealEstate investing.I will not be doing
an Advanced Courses that would
cost me thousand ofPounds.
However I will let you all know my progress .The course
starts 18th September,2009
Comment by JONATHAN — August 23, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
I attended the 3-day seminar for $500. I don’t know if it has to do with the teacher or what, but i was absolutely thrilled with the class.
Now, of course the seminar was used to sell much more expensive classes, that range from 10,000 to 40,000. Of course they push you hard, they want to make money! I did not sign up for these courses, but I feel I got more than my money’s worth on the 3-day course. Not only is it motivational, but they teach you the very basics of stock investing, as well as how the rich get to where they are and keep growing. From there on out, it is on me to learn more on my own, I do not need to pay the thousands and thousands. But rest assured, the 3-day seminar is worth it! For those of you that signed up, tried to cancel, and are having problems, I feel for you, I’ve been there with different companies in the past. But now I ask you….why did you sign up in the first place when you are going to cancel anyway 3 days later?
Comment by Satisfied Customer — August 31, 2009 @ 11:34 am
Three day real estate class had a few nuggets of good info and SEVERAL, SEVERAL hours of selling their advanced courses in various packages from $5K to $65K.
Comment by kim — August 31, 2009 @ 1:17 pm
I made a comment here already, but it doesn’t seem to have been posted.
My boyfriend and I attended 2 days of the options training course in ny.
I feel this was a rip off and these people are con arstists.
We did learn some information, but much of it was bogus. And I’m not even sure if the instructor was really a successful trader as he billed himself. He spent most of the time belittling people and trying to sell the outrageously priced advanced classes… what a joke !!!!
70,000 for 3 days of the this??? Are you CRAZY???????
And who are these mentors going to be??? This is a bigtime con… I feel sorry for people who are putting their life savings into this… I spoke to at least one.
I’m trying to get my money back. The only good thing that came out of this was some of the information we learned, but I don’t know whether to trust it as some of it was crazy. Increase credit limits, increase debt, apply for more cards… all to pay the 70,000 I suppose… certainly not for our financial health.
The other good point is my boyfriend is raring to go with trading…. but we are not going to go to a reputable school instead.
I’ve filed a report with SEC and will do so with AG also.
Comment by 123 — September 3, 2009 @ 3:27 am
oops… I meant we are going to go to a reputable trading school instead and read free info online. Most of the info in RD class was available for free online, and without a sales pitch !!!
Comment by 123 — September 3, 2009 @ 3:30 am
I think you all are funny….and stupid at the same time
i went to the seminar and the 3 day basic training. I only wish that i had the money for the course right now. i am actually going to be doing a few wholesale deals just to pay for the course with the help of a few people that were there. too many people today are afraid of change and it just makes me laugh. well have fun in all or your alls cynicism
Comment by jeremy — September 5, 2009 @ 10:57 am
We bought a package and have attended 2 classes. They were good and entertaining. Provided good information. We still have 3 to go and the mentor program but think we would rather sell them since our finances have drastically changed. The classes were very expensive and if anyone is interested in taking any classes by Rich Dad, please contact us at: RichAsRichDad@hotmail.com We would be happy to transfer the classes to you. This is legal and you could verify this at the following website:
http://www.wiacademy.com/ownership-wia.pdf
Thanks all and good luck!
Comment by Kristy — September 9, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
I went to the free seminar and liked the concepts and really tried to bend my mind to think differently. We signed up for the seminar and will go next weekend. My only frustration was that we were to get online and pick another time frame if we cant commit to this one. There is no location for that online and nothing written in the paperwork. They made it sound easy of you needed an alternate time frame. My husband cannot attend – but I do not want to lose out since I paid for this training and we have an interest in realestate. So I suppose I will attend this session anyway. Otherwise I was impressed.
