This week I attended a 2-hour (free) seminar on property investing, from the Rich Dad Education company.
I didn’t really know what I was going into (the agenda was very sparse), so I tried to keep an open mind (I already read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, so I was pretty sure I already knew the gist of it).
What I did know however, is that nothing is free 😉 I was sure that they would try to convince me to purchase something after/during the seminar.
I was right.
This is the only picture I have from the night, because shortly after I snapped this, we were strictly told (not asked) to refrain from taking any pictures during the seminar. Also, the presenter (a charming 20-something British fella with the whitest smile I’ve ever seen, called Rob) proclaimed that he would not be answering any questions during his presentation…
At this point, my alarm bells were chiming pretty hard. No pictures and no questions. We were allowed to write things down though, and Rob was pretty adamant about writing his key points down. “Write this down” he would say, whenever he poured extraordinary wisdom at the audience (there were somewhere between 100-150 people at the event – a fairly varied bunch, ranging from people in suits to bodybuilders and people in hoodies).
Rob was a very eloquent and engaging presenter, I must say. He told us “his” story, about how he grew up in a lower middle-class family, working in a Pro Golf Shop in his early twenties, dreaming about becoming a golf pro. He didn’t quite have the talent though (his own words), so when he stumbled on the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book, he decided to switch career paths, and go into property investing. Flash forward to now (7 years later, allegedly) and he’s now a (very) rich guy, “working” only 4 days per month, still dreaming about becoming a Golf Pro.
That was the story. In between his anecdotes about “his own life”, he would present the audience with various examples of how you can go about becoming rich via property investing (fast – using other peoples money, even). He even give a lot of very tangible advice (also a lot of vague advice though), and by the end of his presentation, you’re pretty convinced that you NEED to buy a 3-day Property Investing course with the Rich Dad Education company, because he spent the better half of the 2-hours talking up this course. Of course this course is HALF OFF – but ONLY tonight! It takes place in Stockholm, and he even brought a few “real people” along, who has attended this course, and are now on the fast track to becoming rich (and famous).
While there were a few good points, and I don’t regret spending those two hours with “Rob”, I’m not buying it. I’ve never been at a seminar like this before, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that this event has one purpose, and one purpose alone: To get you to buy into the whole Rich Dad universe. The special price for the 3-day course is about DKK 9.000 (€1.200 / $1.350), and I’m actually fairly sure that the money would be well spent – but I didn’t go there, with the intention of spending money. The whole 2-hours reeked of well-rehearsed good old american sales-propaganda 😛 I’m fairly sure “Rob” is a fictitious character. That being said, he WAS pretty good at selling the story 😉 And as I said, he does manage to make some excellent points, during his 2-hour sales-pitch.
I’m not the type of person to actually write things down during these type of events (you know me: Lazy under-achiever). Luckily, I brought a friend to this event (technically, he was the one who brought me). – And unlike me, he’s not a lazy under-achiever, so as the good attendee that he is, he of course wrote it all down! (I hope you still have your notes, Scotty – who knows when they’ll come in handy! 😛 ).
I did take a few “mental notes” though, and because I’m the lazy under-achiever, I’ve borrowed this diagram from a friend:
“Rob” presented a few examples, of how to move up in the pyramid from being an Intermediate Investor to becoming a Sophisticated Investor earning Gangsta’ Money (his words!).
Seeing that I’ve been considering investing in commercial real estate, I really liked the Real Estate Pyramid (Robs version was a bit more simplified, but I really like this one from wealthinthehouse.com).
Naturally, wanting to earn Gangsta’ Money, I’m still considering investing in commercial real estate – but not because Rob said so – because I already knew this, before I came to the event 😉
The 2nd topic of the night, which I “wrote” down in my mental notebook, was that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, how you’re raised, or how much money you have. If you wan’t something (anything – not just money, really), then the first thing you need to do is:
Take action! – And seize the opportunities, when they come your way!
I believe the universe just provided me with an opportunity 😉 – I hope to share with you, the arrival of Property #1 in the coming weeks! – So stay tuned!
The whole experience was a little surreal, to be honest! The comment of the night, which sums it all up really well, came from my buddy (Scotty); on the ride home, he proclaimed: “I think this is the closest I’ve ever been to a cult!”. HA!
If you’ve seen ads for this Robert Kiyosaki event (with the fine print stating: Robert Kiyosaki will not be attending this event), and wondered if it would be worth spending 2-hours on, then I’d strongly advice you to: DO IT! If nothing else, you’ll get a few laughs out of it – and maybe a few good points along the way too. But it isn’t rocket science really – it’s just (a) good (american) business 😉
Thank you for sharing your Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar experience! 😀
I loved the first book, but I tried to read more of the other books but got tired of the repeating tone! 😛 Do you feel the same? The books could be more straight to the point I think.
Yes, after Rich Dad Poor Dad it just became very American (write a lot of words in a book that really only should have been a short pamphlet 😛 )
But there’s a lot of great points in Rich Dad, I think. And I do attribute that book as one of the main contributors to my regime of Real estate investment (all the way, baby!)
