How much do you know about jon?

[vahsi000]

This is a bit awkward, does anyone here actually know jon, has anyone actually witnessed his success? Sure, most people saw the post at sitepoint forums where he posted his earnings, but i also saw another person (a few pages later) who posted his (fake) earnings which totally looked legit but the figures were way too high to be true. Now since an image is nowhere near solid evidence and since no one knows about his websites are we supposed to trust his word for it?

Like, some of you might know that jon has been blogging for the past month (which i've discovered a few weeks back) about a week back he claimed on his post that he wouldn't advertise (put up ads) on his website because he was doing this to share his knowledge and not to make a profit, this is what he said on his blog:
" Now, I’ve always stuck by the fact that I don’t plan on ever putting any ads on my site for webmasters, because I don’t give advice as a form of income"
Recently, more and more of his blogs are about him and his paid services. :eek: Didn't he say something about not giving advice as a form of income? Look at these charges i also got from his website:
Consulting Packages:

1- $150 for 12 questions answered.
2- $300 for 25 questions answered.
3- $500 for 1 on 1 consulting per block.
Note: These figures are straight off his website aojon.com

Now, getting back to what I was saying before, is there anyone here know/trust jon enough so much that they would make a bet on all of their assets that to confirm jon's famous success? If not, I'd sure like to see some of his past projects as evidence especially since he claims he's been doing this since "90's".

On a final note, I'm not saying in any way that this is a complete scam; I am merely expressing my thoughts and doubts. Also a warning to potential customers, make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. If any of you read this review and blindly purchase the $500 package and end up with advice that you don't like for some reason, then you only have yourself to blame and no one else :) other then that have a good time and don't stress too much ;) (it's not good for your health).

[The New Guy]

Jon, posted his idea and I think it was always his intention to consult and get paid for it.

[Cutter]

Well you are going to find out if its worth the money, because I'm buying #1 and #3, and I'll be reviewing the results on my blog.

[Blue Cat Buxton]

The web is a small world.

Jon has set his stall out very clearly and comes across as very astute, certainly an astute marketer.

If he is as experienced as he makes out (and I for one am willing to believe what he says) I am sure he knows If those who pay for his consultation, if shafted, will be able to ruin the reputation he is setting out, with a few simple posts.

[vahsi000]

The web is a small world.

Jon has set his stall out very clearly and comes across as very astute, certainly an astute marketer.

If he is as experienced as he makes out (and I for one am willing to believe what he says) I am sure he knows If those who pay for his consultation, if shafted, will be able to ruin the reputation he is setting out, with a few simple posts.

Do we have an interpreter in the house? Dude, I can barely understand anything that you said. From what I read your trying to say that people who do try it out and get satisfied will know if he's the reall stuff or not, well he can allways blame the client for not trying hard enough or he could even buy an ebook read it understand it and give advice (just like a school teacher).

My question is, why do you believe him?

My IT teacher once explained to me the behaviour of shareholders, he said that as soon as the value of the share declined all of them would rush to sell their shares like a group of sheep. Are you one of those sheeps who believes in him because everyone else is?

[vahsi000]

Well you are going to find out if its worth the money, because I'm buying #1 and #3, and I'll be reviewing the results on my blog.

cutter can you tell us your average monthly earnings? so we can compare it afterwards... when are you doing it? how are we going to know when you have posted it? why don't you post it into this thread also?

[Blue Cat Buxton]

My question is, why do you believe him?

My IT teacher once explained to me the behaviour of shareholders, he said that as soon as the value of the share declined all of them would rush to sell their shares like a group of sheep. Are you one of those sheeps who believes in him because everyone else is?

Firstly I have no reason not to believe him, but his posts here, SP and his blog generally do not seem to be out to dupe anyone.

Also there is no get rich quick e-book, trashy sales letter etc.

What I am saying, in (hopefully) simple terms is:

1. Jon says he is a great webmaster.
2. Jon offers consulting services.
3. Jon performs and has happy clients.
4. If he does not then, he gets a lot of bad feedback and effectively shutsof his supply line of new work.

OK if 1 is false then 4 does not matter to him, but I don't sense he is in this for a quick buck.

Oh, and why would you take investment advice form an IT teacher? There are a number of economic reasons how people will invest, and following the crowd is only one of them. More often than not, is selling shares, if lots of people are selling it is because they have missed the best time to sell and are cutting their losses.


But hey, I'm not thinking of investing in his services, nor promoting them, just giving my view as requested by you in your first post...


Now since an image is nowhere near solid evidence and since no one knows about his websites are we supposed to trust his word for it?

If you sign up, let us know how you get on, and then we will know wether he is legit or not.

[chromate]

As I said in response to Jon's blog post, the greatest danger with this kind of thing is people expecting the advice alone to shoot them straight to success. The advice Jon provides is just the start. It's how well the client implements that advice that will ultimately make the difference between success and failure.

