I have to admit even I was overwhelmed with some of the new information and distinctions that were presented especially in the area of media and public relations. I met some important people and contacts that might be instrumental to some changes I plan on making to my publishing business in the months to come.

The full impact of what I got out of IBPA’s Publishing University will linger until after I get back.  Fresh off of that 3-day conference, I have just begun my next 3-day run at the 2008 Book Expo America.  It has been 6 years since I attended this huge industry event.  I think I waited 2 years too long to come back.  I won’t make that mistake again.

My feet is sore.  I have had three 11-hour days.  Today, I put in a light 9-hours and so I have a chance to update this blog.  I can do some reading and catch up on some work in my hotel room.

Essentially, this is a more advanced seminar that builds upon and expands the content of “The TurnKey Investor’s ‘Subject-To’ Mortgage Crash Course”.  The “subject to” mortgage is only one form of seller-financing.  While it is a great way of financing investment property, there are many instances that technique is simply not practical, nor desired in some transactions.

Wrap-around mortgages, land contracts, contracts for deed, and lease-options are also legitimate ways of financing investment properties.  Each of these financing techniques have their own pros and cons as well as the circumstances of when you should use them.

Wes Weaver and I share our real life experiences and comments on the other forms of seller-financing techniques that we have used (and those we have chosen NOT to use!).

Originally conceived as an additional “audio crash course” in the spirit of “The TurnKey Investor’s ‘Subject To’ Mortgage Crash Course, Tony talked me into making the Seller-financing presentation into a seminar in front of a live and experienced real estate investor audience.

Essentially, the raw unedited recordings come to over 4 hours of audio content.  I expect to edit it down to less than 3 hours however that is a very rough estimate.  I am trying to pare it down to a 2-CD audio course set but it may end up being a full 3-CD audio course set.

Once the audio course has been completed, I plan on taking that content and creating an all-new manual called “The TurnKey Investor’s Seller-Financing Handbook” which will be similar in format and a companion manual to the “The TurnKey Investor’s ‘Subject To’ Mortgage Handbook”.

There is no precise timeline for when the Seller-Financing products will be available except that I expect it will be released in 2008.

I will be putting a warning label on the products that beginning investors or students should not buy either of these products.  The discussions were advanced level.  The one beginning student we had was a bright person but clearly did not have the background to keep pace with the seminar presentation.  She served as a barometer for me to warn off beginning investors and students.

I would like to comment that all the students in the audience (with one exception) were prior students of ours and had actually done at least a couple of real estate transactions.  Gauging from the feedback from students, they greatly appreciated the fact much of material that Wes and I presented had not presented in such depth and sophistication.

As I get more news on the progress of the Seller-Financing products, I will post them here.

Several weeks passed and I have observed from afar how the group has progressed. I am pleased to say that even without my or Wes Weaver’s guidance or direction, they have maintained the energy and enthusiasm to move forward together.

Clearly the structure and format has changed under Tony’s leadership. He has brought a new tone and energy to the group. Whereas I led with a “strong hand” and singular mandate, Tony brings a consensus-building, democratic sensibility to the group. It allows the members to participate more in the leadership of the group.

Having seen positive results under Tony’s leadership, I agreed to support Tony from afar. I have no desire to actively manage or lead the group but I am interested in seeing the group flourish and grow. To that end, I have formally supported Tony’s efforts to continue and grow the group.

I will assist in bringing awareness and publicity to the group through my websites. I will also assist in bringing credibility and education to the group by making my published materials to the membership at a discounted price.

I firmly believe that the strength of a group comes from the strength of the leadership. There is another group that regularly meets in Columbus, GA. I do not believe in its leadership nor do I believe in its effectiveness. And so, while I respect the membership and their efforts, I cannot endorse them.

I am a person who believes you should be discriminating who you accept as a member into a group. You are judged by your achievements and performance, not simply having money and being interested.

As long as Tony and I continue to be aligned in the mission, I will continue to support the ongoing efforts of The Investors Roundtable of Columbus-GA.

It seems the mantra of choice for any presentation I give to a group nowadays is “edgy, hard-hitting, and unconventional”. For me, speaking in front of a group is a delicate balance of showmanship, authenticity, truth, and impactfulness.

Essentially, I believe if I speak to a group of people, I should make an impact and make a difference, not just burn up time. I know there are a lot of ways of doing so but the trick is to do it in a way that resonates with my own personality and style.

I have attended too many seminars and presentations where the “bullshit factor” and “sleaze factor” is high. I tend to believe I can get at least a nugget of wisdom from almost any speaker but jeez, why do I have to put up with a high “bullshit factor” and “sleaze factor” to do so?

And while there are credible and informative speakers, some are basically so boring, monotone, and “sanitized” for political correctness, the truth and impact gets lost.

My attitude is that I am an imperfect human being but always seeking to improve my performance. However, I also believe that life is too short to continually “filter and sanitize” my communications especially in areas which I consider important and personal. My business, my work, and my team are areas that are both important and personal to me. I tell it like it is, good or bad.

I understand there is professional etiquette and social graces but it can be taken to the extreme. If an occasional 4-letter word slips out of my mouth, then so be it. If I happen to make a negative broad generalization over a certain occupation or industry such as real estate agents and the brokerage industry, then so be it. However, keep in mind that it is only a generalization and it is context sensitive, not an attack on any individual. As a general rule, I do not judge the life worth of people or whether they are fundamentally “good or bad” people. I tend to make judgments and negative statements in context-sensitive manner. If my audience reads more into it and start taking things badly and personally, I would say that is their issue.

One of the reasons I have made little effort to promote myself to speak more is that I like to have a great deal of control who my audience is. Going forward, I intend to keep my “edgy and unconventional” approach and people will be forewarned. It is like going to see an “R-rated” movie. If someone wants a “G” or “PG” presentation, go elsewhere. But if an audience wants something more gritty, real, and can deal with a “PG-13” or “R-rating” presentation, come to me.

