Op-ed by Daniel A. Bujorean
‘It all started with a video seen on social media, Mr. Consultant was quite impressive. He was like talking to me and empathising with my situation. He used to be like me before he became a billionaire, a kid with no money and 5 to 6 job that he hated. I mean, he really feels me, I am not build for this, I wanted the shortcut, I wanted the ‘mindset’ of a billionaire.
The best part of it was it is easy, I mean not easy as in easy-money-making-schemes, of course not, but easy in the way anyone if its dedicated enough can do it. I was desperate to succeed, to be honest I didn’t think there is anyone more dedicated to make it than me. So I quit my job and bought the $2,000 course just before the counter run out…’
This is a true story and unfortunately, there are so many young a vulnerable persons out there that got scammed. Why is that?
If they are millionaires why do they sell expensive online courses?
Ever wonder how come they say they are successful entrepreneurs in consulting, amazon drop shipping, affiliate marketing etc. but they are spending most of their time giving speeches and organising online courses?
Why is that? Why don’t they invest that time and effort into your already successful businesses? Some will reply that they want to help you become as successful as they are but that is not the case.
Surely you have seen video ads with successful amazon entrepreneurs selling online courses to help you launch a business on Amazon. Or a successful social media agency or consultant selling „How to” Courses. The answer is straight forward, it is a better business scamming people out for thousands and thousands every month than actually doing the consulting work!
Think about it, it’s so much scalable than doing the actual work!
If you are familiar with the consulting industry for example, closing a $100,000 consulting project meant hiring senior consultants, having a lead partner and at least 6 months of hard ‘labor’ for Diagnose phase than another 6 month to implement. In order to have a $20 million turnover you need to have at least 100 business consultants and support departments. These guys are making millions a month selling tickets for private courses, online webinars and stadium get together…pretty much fundraising events with knowledge worth of $100!
It is exponentially easier to scale up an online course that to secure a big client for your consulting agency. This fake mastermind courses start from $1000 and although they say it’s limited availability they sale it to thousands of people. Did you do the math? Yep, this is how they made their millions!
The conclusions is that most of the internet gurus out there are actually crooks. More and more people are coming forward and testimonies are appearing all over the internet. These are people willing to share their stories so that other will not go through it and loose their money on scam packages that are designed on preying on their insecurities and their desperations.
Not all online courses are hoax though
Let me tell you a secret. most of the information you seek is free on the internet and if it’s hard to find you can get it for far less than $1000.
There are good value courses for $50 to $100 out there for reputable universities or institutions and lots of free knowledge in books and universities. If you need to learn a method or a tool, you will definitely find the information.
TJ McCue, a contributor with Forbes.com, concluded in an article for the same publication that the latest predictions on the e-learning market were true and the forecast is expected to be accurate:
“E-Learning is the future. Market research firm Global Industry Analysts projected “E Learning” would reach $107 Billion in 2015 and it did. Now, Research and Markets forecasts show triple the revenue of 2015 – e-learning will grow to $325 Billion by 2025. (…)
- In 2013, Lynda.com, the online learning giant and arguably the 800-pound gorilla in the e-learning space, had just accepted $103 million in venture funds. Two years later, in 2015, they were acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5 Billion. It is now called LinkedIn Learning. I think this acquisition and the trends within hiring, workplace skills, and training are a big reason why we are seeing these revenue projections. People need to keep learning to succeed (or just stay afloat) in these times.
- . This post by Len Markidan is one of the best compilations I have found anywhere, particularly if you are interested in the idea of building and offering your own e-learning course to others. Go read it.”
A few years ago, in the market for online courses, the competition was lower; the expectations of learners and other decision makers were lower.
In an article on learningrevolution.net, the author listed some insights regarding the online course market. The company Tagoras recently conducted a survey in which 234 education providers told us the key areas they will be focused on in 2019. Respondents represented a wide range of providers – from solopreneurs, to trade and professional associations, to academic continuing education providers and the responses identified three key trends flowing out of these areas – again, all of these apply to the market for online courses:
- Shaping and supporting the learner’s context is becoming as or more important than just providing content.
- Impact is important. Course buyers have more choices than ever before, and they are increasingly interested in what works
- The online course market is looking for high talent. Finding the people who know how to create and facilitate the kind of learning experiences
It appears the future belongs to E-Learning as it is easier to scale-up, the market is booming and the digital technology as VR and AR is now mature enough to be adopted by the mainstream public but be aware of scams and crooks.
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