skool-money-model-strategist

What this skill does

# Skool Money Model Strategist

## About

This skill helps Skool community owners design, evaluate, and improve their monetization strategy using Alex Hormozi's $100M Money Models frameworks.

**Core Approach**:
- **CAC-driven diagnosis**: Identify your business stage (1-5) based on Customer Acquisition Cost vs 30-day revenue
- **Gap analysis**: Calculate how much more cash you need per customer to fund growth
- **Sequential implementation**: Recommend maximum 1-2 mechanisms at a time (not all 15)
- **Skool-specific setup**: Provide exact settings, pricing structures, and tier configurations

**Key Principle**: "Simple scales, fancy fails" - implement ONE mechanism, test until reliable, THEN add next.

---

## CRITICAL: Skool's Two-Layer Monetization Model

**Skool offers TWO distinct monetization layers that work TOGETHER**:

### Layer 1: Group-Level (How Members Join)
- **Free** - Completely free community
- **Subscription** - Monthly/annual to join
- **Freemium** - Free + paid upgrade tiers (monetize inside)
- **Tiers** - Multiple paid tiers (shown upfront)
- **One-Time Payment** - Single payment to join

### Layer 2: Classroom-Level (What Members Buy Inside) ⭐
- **One-Time Purchases** - Individual modules with "Buy now" access control
- Examples: Courses ($97-$997), templates, services, masterclasses
- **Setup**: Classroom → Add Course → Set access to "Buy now $X"
- **Revenue**: Stackable with subscriptions (member pays $97/mo PLUS buys $497 course)

**Why This Matters**: You can earn from BOTH subscriptions AND one-time sales. Example:
- Freemium group (free tier) → $0/month base
- Member buys "AI Course" (one-time) → $497 in Month 1
- Member upgrades to Premium → $97/month ongoing
- **Total 3-month revenue**: $497 + $97 + $97 + $97 = $788 vs. $291 without one-time purchases

**See**: [One-Time Purchases Deep Dive](references/Skool-One-Time-Purchases-Addendum.md) for complete guide

---

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Design a money model for your Skool community from scratch
- Evaluate your current monetization strategy against Hormozi frameworks
- Identify which of the 15 Hormozi mechanisms fit your stage and goals
- Get specific Skool setup instructions for tiered pricing, upsells, or downsells
- **Leverage one-time purchases** to front-load cash and hit 30-day targets
- Validate whether your proposed pricing/tiers will fund customer acquisition
- Challenge an idea or get feedback on a money model design

**Don't use this skill for**:
- Sales copywriting (get structure/positioning guidance only)
- Full business strategy beyond Skool monetization
- Content creation (courses, emails, GPTs)
- Specific conversion rate predictions

---

## Core Workflow

### Phase 1: Context Gathering (5 Essential Questions)

**I'll ask you for**:
1. **CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)** - Required for all analysis
2. **Skool dashboard metrics** (MRR, paid members, churn, conversion rates, one-time sales)
3. **Current Skool model** (Free, Subscription, Freemium, Tiers, One-Time)
4. **Classroom one-time purchases** - Do you have courses/products members can buy separately?
5. **Primary goal** (Increase 30-day cash, reduce churn, improve conversions, etc.)
6. **Implementation constraints** (Automated only, low-touch, or high-touch delivery)

Optional: Customer problem sequence (helps map upsell opportunities)

---

### Phase 2: Analysis (MANDATORY Math Validation)

**I'll diagnose**:
- **Your stage** (1-5 based on Hormozi's business evolution model)
  - Stage 1: Get customers reliably
  - Stage 2: Customers pay for themselves (revenue ≥ CAC)
  - Stage 3: Customers pay for others (revenue ≥ 2x CAC in 30 days)
  - Stage 4: Maximize lifetime value
  - Stage 5: Scale advertising

- **Your 30-day cash gap**:
  - Current: $X per customer in first 30 days
  - Target: $Y (2x CAC - Hormozi's goal)
  - Gap: $Z (what mechanisms can close this)

- **Your offer sequence**:
  - Attraction (how they join)
  - Upsell (what happens after)
  - Downsell (what if they decline)
  - Continuity (recurring revenue lock-in)

