Module 1: The Big Dang Secrets 

In this opening module, Rich goes through the 'secrets' to making it big on the internet that most entrepreneurs don't know or skip over.

It's the ABC of the whole program, and it starts delivering immediately.

According to Rich, most people don't ever really get clear about what it is to be an entrepreneur.

And because of that, they make mistake after mistake.

This module is really all about making it clear what it is to be an entrepreneur, and what it really takes to be a successful one.

The most important aspect for any business and for any entrepreneur's livelihood is quickly achieving clarity about how your business works and why it works the way it does.

According to Rich:

• Clarity is a choice, not an accident or a gift.
• Clarity doesn't come to you -- you have to go to it.
• Each day you spend working without a sense of clarity is a step in the wrong direction for achieving your vision.
• Without conscious and directed action on your part, your business will stagnate and just drift along..

Rich says that clarity means taking full responsibility of what you do.

If you’re going to blame the challenges in your life or business on everyone else, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Once you take responsibility, you are able to do so much more:

When you take responsibility for everything in your business you can hold people accountable for their deliverables, as you should be doing.

Always have a clear image of your goals!

There are some key traits that you should be cultivating if you want to be an entrepreneur.

Rich lists 11:

• Action Orientation
• Resilience
• Provide Value
• Character & Competence
• Seeing Things As They Really Are
• Committed Yet Flexible
• Always On The Prowl For Talent
• Financial Discipline
• Good Time Management
• Make Tough Decisions
• Autonomous

If you manage to get better at any of these traits, you will be on your way to becoming a better entrepreneur.

Your business will benefit from this hugely, and both you and your clients are going to be happier as a result.

Another fundamental in the first module is the four-fold division of roles in a business.

You really want to be in the right one, doing the right things.

As you can see in the slide above, the Employee is the lowest position.

He is just interested in getting his job done.

The manager is more interested in efficiency and puts his focus on systems and structure.

He usually gets work done through others and knows who does what best.

The president, or business builder, is responsible for the vision and the direction of the business.

He keeps everyone focused on the goal and his overall job is to steer the business in the right direction.

Finally, the business owner views the business in itself as the product.

He sees how it compares to other businesses and how much it is worth.

He thinks macro.

This division is fundamental, because if you're a business owner, you wouldn't want to be doing the job of the employee.

Everyone has his own place in a well oiled business.

As time goes by, this should be your focus on the 4 areas of expertise:

Module 2: Isolating, Developing, & Profiting

This module is all about winning in your business.

Just what does winning mean in your business?

You can't please everyone, so you need to go ahead and forge your own goals and stick to them.

What works for you might not necessarily work for another entrepreneur, and you want to be divisive, and create a strong feeling for your brand.

Nobody likes lukewarm brands that try to appeal to everyone.

You end up appealing to no one.

In this graph Rich shows how to divide your career as an entrepreneur with success in mind:

The trick about getting ahead in business is finding out your competitive advantage.

Rich says a competitive advantage is 'an advantage that your company has relative to your competitors.

The source of the advantage is something your business does that is distinctive and difficult to replicate (core competency)'.

This comes from providing unique value by drawing on special areas of talent and strengths.

Of course, in the start up and initial growth phases you are the source for your core competencies.

Core competencies are the unique set of capabilities that a company develops in key areas:

• Superior quality 
• Customer service
• Responsiveness
• Innovation
• Team building
• Flexibility

If you can create an advantage in some of these core competencies, you have a good head-start with the competition.

Core competencies are made up of skills and expertise that enable your company to deliver exceptional value to your customers.

hey often involve an integrated system of capabilities that cannot easily be imitated by your competitors.

That's why management guru Peter Drucker came up with the mantra

'Do what you do best and outsource the rest'.

Focus on your core competencies and the rest, as they say, will come.

That's the way to make yourself unique from all other businesses around you.

Outsource the process that are not unique to your competitive advantage.

Do this because you wouldn't do a good job of it anyway, so why not hire the best.

Possibly the greatest knowledge bomb dropped by Rich in this module is that:

'A company must be viewed not only as a portfolio of products or services, but a portfolio of competencies as well.

Module 3: Generating Immediate Momentum

Brace yourself, cos the rubber is hitting the road in this module.