Comment by starla — September 13, 2009 @ 9:51 am
I went to a free Rich Dad seminar in NYC which advertised raising your Financial IQ. It seemed like a good idea considering I just got laid off and am not looking to rejoin the rat race to work for someone else – plus the seminar was free. I got there and they didn’t talk about IQ at all but talked about Rich Dad Real Estate Academy (as a cynic you should have expected it, someone’s always trying to sell something, welcome to America). It sounded like BS to me. One of the salesmen was so arrogant. After the seminar, during the orientation for people who bought the $495 3-day course, a mother and son asked him what the negatives are of the program. The salesman said “If you’re concerned with that, then you should just return the product, there will be negatives in everything!” When the mother asked, “Will we receive any guidance or are we thrown to the wolves?” The salesman actually said that we are thrown to the wolves! There was no humor in his tone! He says very seriously, “You’re given the material to learn from, everything you need to know is in the material and there’s an 800-number.” He was speaking to a mother and her son – really comforted them in their decision, huh? JERK! Fortunately for me, I’ve already met several people (not through Rich Dad) who are successfully making money with the help of the Rich Dad Academy. One guy is from a similar neighborhood as mine, a network engineer. Now he’s able to take trips to Nigeria, a cruise to Jamaica, has bought and sold properties in the NY area and works when he wants to…
I owe $50K on college loans (BBA Temple University) and feel like I have no options. I spend $495 and feel like the world is my oyster. This is because the information has been presented and being a true cynic, I will seek out more information to ensure I make the right decisions and become successful – do the work. That’s the bottom line. It’s not for everyone. This is not a get rich quick scheme unless you already know all the info in which case you should already be rich and not be reading my comments here. I doubt I’ll be spending more money for the Advanced Training. So far I’m find the reading material and DVD/CDs are providing a great foundation for me to get started on.
Comment by Rosie — September 13, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
by the way, in reference to the $495, that’s almost if not less than 3 text books for college.
Comment by Rosie — September 13, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
I just attended a three day seminar that Rich Dad put on. It was very misleading as it was on how to start a business. They advertised that it would cover A to Z on opening a business.
what I found out was that it was basically a introduction on how to make money through real estate. It was very limited on the information about business plans, ect. The speaker basically smelled like ashtray as he took a smoke break almost on the hour. He repeated himself throughout the meeting. I have to say that it was very cult like in the way they presented their products always referring to more products to buy.
It was a total waste of money and would not recommend this to anyone. They are praying on people in this bad economy. At the end of the the three days they wanted you to buy additional classes at 5K a pop. He asked for people to stand up if they are interested in buying. The ones that did not stand up were told that if they did not buy they were not really serious about getting rich!
i was very disappointed!
Comment by alex koto — September 19, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
I just finished the three day Stock Investing class focusing on options trading & I was very impressed. Granted, they were trying to sell the more expensive courses, but hello complainers… That is their business… They are a school & they don’t make money giving the course away for free. I’m planing on taking the info I learned from my three day & running with it. If it pays for itself then I just my consider them for continuing education. Learn all you can people.
Comment by Rusty — October 5, 2009 @ 6:53 am
I just attended the free seminar last night in Calgary Canada. Of course it’s a giant sales pitch, and you’d be a giant idiot if you didn’t expect it. Of course they started by saying the course costs $995..”but wait, if you sign up now we’ll give it to you for $495.” I’ve heard better sales pitches for blenders.
I’ve talked to other people who took the three day course in Real Estate (my free seminar was for Stock Trading), and he seemed to think it was well worth the money. He’s also wanting to take the more expensive courses. So far no one here is saying that’s a good deal or not. Anyone?
I’m a skeptic so I figured I would check the interwebs before signing up. I’m glad I found this resource. I don’t know why so many people are signing up and then looking for a refund…are you stupid? Seriously why would they give you your money back willingly?
I think ‘alex koto’s comment was dead on. If you take the information they give you (limited as it is) and run with it, read some more books (which you should always be doing), and don’t expect to get rich over night…then you’ll make that $500 back in no time. Use your heads and educate yourself. Any university or college course will cost you more and probably not give you this type of training (I’m guessing!).
Comment by Chris — October 8, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
Sorry, I meant Rusty’s comment, not Alex’s.
Comment by Chris — October 8, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
I went to the 2 hour seminar and later the 3 day class for $495– It was a great seminar, opened my eyes to many real estate possibilities and suckered me into the potential for making money– all of the tools were right there- the material they presented seemed legit– they just wanted $70,000. I was suckered- put a deposit down– (what kid of an educational institution says, $70,000 NOW. not in 3 days, not in a week– they dont give you anytime to think about it–) I gave a deposit of $1,000 and $398 towards their annual gathering in Florida. I cancelled the program within their 3 day grace period and have not recieved ANY of my $ back– they have continued to charge my account $59 subscription fee to software they never gave me for the past 5 months despite my faxed, emailed, and certified mailed cancellations– I have retained a Consumer lawyer in this matter and hope to resolve this shortly. BEWARE!! There is reason you cannot find any true testimonials or pictures of their “Wealth Institute” Instructors. Any certifiable institution will have information and and testimonials. DO NOT PAY THEM ANY MONEY!!!
