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Because drones are so versatile and beneficial for many industries, they are a great tool for making money. In fact, drone businesses have the potential to make you a 6-figure income.
Not bad, huh?
It’s also not very difficult to study for and pass the FAA’s remote pilot exam (commonly known as the Part 107 Exam) to get your remote pilot certificate (or Part 107 license), which allows you to fly your drone commercially.
You probably know that drones are an up and coming technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way –
In fact, there are over 100,000 registered commercial drone pilots in the US, but only a small fraction of those pilots actually get any significant business.
He was super excited about taking advantage of this cool new opportunity, so he went out and bought a drone and got his Part 107 license so he could start making money. He also practiced taking aerial photos and videos and was getting pretty good at capturing cool shots.
Once he put all of that work in, he decided that he was ready to start looking for clients… only to find out that he had no idea how to approach people.
He tried reaching out to people he knew around town, but they politely turned him down.
He knew that he could use his drone skills to help people in many different industries, but he couldn’t figure out how to get people to hire him.
Donny ended up getting so frustrated that he was ready to throw in the towel and wave goodbye to the time and money he invested in purchasing a drone, studying for and passing the Part 107 Exam, practicing his skills, and searching endlessly for people that may be interested in his services.
He knew that he was knowledgeable about drones and the skills you need to help people, but he just didn’t know what else to do.
You could know all of the ins-and-outs of pipes and drains, but that doesn’t automatically make you a profitable plumber.
You could know the most amazing recipes, but that doesn’t make you a successful restauranteur.
Think about the real estate industry for example.
You probably know (or at least know of) a few realtors that do exceptionally well, making high 5- or even 6-figure incomes.
But, you are also probably aware of many realtors who don’t do as well. The fact is, a small percentage of realtors are selling a large percentage of total properties.
Every realtor has to study the same materials and pass the same exam.
So how can it be possible that so many realtors just aren’t as successful as the realtors who are making 6-figures?
They hit some bumps in the road and end up giving up because they feel like they can’t find the path to success.
BUT, some realtors are serious about making a successful career in real estate—they are committed to being successful and learning what it takes to have a profitable career.
Their dedication helps them win clients over and get their houses sold quickly.
Then, there are the drone pilots who attempt to make money with their drone, but just can’t seem to book clients and land paying jobs, so they end up giving up.
Finally, there are the drone pilots who have built a successful and profitable business, who are making 5- and even 6-figure incomes with their drone businesses!
Achieving what that last group of pilots have been able to accomplish is your ultimate dream for your drone business, right?
I mean, who wouldn’t want to have a successful business that makes you some great side cash–or even enough to make a comfortable full-time living?
You’re probably going to fall into the category of people who are trying and putting in effort, but just can’t seem to get any clients.
Every day that goes by that you don’t figure out how to successfully run a profitable business, the people out there that need drone services (that they could get from you!) are going to someone else.
Someone who’s already figured it out.
Think about the THOUSANDS of dollars in drone work that you’re missing out on every year… thousands of dollars worth of work that should have been YOURS.
Or maybe you’re someone who’s been dreaming about starting a drone business, but you’re being pulled in so many directions that you don’t know where to start or what idea to run with.
Think about the time you’re wasting and the money you’re missing out on while you’re jumping from idea to idea, too scared to jump in and actually start your own business.
If you’ve tried and tried and tried with no luck, don’t give up yet.
Having a drone business doesn’t have to be a constant struggle and endless cycle of wondering whether you’re doing everything right.
We have another way…
You may have listened to our Drone to $1K podcast, where we’ve interviewed dozens of successful drone pilots and shared their stories. They go into detail about how they started out and how they got clients and built their business to what it is today.
If they’re able to do it, then it must be possible, right?
We set out to figure out everything that gets in the way of starting a successful drone business so that we could help you cut STRAIGHT to what you need to know and do to be successful (so you can avoid years of trying to figure it out through painstaking trial and error).
Through the Drone to $1K podcast, we’ve had the chance to become friends with some of the most talented and successful drone business owners in the country. We partnered with them to dig DEEP into their businesses and extract the exact formulas they used to start and grow a profitable business. And they agreed to teach them to YOU in this program.
Drone Launch Academy founder David Young traveled all over the country to link up with these 6-figure drone business owners, as well as other experts that will help catapult your business and give you a foundation for success.
