Mike Dillard & Robert Hirsch have a problem - they've seem to forgotten how non-millionaires get started from nothing.
That's where their Elevation Income starts off - with a gap you have to fill yourself. Like you have to bring your own ladder to the fire, as the firemen always start with the 2nd or 3rd story and have no way to reach the ground.
In typical launch format these days, they laid out most of their system in the second video. Here's an analysis I did while waiting for the launch itself to open:
Notes from Video 2: Nuts and Bolts
a. 3 part-formula to successful businesses:
- Product or service needs to solve a problem (avoid pain.)
- Identify an elegant solution (simple, fast, and inexpensive as possible.)
- Acquire a “rain-making” skill. “Only one skill away from a million dollars.” As long as that skill generates customers.
Step 1: The Problem
- There was no blueprint to prevent 2008 losses.
- Turned his passion for finding out into a product he could share with others.
Step 2: The Elegant Solution
- Experience with starting up home businesses
- Gives recurring income (membership)
- Up and running in less than 90 days.
- Wanted +$100K/month
- Lack of Expertise – which gave the solution: an online diary to share interviews with experts (become a tour guide.)
1000 customers at $97/mo. = 100K/month
Already had the rainmaking skill of copywriting.
Step 3: The Skill
- Online Marketing
- Simple + Valuable
First video produced 8,769 customers in first week. JV with 50% commission. Single best way to kick off a business.
In next 12 months, it produced over $10 million in additional income.
Virtual distribution channel: 385,000 in their list to start with (note: not from scratch...)
The Wealthy's #1 Advantage: Being able to generate cash on demand through a business.
Rules for a Simple Business:
- KISS
- Low-cost
- Keep it standard (non-proprietary)
Online services they use.
- Shopping cart – Infusionsoft $400/mo.
- Clickbank - $47/mo.
- Email service – iContact or Aweber
- Lead/Landing pages – Leadpages.net
- Hosting account – GoDaddy ($15/year)
- Membership Site – Kajabi ($100/mo.)
And then register a corporation (LLC) via LegalZoom. ($150)
(Note: what wasn't mentioned is found on Infusionsoft's website - that you have to fork over $1997 as an initial set-up fee. )
So you can't get there from here...
You have to start out with being able to cover $430 a month (or around $200 for Clickbank.)
As I said, these guys have been millionaires so long, they've forgotten what it's like to start from scratch.
Sure, get their videos and study them. But digest them with a Biblical grain of salt.
You are going to need:
- A web presence. Domain name and hosting. $10/mo, plus $14 annually.
- A membership site - Elevation group uses Wishlist and Wordpress. $97 once.
- An email service - AWeber or almost any will do. $20/mo.
- A shopping cart - PayPal will do to start with, in many cases. $0 (but they'll take their fees from sales.)
Yes, you should actually set up the LLC before you start anything, since a lot of the registrations will need your EIN (Employer Identification Number) for the IRS W-9 - but this can usually be shifted over later. That's at least a $150 LegalZoom cost, or similar.
The barebones/from-scratch cost for this: $111 ($360) to start, and $30 a month from there.
Now, that doesn't mean you'll have a quality scene going, but is the non-millionaire way to get started.
I found in research (Google: "kajabi alternatives") that Nanacast promises to do the shopping cart, email, and membership all in one - for $97/mo.
Did Mike Dillard forget what he was teaching over at Magnetic Sponsoring?
There, he taught the "funded proposal" which was a way you got a home business to pay for your network marketing expenses - including all the advertising, auto-ship, monthly web-hosting, etc.
You got the business started with a very small investment, then bootstrapped this into your major income by getting all these sponsors onto their own auto-ship and also duplicating the scene you set up. That's where your wealth started happening with his MS system.
Given, that you are telling them to push Magnetic Sponsoring, which meant you got around a 40% commission on everything they bought through Dillard. But it's better than setting it up yourself.
In Elevation Income, he (partially) pulls back the curtains so you can learn how to set up a membership site like he did.
In this, he starts telling you how he actually made his millions. Yes, it's duplicable, but you have to read carefully between the lines.
I've gone through his written lessons several times now, and not gotten through all his long videos - so I'm sure more details will show up. But the point is in finding out how to do this. And how to do it from scratch - like all us non-millionaires have to do.
What Actually Made Dillard His Millions.
- Copywriting skills
- Sales Funnel on a Membership backend
- Product Launch Formula
That's really it.
The great part is that you can do all of the above with minimal outlay - as I've already covered.
In an afternoon, I was able to search and find and download 157 PDF's which covered some or most of the copywriting legends (hint: search for that phrase along with "filetype:PDF") and now I can study them.
Similarly for membership - Dillard does drop that tip of using WishList plug-in on a Wordpress backend. But there are many membership plug-in's out there.
All of Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula can be worked out from his various available video's, especially if you find one of his own launches ongoing - but the data is all out there. (I did that research and posted in on an update to "Just Publish: Ebook Creation for Indie Authors" so an author could use this data in launching a new book.)
His "rain-making" skills are touted as copyrighting. (I have much more to say about his 'alpha' ideas later.)
Logically, I can't see that you are going to get anywhere unless you know how to market your product and yourself. So investing some time daily to get through that load of PDF's (my next personal assignment) is a logical way to proceed.
Meanwhile, the membership scene can be started on any existing webhost. Cpanel hosting gives you wordpress for free - so it's just a hundred-buck one-time outlay.
Then scrape together how Jeff Walker does product launches and you'll be set.
- - - -
Well, it took awhile, but now you have the bottom line.
Yes, if you have the dough, then go ahead with the monthly expenses Dillard lays out.
Otherwise, follow his original plan of making your funded proposal pay for your business marketing costs - and prepare to spend the hours of any free time mastering copywriting and marketing basics. (I'll post my own list shortly for these...)
See you at the top.