Comment by Scammed In Utah — October 8, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
I just came from one of their Infomercials, or what they call SEMINARS. It went smooth at the beginning ( though, they play the anticipation game by keeping us waiting out for five more minutes!). The speaker talked a bit about her OLD miserable life and how wonderful it is now after following Robert Kiyosaki advice. Then, she gave some examples of financially successful people, and end the three hours lecture by marketing for their three day academy seminar.
Once she start talking about the “just now” offer that they have, I realized that I attended an infomercial!
Comment by Saleh — October 9, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
#
by the way, in reference to the $495, that’s almost if not less than 3 text books for college.
Comment by Rosie — September 13, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
===================
No kidding…you take the easy way out in life!
I could buy several semesters of books for $495 for college, because I know where to find them for cheap.
Duh.
P.S. I’m a cynic, too.
Comment by Al — October 11, 2009 @ 11:31 pm
Hey does anyone have the rich dad education real estate success software for sale? If so please email me at rkim_82 at yahoo. com
Comment by Ryan — October 15, 2009 @ 12:54 am
I just completed the 3 day seminar in CT and it was awesome. I learned a lot and if I was financially capapble I would have moved on with the advanced classes. I felt that it was a great opportunity and worth the investment. I plan to utilize what I learned in the seminar and diversify my 401k with knowledge. The system works if you work it!
Comment by Tasha — October 24, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
it is very interesting to read this. I just attended the 2 hr “seminar” tonight. It was almost exactly as you described in your comments 2 years ago. I did NOT get a good idea about what they were selling in their 3 day class. $500 is a lot of money to me, so, I need more details. I even asked for some additional information after – which didn’t answer my questions. The bottom line is that I did NOT buy the 3 day seminar. Based on what I’ve read here and on other blogs, I made the proper decision.
Comment by SLMark — October 28, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
Fantastic reading guys, I just completed the 3 day seminar with a buddy of mine here in Phoenix were the Sales Team is working at the moment($495). After completing it we were outraged by the continuous sales pitch by the instructor. It was a cult-like experience where the Instructor would repeatedly get the crowd to say: “the mentor is the KEY” and because I am [and the crowd would go]“a nice guy” etc etc. Day 1 went from 9am until 8.30pm (was supposed to end 7pm but the sales pitch just went on and on) and during the whole day there were only 2 breaks + the lunch break. During the course of the day NO questions were allowed except during the breaks (this in order disarm the crowd and create exhaustion in effort to get a sale done). The “success team” stood in the back the whole time, obviously monitoring the crowd. I personally asked a question during one of the breaks to put out a feeler for what they would respond to and the question did not fit well with their agenda so i just got an answer as clear as mud.
I think the $495 was a fair deal for the all the pointers aka “teasers” given at the seminar not to mention the book that was given at the initial free two hour introduction. The down side is however that the material that actually applies to the real estate investing could have been covered in less than a day so the sales pitch almost when on for two days… I value my time and I knew there would be a sales pitch for advanced training but they just take it too far and to a stage where it become disrespectful.
The instructor contradicts his own theories and stories during the process not to mentioned going against many of the values and theories Robert Kyosaki lays down in his own books (and CDs given to you when you enroll for the 3 day seminar).
The last shocker was the cost of the advance cost… not even gonna go there! Cutting a long story short: I liked the pointers, hated the sales pitch but don’t regret it. Won’t do the advanced training (on account of cost) but will continue my entry into this fascinating field of investment.
Best of luck to you all!
Comment by Joey the Real Estate Investor — November 9, 2009 @ 2:16 am
Everyone wants the quick and easy path to riches. All of you that are married…did you meet and build a relationship quickly? No
In fact NOTHING worthwhile comes quickly. Nor without work. You must retrain your mind on the way you spend and budget, that is not going to change overnight. Give things a chance.
Comment by Andrew — November 16, 2009 @ 11:20 am
For all these types of seminars my queston is simple.
1) Is my success guranteed?
A) Depends on me.
2) If I am not successful will the losses in the RealEstate be refunded?
A) 100% Refund of course fees IF you have followed our instructions accurately. But No gurantee RE investment losses are not covered.
This question I never asked
Q) So am I paying to be your slave to follow your steps which cannot gurarantee my success.
