After I wrote a previous blog post about a harsh comment made by one of the Internet Marketing gurus, the topic has reared its ugly head yet again! That first post hit a collective nerve with people, as indicated by the number of comments on the original post. Since then, it has come up multiple times, which is always a sign that it needs to be addressed again.
Last week I was speaking to a group of people who are in-between jobs. My topic was “Both Sides Now: The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment vs. Working as An Employee in Corporate America.” One attendee – I’ll call him “Ray” – approached me afterward and told me he enjoyed my presentation because I kept the topic “real”. When I asked him what he meant, he said that “He enjoyed my talk because I was realistic about the pros and cons; that my talk didn’t overhype, overpromise, or embellish.“
Ray went on to say that he liked Dr. Phil for this reason, because in one of his books he opens with a chapter titled “Get Real”. In other words, Dr. Phil’s message is to be realistic about what you can accomplish.
Many new entrepreneurs, who are still in start-up mode, are frustrated because they are not making the money that they think they could or should be making. Because of the instant gratification so prevalent in our culture today, the concept of “paying your dues” has basically gone out the window.
But the fact is that most likely you will not be an instant success. Yes, even with all of the tools available to us today – including the Internet and Social Media – it still takes a lot of work to get established and develop credibility. These tools may make it easier, and give us access to more people, however it still takes time and hard work. And many of the big “gurus” just won’t state this up-front.
Many of them make it sound soooo easy; “All you have to do is Tweet for a few weeks and you will sell out your programs!”
I disagree. I know that you already have to be at a certain level first, in order for that to happen. Not to mention you will need to work with JV partners who will promote you. Chances are you will not sell out your programs or fill your tele-seminars the first time they are offered. It took Ali Brown, Online Marketing Entrepreneur extraordinaire, ten years to build her empire. At one point in time, she could hardly pay her rent! Many of the actors and actresses in Hollywood will attest to this. Eva Longoria paid her dues by working on the soap operas and a failed TV series, before landing the role that made her famous (after 10 years!) on Desperate Housewives!
Not everyone starts at the top. To tell people otherwise is misleading (it isn’t real!). Experts and gurus who tell you otherwise – that you will become a success in a matter of weeks – are not being real. Furthermore, when they judge or criticize their prospective clients for asking about the truth, they alienate them (see previous blog post). So what about you?
Do you believe some of these Internet Marketing Gurus who will tell you that “it’s so easy, anyone can do it”?
Or do you believe that it takes hard work, and consistent and persistent effort on your part to “make it”?
Is it okay to be misleading? If so, when?
Have you ever bought in to a program where you felt misled? If so I would love to hear from you!
Roberta Budvietas (http://www.getoutofstuck.net/?p=4067) had a post about gurus today. And, as I stated, it’s all too easy for someone to claim being a guru. And, I believe the old joke (or was that a stereotype) that a guru was a hermit on a mountain who just hates people (but wants their money or approbation) is all too accurate today.
Hi Roy! Thanks for the link – I hopped on over to Roberta’s blog! And, I agree that many gurus are self-proclaimed gurus!
Hi Karen, really great post! I think with any business no matter what kind it is does take time to grow and it definitely requires alot of hard work and consistency. Now true leaders will let their team know this without all the hype, and education is key. There are some people who will tell you it’s going to be easy, and if that were the case I think we’d all be rich right away right! Every industry has it’s pros and cons, and being realistic is a good thing, but I think having big dreams and going after them shouldn’t limit your thinking i’d rather be a part of the one or two percent of ppl who actually go after their dreams even if it takes some years to get to reaching more of my goals then to let fears or failure stop me and the naysayers who say it can’t b done!, I say dream big and go for it. And your right, most ppl want instant gratification and if that’s the case, this industry isn’t for those type of ppl. I’d rather build my own empire no matter how long it takes rather than having to build someone else’s for a lifetime. The beauty about our industry is that we are able to live a lifestyle how we choose without any limits and share that with others to live either big or small, however they choose. There are no glass ceilings. I’m happily self employed and loving it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing Karen take care
Thank you Angela!
Success comes to individuals and organizations in a variety of ways. Some find success comes quickly, others never find it. There are always those out there who are trying to sell success – usually of the quick variety. But what is success anyway? Profit? Social good? Followers? Steve Jobs at first just wanted to create something of beauty. To him success was something visual (and functional).
