BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
I read a blog post this morning on the site, where someone called some of the people on BiggerPockets, gurus. While this term carries a positive connotation, I contend that in the world of real estate, it can be interpreted differently.
Here are my thoughts.
Real Estate Experts - are people, like many of our incredible members, who are "experts" in the world of real estate, but who freely give of their time and energy to help others. Many are mentors, authors, and teachers, but these people are not the master marketers/salesmen that are the "gurus". The Experts spend the bulk of their time/energy doing real estate deals for themselves, instead of trying to make money by selling some product.
Real Estate Gurus - These guys may or may not be experts in the world of real estate. What they are experts in is sales and marketing. Gurus are almost always associated with being self-promotional, and always have a product (or many products) to sell -- in most cases, these products include courses, seminars, webinars, books, CDs, websites, etc. The guru is concerned with selling product, as that is typically their primary income source.
BiggerPockets has many members that are both experts and gurus. What stands out to me is that the gurus come and go, but the experts are the ones who spend time giving back and helping others for free.
I'll take the experts over the gurus any day of the week.
Thoughts?
Here's my proposal: Lets try and call our wonderful contributing and helpful members what they are - experts - and we'll leave the guru label for those guys trying to sell us all something.
Real Estate Investor · Santa Clara, CA · Member since 2009 · 17 posts · 3 votes
17y
I believe the whole guru/expert world is evolving.
Say a decade ago, you had these "Gurus" who used to have some material(sometimes outdated) which was mass produced and sold to the general public through late night infomercials.
The Current breed of Gurus are a lot younger and while they still do real estate, they are smart enough to know that they need to adapt to the changing market conditions, so what better way than package their knowledge(which ofcourse is readily available on this site and elsewhere on the WWW). So you see some sizzling Web 2.0 initiatives from these younger "Gurus".
Real Estate Investor · CA · Member since 2009 · 58 posts · 0 votes
17y
A guru makes money off marketing "advice" to people. An expert makes money by putting his money where his mouth is and helps people out for free without expecting anything because he/she's biz isnt selling the "advice."
Real Estate Investor · Bergen County, NJ · Member since 2008 · 390 posts · 72 votes
17y
When I hear someone say check this guru out or I consider myself a guru b/c of ...
I immediately ask myself what is he trying to sell me and I am VERY skeptical about anyone trying to sell me ANYTHING.
Part of this is because I'm skeptical about anyone who sells anything for commission and part of it is because of the flood of "gurus" in the REI industry
I am guessing all this "guru" hype and BS got out of control during the boom years because everyone and their mother wanted to be a RE investor...?
Real Estate Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2008 · 63 posts · 17 votes
17y
The term Guru originates from Sanskrit and means "teacher" or "guide" in the religious sense.
A Guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others. An individual is able to devote full and complete trust in their Guru, and because they know that the Guru's intentions are always righteous and pure.
Most importantly, a Guru is not self proclaimed.
The same cannot be said about "Real Estate Gurus." The folks who claim to be Real Estate "Gurus" are far from what a "Guru" really is. I couldn't possibly put my entire trust in a real estate guru. I know they do not have the best intentions in mind for me.
So I agree completely with you Josh. While "Guru" should have a positive connotation - the term has been repeatedly abused, and now it carries a negative tone... Just like the Swastika
Real Estate Consultant · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2009 · 55 posts · 4 votes
17y
Now this is an interesting topic!
I posted a little bit of my take on gurus in the comments of my blog but I’ll go with this vein since I had some more time to mull it over.
To me it seems people rarely use the term ‘guru’ to describe someone unless the message that someone is a guru already exists. Sometimes wires get crossed and people think all speakers are considered gurus but I think ‘guru’ has run out its use and from my experience with speakers they’ll call themselves everything but a guru because it is now a worn out marketing label with mixed connotations. One interesting thing that just occurred to me is that when they are speaking with less enthusiasm about all the other speakers they’ll use the term guru, almost like they are trying to bury the label by comparing themselves as experts while all the others are so called gurus. Next time you see a speaker keep your ears open when they use the ‘me & my’ vs. ‘them & their’.
‘Expert’ will always have a clear title because it is so widely used and a simple textbook definition in the language. ‘Guru’ isn’t as commonly used and has more or less been bastardized by some unscrupulous marketers.
In a perfect world I would say the difference between Gurus and Experts would be that Gurus aren’t only experts but they take the extra steps to take their systems, methods, and experience and form a course to instill the investor ability in others in a more comprehensive and organized fashion.
It’s the nature of profit and opportunity that brings out the bad apples who taint the well and it makes it a little harder to separate the good gurus from pseudo-gurus so renowned experts have to market in different ways (if they know what’s good for them) to sidestep that image.
Many speakers have their real estate systems and a team in place that allows them to go on the road, but in order to be competitive, answer questions, and stay on top of things the good ones know that they need to keep in touch with the nitty-gritty of investing because it shows in their presentations and their materials (good ones mind you).
From firsthand experience I can tell you that we are developing a course and there is a world of thought that goes into it and a major concern of ours is not taking on the title of ‘guru’ but to let the materials, the ideas, and the methods speak for themselves. One of my favorite books ‘Career Renegade’ explains the need for these courses and speakers and that is because it is the best way to increase your knowledge and your skills in a sane amount of time. His example was that he was trying to teach himself copywriting and spent a lot of time and effort into pulling from all these resources, but one day he bit the bullet attended a bootcamp and learned more in one weekend than in a year of trying to shore up all the information himself.
In a business where we price ourselves out of certain duties and hire others because we value our time at $XX(X) per hour and someone who values their time that much isn’t going to be folding letters and mailing envelops. If you try to start from scratch and hit the boards you can very well make it, but dagnamit it’s going to take a lot longer.
A last word, if a legit guru were here who sells courses I'm sure they would bring up the 'investment in education' angle where someone needs to invest a large sum into education in order to take it seriously. Kind of true, I read a lot more courses than I do free eBooks from start to finish.
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
17y
Originally posted by Niman Singh:
The term Guru originates from Sanskrit and means "teacher" or "guide" in the religious sense.
A Guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others. An individual is able to devote full and complete trust in their Guru, and because they know that the Guru's intentions are always righteous and pure.
Most importantly, a Guru is not self proclaimed.
The same cannot be said about "Real Estate Gurus." The folks who claim to be Real Estate "Gurus" are far from what a "Guru" really is. I couldn't possibly put my entire trust in a real estate guru. I know they do not have the best intentions in mind for me.
So I agree completely with you Josh. While "Guru" should have a positive connotation - the term has been repeatedly abused, and now it carries a negative tone... Just like the Swastika
EXACTLY! This is what is so annoying about this. It's marketing based on western fascination with the idea of mystical eastern secret knowledge. The unwarranted acquisition of the title "guru" is as silly as calling yourself a real estate "sifu" or real estate "sensei".
In my experience, if you're a "guru" and you don't have gray hair or a shiny smooth head, there's something wrong. Experience matters.
Real Estate Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2008 · 63 posts · 17 votes
17y
Hi Josh,
I'd say that anyone who associates themselves with the term "real estate guru" is self-proclaimed.
I think it goes against the culture of real estate investing to say that we can do better than our peers, and by calling oneself a Guru, I think this is the resulting effect. Certainly, there are some folks who have a little more cash to play with and a little more experience investing in real estate. These folks are respected for their knowledge and can be considered experts in the field - but they haven't done anything to earn the divine title of "Guru", IMO