As a competitor of Starscapes (my business name is not important because I am not here to advertise) I think that I can shed a perspective about this business, and starscapes that others may not have or see.
First, I must agree that their material is not the best, BUT, if a person were to follow what they do teach they can make money. Now, from what I have seen and observed, most of the people who buy into starscapes never really do anything with it. Is it starscapes fault? Well, maybe partially. They do leave a lot to the imagination in their instructions (I've been shown them by other unhappy "painters of dreams" of theirs. In fact, I have had probably 50 or 60 starscapes painters who have contacted me over the years in hopes that I would help them paint better murals. I asked them why they didn't call Joe... and they said that they had, but that his advice didn't help much. In the beginning (this is years ago) I would offer suggestions to these frustrated painters and they would get back to me with total excitement. They told me that what I had taught them had made all of the difference and they wondered why those suggestions weren't in the starscapes manual. I told them that I didn't know, but to please not share any of the suggestions with them. I mean, come on, they are a competitor.
The tools that Joe sends don't add up to a lot of money. But, what you are really paying for are his methods and techniques. Forget about the marketing crap that he teaches (though they do work), what you are paying for is the how-to of the murals.
Now, having said that, I should say that I have painted over many starscapes murals because they are so basic. But, I have also seen some that were actually pretty nice. BUt, they were done by painters who were actually painters (or muralists) before they got involved with Joe, so they had a clue about art. Most of Joe's customers are people who are looking for a magic business and I'm not sure they really understand that they need to work this like a real business because it is. Shoot, I've even trained a few people who just couldn't sell anything. I even tried talking them out of purchasing my instructions, but they just had to have them. Then, when they would complain that they couldn't get the murals to look good, I'd ask them how many "practice" murals they'd done? Most had never done more than one or two. To do a mural half way decently you need to paint at least 10 murals. Most people won't do that... and then they complain.
Is Joe's product over priced? I would say yes, but, a person can make good money even if they pay the high price if they will just stick with it and improve on what they are taught. THey need to look at their murals and think about what they can do to improve on them. Listen to customers comments and make changes. But, let me also say this... I know of a company that is in different hands now but used to be a good company. They used to charge $25,000 to $30,000 for similar training to what Joe teaches. I say similar because it was the same type of star murals. The difference is that they would teach a person to paint a nice mural and they would train their people to market the product correctly. So, while Joe's product may be overpriced, I'd have to say that when this other company was with the original owner... the $30,000 was a good deal and a person would probably make their investment back quicker then a person who bought into starscapes. But, again I have to say that a person who listens to their customers and makes corrections can actually learn to paint nice murals if they stick with it.
As for making $1500 a day> Well, it really is possible and that is actually a little under my average size job, but (and this is very important to understand), it won't happen every day. My average size job is between $1800 and $2500. I do a lot of $300 and $400 murals, but I also do a lot of $3000 to $6000 murals too. But, I have also worked on two things that are very important. They are, first, creating the best, most realistic murals possible and two, creating a company that is respected in the marketplace. To do that you need to take care of customers and always be honest with them. I never sell on hype. I try to educate my customers and then at times I tell them that I don;t think my murals would be the best thing for them. So, you really can make good money, but don't count on it every day. I probably paint ore murals in this industry than anyone else, and I charge more too, but I also have a lot of days between jobs. Here's an example of what can happen in this business. I had two jobs set up yesterday and set out in the morning to paint two small $200 mini-murals. By midnight I had painted 5 of them, with one of them being slightly larger. One customer had her single-mother daughter living downstairs with her little girl. When the daughter saw what I'd done for her mom... she just had to have one for herself. So, I painted it. Then, she asked me if I could also do one for her daughter. Sure... and I painted it. Then, I went to my second customers house and painted. His customer was there when I finished and was about to show him his new mural. So, the neighbor came in to see too. Actually, the neighbor thought that this customer was crazy for having stars painted on his ceiling. Well, 10 minutes after showing the mural to them, I was at the neighbors house setting up to paint there too. So, all in all it was a good day. Again, they were all small $200 murals (except one which was $300) so not bad.
It was mentioned that what Joe teaches can be found on the Internet. Trust me, even as bad as Joe's stuff is... what it found on the Internet is not even close. And, I have seen the $100, $300 and $500 trainings. They are not even close. They are people who have seen what Joe is doing with his concept (that Joe really didn't invent but is a great marketer of it) and they thought that they could come up with some techniques that they would tell people are similar to Starscapes but, in reality, are not. I have to laugh when I see some of the marketing that is on the Internet. Joe is full of so much hype that he shoots himself in the foot when people find out that they have to work this business. And, there are others out there offering their "solution to starscapes" that are just as full of it. I have seen what they all offer and none of them, to be honest, have a clue as to how to paint a realistic star mural that will have people in awe when they see it. But, Joe does have a decent product and so does the other company that I mentioned (even though they are in new hands now and not running the business very well).
I don't know if this has helped anyone, but I wanted to answer some of the remarks made by the poster here. So, do your homework and due diligence and find the good companies out there. If you search hard enough... you may find my business and I will tell it like it is. I will be honest with you and tell you that this can be a difficult business to be in, but it can also be a very good one too.
Here is some advice. Stay away from the $99 offers, the $200 offers and the other ones that promise that they can teach you the same thing that starscapes can. Overlook the cheap poster that starscapes sends... and just paint it. You will see that this can be a pretty cool product. Again, do your due diligence and find out all you can (who knows, you may even come across me) and then make an intelligent decision.
Oh, and here's a clue for you guys. If you wait long enough.. Joe usually drops his price quite a bit from where he starts. Just stay on his mailing list. Don't go for the payment plan that he offers. Just get him to come down on his price and pay him cash. Or, find me and I will train you right the first time (for under $3000). Oh, stop screaming about me charging $3000! I have checks that prove that you can make good money in this business. And, I am really only charging a little more than my average job size anyway. So, it's a great deal. Just get some of these other guys to show you checks that they've made from painting. Ask for proof. After all, that should be part of your due diligence.
Good luck. I hope this has helped and not confused anyone. Oh, and if I have a ton of misspelled words, sorry, I hate to proofread and besides, it's 3:30 AM and I need to get to sleep. :-)
