147 – How to Ensure You See Results from an Online Course

Sue - How to Ensure You See Results from an Online Course

You’ve purchased an online course. Now how do you ensure that you get the most out of your investment as possible?

This is a sequel to the prior podcast Episode 146 where we talked about whether you should buy the online course in the first place.

I went over the four steps that you should take to determine if the course is for you. Definitely take a listen if you haven’t done so already.

But let’s say at this point, you’ve gone through a review and determined the course is right for you and you’ve made the purchase. Congratulations! I’m proud of you because you are investing in yourself and your business.

Now let’s talk about how to get the most out of your chosen course as possible.

Four things that can happen after someone purchases a course

Which one of these 5 categories will you fall into? [1:31]

Six Steps to getting the most out of the course

Setting up. [4:42]

Determine your over all objective. [6:24]

Schedule time in your calendar. [7:29]

Start the Course. [8:28]

Participate and access all bonuses. [12:17]

Create an action plan. [14:31]

DOWNLOAD the Learning Process Checklist

This is a checklist you can use for every course you take to set you up for an optimal result.

Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community

Take the Gift Biz Quiz

Where are you in your business building journey? You may be further along than you think. Take this quiz to find out. At the end, you’ll have access to a free download to help you along. P.S. This is not a quiz where your result gets published to social media. It’s for your eyes only :o)

The Gift Biz Builder Program

Feel the pride and satisfaction of turning your passion into a profitable business. Become a member of the Gift Biz Builder program and access valuable videos, worksheets, and guides and connect with a community of gift biz builders just like you. It’s time to get moving on your dream. Get started today!

If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcript
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You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 147 Attention gifters

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bakers, crafters,

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and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.

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Now you are in the right place.

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This is gift biz unwrapped,

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helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

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Join us for an episode,

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packed full of invaluable guidance,

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resources, and the support you need to grow your gift.

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This here is your host gift biz gal Sue Mon height.

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Hi there.

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It's Sue and thank you for joining me on the gift

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biz on wrapped podcast.

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We're going to talk today about how to actually go through

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and get the most out of any online course that you

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purchase. Now,

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this is a sequel to the prior podcast episode number one

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46, where we talked about,

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should you even buy that online course?

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I went over the four steps that you should take to

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determine if the course is for you.

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Should you make the investment?

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And are you setting yourself up for getting the solution that

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the course offers,

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whether it's learning or something you're going to implement?

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Are you in a position where you're going to be able

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to take full advantage of that course?

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If you missed it,

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please go back and listen.

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It's the episode right before this number one 46.

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Should you purchase that online course?

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And today,

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now we're going to talk about how do you go through

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the course after someone purchases a course,

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there are four different things that can happen.

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Number one,

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someone never even starts the course.

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And you might say to me,

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Sue, that is crazy.

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Of course,

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why would I purchase a never start?

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You would be surprised at how many times this happens.

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People purchase their intention is to go through the course.

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They download it or they captured information and they never actually

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go through the course because they forget other things come up

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days, go by.

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And then all of a sudden it's forgotten.

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The second thing that can happen is they'll quit halfway through.

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They had full intention and motivation of getting started and they

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were so excited.

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They jumped in right away,

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but halfway through,

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for whatever reason,

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they had to take a break and they never got back

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to it.

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Again, the third thing that can happen is someone gets totally

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through the course,

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but then they never actually apply what they learned.

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They took all the notes,

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they thought about it.

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All. They knew it was something that they needed to do,

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but they never went any further and actually took the action

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to make it happen.

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In all three of these cases,

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it's really a waste of time and money.

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They invested in the course,

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but they never actually brought it full circle and took action

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to implement whatever it was.

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That was the result that they were looking for when they

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bought the course in the first place.

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You will note that I intentionally spoke in third person when

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I was describing these first three Results,

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because I am quite sure that this would never be you.

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Now, wouldn't the fourth thing that can happen when you take

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a course is that you actually go through the entire course,

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the entire program,

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and then you take action.

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You actually do something with the information that you've now learned,

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and this,

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my friends is what should happen.

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And this is what I want for you when you take

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online courses.

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So we're going to talk through today,

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my six steps to making sure that you're a doer and

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you get the very most out of any online course you

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purchase. These steps apply regardless of what the content of the

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course is,

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regardless of your industry,

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it's a structure and a way of moving through the course.

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So you set yourself up for success each and every time

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let's dive in,

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shall we to help you along?

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I've also made a download,

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which is the learning process checklist that supports these six steps.

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You can find that at gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash one 47,

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this is a checklist that you'll be able to use for

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every single course that you take.

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It can be actually the first page of your notebook.

