Info Renegades Are Coming to Town

One of the great things about working with JT Foxx is that I get to meet his mentors and coaches.  Two of the people that he pays to coach him are coming to Charlotte December 16-18.  I am very excited to attend their three day class (If you want know how to attend for FREE use my link NOW!).

I first met Jeff Vacek and Ken Pruess when I was in LA meeting with JT Foxx and Bruce Buffer (see the video I made with Bruce). Jeff and Ken had recently agreed to coach JT on how to develop the internet side of his business.

I was standing in the back of the room waiting for their event to begin and hoping to catch some of it between sessions with Bruce and JT.  Because I listen to my coach, JT, I was dressed in a nice suit. Several people asked me if I was one of the presenters.  I was flattered, but had to tell them "No."  When Jeff and Ken came in and saw me dressed so nicely they introduced themselves and we chatted for a few minutes.  Then, they asked me to introduce them to the crowd.

I would love to say that I rocked the house with my intro, but frankly I think it was pretty weak.  I was Soooo unprepared and caught off guard by their request.  When the come to Charlotte, I hope to get a second chance to introduce them and if I do get the chance I will do a much better job this time.

Since then, I have met with them on a number of occasions and been able to learn from them.  Here is some of what they will be teaching when they come to Charlotte later this month.

	Exactly How To Choose an Online Market That is GUARANTEED To Be Massively Profitable To Your Bank Account
	The Absolute EASIEST and Cheapest Way To Build an Online Product That Your Market Will Pay TOP Dollar For - Plus You Need ZERO Tech Skills To Make It Happen
	The TOP Online Information Model That Has Collectively Generated Multiple 7 Figures in Revenue For Us Over The Past Six Years (We Only Teach This To Our Highest-Paying Private Clients - But You'll Get The Entire Blueprint)
	How To Get The Most Successful Marketers In Your Market Literally Swarming To Promote Your Product To THEIR List - Also Known As "The Best Kept Secret" of Information Marketing A-Listers
	A Bullet-Proof Method For Building a 5-figure Monthly Info Business In Less Than a Few HoursPer Week
	The #1 SECRET For Building an Online Business That Feeds You Consistently Every Single Month - You'll Wish You Had Learned This LONG Ago

And much more!!

When these guys say they will teach you everything you need to know, they aren't kidding.  This three day class will give you everything you need to start or improve your online business.  The class usually costs $2,997.  However, they are letting me reach out to folks who know me to give you the chance to attend for FREE.  But, you have to act NOW.  The event in nearly sold out and when that happens, I can't give away any more freebies. 

How FREE is FREE?  Well, you do have to pay a $100 fee up front to reserve your seat.  BUT YOU GET  IT BACK - when you show up.  Seriously!

If you use MY LINK NOW!  You can sign up for a $3k class with just a $100 commitment, that comes back to you when you show up.

If you think that is a trick, it isn't.  It costs them money to host an event like this.  It costs them for every chair in the room and for every cup of water at the back of the room.  I know, I have booked events like this myself and the hotels charge for everything they provide.  And, that isn't counting the materials that Jeff and Ken provide - which also cost them money.  So, if they have the hotel set up a chair for you, it cost them.  If they bring materials for you, it cost them.  But they are happy to do it if you will just show up and make it worth their time.

I have enjoyed their materials and am using them to build my own business.  They really work and they really tell you everything you need to know.  At times, when Jeff is going step by step over something I am familiar with already I find myself wanting to say "Yeah Jeff, lets just skip ahead to the parts I don't know"  and then he throws in something I didn't know.  Something other people wouldn't think to tell you.

For instance?  "You can use service A for free or you can use service B for $19.95 per month.  When you are getting started, you may want to use service A.  Then, when the money starts coming in, you can move over to service B.  And you will want to do that then because..."  you get the idea.

And Ken and Jeff really have a commitment to giving their students everything they deserve and more.  When Jeff taught us at Mega Partnering in Chicago last October JT cut him off before he could show us his last four slides.  He kept trying to get JT to let him show us those last four slides the rest of the event.  And that was after he had already given us more than an hour of really great content.