These seasoned pros will be sharing their decades of business wisdom with YOU in this program.
Through the knowledge and advice of our profitable drone business owner instructors, as well as the experience and expertise of the experts we’ve invited to help teach the course, we pieced together the common threads that have been tried and proven to help create drone businesses that prosper.
*Drone Business Mastery was formerly called Drone to $1K, which aimed to help drone entrepreneurs build a business that makes at least $1,000/month. Once we saw how successful our students became (some of them making waaay more than $1,000/month), we decided to rename the program.
The Drone Business Foundations section will help you plan and prepare to start and build your business.
You’ll learn important information about how to prepare your mindset, the equation for business success, the secret to growing a service-based business, and how to allocate your resources to maximize your success. We’ll also help you choose a niche industry to focus your business on.
In the Powerful Online Presence (POP) section, you will learn how to build a strong online presence, which is necessary to build credibility and reach potential clients.
We’ll walk you through the process of choosing a name and creating a logo for your business. You will also learn exactly how to build and optimize your website and social media pages so that you can “be findable” online, which will help people who are looking for your drone services to find you quickly and easily.
In the Drone Business Back Office section, you’ll get a deep-dive into the behind-the-scenes aspects of your business, an essential aspect of business setup that many entrepreneurs get overwhelmed by.
Don’t worry, though. Setting up your back office doesn’t have to be a daunting task. We’ll tell you exactly what to do. Our expert instructors will teach you how to set up your business entity and business bank accounts, bookkeep, file business taxes, and find a drone insurance plan that fits the needs of your business.
The Landing Dream Drone Clients section is all about perfecting your networking and outreach skills so that you can connect with more prospective clients and close more deals.
Our successful drone business owner instructors will share with you the exact methods they use to build relationships with potential clients, pitch their drone services, and close deals. They’ll even give you the exact outreach messages, pitches, and presentations they’ve used that have helped them land important deals.
The Google Ads For Drone Businesses section will teach you exactly how to establish and implement a successful online marketing plan using Google Ads.
For this section, we brought in our (Drone Launch Academy’s) Google Ads consultant, Dan Hindley, who has had 15+ years of experience as an online ad expert. Dan will walk you through the entire process of creating powerful Google Ads, which will help you find new leads and convert them into paying clients.
Having also been featured on the Drone to $1K podcast, we also brought them on as guest instructors for the course.
We then enrolled a test group of students that used the Drone Business Mastery program to build their businesses and verify that this method does, in fact, work for people who are thinking about starting a drone business, as well as people who already have a drone business, but are struggling to make it work.
Let me tell you a couple stories from our Drone Business Mastery graduates:
Spencer was stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He already had his Part 107 license and decided to start a drone business.
He decided on a name, built his website, and started looking for clients.
He decided to target local realtors and tell them about how his drone services could help them sell their listings quicker.
So, he put together a huge email campaign (which took lots of time and energy) and sent it out to about 300 of the top realtors in his area. He had made sure every detail was perfect. He was confident that his efforts were about to pay off and that at least a couple of the realtors would be interested in his services.
He was a bit discouraged, but pressed on. He tried some other marketing strategies that he thought might work.
But, again… not a single bite.
He didn’t know what else to do… until he heard about the Drone Business Mastery program. He decided to give it a shot.
After joining Drone Business Mastery and following the steps in the program, he got his first paying job! Once word spread about his services, he got another job.
Within one month, Spencer went from making $0 to making over $12,000 (and counting)!
Spencer took the information and skills he learned in the Drone Business Mastery program seriously.
He started implementing his new knowledge and skills and started landing jobs.
He ended up working with real estate agents and also got the opportunity to help an insurance company document damage after a recent hurricane, which has helped with disaster relief.
In just one month, Spencer was able to work with a realtor to provide cool drone photos and videos for their listings AND an insurance company doing cool drone work and making a difference.
He still had lots of questions, though, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that certain aspects of his business were missing.
He watched YouTube video after YouTube video, but the amount of information being thrown at him was overwhelming. There were too many voices and he didn’t know who to listen to and what advice to take.
Drone Business Mastery was the unified, straight-forward voice that he was looking for to help him pull everything together and transform his business.
After going through the course, his questions were answered and he felt confident that he was no longer missing the crucial foundation of a successful business.
