Posted by Shawn J. Dostie on January 20, 2003 at 16:00:52:
Then you can tell me. 
How many of those members in Dallas/ Ft Worth buy and sell mobile homes, do lease options, buy/sell discounted paper, or the myriad other creative things that we talk about daily?
Try it, I do know there are some real fascinating folks here.
Good Luck,
Shawn(OH)
convention - Posted by angela
Posted by angela on January 20, 2003 at 14:38:44:
I am new to RE investing, and was considering going to the CRE convention. I just read a post that all the speakers will be trying to get you to buy their stuff. Is this true? Is that why the converence isnāt very expensive, because they make money selling their product? I was also suppried to see that seating is limited to 600 something people. Why is that? I thought more people would be interested in going. If itās just going to me one big infomercial, Iām not interested. Any input would be appriciated.
Re: convention - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on January 20, 2003 at 17:05:46:
Angela,
This will be my 5th consecutive CREOnline Convention that I have attended. This is Halās 5th. Itās Jim Kennedyās 4th. There are some that will have attended all 6. If it were just a big informercial do you think we all would keep on coming back. Instead of doubting , why not take the chance to go to the convention to find out for yourself.
As Jeanne said there will be about a ten minute period at the end of the speakerās talk where he will talk about giving some good deals on his courses. Nothing wrong with that.
This convention will allow you to learn new ideas and techniques that you can immediately apply after the convention when you get home. In fact I have seen many times where an attendee gets on the phone in the halls trying to work deals back home after learning something new from the speaker that just finished his talk.
And the convention is not just about the speakers. Got a tax or entity setup question. Thereās John Hyre, ask him. Interested in setting up lines of credit. Ask Ed Garcia in the lounge. Interested in mobile homes. Lonnieās just a question away.
Two things I would like you to do so you may make up your mind to attend and benefit from the convention. One, reread Tim Fierroās post to your post. And two, click on the CREOnline Convention box near the top of this page. Itās in yellow/orange and read the whole thing including the comments of past attendees.
As far as why itās limited to 625, itās been already answered. The facility is limited in room. And if it was a hard sell, why wouldnāt they cram 2,000 - 3,000 people in so they could sell more products.
Re: convention - Posted by Jeanne
Posted by Jeanne on January 20, 2003 at 15:26:04:
Hi Angela,
I will let previous attendess fill you in on their experiences at our convention. If it were a big infomercial, I donāt think we would have so many people attending this year for the third, fourth, or fifth time.
The hotel where we have held the previous three conventions can only accommodate 625 people (classroom style) in their largest room. They have bent over backward to help us run a smooth event.
We will sell out. I have no doubt about that. We sold out last year and came close the year before. We have always grown each year.
We donāt mind keeping this event around 600 attendees because it is a great, intimate, friendly group. If we had 1000 attendees, it would probably diminish some of the warmth and accessibility of the speakers and guests.
We review the comments that we bribe attendees to turn in at the end of the convention. We ask our speakers to reserve presenting their products for the last 10 minutes or so. Speakers who have been described as too āhard sellā have not been invited back.
Hope that answers some questions about our annual convention.
Jeanne (Convention Coordinator among other things)
Re: convention - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on January 20, 2003 at 15:02:51:
600 is probably because of a seating capacity in whatever main hall is being used.
Yes, I am sure that after a speaker is finished, you will find his/her course offered; that is a good reason why they are there. Your choice on whether you buy or not. I will listen to most of the speakers as I have not heard them before, but will only buy if the course that is offered intrigues me or offers something I think I want or need. The main one being the Thursday night talk by John Hyre; this one intrigues me and I know he has a new product that I think I might get. So yes, I might buy since I am there and āmotivatedā after hearing him talk about it.
One big informercial? I donāt think so. I believe that there are investors (authors/teachers/motivators) who will want to sell their products, and who better to sell to than a group of investors gathered in one location?
But I am going for more than just listening to a few people I have not heard before, and that is to hear from other investors and talk to them about what they do and how they do it. I want to talk to $CASH$ to see what makes him tick and why he is fascinated with chickens. I want to talk to Michela to find out what has been happening in HOTlanta over the past 15 years. I might find interesting conversation from someone in New Hampshire, or Tennessee, or maybe even strike up a conversation about the markets from someone in Idaho. I want to put names to faces of those who I participate with on this site. I want to get a feel to what the others who participate here believe the markets will head and how different approaches to the same end results can be had in differnt parts of the nation. Can something someone in Florida work for me here in Washington? I want to go so that I am talking in an informal way to others like me in a setting conducive to a talk environment to share ideas, concepts, critisms, and forward thinking to brighten our futures in an area of study/business that not everyone goes into; and that area of course is Investing.
