Quit 9 to 5 Academy

A common sense warning

A few weeks ago, someone we'll call "John Doe" signed up for our influence and empathy training. It turned out that he lost all of his money (and more) to a training that made false claims.

The training promised an idiot-proof system allowing everyone to become a successful online entrepreneur in a few weeks. The vendor and his friends who provided raving testimonials claimed that they made 6-figures with the help of what they teach and that anyone who does as they teach will too.

The course taught John about selling gadgets that he buys in China and sends directly to Amazon for drop shipment.

But it didn't work. Buyers on overcrowded sites like eBay and Amazon were not waiting for John's cheap gadgets. So the stuff just kept sitting in the warehouse. But John's trainer knew the solution: John just had to buy ads. The vendor knew of a fault-proof system to make tons of money with these ads.

John had already lost a 5-digit amount and didn't have any money left. So he put it on his credit card. However, the ads didn't help to sell the cheap gadgets sitting at Amazon's warehouse.

Today, I received a spam mail (as in: I did not give my permission to receive it) that sounded all too familiar.

Is Quit 9 to 5 Academy scam?

The training has not even been released and this general comment doesn't imply in any way that it is a scam. As I said, what triggered me to write this is how similar it sounded to John's story. John's story might or might not be similar to this offer. In John's case, it was about buying ads and selling cheap gadgets via Amazon.

What caught my eye is that it's all about how much money their affiliates will make but doesn't speak about value for the buyer at all. Several similar sounding courses have caused losses for people in the past.

So just, PLEASE, do your due diligence before buying training.

Once you see the prices for their affiliates, which you can do HERE, you will agree that this offer will attract hundreds of affiliates who will promote it without testing. Even more so, if they send out spam.

But perhaps this training is different. Maybe Quit 9 to 5 will give you the money for buying gadgets and advertising until you can pay them back. After all, everyone who takes the course and follows the advice will become super successful.

The keyword "Quit 9 to 5 Academy" receives searches already

I signed up with a throwaway email so that I can share the information with you. I have not been invited to test the product. The product launch is next month.

Yet, you will find raving reviews one month prior to the launch and reviewers who praise the training as if it made them millionaires.

There can only be two possible reasons for the search volume and reviews:

a) The vendor gives some people unfair advantages and early access

b) The vendor doesn't mind to be represented by a horde of unqualified people who don't care

a) would make me back off if I was looking at it from an Affiliate's point of view. And b) .... Again, I am not implying that the training is a scam because I don't know it. But I received spam about it and long before the launch, you find raving reviews.

One might ask if a vendor who doesn't mind to be represented by people who make false claims is trustworthy.

We handpick our affiliate partners and only accept people who care.

Why we forget common sense

Especially the personality type Hustler keeps falling for the "too good to be true" offers. His greed in combination with his love of gambling makes sure of that. Sadly, the other group of people who regularly lose money... let's not call them "scams" but products with false claims ... are desperate people. Our brain is willing to believe anything if we're in a critical situation.

People like Gary V have earned your trust and their reputation by continuously providing helpful content. And by caring. Yet many who look up to him and also want to be successful, don't seem to care at all and look for "hacks" and short cuts.

For instance, many JVZOO affiliates post reviews before a product even launched. No, they didn't all have VIP access and tested the training. It's good for ranking. I couldn't tell you the name of any because they are forgettable. They don't create a sustainable business and they don't form relationships with their audience. They rely on Google to send them traffic, Google catches up eventually, and they find new tricks.

Jumping from one "false claim product" to the next is a strategy that can lead to material success.

It can't lead to life satisfaction, though. The joy about making a few bucks by potentially causing financial losses or emotional pain to others doesn't last long. The "thank you" letter of someone you've helped lasts a live.

Sustainable success

Any training that promises "works for everyone" and makes financial claims should be met with suspicion. About 86% of new businesses fail, or according to Forbes 8 out of 10.

It's save to assume that many of them enjoyed training.

Shortcuts rarely lead to success. Common sense commands that you ask yourself why the Chinese people who have bazillions of seller accounts sell their gadgets to you for less if it's so easy to make money with them on Amazon or through ads. You know what? According to John, they did just that and grabbed the sales by undercutting his prices.

What happened to John is that all of the other students ran into the same problems at the time. Amazon doesn't charge much for warehouse space but if you don't have any income, it adds up quite nicely. So one after the other reduced the prices for their gadgets. But there was always one who was cheaper. Some had to pay to get their gadgets destroyed and thrown to trash.

But, hey, the ads!!!! Some people have success with paid ads but it's getting harder and many people just burn money. Starting at the same time with the same background as a horde of other people certainly doesn't increase your chance of success. Especially in low-profit areas, it only makes sense if you can win not just a sale but a returning client. Chances are, if you're a third-party vendor on a big site, you don't have that chance and you're confronted with price-sensitive buyers.

To decide your potential profit you have to look at all costs. Also, you have to look at what prices people are actually paying and how many are sold at the price. To pay for your ads, returns, warehouse space and make a lot of money with cheap gadgets might not be as easy as it sounds. If you start playing on Amazon, you might run into costs and problems you didn't foresee. It's a site with a huge amount of fake reviews and you rarely see products with 0 reviews (and potentially 0 sales) on the first page. I get it. You'll use ads. How much is a one-time buyer of a cheap gadget worth to you? In courses, they teach that you can sell your iPhone socks with a 600% mark-up. In real life, you learn you can't. There's tough competition in the area of cheap gadgets with high demand and not enough traction in more exotic niches.

Keep in mind: If you build your castle on borrowed grounds, you'll have nothing if you move. If your ads direct buyers to Amazon, you can't even legally email your buyers and you have no chance at building an audience.

Some great ideas work for the inventor. But not for thousands of people after that. The MLM problem.

"Quick rich" courses are a booming business and millions of people have purchased them. Yet, the number of failed businesses didn't go down.

Buying something and selling it with profit is always a great idea. We buy from people we trust; people we believe can help us realize our vision or solve our problem.

If you're selling a cheap gadget on a big site, you're completely irrelevant as a seller. It's about price. Can you be the cheapest, still have fun and build a sustainable business from that? If yes, will it work forever? Because if you move on, you'll start at zero.

I am reflecting on John's situation. This training might be completely different.

Shovels were a bestseller during the gold rush

During the gold rush, shovel salespeople were happy people. Telling your audience how they can become rich is a risk-free business.

A few testimonials from your friends and you're ready to rock the world. However, most of the people who sell "get rich" didn't get rich with their method but by selling it to unsuspecting people like you.

What successful people really do

You can be successful two ways

• You accept that it's a marathon and not a sprint and start building relationships and earning the trust of your audience by caring. Also, you genuinely try to help/entertain or whatever your topic is. You're authentic, honest and an expert at what you're talking about.
• You can be ruthless and learn every trick in the book to manipulate people to their disadvantage. That words for some, but most are not ruthless enough, get caught or don't earn enough to make a living.

To be successful, you can be a really "good" or really bad person. But the majority of people is somewhere in the middle. Somewhere in the middle you'll find all of the entrepreneurs with failed businesses.

We can't teach you how to get rich in two weeks. But we can teach you how to become more influential and make a bigger impact. We care about you.