Their answer will be
A) School does not gurantee a JOB or Career NOR 100% refund of tuition fees.
Comment by Investor/Arbitrator — November 23, 2009 @ 5:32 pm
I just attended the 3 day course and it expanded some of the ideas that I have already learned from reading and DOING…..the key to success. I am pleased with spending the $500 but it ends there. The last day and 1/2 is high pressure sales that plays on your emotions. Listen, if you are motivated you can do this yourself. However, you always need a mentor. You can usually find these right in your back yard. Get off your butt and start meeting people in your area. You will learn more from them then you ever will from these classes in the advance training. And!!! use the money that you are thinking about spending on the advance training on your first deal…
Best of luck and remember Henry Ford said “If you say you can or your say you can’t….You are right”
Comment by Jon — December 13, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
I attended the 3-day seminar (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) about a week ago in Vancouver, BC. I don’t represent Rich Dad or Robert Kiyosaki in any way.
Prior to attending this 3-day workshop, I attended a Robert Allen training as well which was a full-out training on what one can do in real estate (wholesaling, lease-option techniques, Vendor financing, etc). This was enough to fry my brains for a while. I attended further courses on how to do it… which was abandoned as I wasn’t willing to do what it took. The techniques were laid out clearly and are not a lie.
Unfortunately, yes, it is true that the providers of these courses make the bulk of their money in the education – that is a business model that works for them. It narrows down the financially capable to make attending this education happen for $14K to $45K and then some. So it’s acknowledged that they provide an education for information that is not formally otherwise taught in colleges or universities and have proprietary software. People pay because they see the value particularly because they were afraid to loose a lot more with mistakes, and yes, I’ve saved a lot more by taking this training.
Unfortunately also, in my guess-timate, about 95% or more take these courses and are damned to continue their life as they were because that’s just who they are and nothing will force their change despite the expanded knowledge – this is almost guaranteed as it’s human nature. I’ve seen people spend this money and continue with their lives with a lot more agony and suffering. I personally know a few people who have made it – and most who tried the techniques failed which, when I enquired further, they did as they violated the basic principles that were taught. This education is a magical tool. This is why the mentoring is worth its weight in gold – a mentor is someone who will kick your behind into the yard and get you to ‘work’ the system… but it’s work. The instructors are ethical and yes, everything is a sales pitch. The only pressure is for those that are unwilling. I know of a paraplegic who makes deals from her own home – what’s your excuse? People are too darn scared… for good reason.
Yes, it is a given that attending a ‘free’ seminar was not a public charity, but intended to funnel a list of prospects into a 3-day course, which is a further pitch into further courses with no free lunch included. On the 2nd day of this course, you’re allowed to bring in your spouse. Really, it is a mind-opener for “what is possible”. NOTHING in the information they provided was false.
The courses are real and also impossible to cover over one weekend to the extent that you will walk out fully equipped – there’s way more than just popping a weekend pill and becoming an expert. When asked, they were clear that they will not provide a ’step-by-step’ 1-2-3 modus over this initial weekend and barely manage to cover a wide range of principles, which takes structure to help and understand and skill. Yes, they do go over the cash flow game two times on days 2 and 3 – and it’s not to be understimated – as it’s truly a reflection of your life which will show up in how you play it. Couples started bickering very fast and we could see dynamics unfold. For them to elaborate and educate on even one concept alone would take more than a weekend. For example, the Lease Options has 8 different techniques that are ‘amazing’, and it could barely be taught to the current crowd without putting them in a daze – few if at all dared to raise their hands for not understanding unless there was some kind of a math/financial background.
Bottom line, no matter what you learn, if you don’t get out in the field and start playing, I guarantee you can kiss your money goodbye – the gamble is not them, it’s the customer… that’s my guarantee as I’ve seen it time and again and now understand why education is such a profitable model… the failure rate due to human fear. No mentor, no win! (Hope the mentor doesn’t suck and interview this mentor before you take him/her on.)
They “do not” lead you down a misleading path – the mentors can mentor (not teach) unless they have proven their own success. The mentor prevents you from falling into the trap of ‘having to know everything’ before you make wealth in real estate. Even with my financial and pseudo-legal background, it wasn’t easy to follow – but they “did” answer “ALL” questions. Satisfaction or a lack thereof is entirely upto the participant to create. Make lemonade if you think you have lemons – this is the test of those persistent enough to not fail. Each of us are either successful because we do it in all areas of our lives, or we aren’t. Don’t use this course to prove the exception but the start of a journey of self-discovery. It’s not just the course itself, it’s your life. The info/training they provided was “invaluable”, but it took a former background to truly understand the power of what was being taught. Do not underestimate the power of what they teach – question is will you use it?
