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Anything related to matters of the mind

KrisRomer

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Hi Kris,


Really glad for you on that one & keep going!

I wanted to ask more for a friend who's worked on his 2 man marketing agency as well. He;s had issues with mantaining positive cash flow against the workload he built up with the same number of clients as you did.He does however charge upfront and maybe slightly higher fees.

Do you reckon that's a bad model compared to monthly Service Charges?

OR what could you recommend to do instead? He's had trouble mantaining that and he's had to fire his 1 employee but ld really like to help him with some genuine information to keep doign what he's doing much like you.


I'm working on a different sector/industry and I don't know as much about your space
I just charge clients monthly on the same day (the first), because it's easy to maintain order in my head lol. I do have some monthly expenses at the end of each month, so that's why I charge my clients on the first day of the month.

Could you explain in more detail what payment system your friend uses? Do you mean that he only charges his clients a one-time fee? Sorry, don't want to give wrong answers!
 
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alexkuzmov

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Hey everyone. I read the millionaire fastlane about a month and a half ago, and it changed my life. Once I finished the book I joined the forum, and well...here's my story.

I'm 16 years old, and before reading the book I was working as a server in a restaurant making minimum wage. I always had a touch of entrepreneurship in me, when I was 12 I started reselling shoes (and still do) and was always eager to make more money and scale.

After reading the book I started looking into a business model that appealed to me, and that I was good at. Digital marketing came my way within two days. Since then I have been running a two-man agency, and I've signed 5 clients and signing a new one in the coming days.

We have a client acquisition system that works really well, so we get paid between $1,000-$1,500 per client per month. At the moment I am making well over $5,500/month at 16.

This isn't a thread to brag, but I'm just trying to say that even if you think you don't have any skills or knowledge, you can still make it with the right mindset. I didn't know ANYTHING about digital marketing, but I put in the hours and grinded my a$$ off and here I am.

Now, for some of you here $5k/month is nothing, but for me it's huge. I went from making $200-$300/month busting my balls to making as much as my parents.

So, the point of my story is that nothing is impossible.

For the next few months, I will start scaling my agency and possibly even hire people so that I don't have to carry the heavy load.

And I know a service-based business model isn't Fastlane according to the book, but I'm loving the journey so far and am not stopping anytime
So a month and half ago you finished the first book and within two days you had an "agency" running?
Not only that but you went from 0 knowledge on digital marketing, being a server, to getting 5 clients that pay you over 1000 per month?
With some unspecified client aquisition system?
A month and half being less than 2, means a single payment in any case.

I call bullshit
 

KrisRomer

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So a month and half ago you finished the first book and within two days you had an "agency" running?
Not only that but you went from 0 knowledge on digital marketing, being a server, to getting 5 clients that pay you over 1000 per month?
With some unspecified client aquisition system?
A month and half being less than 2, means a single payment in any case.

I call bullshit
I didn't have my agency up within 2 days - but I was doing a lot of work on it. Within a week I had all the practical issues set up + I had started testing my client acquisition system. I was doing outreach around day 5, and I did a lot. I signed my first client two weeks after starting, and after that, I signed my second client a week after through referral. My offer was/is that they sign the contract and pay upfront for the first time, then pay on the first of each month afterward. I leveraged my contractor's media buyers' case studies to get my clients. You can do a lot more work than you think, and I was very motivated & focused.

Thanks for your message!
 

Saad Khan

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Do you outsource, I want to get clients for web design but I'm not sure
I don't outsource Amazon Ads management. You really can't outsource it cause it doesn't have an one-size-fits-all solution.

Actually, this idea never crossed my mind. I'll see if I can work out a deal like that in my niche since you mentioned outsourcing media buying.
 
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The One

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Hey everyone. I read the millionaire fastlane about a month and a half ago, and it changed my life. Once I finished the book I joined the forum, and well...here's my story.

I'm 16 years old, and before reading the book I was working as a server in a restaurant making minimum wage. I always had a touch of entrepreneurship in me, when I was 12 I started reselling shoes (and still do) and was always eager to make more money and scale.

