Eric Siu and William examine whether online course creators are running scams, arguing many sell false promises of easy business success. They highlight predatory cohort programs, "buy businesses with no money down" narratives, and the gap between marketing hype and the actual work required to build real skills and sustainable businesses.
They're running content businesses and you are the product. This guy Lee McCabe works in private equity. He posts this on LinkedIn. So it's not private equity, it's a Ponzi scheme of aspiration. There's a whole ecosystem now built on one promise: you can buy a business with no money down and become financially free in 12 months. It sounds like M&A, it sounds like private equity, but it behaves like a multi-level marketing scheme because here's what's really happening. The people selling you the dream aren't acquiring HVAC companies or running $5 million revenue businesses. They're running content businesses and you are the product. The playbook is painfully predictable. Number 1, record a podcast episode explaining how anyone can buy a business, quote unquote. Number 2, show a staged screenshot of an LOI or closing dinner. Number 3, offer a $10,000 mastermind or cohort-based course. Number 4, rinse and repeat. Until someone asks for audited results. It's not illegal, it's just clever marketing. And it works because the audience wants it to be true. And these are liars lying to people who want to be lied to. They're not targeting operators, they're targeting dreamers, people who don't actually want to run a business. They want to escape their job. They want the feeling of momentum, the illusion of progress. And the $3,000 course is the price of hope. They're selling dreams and dopamine hits to 99% of people who will never take action. but will spend $3,000 to feel like they're closer to the life they'll never build. I'll just end it with this piece real quick. So one of our mutual friends said this. I remember I was sitting in a room with some executives. We're talking about we're launching a course, right, for Jim Rohn, right? And the guy said it in front of the room. He's like, guys, guys, we are not selling progress. We are selling perceived progress. And I was like, man, I don't want to sell perceived progress. But when he said it, everyone started laughing. I was like, yeah, that doesn't feel good, right? And this is what Lee is saying here. And I just remember I've talked to this guy before. But anyway, what do you think about this?
I'm with it. I totally agree. I do think a small percentage of the people who take courses get tons of value and it improves their lives. I think 97, 98, 99+ percent of people who take the courses get very little value and it really hurts them. Because they just spent all this money and they got nothing. And I think some of these course providers have gone above and beyond. I've heard of people that, no joke, will tell you, go here to sign up for a credit card. They'll give you a $10,000 limit. What's your credit? And all this kind of stuff. They help them sign up and then they go charge their card for 10 grand when they can't afford it. And I look at that and I was like, this is just terrible business. And I know someone who went through that model and I told them, you shouldn't end up going in. This is a terrible business. And they got tons of chargebacks and they were like, oh, because of this. And I'm like, no, you're only selling a crap ton of courses because you're promising people they will become rich. And the reality is, is you can't guarantee someone's going to be rich. You can't guarantee job placement. You can't guarantee, you know, you're going to make 6 figures. Let's say your course is on Teaching sales, because I see a lot of those online. If you went and you ran ads and you said, I'm going to teach you sales for 3 years, you need to stop going to clubs and partying. You need to stop having fun. You need to focus on everything that I'm teaching you. Your first few jobs are going to suck, and I'm going to teach you how to get better at sales. And you also need to have a natural personality to do well in sales, where if you don't, you can still do well, but maybe you won't do as well selling most things. Maybe you need to sell technical products or whatever it may be.
Yeah.
And if you meet these requirements and you do this for 3 years and you put in a lot of work, you're not going to make a lot of cash, but year 4, 5, 6, you'll start seeing the light at the tunnel. And then you can start making $200,000, $300,000, $400,000. I'm going to teach you management skills and all this. Your sales are going to suck because no one wants to put in all that work and lose money for years. And that's a true, real reality, even in marketing. Eric, how long have you been doing this for?
16 years.
Yeah, I'm on 24. Yeah.
Talk to you later, William.
Take care, everyone.
We're done.
Bye.