For gaining momentum Rich has gone really basic, so that everyone can understand.

It's all about the 3 circles and the BHAG.

It doesn't sound that basic put down like this, but let me explain:

Imagine three intersecting circles like in a Venn diagram.

The three circles represent

• What you are passionate about.
  
• What you think you could be the best in the world in.
  
• The Economic engine that drives your business.
  

What about the BHAG then??

Module 4: Your Mafia Offer

Cue Godfather music.

In this module, you're basically going to be taught how to create an offer so good that it can't be refused.

You won't even need to send in your goons to shoot anyone.

Rich goes through great detail to get it into your head that marketing and selling are two different beasts altogether.

Like Peter Drucker liked to say:

"The Aim Of Marketing Is To Make Selling Superfluous".

And he's right, you know.

Once you study your enemies' tactics, do the following:

• Understand their strategies so you can out-strategize them.
  
• Understand their tactics so you can out-maneuver them.
  
• Understand their value propositions so you can out-value them.
  

This is the only secure strategy to victory.

With competitive understanding, you are able to craft more appealing offers than the competition.

Identifying the value elements that are currently the basis for competition in your marketplace
will give you a deeper understanding of your marketplace than any of your competitors.

You will then value your offer against these three concepts:

• First is the ability to identify product opportunities. These products do not just solve existing problems, they also create possibilities for new experiences.
• The second is a heightened understanding of customer needs translated into actionable insights that define the product’s form and features. In order for products to be successful, they must have features and forms that consumers quickly recognize as useful, usable, and desirable.
• Third is a true integration of content, service, design, and marketing.

If your offer satisfies all these three categories and you are confident you can outplay competition, then you have yourself a winner.

And an offer they won't be able to refuse!

Module 5: The Most Powerful Strategies

Module 5 is all about business growth and finding the right business model for your business.

Rich lists only 2 factors as being fundamental to the growth of your business:

• Cost per acquisition.
  
• Lifetime customer value.
  

These are really the only two metrics you should be looking at, and if your lifetime customer value exceeds the cost per acquisition, then you'll always profit with your biz.

Sounds simple enough, right?

The problem comes when you have to acquire clients.

How is that done? What strategies should you employ?

Rich again lists three intersecting circles that form the core of client acquisition:

If you have these three basics down, you are going to profit:

• Always come up with new products and promotions.
  
• Increase conversion rate.
  
• Grow your average customer value.
  

In order to get into the profit zone, though, you need a good business model.

Rich follows Chesbrough and Rosenbloom's six way definition to explain business models:

1. Articulate the value proposition – the value created to users by using the product.
2. Identify the market segment – to whom and for what purpose is the product useful.
3. Define the value chain – the sequence of activities and information required to allow a company to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product or service.
4. Estimate the cost structure and profit potential – using the value chain and value proposition identified.
5. Describe the position of the firm with the value network – link suppliers, customers, complementors and competitors.
6. Formulate the competitive strategy – how will you gain and hold your competitive advantage over competitors or potential new entrants.

These six points are all you need to create a compelling business model that is going to put you ahead of the competition.

And the way Rich explains it all is crystal clear and really wants to make you start a business!

There are two main problems that you will have to face once your business model is up.

According to economist Joan Magretta,

"Business models need to pass two critical tests: the narrative test (the story doesn't make sense) or the numbers test (the profit & loss doesn't add up)."

You need to find a solid story that resonates with your potential clients, and you need to do it in a profitable way.

Ultimately, Rich sees 3 ways to increase profits while still addressing your clients in an engaging way:

• Continue To Provide More Benefits For Your Customers.
• Continue To Make It Easier And Easier To Start Doing Business With You.
• Continue To Develop New Distribution Channels.

By doing this, you'll be creating a great vehicle to convey your product to the right customers.

Module 6: Blasting Through Every Obstacle

If it all sounds so easy, why aren't more people entrepreneurs, you might be asking?

That's a good question that Rich tackles in module 6.

Here he goes through the various obstacles that you may find on your way.

But he also teaches you how to blast through them and carry on growing!

In this module, Rich asks very simple, but very important questions:

• What skills will your business need to reach your vision?
• What incentive do you have to achieve your vision?
• What resources will you need to achieve your vision?
• What steps must you take to achieve your vision?