After reading the book I started looking into a business model that appealed to me, and that I was good at. Digital marketing came my way within two days. Since then I have been running a two-man agency, and I've signed 5 clients and signing a new one in the coming days.

We have a client acquisition system that works really well, so we get paid between $1,000-$1,500 per client per month. At the moment I am making well over $5,500/month at 16.

This isn't a thread to brag, but I'm just trying to say that even if you think you don't have any skills or knowledge, you can still make it with the right mindset. I didn't know ANYTHING about digital marketing, but I put in the hours and grinded my a$$ off and here I am.

Now, for some of you here $5k/month is nothing, but for me it's huge. I went from making $200-$300/month busting my balls to making as much as my parents.

So, the point of my story is that nothing is impossible.

For the next few months, I will start scaling my agency and possibly even hire people so that I don't have to carry the heavy load.

And I know a service-based business model isn't Fastlane according to the book, but I'm loving the journey so far and am not stopping anytime soon!
Wow my brother, WOW! I am super happy for your bro! I am 17yrs old, I've only done something recently. But, any tips and tricks you have. Please do send them towards us.
 
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constant

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I didn't have my agency up within 2 days - but I was doing a lot of work on it. Within a week I had all the practical issues set up + I had started testing my client acquisition system. I was doing outreach around day 5, and I did a lot. I signed my first client two weeks after starting, and after that, I signed my second client a week after through referral. My offer was/is that they sign the contract and pay upfront for the first time, then pay on the first of each month afterward. I leveraged my contractor's media buyers' case studies to get my clients. You can do a lot more work than you think, and I was very motivated & focused.

Thanks for your message!
How do you handle contracts and billing? I thought minors couldn't sign contracts, especially b2b ones.
 

DCG

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How do you handle contracts and billing? I thought minors couldn't sign contracts, especially b2b ones.
That's what I want to know, do you use paypal, cashapp, etc
 

KrisRomer

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That's what I want to know, do you use paypal, cashapp, etc
I've been registered in the Chamber of Commerce, so I can sign them with authority of my guardians + I use stripe.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Congrats on doing some great things at such a young age. So impressive. Glad the book turned you from employee to employer.
 

DCG

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Congrats on doing some great things at such a young age. So impressive. Glad the book turned you from employee to employer.
For real I'm just so inspired by this post
 

k1bigboss

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Thật xấu hổ khi đọc câu chuyện của bạn và nhìn lại chính mình. Điều gì đã khiến bạn hành động như vậy? Chúc may mắn, Điều này thúc đẩy tôi rất nhiều, cảm ơn bạn!
 
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perchboy

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Very impressive bro.

Are you still in school?

What has changed in your life now that you’re making that much money?
 

AayushT8999

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Hey everyone. I read the millionaire fastlane about a month and a half ago, and it changed my life. Once I finished the book I joined the forum, and well...here's my story.

I'm 16 years old, and before reading the book I was working as a server in a restaurant making minimum wage. I always had a touch of entrepreneurship in me, when I was 12 I started reselling shoes (and still do) and was always eager to make more money and scale.

After reading the book I started looking into a business model that appealed to me, and that I was good at. Digital marketing came my way within two days. Since then I have been running a two-man agency, and I've signed 5 clients and signing a new one in the coming days.

We have a client acquisition system that works really well, so we get paid between $1,000-$1,500 per client per month. At the moment I am making well over $5,500/month at 16.

This isn't a thread to brag, but I'm just trying to say that even if you think you don't have any skills or knowledge, you can still make it with the right mindset. I didn't know ANYTHING about digital marketing, but I put in the hours and grinded my a$$ off and here I am.

Now, for some of you here $5k/month is nothing, but for me it's huge. I went from making $200-$300/month busting my balls to making as much as my parents.

So, the point of my story is that nothing is impossible.

For the next few months, I will start scaling my agency and possibly even hire people so that I don't have to carry the heavy load.

And I know a service-based business model isn't Fastlane according to the book, but I'm loving the journey so far and am not stopping anytime soon!
Can You teach Me about your business idea? I am 17
 

eamonmcshane

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Hey everyone. I read the millionaire fastlane about a month and a half ago, and it changed my life. Once I finished the book I joined the forum, and well...here's my story.