Their legal structure is remarkable (under Asset Protection) – it’s in one of Robert Kiyosaki’s book. It’s a 3-tier system and I speak from experience – this is tried and tested outstanding structure. Be careful that you don’t mix US terminology with Canadian rules. Robert Allen covers the US structuring for the LLCs and Land Trusts a lot better in one respect than does the Robert Kiyosaki (in my view).
Learn only one style of investing – start as a wholesaler – you can’t go wrong, visit Real estate clubs, take steps and expand later into the others. Spend no more than 15 hours per week or you’re doing it wrong. Each week you’ll learn lots by doing – find a friend who shares your enthusiasm and you’ll go even further.
Comment by Velvet Black — December 21, 2009 @ 12:04 am
if anyone needs a copy of the real estate success software, email me at ngirg001@yahoo.com
Comment by tom jone — December 27, 2009 @ 12:26 am
I’m a simple man with nothing more than an HS education and 20 years in the military and I have never been one to believe you can get rich quick. I attended the 2 hour “pre-seminar”, listened to some success stories, was intrigued at the thought of being assisted with creating a business plan for my business idea. I paid the $495 to attend the 3 day Entreprenuer Seminar. Its the morning of the 3d day of the seminar and I’m disappointed in what has transpired over the last 2 days. At the pre-seminar I was informed that I would be assisted in preparing a 60 day business plan to use as a foundation to get my business up and running. However, the seminar has been more about real estate and how you can use the cash flow earned from it as the catalyst to fuel your business. Granted there has been some great real estate information and has intrigued my interest in that area, but it isn’t what I signed up for. Even that information has been vague, never really pinpointing what you actually need to do to purchase properties, just that you need to. What’s more, yesterday we were told that we were running behind and that we had to cover alot of information. The next hour was nothing more than a sales pitch to attend “advanced” training ranging from $11k – $72k. I didnt expect that after I attended this seminar that I would be able to go out and immediately start my business and earn my riches, but I expected to be provided with information and guidanceon how to do so in the future.
Comment by TXTRP70 — January 4, 2010 @ 9:59 am
Ok so how do these methods differ from the Cash Flow Notes that I see informercials on TV for?
It seems like the same kinda thing….find, invest, sell, make $$ blah blah blah.
But does it really work?
Also, do Hard Money Loans have to be paid back and why weren’t Grants mentioned in the free class? Grants don’t have to be paid back, do they?
I get ads for Grant Money all the time….
Comment by JDPSmiley — January 6, 2010 @ 5:52 pm
I just left the 3 day courses for rich dad education in anaheim ca. I was told at the first seminar that you can start off with as little as a few hundred bucks. When I was in the classes they showed an example of a trade and would say you will learn the rest in the advanced courses. So I ended up learning a little of everything but confident in nothing. And not only am I pretty much in the same boat as I was in ,you need atleast 5,000 to start trading and a minimum of 10,000 to start the advanced courses. I would love to take them but I am just starting out and do not have that money. so before you go to the 3 day seminars make sure you have atleast $5,000 to invest and atleast 18,000 for advanced courses(if you want a mentor) GOOD LUCK!
Comment by brittany — January 9, 2010 @ 8:16 pm
I recently attend the 3 day stock success course for $495. The 3 days of training were very general. They showed us many different trades, but little to no information on how to do them. Each example was ended with “you will learn this in the advance training” or “you will learn this in the next 3-6 months”. It makes more since to just skip the 3 day course and go straight to the advanced courses if you want to have success. Mind you, courses are 10k-25k and you must pay in full before you join. I felt like this was a waste of my hard earned $. You will get good information but not enough to actually do anything with it if you are just starting out. I would only recommend this 3 day course for those who have 10k-25k to spend on the advanced courses and at least 5k to invest in stocks with. Best wishes and I hope this helps.
Comment by jeremy — January 11, 2010 @ 2:41 am
I havn’t read a single person write a comment on here that HAS taken the Advanced Training Course. I guess they’re making the money to not even worry about looking this up online.
All I’ve been able to find on is, at the most,people have only attended the $495 3 day introduction course.