[Hylo]

Another question, has there been a new member who has went for the throat with controversial posts so quickly since WSP forums started?

vahsi000 - spamming affiliate links on the General Promotion forum and now questioning Mook-Jon and all without the $3USD for a domain name.

All in the space of a week.

In the words of The Jam, "That's Entertainment" ;)

[mark1]

Lol , I like your style vahsi.. ehe diplomacy surely is not your strength :D

I don't want to talk about Jon specifically, but we gotta admit the net is packed to capacity of BSers.

A bit of healthy skepticism is good imho.

I just finished to read the blog of a mum who earns $22,000 a month with her ppc campaign, yet she spends a lot of time to write a blog full of referral links to teach you how to saturate her market...yeah sure mummy, just reading the comments of the readers blessing their new found Messiah is an eye opener... suckerland at its best.

[Selkirk]

Two economists are walking down a sidewalk.

The first economist sees something and asks the other “Is that a $20 bill on the sidewalk?”

The second economist replies “It couldn’t be, otherwise someone would have picked it up by now.”

They walk on.


While there are a lot of economically ignorant suckers, there is also such a thing as too much skepticism.

[Cutter]

cutter can you tell us your average monthly earnings? so we can compare it afterwards... when are you doing it? how are we going to know when you have posted it? why don't you post it into this thread also?

Sorry, I don't reveal my income publicly. What I will say is that I'm doing good, and thats with most of my biggest projects in their infant stages.

Probably will be June when I do it. I will post it on my blog, may be on here too. The review will only be based on the quality of info. The project he'll be consulting me on will probably take 6 months to a year to see real results.

I don't know what Jon's real name is, I don't know the details of his businesses. What I do know is that from reading his posts here and on Sitepoint he knows what he is talking about. I'm buying advice from someone who has consistently demonstrated that he knows the ins and outs of web business, not from someone who owns X or did Y.

[paul]

I don't think frequent forum posters always realize how much of their personality and knowledge comes through over time. If you want to evaluate someone, read through their posts on a variety of forums, made over a period of a couple of years. I really don't see how it would be worth the effort (or possible) for someone to maintain a scam over that volume of material and length of time. People commenting on technical issues are especially prone to saying things which indicate they really don't get it.

So if you really want to check someone out, take the time to read what they have written. From what I have read that Jon wrote, he seems to know what he is talking about.

For example: Saw a post Not by Jon) at DP where the poster was quoting from the vBulletin article on WSP and asking if readers thought the advice was good. What does that tell you about the poster?

1. He didn't research Chris or he would have known their was a huge amount of experience behind that article.
2. He thinks multiple comments from no-nothings mean something.

So, based on that single thread, it's clear he is not someone who's opinion I should value. You might apply the same logic to your posts :)

[mark1]

Two economists are walking down a sidewalk.

The first economist sees something and asks the other “Is that a $20 bill on the sidewalk?”

The second economist replies “It couldn’t be, otherwise someone would have picked it up by now.”

They walk on.


While there are a lot of economically ignorant suckers, there is also such a thing as too much skepticism.

Yup and just for the record ... how many $20 bills do you find on the sidewalk in a lifetime? hehehe J/K :banana:

[vahsi000]

Hey, I don't know jack *** about NASA, space-travel or walking on the moon, but I could probably give them hell of a good last minute advice before they get launched to the moon:

1. Make sure you have a first-aid kit.
2. allways have some sort of a portable entertainment device in one of your pockets.
3. Pack your bags with clean underwear, (no one knows what kind of sh*t happens out there)
4. check to see if there are any holes in your suit (you don't want to blow up before taking your first step on to the moon do you?)

Anyways, on a more serious note, he could have a ton of experience, he could've read a ton of books (marketing) and made friends along the way. Also consider this fact, according to his blog he has earned XX million USD and in many of his posts he has clearly stated that he's not interested in spending money, if this is the case why is he asking for so much money?
Like XX million can easily support a big vietnamese family here in australia for the rest of their lives (yea, the families are quiet big) quiet comfortably.

Also a note to people who aren't comfortable with the "skepticism". What would the world be like if there was no such thing as "skepticism"? I know one thing if that was the case is that i would switch my career and become a fortune-teller, after making billions of dollars and beat bill gates net wealth, I'd go upto him and laugh at his face!

[vahsi000]

Lol , I like your style vahsi.. ehe diplomacy surely is not your strength :D

I don't want to talk about Jon specifically, but we gotta admit the net is packed to capacity of BSers.

A bit of healthy skepticism is good imho.

I just finished to read the blog of a mum who earns $22,000 a month with her ppc campaign, yet she spends a lot of time to write a blog full of referral links to teach you how to saturate her market...yeah sure mummy, just reading the comments of the readers blessing their new found Messiah is an eye opener... suckerland at its best.

