Notes from 1/26/10 private webcast with Ramit Sethi. Compiled by attendees.

I have not reviewed or edited these notes.

Below you'll find info about the 1/26 webcast, including

• Getting in customers' heads
• The #1 Mistake people make while trying to earn money on the side
• Unveiling of what the full Earn1k course will contain

investment is something you don't know will work. Think about value and not content.
Getting numbers/Stats.
Uncle Charlies Almanac.
http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/8-stupid-frat-boy-business-ideas/
"What do you think [Ramit] learned during the survey."
• How to get in your head.
"When you think about getting money, when is the last time you asked without selling."
• NEVER
• ALWAYS JUST ASSUMED
Learn one thing today.
• Get out there and do it. GET OFF YOUR ASS.
Pretend a lot of people concern about cost.
1. Offer value
2. Go to a different market
3. Lower your price.
"If you think you have to discount, DON'T"
WHAT IS THE #1 MISTAKE?
• NOT GETTING INTO THEIR HEADS
'It's easy to be cynical, so understand you own barriers.'
Barriers:
• Arbitrary number
• Guaranteed ROI
• Friends Peer Pressure
• I'm afraid
• No time
• Giving up
Is this a scam? NO!
'Use my survey with your customers.' http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N873WW9

CASE STUDY: Undergrad Chem Student

• Concentrated group of people.
• Great business
Key Nuggets:
• niche
• market/demand
• Customers are always renewed quarterly.

CASE STUDY: Young adults with no financial skills and don't care about saving.
• Horrible idea
'Why am I different than this person?'
 • Niche
- I went from free to harvard to other people that are not idiots.

5 mins of questions!
Live ideas.
FUNDRAISING CONSULTANT.
• IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO
- It provides you and intellectual framework for your business.

{60 sec pause}

Architect who earned 50K from 50 cent advise.

• Get people to like you and you will find more business.

Course Info (Comprehensive):

1. All new material
2. Hours and hours of HD video and power points
3. Group calls
- Master classes(LIVE/recorded): answering questions and course work.
- Not just tactic after tatic. Personal attention to you.
4. Scripts:
- Escaping a non-profital engagement
- No cold reading
5. Case studies(TONS)

Q&A about the course.

- Releasing info about the course in timed intervals.
- Once a week group calls.
- Don't join unless you don't have at least 10 hours a week
- 8 week course
- Private coaching includes audio
- You will also find your niche
- Apply the 80/20 rule about what is important
- Important even if you don't have an idea about a business
- "If you really want it you will find a way"
- This niche will help you get past barriers and psych you up.
- International
- No discounts and no trade
- Will this help me grow more money? YES!
- Support groups? YES!
- Offering services. Marketing/Research/Value
- Think of this on a META-level.
- Fixed pie question!!!!! AHHHH!
- Before today you got into your customers head
- If your looking to get ahead you will get this course
- Systemitizing your first 1k
- Business coach? Broader access to all kinds of stuff and a large group of people. Move
onto a business coach later.
- Freelancers WELCOME

What we learned today:

 • Getting inside customers head. Asking without selling.
• Unveiled part of the course.
• Talked about the concerns in the survey.
• It's not about price. It's about value.
• Case studies.

Webcast on Sunday and Monday @ 7pm Eastern

============

Kelly Whalen

Used free information first, then weeded out potential customers through sign ups.
Shrinking the market to people who value the info, and who are engaged.

Ask your potential customer for information without selling.

Ask: What do you want? What do you fear?

Take 5 minutes to talk to people.

#1 mistake: Picking a market, that isn't based on what their customer needs. Picking a
customer who doesn't know that they need the product or service. Picking a customer who
doesn't have the money.

The survey that Ramit gave us helped him get into our heads.
USE Ramit's survey!

Case Studies:
1) Organic chemistry students who need help.
-Great business idea.
-If you have a problem, you know you have a problem.
-Tutors=money.
-Except if you're hot. ;)
-The client WILL get the $ for it! Parents, working part-time, etc.
-DEMAND is key!
-He'll have new customers every quarter.

2) Young adults who need help with personal finance.

-Copy Ramit's idea.
-Target your customers. These people have no interest!

Taking 3 case studies live.

1.Fundraising consulting
-teaching non-profits how to raise money.
-non profits can not pay
-no pay for value
-non profits don't like freelancers
-Why would you go there?

2. Makeup artist
-Very good niche would be Indian makeup artist, etc.

3. Time management for executives

-You better be an executive.
-You need the network first.

You may need to work for cheap or free but if people like what you did, they will hire you!

Fail fast.

Course-
Course will teach what NOT to do which is just as valuable as what to do.
New material for the course.
#1 requested thing on Ramit's book tour.
• Hours of video.
• Detailed powerpoints.
• Group calls.
• World's best people: Master classes that will be recorded and sent out.
• Coursework.
• Private coaching.
• Ready to use scripts. (cold email, referrals, problem clients)
• Conversations between Ramit's "team" and himself.
• Case Studies.
• Premium product.
• 8 weeks.
• Various levels of product.

