Elite Retreat: How Much $$$$$$ Really?
March 22nd, 2007
I was challenged by Jeremy Schoemaker (aka ShoeMoney) to get a “clue” about Elite Retreat that was recentlyĀ held in San Francisco. (So what is it that seems to bring out the snark in some people whenever IĀ post about this stuff?)
It brought to mind that movie called ‘Scent of a Woman’ whereĀ Al Pacino said his now famous line “I’m in the dark here”! I’m also reminded of another famous movie line:
“Show Me the Money”!
ShoeMoney, Show me the Money. Get it? Oh well…
The problem is it’sĀ really hard to get a “clue” without having anyĀ verifiable information to work with. Accordingly, not one to back down from a challenge I put my legal hat back on andĀ listed belowĀ 10Ā open questions to the Speakers and Organizers of Elite RetreatĀ so thatĀ all of usĀ will “have a clue”.
So boys and girls, as a fellow blogger I will very much appreciate answers for the following:
1. How many people in total attended Elite Retreat in San Francisco?
2. How many of the retreat attendeesĀ are actual bloggers, or went there to learn how to make money from blogging?
3. How much money didĀ Elite Retreat make in total?
4. How much were the Speakers paid?
5.Ā Were the Speakers’ expenses also paid by Elite Retreat?
6. Who paid for the freebie tickets that were handed out by some of the Speakers?
7. Besides Shoemoney, who were the other Organizers of Elite Retreat?
8. How much profitĀ was actually madeĀ after expenses, and in who’s pocket(s) did the “profits” end up?
9. How many of the Speakers orĀ Organizers have made (verifiable)Ā $$$$$$ 6 figure incomes exclusively from just Blogging? Or as CyberCoder put it: not by e-commerce, no speaking tours, no books, no other ventures etc.
10.Ā How many of theirĀ StudentsĀ haveĀ made (verifiable)Ā $$$$$$ 6 figure incomes either from blogging or by other online activity (but not combined) as a direct result of taking their courses or materials?
(The gauntlet has beenĀ thrownĀ but kindly leave the snark at home… justĀ the facts please, thanks –Ā the management).
And that dear folksĀ is what they callĀ bottom line. This information should be made public by the Elite RetreatersĀ especially since they solicited people from the Blogosphere.
These questionsĀ are notĀ just for my benefit only. Once this information becomes available then we canĀ all make our own unbiased opinions aboutĀ Elite Retreat.
MaybeĀ you have informationĀ that can help shed some more light about this?Ā Or perhaps you haveĀ questions of your own that you would like answered? Then please by all means share with us so that we can all get a “clue”. If privacy is a concern youĀ can always email me or use the anonymous submission form.
Related posts: Attend the Elite Retreat, and you Can’t Afford to Eat
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No response? I’m not surprised.
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lol i dont read many blogs and it was kind of a fluke i even saw this but I will answer as best as I can
1. How many people in total attended Elite Retreat in San Francisco?
25
2. How many of the retreat attendees are actual bloggers, or went there to learn how to make money from blogging?
The founder of chitika, buddtv.com and a few other big name companies were in attendence.. not many bloggers though.
3. How much money did Elite Retreat make in total?
The elite retreat shares revenues with the speakers.. I am guessing the gross revenue was around 80-90k
4. How much were the Speakers paid?
Again not all expenses have been tallied but guessing between the 7 should be around 7-8k apiece
5. Were the Speakers’ expenses also paid by Elite Retreat?
No - none of the expenses food/beverages/dinner/airplane/hotel were covered
6. Who paid for the freebie tickets that were handed out by some of the Speakers?
It came out of the total revenue.
7. Besides Shoemoney, who were the other Organizers of Elite Retreat?
The founders are Lee Dodd and myself.
8. How much profit was actually made after expenses, and in who’s pocket(s) did the “profits” end up?
Again guessing… I would say less then 5-6k profit (will be used for promotion of next event)
9. How many of the Speakers or Organizers have made (verifiable) $$$$$$ 6 figure incomes exclusively from just Blogging? Or as CyberCoder put it: not by e-commerce, no speaking tours, no books, no other ventures etc.
I would say only darren rowse and myself have made over 100k blogging (blogging is not my fortee) Also its not really blogging focused… its much more broad then that.
10. How many of their Students have made (verifiable) $$$$$$ 6 figure incomes either from blogging or by other online activity (but not combined) as a direct result of taking their courses or materials?
no idea
Thanks for all the interest!!
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Hi Mike.
Thanks for responding, but your profile is locked and without a last name I have no way of verifying you are actually who you say you are, or what you say is even correct.
According to my calculator 25 people times $5000 a head works out to a hefty sum of $125,000 rake. A profit of only $5-6k sounds a little low even if you paid the speakers $50,000 don’t you think?
Will a detailed breakdown be published by yourself or the other organizers sometime in the near future?
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You are my favorite skeptic.
I have to say that after learning the power of networking when I was a recruiter, knowing the right people can open doors that lead to amazing opportunities. I would have paid the $5K myself just to get to know these presenters, and already they have worked hand in hand with me to help push my business to higher levels.
And it’s definitely not all blogging focused - far from it. They talked about all facets of online business at the conference.
I think I was one of only a couple of people who went for free - I won a ticket and blogged the whole conference if you want to hear more about what they all talked about.
I’d say if you don’t care about the networking, the Elite Retreat may not be for you. The stuff they taught can be likely be found elsewhere.
What Elite Retreat DOES offer is one on one consulting during the event AND after the event (attendees have access to all of the presenters, and already I’ve been working with three of them 4 days after the event).
Since knowing the right person has put well over $6 figures into my pocket over the course of my own career, I jump at *every* chance I get to hang out with successful people.
Hope that helps!
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“I jump at *every* chance I get to hang out with successful people.”
I’ll meet you at the bar later
Wendy, you hit on something very important, and that is all of the information people paid for is available online for free. And I know for certain that my 10 year daughter knows infinitely more about computers and blogging than Guy Kawasaki could ever hope to.
I’ll be monitoring your progress this year see how your new found knowledge translates into the bottom line. It’s a good thing that you got your ticket for free. Your only loss might be just your time. (Notice the tongue in my cheek
Cheers!
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(Edited by BB) Elite Retreat is back from the dead and will be held again this April.
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Umm, really? Gee thanks for the spam whomever you are.
I removed the links but I think I will leave the comment as an example of how cheeseball characters operate.
What’s even more disgusting is the site keeps saying “I” made this much, and “I” made that much, BUT the author who wrote that gimmicky high-pressure sales clap-trap conveniently forgot to mention their name. And neither is there any way to verifiy the alleged incomes purportedly made.
So in effect it’s all a CROCK. Anybody who is associated with snake oil peddlers like them should be ashamed.
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Awe, what the heck. Here is the link, but I put a “nofollow” on it to deny them the google juice. I want everyone to see this crap for themselves.
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