The main purpose was to kick off The Investors Roundtable group with an enticing but relevant seminar which was entitled “Building a Real Estate Investment Portfolio in a Down Market” that was focused on Colorado Springs.

The “promise”that was going to be delivered was the following:

• The Art & Science of Portfolio-Building
• 5 Strategies for building a real estate portfolio if you have limited time, expertise, cash, or credit
• Why the best time to build a real estate portfolio is in a slower market and economic cycle
• What happens to assets, wealth, and equity created and lost during up-markets and up-cycles
• The types of people who should absolutely avoid and should never invest in real estate
• The types of people who can never stop doing real estate deals and the types of people who can stop within 5 years.
• The single crucial x-factor every investor must decide BEFORE they buy their first investment
• The 5 Deadly Sins of Real Estate Investing that destroy portfolios and investment careers
• The 3 Investment Criteria professional investors use that amateurs do not
• The “true returns on investment” professional investors rarely reveal to the general public
• The 4 Rules on the Mindset of Money amateur investors never learn until it’s too late
• The 3 Unavoidable Events that will occur in the real estate market between now and 2010
• The 6 opportunities and differences between 1st-tier and 2nd-tier cities
• The Current Market Velocity of Colorado Springs
• 5 Reasons Why Colorado Springs is a better market to invest in than Denver
• The 4 Factors “outside investors” see in Colorado Springs that “native investors” routinely ignore
• The pros and cons of investing with Investment Teams vs. investing alone

As you can see, it was quite ambitious for a 3-hour evening seminar on a cold December night. Not only that, it was only $25 per ticket. What a steal.

Typically, my small seminars are fairly organic. In other words, I have a loose outline of what I will cover, but I rely on flip-charts and have the students take notes. After all, what could one expect for $25?

However, I changed my mind and prepared a PowerPoint presentation instead. The room I was presenting in had a ceiling projector to a projection screen. I figured I would simply take advantage of it by connecting my PC Notebook to the system and present off of a pre-prepared PowerPoint Presentation.

What I thought would be an easy task turned out to be incredibly time-consuming one. It has been a few years since I have prepared a PowerPoint presentation. And it was my first time to create one that would require 3+ hours to cover.

Constructing, writing, and organizing that PowerPoint presentation was a multi-day project with several hours per day. Holy smokes, I thought it would not come to an end with the endless ideas, revisions, and reorganizations. It felt as challenging as writing a booklet.

In any case, I did finish writing the presentation and I did present it in my typically unconventional and hard-hitting style. Being in a new environment, I did exercise a bit more restraint than I normally do in Columbus. However, I did not want to “sanitize” it to the point I felt robotic or that my audience did not know where I stood on issues.

I am setting all of you up because what came out AFTER the seminar was very enlightening to me as a speaker and presenter. Bottom line, my “core audience” liked the presentation and there were other parts that left a less than desirable impression.

I will be writing a few “insight articles” to clarify my positions on certain subjects. It might make for some juicy reading. Stay tuned.

This seminar will be used to kick-off the newly forming Investors Roundtable of Colorado Springs.  The word-of-mouth interest and enthusiasm is already high with the various people that were involved in helping me with the logistics in putting this seminar together.  They are interested in the subject matter as well as my perspective on the current market situation.  Half-dozen people are already committed to this evening seminar.  Ha! I guess I will be giving this seminar even if not a single ticket is sold!

The official marketing begins this week with local newspaper advertising in the Colorado Springs area.  The evening seminar is very inexpensive at $25.00 per ticket.  I am hoping for a solid local investor community turnout.

I am excited about this seminar as there are new distinctions and material I am incorporating that I have not written or spoken about.  I will try to make a video recording of this event.  It may become available on DVD if the video turns out ok.

Essentially, the students learned a lot and I believe everyone was a bit sad that this has come to an end.  However, everyone understood that all things (even good things) must come to an end.

With this ending comes an unexpected new beginning.  Plans are under way to re-launch a modified version of The Investors Roundtable in Colorado Springs!  I anticipate the first meeting/seminar will take place during the first week of December 2007.  An official announcement will come later.

It was a memorable and unique experience.  I had hoped to return for a follow-up seminar in April but it did not happen.  I have been told that many of the inmates are trying to find a sponsor/liaison to make this happen.

The photos of me presenting within the Federal Correctional facility in Coleman, Florida have been posted within a special section on my “Intrepid Way” website.

“The Investors Roundtable” will go dormant for the rest of 2007 and very likely into mid-2008.  I may hold informal private meetings that will not be open to the public.  After that, I am not sure what will happen.  I do feel certain that “The Investors Roundtable” concept will be revived at a later date but will be structured and priced differently than it has been.

This decision was made for a couple of reasons.  One, the current group of beginning students have had “enough training” and it is time for them to make deals happen.  Second, I needed to free up some of my time and responsibilities as I try to finish up various projects I want completed in 2007 and lay the groundwork for 2008.

I am currently kicking around the idea of releasing and editing the videos on DVD format as every session has been recorded since we began.

Tony, Wes, and I jointly hosted and presented to the group in a lively, interactive, and fast-paced session.  Many times, I could not tell the how the audience responded.  They were very quiet and their facial expressions a bit neutral.  It appeared they were concentrating and thinking but I simply could not tell if they like what they were hearing.

Tony gave me some feedback afterwards.  To my relief, Tony said the group seemed to enjoy the session.  Now that we have completed it, it is uncertain what happens now.  I believe some of them will attend an Investors Roundtable meeting to see what we do.

But for now, I will let Tony ponder on what will happen to this experimental group.