I am sure I will buy something, but I am going so that I can talk to others in the field, know people by face instead of knowing what state they live in. I am going more for social, than for the sales pitch, but I keep myself open for products that may help and/or enhance my future.
Other peopleās reasons for going, or not going, is their personal choice. I missed last year because of a fluke in plane travel, but not this year. I bought my plane tickets 6 months before the convention as I didnāt want to not have travel setup this year. I bought tickets for the convention a few hours after they became available. If you decide to go, or not go, is a personal choice. I choose to be with others who are into the same business direction I am in and this is a way to accomplish this by going to a convention. I donāt have 600 people in my backyard, city, who are into REI and the creative thinking who I can bounce ideas and share with and to get new directions as markets change and shifts are needed.
Re: convention - Posted by Angela
Posted by Angela on January 20, 2003 at 17:32:57:
Thanks for the response. I will probably go. In the future, the convention could be held and a different location to allow more people to attend. I didnāt realize this is only the 6th year. That would explain why it is fairly small. Thanks!
Chicken Ranch Investing, Tim - Posted by $Cash$ (NV)
Posted by $Cash$ (NV) on January 20, 2003 at 16:54:08:
Tim Fierro,
Chicken Ranches are probably the best investment in real estate in todays market or any kind of market.
The bubble will never burst, even if it does the chickens are inspected weekly so you are safe.
There are plenty of motivated chickens and you never run out of buyers with big money in their pockets.
Talk about income producing property, the last one I looked at was a old triple wide mobile on about 1/2 acre producing in excess of $10 Million a year from the chickens.
Now, that is facinating Tim, think about it when is the last time you looked at a property that produced this kind of income and your initial investment is 1/2 acre of land in the middle of the desert and old mobile home plus a few chickens.
John $Cash$ Locke
Re: convention - Posted by Angela
Posted by Angela on January 20, 2003 at 15:19:23:
Thanks for your comments. Iām sure it would be great for networking. I still wonder why itās so small. Our Real Estate investment club here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area has at least 400 members. I figured a NATIONAL convention would draw a bigger crowd than that. There must be a reason why.
Re: convention - Posted by Marcos
Posted by Marcos on January 21, 2003 at 12:42:03:
I donāt know why the numbers seem to pose such an issue. How many people would you like to be there? I have been to Ron LeGrandās annual convention, and there are a 1,000+ people there. And no one networks. Everyone just leaves. Too many people, not enough time to get to know people.
If you had a 10,000+ people, you still couldnāt duplicate what this seminar offers. It offers the chance to network and tell lies to people who are actually doing it, day in and day out.
I thought last year was fantastic. I met many people, made some new friends. Iām looking forward to seeing many of them again. If you were ever concerned about whether or not this actually works?? This is your chance to answer it.
Personally, I spent very little time in the conference room. Preferring to spend time networking with the likes of JT-IN, Ron-MD, Phil Fernandez, Redline, The other Jim Kennedy, Ken in SC, David Alexander, etc, etc, etcā¦
How can you put a price on listening to Ed Garcia and David Alexander verbally wrestle in the pit till 3 or 4 in the morning?
Calling and waking up Jim Piper at 3 in the morning, asking him why he wasnāt there?
And sure the convention is great, but whatās even better is the after effects. I can call many of the people that I met at the convention and pick their brains for free. There is noone in my local market(even though Ron Legrand lives here), who knows as much as many of the people I met over that weekend. And that truly is priceless.
I hope you decide to go, you wonāt be sorry. But, only if you make the most of it. Get to meet as many people as you can. Introduce yourself. Be friendly. Most people wonāt bite. Well, maybe David Alexander after heās had a few, but everyone else seems cool.
Hope this helps,
Marcos
Re: convention - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on January 20, 2003 at 20:03:02:
You know, I wondered about that too. Why not do Atlanta, then Las Vegas, then Seattle, then New Orleans, etcā¦ But if you think about it, most people would have to fly to get to the convention anyway, so it could be held anywhere. So that anywhere should be a place where you are welcomed, they know your crowd, offer discounts for repeat business, and on and on.
I think that going to the same place is logical when everything turns out the way it should. It allows a duplication of the model for the next time with little hassel or inconvenience.
You Wonāt Be Disappointed - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on January 20, 2003 at 17:58:40:
See you at the Convention.
Love it! - Posted by Steve-WA
Posted by Steve-WA on January 20, 2003 at 21:14:26:
$Cash$, I love your twisted sense of humor!
Re: convention - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on January 20, 2003 at 20:21:01:
Angela,
for one thing, i think every major city has their own convention. In atlanta we have one in the summer. Also we have those same speakers come to our big ga reia meetings, where itās free. So, i think the people, that are coming are only creonline regulars and not other investors, because they already have their own events.
michaela