I'm 16 years old, and before reading the book I was working as a server in a restaurant making minimum wage. I always had a touch of entrepreneurship in me, when I was 12 I started reselling shoes (and still do) and was always eager to make more money and scale.

After reading the book I started looking into a business model that appealed to me, and that I was good at. Digital marketing came my way within two days. Since then I have been running a two-man agency, and I've signed 5 clients and signing a new one in the coming days.

We have a client acquisition system that works really well, so we get paid between $1,000-$1,500 per client per month. At the moment I am making well over $5,500/month at 16.

This isn't a thread to brag, but I'm just trying to say that even if you think you don't have any skills or knowledge, you can still make it with the right mindset. I didn't know ANYTHING about digital marketing, but I put in the hours and grinded my a$$ off and here I am.

Now, for some of you here $5k/month is nothing, but for me it's huge. I went from making $200-$300/month busting my balls to making as much as my parents.

So, the point of my story is that nothing is impossible.

For the next few months, I will start scaling my agency and possibly even hire people so that I don't have to carry the heavy load.

And I know a service-based business model isn't Fastlane according to the book, but I'm loving the journey so far and am not stopping anytime soon!
Where is it you learnt the above in order to implement and what now are you doing to maintain it?
 
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JAJT

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Not GoHighLevel by any chance?

@Andy Black

Okay now I'm curious - is using GoHighLevel a good or bad thing in your opinion?

I just watched the intro video on their website and it looks pretty darn slick. The epitome of selling shovels in a gold rush.
 

Andy Black

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@Andy Black

Okay now I'm curious - is using GoHighLevel a good or bad thing in your opinion?

I just watched the intro video on their website and it looks pretty darn slick. The epitome of selling shovels in a gold rush.
We don't use it ourselves but agencies we've whitelabelled to do.

@DrWumbo ... your thoughts on GHL?
 

DarkZero

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I use GHL for clients. It's great. They all love it.

It's just a combo of clickfunnels, activecampaign, messaging for social platforms, content scheduling, survey, calendar, and other software. It's nothing new. Just saves a bunch of subscriptions and allows you to combine them altogether and adds for easier integration.

Lots of white label partners out there honestly.

But if a client of mine already has a system that's working for them, I won't make them switch. I'll just have my team optimize what they already have. Sometimes the standalone software is just better rather than having an all-in-one. For others, the all-in-one like GHL is a great solution.

And to OP. Kudos to you. Wish I had your tenacity when was your age. I didn't get my first digital marketing client until my early 20s. Scale that thing up and exit or take the cashflow and leverage it into something else. You're on a roll!
 
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Andy Black

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We don't use GHL for clients. I did look at it but it seemed overcomplicated for what we do.


Someone searches on Google for "blacksmiths dublin" (or whatever).

Our ad says "Dublin Blacksmiths | Call Now".

Our landing page says:

Dublin Blacksmiths
  • We make swords and armour.
  • Free delivery throughout Dublin and Ireland.
  • Contact us now for a free estimate
< Tap To Call 123 4567 890 >
< Contact Us >


They either ring our client direct and we track clicks on the tap-to-call button or use something like CallRail to track actual calls (plus clicks on the button).

Or they send a message directly to the client's email (we track clicks on the button and the form completions).

Pretty simple.
 

DarkZero

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We don't use GHL for clients. I did look at it but it seemed overcomplicated for what we do.


Someone searches on Google for "blacksmiths dublin" (or whatever).

Our ad says "Dublin Blacksmiths | Call Now".

Our landing page says:

Dublin Blacksmiths
  • We make swords and armour.
  • Free delivery throughout Dublin and Ireland.
  • Contact us now for a free estimate
< Tap To Call 123 4567 890 >
< Contact Us >


They either ring our client direct and we track clicks on the tap-to-call button or use something like CallRail to track actual calls (plus clicks on the button).

Or they send a message directly to the client's email (we track clicks on the button and the form completions).

Pretty simple.
Yeah honestly that's all you need. No reason to overcomplicate it for clients.