To answer these legit questions that every biz owner has, he refers to Alan Larson's six tiered graph of what's missing in your business:

Once you figure out what is missing in your personal equation, you're going to be able to find a solution pretty quickly!

On top of this, Rich goes through the 7 ways you can help smash through your objectives.

• Planning.
• Necessary Elements For Success.
• The Importance Of Planning.
• Operating Plan.
• Marketing Plan.
• Product Plan.
• Financial Plan.

Planning requires systematically thinking through your entire business

This process equips your mind with tools necessary to handle obstacles that prevent you from achieving success.

So by planning you know what has not gone as planned.

Pretty smart, huh?

The way to success is having a clear mind in front of any obstacle you may find:

• Identify and decide how to overcome the obstacles to implementation.
• Layout an effective step-by-step plan for execution, including accountabilities and measures of success.
• Act with determination and perseverance to execute the plan.

Module 7: Metrics

As Bill Gates once said,

'How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose'.

It doesn't really matter how much money you're making:

If you don't have your numbers in check, there is no way you'll be able to sustain growth.

There is no way to know your business the way you need to, unless you know the numbers.

You really want to have your numbers at the tip of your fingers, because the world of business changes fast.

You'll have to get used to making decisions even faster.

This is what this module is all about: Keeping good metrics of your business.

This slide from Rich's course is exactly what I mean.

The data is from Rich's hypnosis center and this is the sort of calculation he had to make fast, to decide whether he could run an ad or not, for example.

You can clearly see he had all the numbers right where he needed them, when he needed them.

The average revenue, the closing rate, the booking/turn up ratio, the calls needed.

You want to know these numbers off by heart if you want your business to be successful.

The most common objection to getting your metrics in order is a lack of time.

If you're out hustling, who's got time to crunch the numbers, right?

Wrong.

Rich says that fewer things have a greater impact on achieving your business goals than measuring performance and knowing how you are doing in relation to your goals.

And he's obviously right.

It's pretty clear that lack of metrics is one of the chief obstacle to getting control of your business and releasing control to others.

Many entrepreneurs struggle have difficulties stepping away from aspects of their business because they have no external measurement other than gross sales to measure the performance of the business.

Therefore you should be using metrics that are:

• Easily measurable.
• Robust.
• Generally accepted.
• Linked to desired business outcomes.

In this way, it will be easier to find where the problem in your business is when it arises, and you'll be more able to make snap decisions.

Because you will know everything about your biz.

Module 8: Systemization

This module is all about creating systems that will make life easier for you in running your business.

It teaches how to fully understand the importance of systems in your business.

It also gives a great hand in identifying the areas of your business to systematize.

Here Rich is all about being able to develop and document the systems your business needs.

By the end of it you will have a system to fix the current problems in your business in a way that prevents them resurfacing in the future.

This is the golden module of the course, even if your business isn't raking in millions.

So what is a system anyway?

When you start your business all the systems reside in you.

You will be doing all the work, all the processes and taking on more responsibilities.

As your business grows you’ll begin to hand off more and more of the responsibilities.

You need to make sure that the entire system made up of people, processes, policies, key metrics, assets and strategies work together to meet the promise made to the customers, employees, and owners in a repeatable and predictable fashion.

But starting off with the system residing in you is not a bad thing at all!

As economist W Edwards Deming once said:

'If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you are doing'.

You need to know your business like clockwork before starting systemization.

When you think systematically you are able to correct business problems by creating a system that provides a solution.

By thinking systematically you deal with problems in a way that prevents them from resurfacing.

You own the overall system which is where your primary focus should be.

Every process you own in your business is another responsibility that ties you into working inside the business instead of on it.

Module 9: Project Management

In this module you will have all the tools at your disposal to better understand project management.

You will understand why project management is your business.

And you'll be able to manage multiple projects, balance workloads, and create an environment where things get done.

Rich teaches you how to recognize a great project manager and how to increase the effectiveness and output of your staff and vendors.

This is basically where all the previous 8 modules come together and you learn how to apply all that Rich has taught you so far:

So, if you want to be a good project manager, surely you have to know what a project is first, right?

A project is:

• Temporary (as opposed to ongoing) Goal-directed.
•  Beginning, End.
•  Unique, One Time.
• Performed by People.
• Constrained by Resources.

