My interview with Alan Cowgill also had a very amusing exchange. Here it is…
Have you ever been to Chuck E Cheese, Dave and Busters or one of those places that has games for young kids? (all trademarks of their respective corporations)
Typically, you end up there because a child is having a birthday party that includes pizza and cake.
Well if you have been to one of those party places, you know about the popular “Whack The Mole” game.
If you haven’t been to one of these kids birthday party places, just imagine a game that has a bunch of holes in the top of a big wooden box and a fake mole head pops up and you whack it with a rubber mallet.
The goal is to whack it before the mole can duck back into the hole and hide again.
Then a new mole head pops up somewhere else on the board and you have to move fast to whack it. Your score is determined by how many mole heads you whack back into their hole.
Fun!
This “Whack The Mole” game reminds me of what is going on in today’s real estate business right now and more specifically when it comes to real estate trainers.
What is going on everywhere you look is real estate trainers coming out of the woodwork touting their offer on helping folks find private lenders.
Kinda like the mole heads popping up all over the place.
Let me give you some examples of what I am seeing:
1. “Mike & Mike”, two guys who came to my boot camp as students, took my PowerPoint presentation and then each packaged it as “their product” and are selling it. That is called stealing!
2. “Greedy D”, a national speaker holding his own bootcamp on a different real estate topic, was in a mastermind group with me. Everyone at the meeting agreed not to steal other member’s product ideas. “Greedy D” came to my bootcamp a few times and the next thing I know he has created a competing boot camp on private lending. This is not only low, but he broke his word.
3. “Use Ya & Abuse Ya Herman” hired me to teach him how to create information products and then created a Private Lending home study system of his own. “Use Ya & Abuse Ya Herman” learned private lending techniques from me and there were a gazillion other products he could have picked. Kinda low don’t you think? Or is it just lack of creativity?
4. “Data Dump Matt” dumped a bunch of SEC legal mumbo jumbo from the internet, spiral bound it, and calls it a home study system. He didn’t spend the time, money or put forth the effort to create a quality home study system. This makes it tough on students and you deserve better. That is just lazy.
5. “Team Paul” are new — and don’t have the experience — so they send out promos putting other speakers down, so they can build themselves up. I have always thought that this approach showed a lack of ethics. I hope students run from this type of trainer; the insecure, rookie approach to building a business. In this business, good trainers are transparent, and “Team Paul” will probably pay for not building their business on ethics.
I am truly concerned about what has been going on in our industry and feel that students need to see the facts, so I am leveling the playing field today to let these so called experts know I am on to them and blowing the whistle without naming names like they do.
6. “Marketing Rick”, like “Greedy D”, built his business on one segment of the real estate business and now that the market has changed, he is SUDDENLY a private lending expert. (I’m surprised he didn’t jump right to being a crypto “expert”…) If he was an expert on private lending, why wasn’t he teaching it when the market was good? Why is he switching horses?
7. “Social Media Melvin” is the copycat I’m most concerned about. They are simply unsafe. These hucksters people have never heard of are suddenly popping up like the whack-a-mole game. They’re out there pushing their private lending products. I seriously doubt if they have staying power because they really aren’t experts. They are trying to make a quick buck off of you. Buyer Beware.
8. “Trapper John” is a trainer who tells you to search public records to find private lenders and then market to them. Sounds kind of OK on the surface, but it violates one of the 5 main rules of the SEC. It’s a great way to get YOU in a TON of trouble with the SEC.
***Well, it is time to start whacking these moles.***
They need to be whacked because most are unsafe.
The goal is for you to be wealthy and safe.
Here are the 7 keys to help you decide who to work with:
#1. Attract — Do they teach you ways to attract private lenders but fail to teach you how to stay safe? This is important. For example, attracting private lenders is legal in every state and you are either in an exempt category or registered. If your trainer isn’t coving this RUN.
#2. SEC — Do the trainers include solid information on the SEC? There are 5 basic areas that are controlled in every state. I paid an SEC attorney more than $100,000 to research the laws in every state. This information is critical to keeping you safe and you need to be working with a trainer that provides detailed information by state.
The SEC is regulated at the state level as well as at the Federal level. I don’t tell you what I spent on searching out data about the SEC regulations to impress you, but to impress upon you the dedication these trainers must commit to in order to teach this topic.
#3. Current — Do they stay current with information and how it impacts you and maybe even how it impacts your lenders? There are some recent laws that now impact the lenders.
#4. Manage — Do they include information about the management of the private lenders? Do they tell you about disclosure statements that are required or about year-end tax handling?
#5. Puzzle — Maybe the most important question is this: Are these trainers giving you all of the pieces of the puzzle? You need the whole puzzle to see the whole picture.
#6. Volume and time — Have they done enough deals using private lenders? Have they been around long enough to see a lot of different situations so they can give you the quality education you deserve?
#7. Quirks — Do they point out the handful of quirks that a few states require? For example, in Michigan you must give the private lender a disclosure statement 48 hours prior to the lender loaning you money.
What I have found is that teaching folks how to acquire and manage private lenders goes hand-and-glove with the SEC requirements.
It’s just like learning how to drive a car.
You not only need to know how to start the car, push on the gas pedal and manage the fluid levels, but you also need to know to follow the speed limit, traffic signs, etc. The rules of the road.
It’s one thing to attract private lenders like bees to honey, but it’s another thing to be able to sleep at night because you have done it legally and are safe.
You see, when dealing with private lenders it is not the Wild West.
There are some regulations you need to comply with and the controlling agency is the SEC.
The SEC is not to be ignored.
Let me ask you a question; would you dread getting a financial audit from the IRS?
Well the IRS is a pussy cat compared to the SEC.
When dealing with the SEC, you are dancing with a gorilla. And they are leading!
But dealing with the SEC is simple if you know the rules and the rules are easy to follow.
The words “Buyer Beware” have never been more apropos than they are when following the teaching from some of today’s trainers of private lending.
These 7 areas are critical to your success.
TOM ZEEB:
Thanks Alan. All points very well taken.
It’s one of the reasons we screen speakers at Traction REIA so aggressively.
We want only the best and only real people with real information. Too much scum out there to begin with.
This is a topic that especially needs to be done right. Compliance isn’t difficult, it just needs to be known how to comply properly, and then you go and do it right.
Everyone, Alan Cowgill will explain Private Lending in detail at our Traction REIA events starting next week:
#1. IN-PERSON: Washington DC Main Monthly Meeting
TOPIC: “How to Easily Attract Private Money”
SPEAKER: Alan Cowgill
Thursday April 20th IN-PERSON
Hilton Garden Inn Tysons Corner
8301 Boone Blvd
Vienna, VA 22182
6pm to 9pm
#2. IN-PERSON: Full Day Training Event with Alan Cowgill
TOPIC:
“MASTERCLASS :: The Easiest & Safest Way to Get Private Money”
Saturday April 22nd IN-PERSON
Hilton Garden Inn Tysons Corner
8301 Boone Blvd
Vienna, VA 22182
9am to 3pm
#3. IN-PERSON: Sarasota/Tampa Monthly Luncheon
SPEAKER: Alan Cowgill
Friday April 28th IN-PERSON
Gecko’s Grill & Pub
Clark Road & Honore Ave
5585 Palmer Crossing Circle
Sarasota, FL 34233
12Noon to 2pm
Tom Zeeb
President
Traction REIA:
13+ Consecutive Year Recipient of the
National REIA “Honors of Merit” and the “Award of Excellence”
For Best Real Estate Investor Association!