Rich Dad Poor Dad audiobook was probably my first contact with financial independence concept. I rather disliked other Robert Kiyosaki’s initiatives, but I cannot deny that it awakened interest in investing in me.
Great storytelling and I look forward to hearing more information about your real estate investments.
That sounds like an entertaining evening, if nothing else! I’ve never been to an event like that, but have read other accounts similar to yours. They sound like they might be worth attending, if you’re interested in the subject. However, as you indicated, you need to be very aware that it’s all designed to get you to part with your money!
Looking forward to reading more about your latest investment project
It always smells fishy when a company starts running “free seminars”. Most of them are sales pitches. Good for you you didn’t purchase.
I’m of a different opinion than you are. I would like to own a couple rentals myself in the near future. Maybe it’s better to own an apartment building, that will scale better than single family for sure.
Anyway, it’s a lot of work and definitely not as passive as investing in some index ETFs.
I Think you might have misunderstood me then – because I do intend to invest (heavily) in residential Real estate (as well eventually). If you look at the Real estate pyramid, the 3 most lucrative Real estate investments are apartment buildings, commercial Real estate and land development. Land development you can easily invest in via Crowdlending (I already do this to some extend).
Originally, I really wanted to purchase an apartment building, but it seems the (perfect) commercial Real estate project simply arrived first, so That’s my next big investment. Ultimately I’d like my property portfolio to be 50% residential, 30% commercial and 20% development (give or take). This week I signed a deal on a commercial property with a Real estate developer, together with 10 other investors. It’s a 100% passive investment, with a yearly yield of 20%+. There’s a catch though, Which I will explain in a post soon – about Property #1 (one of many, Hopefully) 😉
Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up! I’m definitely looking forward to that post!
Nick thank you for sharing your Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar experience. I wanted to assist to one of their seminars a while ago but changed my mind after reading bad reviews about it. I still get their invitation emails every time their organise a new event close by, which is quite often!
Looking forward to hearing from your new property investment. I thought you had to save 100k first though?
That could be kind of fun to join their Company, just to get a little glimpse at what goes on behind the curtain! 😛 you should definitely do that!
Yes, as it turns out, there are still projects with a buy-in of less than 100k, but they are mostly commercial Real estate…It was not my plan to invest in commercial RE until I had at least a few residential properties in my portfolio – but I’ve decided to do it backwards (I guess). I just got the confirmation today. The project is awaiting final approval of all 10 investors (from the banks), before I can go public with my new purchase 😛 unfortunately, those types dont work during Easter (bastards), so I will not get finale confirmation until sometime next week 🙁 But I’m very excited to share the news with you guys! 😉
Common Nick! mind your patience, hehe 😉
Thanks for the advice, I will consider it next time.
I’ve been thinking for a while about joining the Property Partner introducers program, which offers the opportunity to attend events e.g. investor seminars and hospitality events at sports fixtures. Could be great to make a step forward in my “investing career” but they are after results or you are out.
Aaah, Yes – that damned patience 😛 I must admit, I had grown a little tired of waiting, now that I had decided on a strategy – so reversing it seemed like proper Quick-fix! Haha!
Actually, one of the main reasons why I decided to just jump into this kind of project, is because it gets me a seat at the big Boys table 😉 I’m not just buying into the property – I’m also buying into a network of heavy hitters, and I believe that can benefit me in the long run 😉
You should definitely consider joining one of those events. They cant force you to buy anything 😛
Really curious to hear what you investment project you found, sounds like a fun time at the sales pitch.
Thank you! You are one of my most trusted readers/followers 😉 So naturally, I’m going to give you a little teaser 😛
The first part of the deal with Property #1 is complete, but since it’s a K/S project there are numerous parties involved, and the 10 investors in the project now has to be approved by the bank (real kredit, primarily). Unfortunately, the credit approvers doesn’t work this week (damned bankers!).
But hopefully next week, once the deal is finale, I can release some more info! 🙂
You are one of my most trusted bloggers too :)Thanks for the teaser.
Hi Nick. Yes RE is a good way to become rich, but its not easy. Owning a rental will not be apassive income, you will have to work with tenants and some time very nasty ones. Either way good luck 😉
There are many ways to own/invest in Real estate these days 😉 – I don’t plan on becoming a landlord, for the same reasons that you describe 😉
Yes stuff like that should be croudlended, but as I see only shitty RE projects are available in croud lending. Better quality RE can be bought trough REITs. You shouls look at thouse. Avoid bridge-loan development project croud lendings. Thouse are the most risky projects and generated most of loss for banks in 2008.
Thanks for your advice! I definitely plan to keep REITs as a part of my portfolio, and I am planning to add another REIT to the roster in the near future. However, the big RE investment that I’ve been planning/waiting for – for about 8 months, just might go through this week (if I’m lucky). It’s a passive RE investment with a pretty decent yield 😉