======

Seh Hui Leong

• Avoid cost-conscious customers, look for customers who are into getting value (it's not
about the price, it's about value)
• Target the right customers
• Important point: see how Ramit rolled out this Earn1K course: the way he put out
teaser emails, keep it secret, putting it as a private list (filter customers) etc.

• Point of the survey: Learning how to get into their heads and gauge demand
• Important question: What is the last time you asked without selling?
• Most of us NEVER get off our ass and survey the market
• Taking five minutes to talk to people
• Three ways to deal with cost-conscious customers:
• Offer value
• Go to a different market
• Lower price
 • Ramit is giving out short blurbs in promoting his course in subtle ways (*note the
strategy) (i.e. "I'll tell more in the full course")
• Getting into their head:
• Do they know they have a problem
• Are they willing to pay? (Don't go towards to a market where people are not willing to
pay [e.g. college frats boys? ;p])
• Do they care?
• People will come up some arbitrary value to not buying your services/products

• "I'm afraid that I'd waste the money on the course without learning anything"
• People may think it is stupid; but actually it's good: It's honest - acknowledging your
barriers
• examples: Fear, won't be implementing it, thought it was a scam

• Subject line of email needs to be tested

Case study: Chemistry tutor

• Key nuggets:
• Niche
• Concentrating demand
• You don't have to earn $1k immediately: slowly work your way to the top

-- OTHER SEGMENT --
• Teaching you what NOT to do is as important as teaching you what to do
• Fail fast
• How much was it worth to not to go down the wrong path for, say, 6 months?

• There's a ton of good niche: Think hard enough and need to intellectually understand
niches
• E.g. Makeup artist niches - Events (e.g. weddings), ethnicity (e.g. Indian), location etc.
• What is the barrier of entry?
• How much do you need to know about the industry before you enter?
• Start small: perform them great. Eventually when customers like/trust you and asks
for better services, charge the more for those
• If you really want something, you'll find a way to it

Think about it, what Ramit's doing with this course:

• Marketing
• How to do product launch
• Educating customer to look for value
• …etc.

Closing remark:
• If you worry about protecting what you have, don't take the course. This course is for
you if you want to grow and get ahead
• Ask a BS question get a BS answer

======

wcmiii
Notes on Earn 1K webcast
January 26, 2010

This course has been designed with people who are more focused on value than cost in
mind.
No promises. This course is an "investment," not a promise.
Mental accounting = the process of assigning price to value. Books have a fairly rigid price
range, but those that offer greater value may demand higher prices.
When was the last time you "asked" (gathered customer needs) without "selling" (assuming
customer needs)? Responses range from infrequently to never.

Don't get in a "race to the bottom" (cf. Godin) - someone will always do it cheaper, and
clients that are cost-fixated are often the worst (not concerned with value, least likely to
act).

The number one error: not getting into the head of your client. Planning in advance of
understanding the market needs/wants is fatal.

Students "are liars and thieves" and are very unlikely to pay for your services.
Exception: tutoring. Fresh demand every quarter/semester, concentrated market, lucrative
(parents will pay to help their kids), niche market (per class)

=====

Elizabeth Williams

Investments are about risk and reward - you need to invest in value and learning to make $
$$
Mental accounting - assigning prices to value.
Survey -- didn't try to sell but asked questions of potential customers (us). When was the
last time you asked customers what they wanted without trying to sell?
Get off your ass and get out to the marketplace! Survey people *where they hang out* --
ask people to hang out with you and talk to you.
Most of us are concerned about cost & time (busy lives!)
We need to look at value, not cost.
Make product have more value or service, change market to higher value, or lower price --
do not lower price if you do not HAVE to! It does take a long time to get into 4-figures/hr
like Ramit! Do not race to the bottom -- those that are money-focused are the WORST
clients!

Worst thing you can do is not getting into a client's head!

Barriers: cost, fear of commitment to the course, friends thinking it's dumb, concern about
ROI.

CASE STUDY!
Undergrad student with problems in chemistry - going to find through TAs and chemestry
dept. Market through direct ads. <--great business idea. The clients *know* they have a
problem and know that tutors = success = paying for it. Parents can and will fund tutors!
Concentrated group of people and you know how to find them! There's a niche, a demand,
and a market with willing people and new customers every semester!

You don't have to make $1k/mo. You can start making $100/mo and work your way up. You
will not make it to the top in one day!

CASE STUDY 2:
Personal financial consultant to reach out to young adults with no personal financial skills.
Will look on Facebook, Blog, and networking.

--Why go after people who cannot pay and don't care what you offer!

--Why is Ramit different? Niche! Go after smart people w/long, nuanced articles that kick
out the articles!

--Smart comments; no idiots

((at this point the video died, so I'm out))

=====

Normal Billy

Live Case Studies:

•
• Fund Raising Consulting
• What to do/not to do in the earn1k course (not all actions create results) ... 80/20 rule
• concept: help non-profits raise money
• problem: non-profits don't have mindset to pay for value
• difficult to get them as client & pay for value
• take out 5 non-profit people to lunch and get into their head.. save 6 months of your
life

• Freelance Make Up Artist

• niche: ethnicity, weddings
• understand how niche works!