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If you're going to be writing things out,

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okay. Six steps to making sure that you are a doer

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and getting the most out of the course as you possibly

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can. Step number one is setting up when you purchase an

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online course,

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you immediately are going to get some emails.

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You'll get an invoice,

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you'll get access information so that you can actually attend the

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course, whether it's a webinar or whether there's an online site

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that you're going to need access to with a username and

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a password.

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There may also be some directions for you.

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It's best.

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If you put all of this in one place,

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and I have a couple of options for you,

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the first is just to make a folder on your desktop,

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start a blank folder with the course name,

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and then any time you get something,

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then move it over into that folder.

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A little bit easier I find is to just keep it

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right in your email provider service.

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If that's possible,

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I use Gmail and I'll use labels.

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I have a label that is all of my courses.

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And then I have sub folders under that with each courses

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name. So then it's super easy because then I can just

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click and drag any emails that I get that relate to

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the course over into that folder.

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So two options for you,

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but no matter what,

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somehow create a system for yourself to set up and just

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capture all of the information that you need in one place

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I suggested is to do this over and over the same

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way for any course that you take.

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So you'll always know exactly where to go when you want

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to re-look at a course or review a certain point.

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Again, you're not going to have to go back and waste

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time and be like,

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okay. Now,

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where is that?

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It'll all be in your course file folder.

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Step number two,

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determine your overall objective for taking the course in the first

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place. Many courses will enter into with one intent,

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but there'll be so much information that you learn that you

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kind of lose sight of the initial reason why you purchase

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the course.

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So before you even dive in,

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write down what your objective is,

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what you're trying to accomplish and be able to no use

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or do,

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when you're done with the course,

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this is going to help you because as you go through,

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you'll be focusing and consciously looking for the place where that

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information, that objective is being fulfilled.

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You're going to find a lot of other things,

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you know,

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a lot of ancillary pieces of information that are going to

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be useful,

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but you want to make sure that you get out exactly

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what your intent was when you press the button and you

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purchase the course.

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So that's step two,

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understanding your objective,

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very concretely in terms of what you're trying to get out

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of the course.

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Step number three,

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schedule time in your calendar for a couple of things.

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First, to get all your materials set up,

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you made by a course in the middle of the day,

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and you're not actually going to be able to get started

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on it till later.

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That's fine,

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but schedule some time,

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maybe it's later that night,

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maybe it's over the weekend,

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not to dive in,

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to start taking the course,

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but to get all of your materials set up,

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perhaps there's downloads that you're going to want to get ready.

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You definitely want to download and print the checklist that I

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just talked about at gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash one 47.

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That can be your first page.

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If you like,

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and just get everything set up.

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I like to actually have individual notebooks for every course I

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take. So that then everything is in one place.

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In addition to the file folders on my computer,

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it's also all my handwritten notes.

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Any downloads are also all in one place.

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Then you also want to schedule time in your calendar to

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actually take the course.

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And you want this to be uninterrupted time where you're going

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to be able to just be 100% focused on the course.

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So yes,

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that means no phone,

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no Facebook,

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none of that.

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You really want to focus because there are a lot of

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nuances that come up in a course that are really good

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information for you.

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And you just don't know what's going to come.

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If, if you're not fully focused,

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you could miss something very important.

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Okay? So you are now set up,

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you've got your file folders.

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That was number one.

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You've created your objective.

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So you are very clear with your intent of why you're

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taking this course.

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And you've scheduled time in your calendar.

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Notice we're already halfway through these steps before you're actually going

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to start taking the course before we get into the chorus,

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let's hear from our sponsor.

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Now it's time to dive into the course.

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Step number four,

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start the course.

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Now I know there's temptation to look at a course and

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just say,

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Oh, you know what?

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I don't need to go through these first modules because I

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already know this.

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I'm going to jump to module four because that's what I

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really need to learn.

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I'm going to suggest that you resist that urge to start

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in the middle.

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When somebody creates a course,

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they start at the beginning and they build on top of

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each module,

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starting in the middle.

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You never know what you might have missed along the way.

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So even if there's a lot that you already know,

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you really don't feel like the beginning parts of the course

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are necessary for you.

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They're a little bit basic.

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Still go through them.

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Maybe you don't have to take as many notes,

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but you never know again what you're missing and you never

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know what the instructor is going to reference later that you

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don't know what they're talking about because you never listened to

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it. So start at the beginning and go through module by

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module. Step-by-step however it's structured because that's going to give you

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the full value of the course.

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We talk about this a lot in my online training course

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called gift biz builder.

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When somebody joins the program,

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they are offered a 15 minute one-on-one call with me.

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And we talk specifically about their situation and how to approach

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the entire course.

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And I get it.

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It's human nature.

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People want to go automatically to what they're needing,

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building a website,

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understanding social media,

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et cetera.

