Joel Libava
That goofball, Matthew Lesko, almost had me.
You do know who Lesko is, right?
Matthew Lesko is the “Get Free Government Money” guy.
He’s an author. (Among other things)
Some of his book titles:
- Gobs and Gobs of Free Stuff
- Free Legal Help
- Free Stuff for Busy Moms!
- Free College and Training Money For Women
- Free Money and Help for Women Entrepreneurs
- Free Money For Your Retirement
- Free Money To Change Your Life
- Free Money To Pay Your Bills
- Free Money To Get A Better Home
- Free Money To Quit Your Job
- Free Money for Entrepreneurs
What an amazing collection of titles!
Order Now!
Are you tempted to click away from this post-and grab his books?
Really?
C’mon.
Aren’t you curious?
Don’t you deserve to get your hands on some free government money for your franchise?
Free Government Money For A Franchise
It’s not there.
It never was.
It never will be.
(Available to you.)
Or me.
Would you like to know why?
Because it’s just words.
It’s a marketing ploy.
Matthew Lesko is a marketer.
Some say a great one.
I’m not one of them.
Great marketing is only great if the promise stated upfront comes through when the purchase is made.
Consumer Protection
In 2004, the New York State Consumer Protection Board issued a statement (and a press release) concerning Lesko, accusing him of “Exaggerating and taking advantage of downtrodden consumers.” The office pointed out that Lesko’s book isn’t a scam, but that advertising for the book includes “wild exaggerations,”
In addition, the agency said that “Lesko is profiting from the false notion that the government has billions of dollars available to help people pay their credit-card bills and other expenses, and this is due, in part, to the exaggerations and misleading claims spread by Matthew Lesko and the nationwide network of Lesko distributors.”
And, still, his business exists.
Read the entire article about Lesko here.
Distributors.
Lesko Just Contacted Me
He filled out a form on the website that you’re on right now.
“My name is Matthew and I am thinking maybe I can contribute content to your blog. I show people how to take advantage of government programs and have written over 100 books on the subject. Two of the books made the New York Times best sellers list and I’ve written columns for Good Housekeeping Magazine and the New York Times Syndicate. I have also been very successful on the Home Shopping Network and television infomercials. “
I met him a couple of years ago.
I was a panelist for the GrowSmartBiz event in Washington DC, and Lesko was in attendance.
I could let him write a few guest posts, I guess. I could join his distribution network as an affiliate.
I could make a few bucks by doing so.
And, with future college expenses looming on the not so distant horizon (we just made our 1st formal college visit) I was tempted to join up.
Update: College is happening now.
Amazing.
I even spent 10 minutes on his main website—just to “see.”
But, it’s just not me. It never was. It never will be.
That’s because I’m not in the game of offering things that don’t exist.
But, why did I almost fall for it?
The Question
9 times out of 10, when I do presentations on franchising, I’m asked this question:
“What about those government grants that I hear about all the time? Can I get one?”
My answer:
“There aren’t any. Erase that thought from your memory cells.”
You need to do the same.
Top image courtesy of Exeter, Devon, UK by freemoneyday, on Flickr
Lesko image courtesy of Nakeva, on Flickr