GHL has some other stuff we do to integrate with social media, email and lead gen and plugging that into their overall sales pipeline if they just want an main suite. But for the most part, I don't recommend it to most clients unless they really want it or they're at a stage when they can benefit from it.

It's great toolkit. But it's just a toolkit. People can build super profitable amazing businesses without it.
 

DrWumbo

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We don't use it ourselves but agencies we've whitelabelled to do.

@DrWumbo ... your thoughts on GHL?
GHL is amazing IF you have a need for it. I wouldn't just get it to "have it".

We use it for all of our clients to track leads, record calls, put up landing pages, track conversion rates, revenue generated, review generation, etc.
 
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Mashal 7

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Hey everyone. I read the millionaire fastlane about a month and a half ago, and it changed my life. Once I finished the book I joined the forum, and well...here's my story.

I'm 16 years old, and before reading the book I was working as a server in a restaurant making minimum wage. I always had a touch of entrepreneurship in me, when I was 12 I started reselling shoes (and still do) and was always eager to make more money and scale.

After reading the book I started looking into a business model that appealed to me, and that I was good at. Digital marketing came my way within two days. Since then I have been running a two-man agency, and I've signed 5 clients and signing a new one in the coming days.

We have a client acquisition system that works really well, so we get paid between $1,000-$1,500 per client per month. At the moment I am making well over $5,500/month at 16.

This isn't a thread to brag, but I'm just trying to say that even if you think you don't have any skills or knowledge, you can still make it with the right mindset. I didn't know ANYTHING about digital marketing, but I put in the hours and ground my a$$ off and here I am.

Now, for some of you here $5k/month is nothing, but for me it's huge. I went from making $200-$300/month busting my balls to making as much as my parents.

So, the point of my story is that nothing is impossible.

For the next few months, I will start scaling my agency and possibly even hire people so that I don't have to carry the heavy load.

And I know a service-based business model isn't Fastlane according to the book, but I'm loving the journey so far and am not stopping anytime soon!
Congrats mate! Best of wishes for your upcoming plans. Can you mention the resources you went through to learn digital marketing, agency creation, and to improve cold outreach?

Would be helpful!
 

Paul David

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Great job Kris. If I was you I'd get some more clients to help build up cash and then pivot to Saas using GHL.

Much longer retention and easier business model. Plus higher sales value if you ever come to sell the business.

That's what I've done.
 
D

Deleted88861

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I've been using GHL since they began, nothing shady about them.
They are using guys like Billy Gene to promote and endorse them who is a massive online marketing fraudster, also hiring him as a Keynote speaker. GHL really do come across as a cult as well, have a look at their videos from events etc.

Those are my main concerns about this company and the fact that there are other companies offering very similar services for significantly lower prices also concerns me, these companies can also be integrated.

Thats just my own view of course, if you want to put across why you personally would rather stick with them over anyone else I'd love to know, I could be wrong about them so I'm interested in what you would have to say on your experiences with the company. I'm not so keen but if there's something I have missed maybe you can help me to understand?
 

DarkZero

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They are using guys like Billy Gene to promote and endorse them who is a massive online marketing fraudster, also hiring him as a Keynote speaker. GHL really do come across as a cult as well, have a look at their videos from events etc.

Those are my main concerns about this company and the fact that there are other companies offering very similar services for significantly lower prices also concerns me, these companies can also be integrated.

Thats just my own view of course, if you want to put across why you personally would rather stick with them over anyone else I'd love to know, I could be wrong about them so I'm interested in what you would have to say on your experiences with the company. I'm not so keen but if there's something I have missed maybe you can help me to understand?

GHL's way of marketing has no effect on the product. I've never seen any of their marketing. But using Billy Gene and "cult-like" events is just a form of marketing. They learned it from Russell Brunson who executed that incredibly. That has no effect on if the product is good or not. If the product isn't good, people will stop using it. I'm sure there churn rate isn't 0%. Obviously it's not for everyone. But just because they market like Clickfunnels doesn't make them a bad product. I only care if the product is good.

Marketing does not = product. The product still has to be good. No amount of marketing will save a product. And I have many clients who are happy with GHL after transitioning from Clickfunnels and other similar software because those products were not good for their specific needs. Just because one thing works for someone doesn't mean it will be relevant for someone else.