Just from my deductions, with no complaints from people who spent 35k on advanced training..which would be odd b/c people WOULD DEFINITELY be complaining if they did spend 35k and NOT make money in real estate.
Just imo for the cynics.
Comment by Any — January 11, 2010 @ 3:08 am
I went to the 3 day seminar. It was educational for me just learning what they taught that weekend. I would love to be able to afford the advanced training but it is entirely too expensive. The basic package which is just 2 advanced classes is 12k and the one that they really advise you to purchase is 60k unless you purchase that day at a discounted price which is 35k. There is even a package that costs 117k. If i had that kind of money i wouldn’t need there courses. They try to get you to max out your credit cards to purchase these training courses saying that the mentoring that you get will almost guarantee sucess and pay for the training in just a short amount of time. That would be great if it does but if it doesn’t you are stuck with a huge amount of debt. The bottom line is these programs are entirely too expensive. All during the presentation they speak about how they are successful and only want to pass this on to help others but if you put the math to it this is just another way for them to get richer.
Comment by pat — January 17, 2010 @ 10:53 am
I have just finished their 2 hrs intro session at Santa Clara California. The speaker was not very cooperative in answering questions clearly. I am planning to attend their 3 day class but it seems that will only give you tips on what is going on without actually showing the whole picture until you purchase their advanced training. Knowledge is money but I don’t think it is wise in justifying this spending and not fully knowing what you are getting out of it. Overall I expected them to be more honest and straight forward in stating what they offer rather than dragging you into one session and then wait, you will have to pay more to hear the full side of the story.
Comment by BH — January 22, 2010 @ 3:12 pm
BTW: If any body wants to sell their software for Real Estate success. Please email me the price at bhummadi2009 at yahoo dot com. Have any body had a problem activating it after purchase?
Comment by BH — January 22, 2010 @ 3:14 pm
Hello everyone!!
I came in here hoping to read a comment from someone that HAD taken the Advanced Stock Courses, but i have spent almost 30min reading about people complaining who havent even taken the 3day training. I did last weekend and although it has 2/3 of sales pitch, what i have learned has definetly been worth the money and time. I do not have 5k to start investing but i will start with paper trades and virtual money, if that goes well i plan on starting with 1k. If you are in here trying to find information to decide wether to go to the 3day training. I do recommend it, but be prepared to listen to alot of sales pitch for advanced classes and mentally prepared to NOT paying for them. If they ask, tell them you will purchase advanced classes so you can get more info out of them. If you want to skip the 3day course and save $495 research: options trading and MACD. Learn all you can about the “color trade” and practice them in a virtual trading website. If you make tons of virtual money, you are ready to use real money, open up an accout at an online broker such as optionshouse or others and start small. If you want more info send me an email to montrealoko at hotmail, but dont expect a quick response.
If you want your current situation to change you have to try something different.
Good luck to everyone!
Comment by Roger — January 25, 2010 @ 6:34 pm
I really hope people don’t fall for this crap. CBC News Marketplace investigated them:
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/01/28/consumer-rich-dad-poor-dad-marketplace.html
Comment by Kaye — January 29, 2010 @ 11:47 am
I will attending the 3-days course in a couple of weeks time. After watching CBC News Marketplace last night, my high hope to gain knowlegdge of trading just diminished. Does anyone knows how to get out of this situation?
Comment by Phil — January 30, 2010 @ 10:54 am
I’m on day two of the three day siminar. i’m not even goin to go back tomorrow. holy crap what a shady waste of time. I mean for 300 bucks you get your real estate brokers education. why the heck did i pay 500 dollars to get scammed by a sweaty used car salemen in a cheap suit. these guys are not sucessful real estate investors they are greasy sleazy salemen prying on your ignorance. any really really postive feedback that you read i promise you is one of them…its AMWAY! and i got punked.
Comment by emili — February 6, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
I just went to the $495 3 day basic Real Estate Training. I have a 4-Plex by doing some of the information they give but I did make some mistake that if I took this course first I would have saved probably saved over $1000. Knowing this going into the future I will saved thousands of dollars on this.
As for the strong sales pitch it wasn’t that strong and very open and honest in my opinion. I have seen much stronger ones that were a lot more underhanded. I don’t know if it has to do with the instructor or the MarketPlace report with this.