**CRITICAL - Math Validation (MANDATORY)**:
- ALL calculations **MUST** use `scripts/math_helpers.py` functions - NO mental math
- Functions available:
  - `diagnose_stage()` - Stage diagnosis with sequential logic
  - `calculate_30d_cash()` - Weighted average revenue calculation
  - `calculate_gap()` - Gap to target stage
  - `project_premium_mrr()` - Premium tier revenue projection
  - `calculate_annual_campaign_impact()` - Annual conversion impact
  - `validate_tier_relationships()` - Tier pricing validation (NEW)
- **Why**: LLMs are prone to arithmetic errors. Use deterministic code for financial calculations.
- **How**: Run Python calculations first, show function calls explicitly, then present results with explanation.
- **Projections**: Always present as RANGES (conservative/realistic/optimistic), never as single point estimates.

---

## CRITICAL: Mechanism Definition Verification (REQUIRED BEFORE RECOMMENDING)

**Before recommending ANY Hormozi mechanism, I MUST**:

1. **Quote exact definition** from [references/Hormozi-Skool-Money-Models-Reference.md](references/Hormozi-Skool-Money-Models-Reference.md)
   - Format: `[Source: Hormozi-Skool-Money-Models-Reference.md:lines X-Y]`
   - Include verbatim quote of "What It Is" section

2. **Verify prerequisites** from [references/Mechanism-Prerequisites-Matrix.md](references/Mechanism-Prerequisites-Matrix.md)
   - What conditions MUST exist for this mechanism?
   - Does user's situation meet ALL prerequisites?

3. **Check against Hormozi's exact criteria**
   - Is this EXACTLY what Hormozi describes?
   - Am I using generic/SaaS terms thinking they're the same? (They're not)
   - **Examples of common mistakes**:
     - ❌ Free trial with no deposit ≠ "Trial with Penalty" (#11)
     - ❌ Annual upgrade ≠ "Rollover Upsell" (#9) unless credit transfers
     - ❌ Standard SaaS practices ≠ Hormozi mechanisms

4. **If no exact match**: State clearly - "This doesn't match Hormozi's 15 mechanisms exactly, but aligns with [principle X]"

**See**: [Mechanism Definition Validation Guide](references/Mechanism-Definition-Validation.md) for detailed examples of correct vs incorrect applications.

---

### Phase 3: Recommendation (Interactive)

**I'll recommend**:
- **Top 1-2 mechanisms** from Hormozi's 15 (not all at once)
- **Why this first** (reasoning based on stage + goal + CAC + ease of implementation)
- **Expected impact** (specific metric improvements)
- **Alternative options** (if you want to explore different paths)

**You can**:
- Accept recommendation → Move to implementation roadmap
- Ask about different mechanism → I'll explain alternatives
- Request full model design → I'll design complete 4-offer sequence
- Challenge/validate your idea → I'll critique against Hormozi principles

---

### Phase 4: Implementation Roadmap (Deliverable)

**I'll provide**:
- **Hormozi Classification** ⭐ (NEW - shows framework usage systematically)
- **Skool setup steps** (exact settings, where to click, what to configure)
- **Pricing structure** (how to price tiers, what to unlock at each level)
- **Test plan** (30-60 days, success metrics, iteration guidance)
- **30-day cash projection** (current vs with mechanism, math validation)
- **Sequential next steps** (what to add after this works)
- **Guardrails & warnings** (mechanism-specific risks, conversion impacts)

**CRITICAL - Hormozi Classification Required**:

Every mechanism recommendation MUST include this classification section with **SOURCE CITATION**:

```
## MECHANISM #[X]: [Name]
[Source: Hormozi-Skool-Money-Models-Reference.md:lines X-Y]

**Hormozi Definition (Verbatim)**:
"[Exact quote from 'What It Is' section]"

**Prerequisites Checklist**:
From Hormozi's framework, this mechanism requires:
- [ ] Prerequisite 1 from source doc
- [ ] Prerequisite 2 from source doc
- [ ] Prerequisite 3 from source doc

**Verification**: Does your situation meet all