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The course overall teaches people how to start and grow a

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business from their hobby or their craft.

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And if someone is brand new,

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yes, of course,

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they're going to start from the very beginning.

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But a lot of people who join us are struggling or

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they have something that they are specifically wanting to learn again,

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what is your objective for coming into a course,

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right? And the tendency is to go directly to that module.

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So what I always tell people is go back when you

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can. I get,

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you know,

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I get it.

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I can't control everybody.

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You're going to go to the module you want,

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but then do go back and take it from the top

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because you never know what you might've missed in building the

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foundation to your business.

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It's the same approach for any course.

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So no matter what,

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at some point in time,

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take it from the top.

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You paid for it.

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You might as well go through each and every portion of

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the course,

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moving on to step number five,

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participate in an access,

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all bonuses that are provided with the course,

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many courses have downloadable worksheets PDFs.

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A lot of them also have the actual deck that the

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presenter has gone through so that you can print it out

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and reference it later.

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Anything that the creator has provided.

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I suggest you go ahead and capture.

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You can put it in your online folder.

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You can print it out and put it in your physical

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folder. Whatever is easiest for you,

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and is the best way for you to learn.

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Additionally, many courses come with Facebook groups,

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communities that are created with people who are also taking a

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course alongside you,

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or they've taken the course in prior years.

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This quite honestly,

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but can become the most valuable part of any course you

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take because you're able to interact with people who are in

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the same spot as you looking for a similar result as

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you are.

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And you're able to go back and forth and have conversations

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about the content of the course.

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Additionally, the instructor is probably going to be inside that Facebook

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group and can answer questions and bring some of the conversation

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to a deeper level than even what's already presented in the

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course. The other thing about these communities is you can find

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and build relationships that are going to take you further.

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Even after you're all done with the course,

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you're going to find people that just generally you resonate with

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and you can become accountability partners with them,

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not just for the course,

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but for the future of your business,

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as well,

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many people will stay in courses or membership sites specifically because

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of the community,

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the people that they're meeting and the interaction there that is

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part of the value of what you've just purchased.

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So if there is a community,

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you absolutely want to go in a little piece of advice.

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There is right.

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When you get in,

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introduce yourself,

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say who you are,

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what you do while you're taking the course.

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And you'll see that people will welcome you in and you

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can start developing relationships right away.

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All right,

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we are circling down to the final point and that is

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step number six,

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which is,

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can anybody guess it?

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I bet you can take action.

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You want to make sure that you're going to implement into

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your business.

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What you've just learned,

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you know,

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is a great thing,

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but it sits on a shelf like it sits in the

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library on a shelf to collect dust.

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If you don't actually take that information and then do something

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with it,

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this is also where the community comes in because you can

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have accountability partners or learn how other people are implementing the

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information that can provide you with valuable ideas of how you

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can do it for yourself as well.

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All right,

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there, you have it in summary,

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let's go through these six steps.

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One more time.

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Step number one,

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setting up your course in a file folder where you're going

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to be able to resource it.

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Anytime you want.

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Number two,

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setting a clear objective or a goal as to why you're

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going through the course.

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Step number three,

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schedule time in your calendar to set up and get all

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your materials prepared.

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And then to set up the time to actually go through

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the course,

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step number four,

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take it from the top,

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start at the beginning and make sure to go through each

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and every module.

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Step number five,

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participate and access all bonuses and step number six,

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probably the most important step of all take action.

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Take what you've learned and then figure out a plan to

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apply it to your business.

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The download information again for the learning process checklist is gift

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biz on wrapped.com

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forward slash one 47,

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because this is the hundred and 47th episode.

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See how that works.

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Nice and easy.

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Remember that this is part of a two-part series.

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The very first thing you do when you're thinking about online

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courses is to determine if it's really a course that you

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should be taking.

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And that was all covered on episode one 46.

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I'd love for you to go back and check that out

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if you haven't done so already.

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And then this episode on how to actually go through the

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course so that you've made an investment,

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that's actually going to produce a result for you.

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Thank you for joining me here today.

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And I just had an idea.

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If there are some online courses that you have taken,

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that you would recommend to other people put it in the

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comment section of the show notes page that you can find

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over on gift biz on rapt.com.

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I look forward to seeing all of you next week,

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and until then a big thumbs up to online courses.

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This episode is all wrapped up,

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but your gift biz journey continues.

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It's your time to experience the pride and satisfaction of turning

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your passion into a profitable business.

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Join the gift biz builder program and access valuable lessons or

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worksheets and a live Q and a sessions.

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Addressing your specific challenges.

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You also have the opportunity to connect with a community of

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gift biz builders,

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just like you head over to gift biz,

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unwrapped.com/gift biz builder,

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and get started today.

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