If you have a limited budget for training but want to expand your knowledge of how to leverage the internet, this event is for YOU!  How much cheaper can you get training than FREE!  And, if you live in Charlotte like I do, you don't even have to get a hotel room.  How GREAT is that?!

However, there are only a handful of spots available.  That means if you want to attend the event and only pay the $100 deposit instead of the normal $3000.00 training fee, then you literally need to sign up immediately or else it will be sold out. CLICK HERE

I know that this post has seemed more like a sales pitch than an article, but the reality is that I am super-excited that Ken and Jeff are coming here and I want everyone I know who can take advantage of this to do so.  It is going to be well worth your time and effort, and if you use MY LINK, you can attend for FREE.

As always, I will put in a plug for myself here in my column.  If you want to be added to my regular mailing list and get updates on events like this and other valuable information I reserve for my closest friends, then you can use the sign up below.

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Tom Sheppard has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. Why pay retail when you can buy a home at below market prices? www.buybelowmarket.com. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can do well by doing good, contact Tom at TSheppard@CharlotteWealthPartners.com

Can't Get Hired - 8 Reasons to Hire Yourself

Anyone who has read my book or taken my home study course, or heard me speak about job seeking, knows that I am a big fan of self-employment.

Recently on a LinkedIn exchange in a jobs forum I participated in the following exchange:

• Gary Fortune, PMP • It took me some time to learn that US companies have switched from a 90%+ employees to contractors to a new configuration of 40% to 60% employees and the balance in W2, 1099, and C to C Contractors. Once I stopped seeking a job and sought a contract I got one with a Fortune 50 company. When I finished there I got an even better long term contract with a new Fortune 50 company. You simply need to 'break the code' apparently.

You can see from Gary's comment that he figured out how to get what he wants in this economy by giving employers what they want.


I responded by noting several reasons why this is a great course to follow:


Tom Sheppard • @Gary, You are exactly correct and for more than one reason.

1. Many here (or in other forums) have pointed out age discrimination issues as a roadblock to getting hired. When you create your own company (Inc Yourself), you take the responsibility for your retirement and benefits off the employer and you own it. This allows employers to avoid that cost.
2. A consultant is expected to be more expensive and bring more to the table than their own personnel, so you take the higher pay issue off the table.
3. You win by being able to convert many of your ordinary expenses into business expenses and they become tax deductible.
4. You win by not being tied to any company that might suddenly become a sinking ship. You can jump to another without prejudice because that is the nature of contractors.
5. You win because you have finally found the only kind of real job security that exists, building your own company and working for yourself.
6. You win because even if your boss is an idiot, you can call him that to his face and he still can't fire you (I do it with some frequency and I still can't fire me :-D)
7. The employer wins because if they have to trim expenses they can cut lose a contractor on a moment's notice without severance and all sorts of other expensive or prolonged HR laws coming into play.
8. You win because when you start acting like a small business (even if you are doing a W2 gig) you will typically deliver better value and be more focused on making sure that your company gets their money's worth and that your performance helps lift the bottom line whenever possible.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Feel free to post your comments.
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Tom Sheppard has recently written a book, "Promote Yourself to the Life You Want: A No BS Guide to Help You Get and Keep the Job You Want"  If you would like take advantage of a pre-publication special price, send an email to TSheppard@APlusResults.com.


Tom has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. Why pay retail when you can buy a home at below market prices? www.buybelowmarket.com. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can do well by doing good, contact Tom at TSheppard@ADBProperties.com

Temp Agencies and Scams

Temp Agencies and Scams

I was recently made aware of some scams that are hitting the job seeker market in force right now.  The scams involves soliciting job seekers with promises that 1) if they pay a fee they will find you a job, or 2) if you pay a fee someone will put you at the top of the applicant list, or 3) if you pay a fee they will introduce you to potential employers. 

Legitimate employment agencies and legitimate temporary agencies get paid by the employer when the candidate is hired.  The candidates do not pay for the privilege of being hired. If someone asks you to pay them so they can find you a job, it is probably a scam and you should walk away.   At best, they are collecting a fee from you as well as a fee from the employer who hires you.  At worst, they are going to take your money and you will get nothing in return except a warm fuzzy feeling for a while, until you realize you have been had.

There is a slim possibility that those who mentioned this scam to me had their facts misaligned.  If they were actually talking about a job coach or career coach instead of a temporary employment agency/employment agency then some of the promises are just lies and not fraud.