But maybe there is a new competitor to GHL that covers everything that you can share?
 
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D

Deleted88861

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GHL's way of marketing has no effect on the product. I've never seen any of their marketing. But using Billy Gene and "cult-like" events is just a form of marketing. They learned it from Russell Brunson who executed that incredibly. That has no effect on if the product is good or not. If the product isn't good, people will stop using it. I'm sure there churn rate isn't 0%. Obviously it's not for everyone. But just because they market like Clickfunnels doesn't make them a bad product. I only care if the product is good.

Marketing does not = product. The product still has to be good. No amount of marketing will save a product. And I have many clients who are happy with GHL after transitioning from Clickfunnels and other similar software because those products were not good for their specific needs. Just because one thing works for someone doesn't mean it will be relevant for someone else.

But maybe there is a new competitor to GHL that covers everything that you can share?
That's fair enough, if people are enjoying using their all-in-one type service then fair enough.

This is my opinion and you are completely welcome to disagree of course.

Here are some minor issues I have with GHL:
There are more than a few people on Reddit saying that either they or the company they work for used GHL or either still do but are looking for alternatives to switch to. Apparently there are a number of bugs with the platform and some people are being hounded daily by GHL colleagues to upgrade despite unsubscribing from any email marketing, that was something I found interesting in and of itself. But hey, if that's the minority then fair enough, if they provide the service that they promise then fair play, the whole Reddit thing for me isn't too much of a big deal, no company is perfect, whatever.

Now onto some of the bigger issues:
The main reasons I personally won't be using GHL is due to their affiliation with figures such as Billy Gene and the way they appear to inflate their prices in comparison to other places such as Zapier & Hubspot. Yes, the service might be absolutely fine, but overall I wouldn't want to risk doing business with a company like GHL based on how they present themselves to their customers and their affiliation with the online guru space.

Again, just my view here but ethics come into it and for my business when dealing with other businesses, I don't want to risk my clients discovering that I'm using a service provided by a company who conducts their marketing in a shady manner, it would begin to raise some red flags around me and my own business operations, it's not worth the extra risk of headaches and hassle, but the price is also inflated. Of course the risk is minimal, but I'm not going to get involved in that rabbit hole of MLM-operating businesses.

I get that using GHL can be convenient as its basically everything all in the one platform and ready to go, but I would rather take some more time to work on systems, pay less money and integrate tools into Zapier and be happy that these companies are taking far more ethical approaches to business than to risk dealing with a company who associates themselves with a guy who stole a load of cash from his customers and ran.


GHL & MLM...
GHL are really living on the edge of their MLM being categorised as a pyramid scheme and here's why -

They do appear to be driving sales, but if the majority of their revenue comes from affiliate links then you could certainly have a conversation around the legality of how much of the revenue they bring in is being determined by other affiliate marketers, it's very shady regardless of the product they provide. What adds to this is the fact that people are actively titling YouTube tutorials around GHL being great for MLM. Something to keep in mind thought not exactly illegal.

The questions could be around how much of their revenue stream comes from other affiliate marketers compared to other areas such as their lead gen conversion revenue from running ads, google etc. Through their affiliate program, they are also living on the edge again, subtly recruiting affiliates without technically recruiting them. MLM-Pyramid scheme territory due to what would appear to be a massive emphasis on affiliate revenue and subtle recruiting of affiliate marketers. If they were not selling their service/software it would be a full scale pyramid scheme, but it's also important (as I said above) to be aware of how much of their revenue is coming from recruiting affiliates in comparison to the actual sales of their services.

It's all very shady at the end of the day, but it's up to each individual if they want to do business with a company whose foundations are built from a shady model. Thats subjective.

My overall issue with GHL, Clickfunnels and these types of companies is how they go about their marketing in shady, cult-like ways and how they associate themselves with an already scummy industry in online money making courses (not all courses), life coaches etc that sell false hope to vulnerable audiences, GHL are affiliating themselves with a lot of people like these self-proclaimed experts or "gurus" whilst standing on the edge of MLM-Pyramid scheme territory.