A project consists of a specified amount of small jobs and ends with an output or
end product(s).

Of course, there will be a documented execution schedule of the project’s task.

And of course you will have to keep track of the metrics that your process gives you.

And in case you still have no clue, this chart will help you see if your project is successful or not.

In this module, Rich gives out the three commandments of project managing:

Three Commandments Of Project Management:

1. Thou shall not exceed scope of work!
2. Thou shall not miss deadlines! 
3. Thou shall not blow budgets!

Follow these, and you should be alright, even if going through the whole module yourself would definitely help!

Rich also gives the traits of a solid project manager:

How many of these traits do you have?

• Must be able to make decisions with insufficient info.
• Must be willing to seek acceptable solutions rather than perfect ones.
• Think like a generalist -think about the big picture and pay attention to everything and everybody.
• Be known as doing what you say you’ll do.
• Process oriented.

Module 10: Assembling Your Business

This module is all about assembling your perfect work team.

There will come a time in which you will have to delegate.

You won't be able to do all by yourself.

That's where Rich comes in, teaching you how to:

• Learn to recognize your company’s resource needs.
• Learn how to decide whether to hire internally or whether to outsource.
• How to assemble and manage a virtual team Learn the rules to guide your team.
• Recruiting techniques - where to find great employees, vendors and partner.
• Pinpoint where to start and what positions to fill.
• How to manage and motivate your team.

Building a profitable biz on your own will sooner or later become unsustainable.

You will have to recruit specialists who you trust to do their own thing and maximize their area of expertise in your business.

Where are you on that journey right now?

As Rich says, even online... no man, woman, or business is an island to themselves..

To quote Margaret Mead:

'Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the World. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has'.

Surrounding yourself with a group of talented and hungry people is the best way for you to make your business go to the moon.

So, how should you go about this?

Again, Rich has pages and pages of incredible suggestions for you:

You need to identify your company’s core competencies.

• Hire internally for your core competencies- any job that needs to be done in-house.
• Outsource jobs that make you money, or free you up to make more than you would doing it in-house. Leverage.
• Outsource to make your company stronger and better at what it does.

Of course, before you can go out and find you’re the people you need to know which job responsibilities you will be delegating.

Knowing this information will help you evaluate potential clients better and increase the chances of finding the ideal candidate.

Remember the better job you do here the more likely it will be you’ll be successful.

So you need to make sure you don’t rush into anything.

Keep in mind it's not easy to find and hire good people, but it's always worth the time and effort that it takes.

Module 11:Your Well Oiled Machine

The final module is one I really loved.

In it, Rich tries to bring all together and turn your business into the well-oiled machine of the title.

We all know that the biggest constraint for many people is what they choose to ignore (because they are in denial or they rationalize by saying they are too busy).

That's why you should always try to face the facts of your situation.

Being honest with yourself is not only the best policy, but it can save you big bucks down the line.

The ultimate choice you will have to face is:

'Would you rather have the results you want in life, or the reason you haven’t gotten them?'

• Be More True To Yourself In Your Business. Don’t Try To Be Something You Are Not.
• Find a mirror and take a long, hard look at yourself.
• You have to work hard to see and hear the truth about yourself.

You should learn how to do more by doing less and using time better:

Entrepreneurs who do less but do more of the right things are more effective.

Have you been lying to yourself?

"If only I get to the end of this project, this campaign, this week, this month, (or whatever else you tell yourself), then I’ll..."

• Spend more time with my family
• Have more time to think
• Leave the office earlier
• Be less busy
• Enjoy myself

Rich suggests you try and answer these questions and be really honest about it all:

Finally Rich reminds us that among the characteristics you need to succeed, nothing is more important than endurance.

Getting to the top - succeeding at the highest level possible - means undergoing pain.

That's why you should look at your own situation and:

• think of what you have done and what you have failed to do - ask yourself why?
• review your life goals - ask yourself honestly what pain you fear.
• start today by picking something important that you are not getting around to doing.

There are so much more quality concepts and ideas that Rich develops in this module, it's crazy.

It really forces you to give a hard look at yourself and to take action.

Only in this way will your biz turn into a well oiled machine and perform at the top level!