Comments on: Learn How To Make Money On The Side With Ramit Sethi’s Earn1K Program

By: Steven | The Emotion Machine

Steven | The Emotion Machine — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:39:51 +0000

You sound like you have some very down-to-earth entrepreneurial advice yourself. It always warms my heart to see kind and intelligent people becoming heroes of their own life, making a living doing what they love, and sharing their knowledge with others. It is pursuits like this that give people the courage to live the life they want – and things like that are what make this world a better place (because everyone is happier as a result).

I hope to be somewhere in your shoes one day. Congrats on the success!

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:08:45 +0000

The modules of earn1k that most resonated with my own personal experiences were the sections on motivation, choosing the right niche and testing a business idea for its viability. If you get these 3 things right, that’s 90% of the battle right there. Ramit does a good job here with these sections especially in inspiring you to take action and making sure you don’t choose a dead end market to pursue. As you know, I preach many of these same principles with this blog and Ramit’s material actually overlaps with many of my postings.

In terms of the other tutorials on freelancing, they are somewhat hit or miss depending on what business you are trying to pursue. For example, since I sell to the end consumer, I rarely have to negotiate with a customer directly(unless it’s an event or wedding planner) so these sections are somewhat less relevant to me. That being said however, if I ever decide to become a wholesale vendor, these skills would be very useful.

As with any course, there will always be material that doesn’t apply since it is meant for a broader audience. Ramit’s focus is primarily on motivation and how to sell, which are skills that many people tend to discount. Bottom line, a lot of his stuff can be learned directly from experience through trial and error. Hell, I made many of the same mistakes that he describes in his videos. The course’s main value is that it will save you time. If you do your homework, you can avoid making the newbie mistakes that will delay your success.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:07:23 +0000

I’m not questioning whether I should sign up or not. I just happen to follow both yours and Ramit’s blogs and wanted to provoke more of an “evaluation” since that’s what you said you were asked to do. I felt that your post fell a little short in that sense. I’m a big fan of Ramit and have followed him the entire earn1k preview week, more because I enjoy seeing how he markets himself. The course isn’t for me, like I said I thought it would be interesting for your readers to get some comparisons on your experience with what is discussed in the course.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:46 +0000

Hi Tim,
I would never give a review of a product without actually having seen the actual materials. In fact, you might even see me as a guest speaker on one of his segments. In terms of the lessons this course teaches, it focuses more on becoming a freelancer and getting clients as opposed to starting a full blown business. Of course, freelancing on the side often leads to something bigger, but that’s one of the main points of the program, you have to start small and get started early. My wife and I began exactly this way. We started selling one off crafting and embroidery products to individual customers until we decided to launch a full blown online store.

In terms of whether you should sign up, it is pricey, but you should think of it as a college course with office hours instead of just another informational product. Of course, my overall evaluation only extends to the actual materials (ie videos and articles). It remains to be seen how available Ramit and his staff will be to answering questions but I suspect that he will deliver as promised. I suggest you take a look at some of the preview materials here. You should find sample videos, tutorials and case studies and judge for yourself. As with most informational products, there is a money back guarantee so there is no risk in trying it out.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:20:12 +0000

What about your evaluation? I’ve been following Ramit this week and this is just the pitch he gives. I’d be curious as to your take if you actually evaluated it. How does it compare with your own personal experiences with your own business, etc. Were you one of his testers for the course or were you just contacted to pitch it on your site? I think you could offer some valuable insight.