The difference?  A job search coach may make overblown promises in their advertisements, but they don’t usually promise that they can get you a job or represent themselves as having access to employers or the ability to get you to the top of a list.   They do often know techniques that significantly improve your chances of getting a job and of getting your résumé read.

A legitimate coach will not make promises they cannot keep.  No coach can guarantee you a job anymore than a basketball coach can guarantee a championship.

For more than a dozen years I helped people by preparing their résumés and cover letters and teaching them how to conduct effective job searches and interviews. 

I have coached many people on their job searches and helped them search for a job on a fee basis.  I have never told any client that if they paid me a fee I would get them a job.   The services I offer are to teach them how to conduct an effective job search themselves.  I won’t do a job search for a client and some time ago I quit preparing résumés and cover letters, opting instead to teach clients what works well and directing them to those who enjoy doing that sort of work.

I prefer to put in practice the adage that says, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”  Because of this, the emphasis on all my services is teaching my clients how to do for themselves what I did for myself to go more than 20 years without a day of unemployment.  I occasionally accept engagements where I will do the work for a client, but that is not my preferred approach.

·         My clients learn what makes a good résumé and where they can get one

o   I don’t do résumés anymore, but as part of their package I will review them for my coaching clients to make sure they are getting what they need

o   A good résumé won’t get them to the top of the applicant stack, but it will make sure their résumé doesn’t land in the trash can  without being thoroughly read

·         What makes a good cover letter and where they can get one

o   With cover letters the same thing I said above applies

·         How to execute an effective job search

o   I show my clients and coach them through their own implementation of powersearch techniques that I applied for years that get interviews

·         I teach my clients effective interviewing techniques that will make them standout from the competition by the power and clarity of their responses

·         I help my clients understand what kind of job they want and what kind of job they don’t want so that they don’t end up wanting to slit their wrists with a dull spoon when they think about going in to work each day.

·         My clients learn how to apply small business techniques to themselves so that they can keep the job they want even as the marketplace changes around them.

·         My clients learn how to apply the strategic planning tools that major industries use, so they can understand where the market is going and position themselves to be the “go-to” person when their company and industry make their next shift

1)      I don’t tell my clients that I will introduce them to employers

·         Anyone who offers to introduce you for a fee is probably robbing you.

2)      I don’t tell my clients that I will get a job for them

·         Anyone who says that they will get a job for you for a fee is either lying (promising something they cannot deliver) or they are doing the hiring and looking for a kickback (taking money under the table).

3)      I don’t tell my clients that I will get them an interview.

·         Again, promising to get them an interview is either promising something you cannot deliver or you have to be an insider looking to make money on the side by selling access.

4)      I don’t tell my clients that I will get their résumé to the top  of the applicant stack.

·         Anyone who says that they will get your résumé or application to the top of the stack is either lying (promising something they cannot deliver) or is working on the inside and looking for a kickback (taking money under the table).

For those who don’t want to spend the time and money to get personal coaching, I offer less expensive alternatives.  I have created a home study course and written a book that teaches much of what I know and have successfully used.  My book and home study course will be available soon.  If you would like to receive more information on them, feel free to contact me (tsheppard@aplusresults.com).

For more than 20 years, I used the very things I teach.  I was laid off, downsized, merged, acquired, divested, and went through lots of voluntary and involuntary job changes.  Applying the same things I teach others, I went that entire time without one day of unemployment while growing my pay more than six times (600%) of what it was at that start of that period.

To put a point on all this:

·         No one who is not a hiring manager can promise you a job.

·         No one who is not a hiring manager can promise to move your application or résumé to the top of the stack.

·         Someone who has access to hiring managers can promise to introduce you, but they cannot guarantee you a favorable result, and you have to ask yourself, “what kind of person sells their access to their powerful acquaintances?”

When people ask you to pay them fees to find you a job, introduce you, or to move your application up, your best bet is to thank them politely and then walk away, keeping a firm hand on your wallet.

Tom Sheppard has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. Why pay retail when you can buy a home at below market prices? www.buybelowmarket.com. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can do well by doing good, contact Tom at TSheppard@ADBProperties.com