• Time Management for Executives

• better if you're already exec, doesn't make sense otherwise (huge barrier)

The Earn1K course:

• better be less than $15
• all new materials (1 year research)
 • hours of HD video, step-by-step power points, group calls
• master classes.. specific info (live audio phone & recorded)
• ready-to-use scripts: how to get clients, back out, proven scripts
• case studies
• group calls once a week
• limited people
• prepare to spend about 10 hours a week
• 8 week time period
• find niche and validate ideas
• money back guarantee
• if you really want it.. you'll find a way.. regardless of cost
• help earn first 1k
• book recommendation
• not specific for engineers/computer science, particular skills, etc
• what's the difference between this course and hiring business coach??? this course is
more broad

======

Ramit Webcast Notes

- Getting Inside Customers Heads

- No 1 Freelance Mistake

- Describe full course

systematically building system, earn 1k over and over

Don't want cost conscious customers, you may need to take them up front.
Filter out the customers that won't pay

"Mental Accounting, we assign value" -Ramit

Survey - tool to get in your customer's head, try to understand. When was the
last time you asked your potential customer without selling?
You are not doing your own job when you are trying to earn money, get off your
ass and ask people to spend 5 minutes with you.

Show your customer value, not cost

1. make service have a lot more value: indepth, expertise
2. different market w. higher value
3. lower price (don't if you can avoid it), it takes time to build
if you think you have to discount, resonsider: (racing to the bottom)

Google Wave Link: bit.ly/c2VMjL

#1 mistake trying to earn money on the side: not getting into their heads. pick a
market without investigation. think about your customer, do they know they have
a problem, are they willing to pay (frat boy business).

think outside your own market

don't build a service for customers that won't pay.

it's easy to be cynical, but that doesn't get you anywhere -Conan O'Brian

Honesty about barriers: I don't believe I'll finish the course like I did in other
courses. Acknowledge your barriers

Barriers:
time, price, fear, perfectionism, won't succeed, not able to implement, afraid it's a
scam

quick case study

tutoring, organic chemistry
none of you have asked without selling, what do you want? what do you fear?
nuggets: niche, know where customer is, ???, demand

young adult with no financial skills need help with budgeting and paying off debt
researching facebook, nowhere
reach out to friends
how can I help you solve the personal finance puzzle
teardown: specific target has no financial skills, why target people who can't pay
and don't care about your product
fix: target smart people, not morons. long nuanced articles, filters out people who
don't care

Niche!

Intellectual framework for pursuing opprtunitites.

try it quickly and fail fast
The course is also about learning what not to do

teaching non-profits how to fundraise

survive by raising money, cannot pay don't have a mind set for paying for value
and if they do they don't pay well

if you are investingating a new market, find people in that market and take them
out to lunch. worth it to find out if you're going down the wrong road. save
thousands and refine your plan

makeup artist niche: ethnicity / wedding / ?

investigate and find a niche

time management for executives: you better be an executive. high barrier of entry

don't be afraid of absurd exploration, architect at county fair selling advice for $
0.50, you are not making 100k at 50 cents a shot, you are introducting yourself.

Course:

• All New! working on this for almost 1 year, began on the book tour

• hours of HD video, audio versions, transcripts

• detailed step by step powerpoints

• live group calls, stay motivated! recorded for later if you can't attend live!

• master classes - get inside your customers head. attend live, or watch
recording

• private coaching

• ready to use scripts! how to cold email, ask for a referreal that wil SELL! deal
with problem clients, how do you back out of a bad deal without burning a
bridge

• videos of converstations

• case studies in detail

• Premium Product
build a community before you use questionaires, there are ways around that!

Q & A:
Will be having forums, with different levels
will you be doing coaching or instructors
private website, one email to tell you it's been updated
live calls and recordings
group calls 1/week (consider it an accountability group)
10 hours a week
8 week timeframe
Audio version
part of the course is to validate your niche!
Is it approprate for people w/o a business idea?
Is there a guarantee? Yes (will be announced)

How will you compete with other courses? Will be based on his niche - of
$1000/day

What about people outside the US? Yes, the principles

What about people making more ($5000/month)? Send him an email

No discounts

What about support after the course? Will do case studios of people who make
$100K, Freelancer diaries, people who travel and work

Focus is on a system and "leveling out" your income

Will include marketing an self-promotion (obviously)

He cites the class as an example (and at a meta-level)

Will recommend books

The course is for people who want to get ahead, not people with credit card debt

Is is geared towards a single industry (like tech)? NO. It will work even for jobs
like dog-walking. Productizing is later.

Course will be closed down (limited time offer) Will have access?
What is the difference between this and a business coach? Broader access/

Suited to full-time freelancers? Yes. We will provide scripts

Will give price and samples later

Recap
#1 mistake. Doing something that no one cares about
Survey taught him about potential clients: cost and time concerns, and values
Gave three case studies

Tomorrow - Free to Fee!