My point here is – we all know that nothing worthwhile comes easy (or without risk). Set your own path, have your own goals, work hard, make adjustments as needed, and live with the results. Only after doing this can you judge “your own” levels of success. Take care Karen – have a great 2012!
Thank you Dale! You too!
Karen, there is no question that the situation is not an easy one and people are still promising magic wands and many people are so hurt by recent events, especially baby boomers that they are lost and confused about where they fit anymore.
And there is no doubt, expertise changes over time as does the needs of people for the expertise.
One thing though – sometimes what has been learned by experience is more valuable than what is taught in school.
And then the next question – is the age of the generalist coming back – the person with a broad knowledge and the ability to connect many dots not just a few.
I feel this article. I started working for myself in 2008 and am just starting to really make money. This is that I have had many friends go in/out of business since that time and seen many local businesses fall shortly after opening. I think that people glamorize owning their own business and agree with you that they seem to think they are going to make money right away but that is just not the case. Everything takes time.
Found your blog via: The Blogging Mastermind Comment Tribe
Hi Brandi,
So you too have had a “real” experience that took several years not weeks? How about that?
Karen
Great post, Karen! This is why I steer clear of the gurus, and why I don’t pitch affiliate products I don’t believe in. I know what you mean about people who think that “paying your dues” doesn’t matter any longer. In 2004, the fall after I got home from Iraq, the president of an organization I was part of had to drop out of school because he lost his financial aid and couldn’t pay tuition. This left a vacuum in the organization. The vice president, who was a sophomore (and, let’s be honest, was probably getting ready to run for the presidency the next year) ended up running unopposed to finish the unexpired term. This meant that there would be another special election for his seat.
I had been vice president before (I was vice president from 2002-03, but I had to resign my seat two months early when I got activated), and since this was a political organization and I knew we were close to the regular election, I decided to run again. I was not unopposed, but the kicker? My opponent announced his intentions in his first ever meeting with the group.
Getting back to the main point, I never put a timeline on things with people, and why I run the other way when I see these “how I got 1000 people in my first week and you can, too” pitches. They’re not real, they’re not realistic, and they make our industry look bad.
Nice post! The only thing I would disagree with is that 10 year time period. I started dabbling on the internet in 2008, got serious about having a biz in 2009 and consider myself successful at the close of 2011. Have I achieved greatness yet? No, I’m not at the top of the mountain, but I don’t feel like it will take 10 years! (I think the rule of thumb is 3 years for businesses)
I also think many gurus get a bad rap. So many people never follow through on the directions given by coaches/mentors/gurus and then want to blame the guru for their failure. Just because you buy the weight loss book, don’t expect results if you don’t read it and implement it. Just sayin’!
Hi Martha!
I will concede the shorter time, especially given the Internet and all of the other SM tools available today; although you said yourself that your success took several years (vs. weeks). However I don’t want to mix up apples and oranges – the reason the first post in this blog hit such a nerve is because of the way this particular “guru” treated his potential client. It was arrogant and condescending. So why not blame him? Nobody deserves to be treated that way.
I also think it’s valid that you have to be at a certain level of name recognition and/or do a certain amount of marketing before you fill up your workshops and programs. They almost certainly will not fill automatically unless you’re a big name like an Ali Brown, Michele Scism, or a Martha Giffen! 🙂
This has been on my mind A LOT lately, Karen. What I have seen is that many of the gurus who then actually had quick success already had a background in running a multi-million dollar operation (whether their own or someone else’s). So, for people who haven’t done this before, their success must be built from the ground up and can take longer.
Over and over this is the pattern I see ~ people who have that “instant” success once are now having their success in this different arena. But they are also unfortunately telling others that it is easy and they can start making 6 figures or more in a year (or less than a year). I’m looking for the successful person who did this, yet had never run a company at a high level where they were overseeing million dollar accounts or something similar. Haven’t found anyone yet…
Amethyst,
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your perspective and that’s an interesting common experience in people’s backgrounds (previously running multi-million dollar businesses) that I had not considered before. So it actually does
matter what your background was before you entered the world of the Internet and Social Media!
Karen