This is not a get rich quick (insert whatever you want) it is a system that takes time and hard work, and that why it depends on the person doing it. You can take what I say whatever why you want, but if you want to do something different this could be an option. $500 is not much to pay to find out if this is something you want to do for the rest of your life.
I wish you all the best in all your life.
Comment by David — February 14, 2010 @ 1:04 am
does anyone know if the stock mentorship program is run by the whitney information network? has anyone taken that program and what did you think of it?
Comment by jill — February 15, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
I took one of the advanced courses and quite honestly learned more about what properties our instructor has in place than anything. They have some “mentors” available from the area attending so you can ask them a lot of questions, but it is just another upsell. They want you to finish at least two courses, get out of debt (which you probably wouldn’t be in unless you signed up for their courses), and then contact their office (SO YOU CAN GET A MENTOR OF COACHING CALLS). I spoke with someone that had signed up for the coaching calls which were a waste of time and nothing but fluff — “I hope you are having a great day,” etc. They cancelled them right away ($7000). For the amount of money they charge they should be holding your hand and helping you with the first deal — there are other companies that provide this for a lot less money. Upon completing the first advanced course I was still baffled about what to do. It should be a process from A-Z, but a lot is left to be learned. I would recommend joining your local REI organization and attending (much cheaper) seminars. The classes are no longer RICH DAD EDUCATION. They are promoted through TIGRENT Learning and some of the people I have dealt with are not very nice. They should be for as much money they squeeze out of you.
Comment by Shawn — February 24, 2010 @ 11:45 am
I went to the free info-session, then paid for the three-day class.
Knowing absolutely nothing about Real Estate I figured I’d listen and go from there.
I took copious amounts of notes, and through research knew the last day especially they were going to sell me on the Education.
Well, fortunately for me I can’t afford it. I am not sure if I would have taken the bait anyway with the amount of the classes, but circumstances are such that I can not.
I was okay with that, the team agreed on a certain path I should take, and that is ok.
About a week later, I received a call from someone at Rich Dad Education. He started by asking me would I like to receive one-on-one help from a mentor. I said i would.
But then it was a scaled down tailored hard sell of what I had went through at the class.
My circumstances hadn’t changed so paying a couple grand versus tens of thousands was still out of the question.
I talked to some of the other people who took the Intro class, and although i was told they were not offering the deal to everyone, well, they too were being offered the SAME deal.
So move forward some time, another person from the class and I meet weekly to discuss new things we have learned, people we have met and more.
classes or not, you still have to get out there, meet people (Build your Database) and keep it moving.
I know these classes fit in somewhere for the right person, just not for me and my circumstances.
Comment by Bingo — February 27, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
I was interested in learning about stocks and trading them, so I decided to respond to an email to attend a workshop on stocks put on by the Rich Dad Company. I was impressed because I was learning and wanted to hear more. So, I decided to attend a 3-day seminar for $495.00.
The 3 day workshop was also good information. Although we were getting sales pitches the whole time for their advanced classes, I was fine with that. In fact, I expected it. I was learning and I was interested in what I was hearing. The presenter was good. He presented information in a way that was easy to understand for someone with no trading experience. I was interested in hearing more and signing up for a class until they put the pressure on.
Look, I want more education, it is just hard when they hit you with prices for their advanced classes that are high. For example 2 classes can cost between 9400 – 11000 all the way up for packages costing between 40 – 65k for 10 classes with a mentor. Because I have money put away and could afford some of these classes but did not JUMP on it, I was called out. When I gave an excuse that I would like to take 1 class to start and I was not going to pay for it today, I was told that my excuse sounded like a “cop out”
I am talking about 5 thousand dollars and was only given a couple days to think about it, Give me a break, don’t put that much pressure on me. Seriously, I was going to try 1 advanced class for 6k, spending 1k more by not doing it that day and I was basically called dumb for not spending 5k in one day, even though I had my father-in-law agree to pay the other 3k if I would wait for him. (These classes are all designed so you can bring a friend for free)
I hate high-pressure salesmen that try and paint you in a corner, so I left right before the 3rd day of training started.
If they had given me some breathing room, I would have signed up at least for the one class. Now, I question if I would attend another class if I would just be sold to about another class, and another class etc.
I think I got a basic understanding of stocks and will continue to learn on my own. If you are interested in seeing what they have to say, I say go for it. You will learn basic things that will help you understand it more, but be ready for the sales pitch and be careful for the high-pressure sales.
Comment by Edward — February 27, 2010 @ 3:08 pm