Internet 'Gurus' Continue to Steal Billions from Unsuspecting Consumers; Unguru.me Aims to Stop That

CLEVELAND, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine someone who has just lost his or her job and decides to start his or her own business. They go to Google and do a search for "work from home opportunities" or "make money online" and what do they find? Usually, it's a litany of scams from so-called "guru" type personalities that promise to show them how to get rich beyond their dreams, with the push of a button.

Getting rich overnight without work is a fairy tale, and Unguru.me is on a mission to stop that story from being told. The 2011 Unguru.me Report offers an inside look as what people really think of gurus. Summary: It's not pretty for the self-proclaimed gurus.

"Education is the first step to stopping the slimy gurus," says Jim Kukral, co-founder of the Unguru.me community. "We surveyed small business owners and entrepreneurs about their experiences with gurus and the results are profound. The bottom line is, most people despise guru-types."

Here are some specifics from the report. The full report can be accessed at Unguru.me as a free download.

• 89% of participants felt skeptical when the word guru was referenced, compared to only 11% who said they felt excited
• When asked whether or not they themselves would ever refer to themselves as a guru, only 5% said yes, while 19% answered maybe. 30% gave an absolute answer of never, and 46% said no
• When asked whether they would ever purchase a product from a guru, 41% said they would never, but 59% said they might if they needed the product

The statistics from the report only tell part of the story. Participants were also asked a series of open-ended questions. Here are some of their responses.

When asked what the most defining tactic of a guru was:

1. "Follow me and I will make you rich!"
2. "Lying"
3. "Over the top claims. Sleazy."
4. "One who focuses on mastery"

When asked what guru tactic annoys them the most:

1. "Fake info: stats, testimonials, case studies"
2. "Hard-sell tactics"
3. "Non-stop emailing"
4. "Saying they are an expert when they don't have a clue"

Unguru.me is the #1 way to build your business, without being obnoxious. It's a community for small business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone else who want to learn and share with others ways to build a profitable and long-term business without having to resort to lame marketing and sales tactics that the gurus employ.

"We started Unguru.me as a place for small business owners, entrepreneurs and marketers of all levels of experience to get together to learn and network in an unfiltered atmosphere that is void of hype," said Shawn Collins, co-founder. "There are simply too many snake-oil salesman preying on desperate people who can least afford to part with their money. Enough already. We figured it was time to bring together the anxious newbies, grizzled veterans, and everybody in between to learn, grow, and make great things happen with their businesses."

The report also asked participants to sum up their thoughts about gurus in five words or less. Here a few of those responses:

• "Snake-oil salesmen"
• "They want to make money"
• "Hype"
• "All marketing, little substance"

Download the entire report at Unguru.me.

About Unguru.me

Unguru.me is a community for small business owners, entrepreneurs and marketers of all levels of experience to get together to learn and network in an unfiltered atmosphere that is void of hype. Unguru.me is focused on give and take. This new community is the antithesis to the typical customer and guru relationship where the customer gives and the guru takes.

About Jim Kukral

For over 15-years, Jim Kukral has helped small businesses and large companies like FedEx, Sherwin Williams, Ernst & Young and Progressive Auto Insurance understand how to find success on the Web. Jim is the author of the book, "Attention! This Book Will Make You Money," as well as a professional speaker, and business consultant.

About Shawn Collins

Shawn Collins is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.

About the Report

The report was created over a couple of weeks in December 2010. It was conducted as an anonymous survey of business owners to collect their views and opinions of gurus.

SOURCE Unguru.me