As you said mark, there are alot of BSers out there with get rich quick schemes, like most of us here know that there are no "get rich quick scheme", well first of all if there was such a scheme we'd all be rich by now and more and more internet users are starting to realise that (although there's still a fraction of internet users how believe in that stuff after getting scammed time after time) and there's a new trend happening where the scammers are getting more clever and they're understanding whatever they're offering have to be more realistic because all get rich shemes are starting to look like one another.

[Sagewing]

I am skeptical of most people who publicize their income online, mostly because people who make a lot of moeny tend to be quiet about it. But, in this case there is no specific reason to doubt Jon except for a lack of evidence to support his claims. If he can provide useful consulting to people, great. If not, word will get around quickly.

So, why not extend the benefit of the doubt?

It's really sad and amazing to me how people are so driven by money. Everyone will pay attention to someone just because they show a picture of a fat check, but nobody is really interested in their business practices or what kind of person they are. Making money is NOT a indicator of success. I know a lot of rich people who are miserable.

[Cutter]

Paul, your absolutely right about personalities coming through. The longer you've been online the easier this will be.

Vahsi, you are right about having skepticism. Your problem is that you are doing it too bluntly. Here is my word of advice, unless you have solid proof that the individual is a phony don't call them out.You are not the first person to call someone out on a forum. Because someone doesn't provide their name, address, phone number, photos of their home, car collection, and a list of all their businesses isn't a good enough reason.

Don't spend your time asking if someone is really this or that. Look, people doubt if Donald Trump is even a billionaire (I'm one of them.) Instead focus on what kind of advice they give. Test it out, compare it with things you've done, if it doesn't pass the test then assume that the person is a fraud.

For example, I subscribe to a magazine called Millionaire Blueprints. They had a cover article on a guy who was selling some online money making scheme. The interview went on for pages yet I never saw the guy give a hint of what he was doing. All he had to say was why this or that method didn't work (methods that I use and I know work.) I don't care how much that guy makes or doesn't make, and I sure as hell ain't buying his stuff.

[vahsi000]

I am skeptical of most people who publicize their income online, mostly because people who make a lot of moeny tend to be quiet about it. But, in this case there is no specific reason to doubt Jon except for a lack of evidence to support his claims. If he can provide useful consulting to people, great. If not, word will get around quickly.

So, why not extend the benefit of the doubt?

It's really sad and amazing to me how people are so driven by money. Everyone will pay attention to someone just because they show a picture of a fat check, but nobody is really interested in their business practices or what kind of person they are. Making money is NOT a indicator of success. I know a lot of rich people who are miserable.

Would you tell people if you earned XX Million dollars? I think what your trying to say is that money doesn't bring happiness!! you'd be right if you said that but money does also give one freedom and comfy beds/cars. When it comes down to success, yes alot of people measure success by others wealth, why? Because effort = $$ per hour, More money= more effort > therefore success.

if that didn't make sense tell me and i'll try to explaining in the morning, but for now im off.

[LeeD]

Making money is NOT a indicator of success. I know a lot of rich people who are miserable.
Very well put and something I wish we saw more of in this business.

[Cutter]

You wish we saw more miserable people in this business?

[LeeD]

Hehe, no. I wish there were more people with the attitude of success being more than just an income. :)

[Sagewing]

I consider myself to be successful. I make a healthy income but nothing incredibly spectacular.

I feel successful largely because the work that I do benefits others directly. I am a consultant to goverment software projects to help them work efficiently (very tough!). I get a lot of satisfaction out of the fact that my work isn't just to make me money, it's useful to others in a meaningful way. I work hard, but I set my own hours and can take vacations whenever I want. I spend part of each year in Thailand, which brings me satisfaction. I have a happy marriage and some good friends.

If my income were cut in half, I'd be just as happy. I enjoy growing my business, but it's not what drives me. Being successful means being happy with what you have today, now. People who are looking at the bottom line too much may never reach a point of satisfaction - they always think 'if I could make xxxxxx/year I would be happy' but that number slowly rises :)

Just my 2c.

[LeeD]

When money is the goal, no matter what income level you achieve, it will never be enough. I too am married with 2 small children (both beautiful girls - ages 4 & 5), and for me it is the freedom, time I can spend with my family (we live next door to our grandparents as well), and the joy I experience each day!

[Sagewing]

When money is the goal, no matter what income level you achieve, it will never be enough.

True!

[Cutter]

Hehe, no. I wish there were more people with the attitude of success being more than just an income. :)

Thats what I thought you meant! I might be wrong, but I suspect when you can enjoy what you are doing you end up making more (unless you get lazy.)

[Sagewing]

It's true, although sadly not always. I was a paramedic in a previous career and no matter how much I enjoyed it, the pay sucked. Cops, teachers, etc.

But I do agree with you in general> You do a better job when you are liking your work!

[vahsi000]

Hmm, my motivation for starting a business on the internet would be freedom to work whenever i want/ financial freedom (enough to pay my "future mortgage" and be able to buy a few gadgets now and then, like a new comp) and because i enjoy surfing the internet, like i would surf the net 20 hours a day if i was allowed (this also includes developing potential website / website designs)