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I was recently at an internet marketing conference, Underground Online Seminar 7 (picture from Underground 6) that was hosted by Yanik Silver. It has been running for 7 years now and I wanted to see what all the hype was (and about internet marketing). I shelled out a ton to be there, and it was worth it. Here’s what I learned.

Myth That Internet Marketers Make A Lot Of Dough

That’s not a myth. That is a reality. And many of these guys do not have more than 5 employees. They really are making 6-7 figures per business. And many of them have more than one. It wasn’t just the speakers, it was many people in the room. The numbers are actually kind of scary. I can’t even imagine what I would do with all of it.

Never Know Who’s You’re Sitting Next To

I heard that saying a lot at the beginning of the conference. So I knew it was a great opportunity to network and meet some internet marketers who are virtually unknown. It was hard to get into networking mode, but knowing I paid 4 figures to get in, I thought I could at least be nice (It’s difficult for me to meet someone to talk about money). By the way, I am a nice guy.

One of the speakers was Ted Leonisis who owns the three professional sports teams. “Really?” That was what I was thinking. I had never been to a conference outside of a corporate one so it was hard for me to realize that I’m in the same room. I say that because when you’re in the same room, it implies something. For me, it was that I was absolutely serious about entrepreneurship that I was willing to pay for access to other really smart entrepreneurs.

Many Have Great Rags-to-riches Stories

A good number of them started out not being entrepreneurs. In fact, many of them were just trying to make ends meet. These same entrepreneurs are very thankful for their run of fortune so are very grounded. Naturally, hearing these stories will shake you to your core and cut out all the excuses of why you won’t make it. In one year back, one of the speakers had a business that was doing 7 figures. And oh, he was blind.

Speakers Get Mobbed

The speakers got mobbed after their presentations. Up until then, no one know who they are as they just blend in the crowd. But once they get on stage, everyone wants a piece of them. And as a result, it’s really hard to get a good conversation going (not about money) after their presentation. So the best times to do that is of course at the bar, over dinner or at the arranged entertainment night (Casino night this year).

Good To Not Know Everything

I learned early on that it’s always better to come from an attitude of not knowing everything. For me, that was easy because I was always learning and really did not know anything. And I always asked more questions than hearing myself talk. I met some really cool people that way (and we didn’t talk about money). I asked many times how they got started because that was what interested me (since I was also getting started). And because I was coming from this position, many people understood because there was a time when they got started. So networking as a result was much easier.

These Guys Are Good (Insane) Sales People

I can’t really put into words how good these guys are. These are the people who can sell you a bottle of water at a natural spring. A couple of times, the speaker on stage created a mass rush of people to buy the product being pitched. And I really mean that- people were rushing to buy it. Because of that, it’s really tempting to buy a lot of stuff. I don’t doubt the information is good, but because there’s so much of it, you can’t possibly process all of it. Because of that, it’s not going to work and you won’t get as much value out of it. That become wasted investment.

Average Of The 5 People You Hang Out With

We all heard this saying before. You are the average of the five people you hang out with. Professional sports players hang out with each other so they can get better. In the same way, internet marketers and entrepreneurs hang out with each other so they can be better. But for me, the newbie, it’s about the willingness to go hangout with entrepreneurs who were just crushing it (paying for access). The biggest takeaway of all, is that if you are serious about being an entrepreneur, you will do whatever it takes to meet the right people.