One of the risks GHL's customers could face one day is the company going AWOL and off the radar once they've made their money from recruiting affiliates, this happens A LOT with companies operating similar business models. Something to be wary of again in terms of longevity.
 
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ZackerySprague

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That's fair enough, if people are enjoying using their all-in-one type service then fair enough.

This is my opinion and you are completely welcome to disagree of course.

Here are some minor issues I have with GHL:
There are more than a few people on Reddit saying that either they or the company they work for used GHL or either still do but are looking for alternatives to switch to. Apparently there are a number of bugs with the platform and some people are being hounded daily by GHL colleagues to upgrade despite unsubscribing from any email marketing, that was something I found interesting in and of itself. But hey, if that's the minority then fair enough, if they provide the service that they promise then fair play, the whole Reddit thing for me isn't too much of a big deal, no company is perfect, whatever.

Now onto some of the bigger issues:
The main reasons I personally won't be using GHL is due to their affiliation with figures such as Billy Gene and the way they appear to inflate their prices in comparison to other places such as Zapier & Hubspot. Yes, the service might be absolutely fine, but overall I wouldn't want to risk doing business with a company like GHL based on how they present themselves to their customers and their affiliation with the online guru space.

Again, just my view here but ethics come into it and for my business when dealing with other businesses, I don't want to risk my clients discovering that I'm using a service provided by a company who conducts their marketing in a shady manner, it would begin to raise some red flags around me and my own business operations, it's not worth the extra risk of headaches and hassle, but the price is also inflated. Of course the risk is minimal, but I'm not going to get involved in that rabbit hole of MLM-operating businesses.

I get that using GHL can be convenient as its basically everything all in the one platform and ready to go, but I would rather take some more time to work on systems, pay less money and integrate tools into Zapier and be happy that these companies are taking far more ethical approaches to business than to risk dealing with a company who associates themselves with a guy who stole a load of cash from his customers and ran.


GHL & MLM...
GHL are really living on the edge of their MLM being categorised as a pyramid scheme and here's why -

They do appear to be driving sales, but if the majority of their revenue comes from affiliate links then you could certainly have a conversation around the legality of how much of the revenue they bring in is being determined by other affiliate marketers, it's very shady regardless of the product they provide. What adds to this is the fact that people are actively titling YouTube tutorials around GHL being great for MLM. Something to keep in mind thought not exactly illegal.

The questions could be around how much of their revenue stream comes from other affiliate marketers compared to other areas such as their lead gen conversion revenue from running ads, google etc. Through their affiliate program, they are also living on the edge again, subtly recruiting affiliates without technically recruiting them. MLM-Pyramid scheme territory due to what would appear to be a massive emphasis on affiliate revenue and subtle recruiting of affiliate marketers. If they were not selling their service/software it would be a full scale pyramid scheme, but it's also important (as I said above) to be aware of how much of their revenue is coming from recruiting affiliates in comparison to the actual sales of their services.

It's all very shady at the end of the day, but it's up to each individual if they want to do business with a company whose foundations are built from a shady model. Thats subjective.

My overall issue with GHL, Clickfunnels and these types of companies is how they go about their marketing in shady, cult-like ways and how they associate themselves with an already scummy industry in online money making courses (not all courses), life coaches etc that sell false hope to vulnerable audiences, GHL are affiliating themselves with a lot of people like these self-proclaimed experts or "gurus" whilst standing on the edge of MLM-Pyramid scheme territory.

One of the risks GHL's customers could face one day is the company going AWOL and off the radar once they've made their money from recruiting affiliates, this happens A LOT with companies operating similar business models. Something to be wary of again in terms of longevity.
I see now haha. Yes I've seen this behavior for before in the past in 2020. Their was one course I had purchased and it was to promote somebody else's course and we'd get a commission, It didn't feel right., You had to make yourself looked as an authority in the space by creating a curated Facebook profile that would then move them into a Facebook group. Great marketing tactic but bad way to earn money. Because the money they spent on the course was going to be a commission for you in the end.

I choose to move on from this model though. I just don't want to take people's hard earned cash and scam them of something.
 
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