Hearing from successful drone business owners about their personal experiences helped Jonathan understand what prospective clients are looking for, as well as which outreach methods work best.
After Drone Business Mastery, Jonathan has been able to retain his clients and book recurring jobs. For one realtor, Jonathan has already provided aerial photos and videos for 15-20 of their listings.
But what exactly is inside the course and what will I learn?
David is the founder of Drone Launch Academy. He holds an FAA Private Pilot Certificate and is also an FAA-certified Advanced Ground Instructor. In the past few years, he has grown Drone Launch Academy into a 7-figure business.
Prior to starting Drone Launch Academy, David also had a consulting business where he landed big clients like Google and other startup clients, helping them with accounting and data analysis. He’s started multiple businesses over the years, which has given him firsthand insight and knowledge about building a business from scratch.
David is also a Certified Public Accountant. He’s had the chance to teach over 18,000 students (and counting!) all about drones. David will teach you all about starting your very own successful drone business.
Cody is the founder and owner of Midwest Aerial Productions, a drone company that specializes in videography, photography, UAV mapping, 3D models, and thermal imaging. He quit his sales job at an IT company to pursue his drone business full-time. Within his first year of full-time work, he made six figures. He’s built his own business from the ground up.
Cody will share his experiences and advice with aspiring drone entrepreneurs.
Steve is the Director of Analytics here at Drone Launch Academy. He also handles our search engine optimization (SEO). Steve has worked with organizations like Prudential Global Investment Management and the Department of Justice.
Steve will teach you how to optimize your website and content so that search engines will rank your website higher, which will make it easier for people to find you!
AJ is a CPA with over a decade of experience. He’s worked for accounting firms, working his way up to Tax Manager for a regional CPA firm before deciding to start his own tax practice. (He also does Drone Launch Academy’s business taxes and David’s personal taxes, so we trust him!)
AJ will teach you all about setting up your business entity, bookkeeping, and taxes.
Dominic is in the real estate industry providing photography, videography, and virtual tour services. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Dominic will teach you tips on building professional relationships and show you how he built his business almost EXCLUSIVELY through Instagram.
Jeremiah is the owner of a 6-figure business, Beard House Media, that specializes in real estate video tours. He also owns Overland Pioneers, an outdoor lifestyle marketing company.
Jeremiah will teach you about working in the real estate industry, breaking into the market, and landing clients.
Rut owns Voyager Industries, a company that uses drones to provide asset management and inspection services for energy, agriculture, and infrastructure companies.
In the Drone Business Mastery program, Rut will teach you about the benefits of using drones in the construction industry, how to network with construction decision-makers and close deals, and how to provide them with deliverables that will help them keep their projects on track.
Jeff owns Tarillo Vue, an aerial photography and videography company, as well as IR Aerials, a company that specializes in thermal imaging inspection services.
Jeff will tell you all about how to succeed with drone thermal imaging. He’ll teach you how to conduct thermal inspections with your drone, how to create an end-product that will provide the maximum benefit for your clients, and how to network and grow your business.
Working for Skywatch.ai, Ilan helped create and market the world’s first on-demand, telemetry-based insurance solutions for mobility in the emerging drone industry.
Ilan will teach you about different policy types and pricing, getting the RIGHT insurance for your jobs, and the inevitability of crashing your drone.
Dan has been working in the digital marketing world since 2005. He is currently the director of Right Shout, a marketing and advertising agency. Dan’s 15+ years of experience have given him the opportunity to work with many businesses, large and small (including a number of businesses in the drone industry), where he’s managed over $30 million dollars in advertising spending on Google and Facebook (including managing almost $1 million of Drone Launch Academy’s advertising budget over the years).
Dan will teach you all about Google Ads, which will help you reach potential clients that are looking for the services you provide. Having run many successful Google ad campaigns in the drone industry, Dan is the perfect person to learn from!
They’re excited to share their knowledge with you and can’t wait to see you inside the program!
Check out the course curriculum:
| Introduction To Drone Business Foundations |
|---|
| Welcome! |
| Everything You Need to Know About Starting Your Drone Business |
| Welcome and What To Expect |
| Assess Your Current Skills and Abilities with Your Drone |
| Preparing Your Mindset |
| Choosing Your Niche: Industry Opportunities |
| Business Plan Walkthrough |
| Building Your Spiderweb: How Service Businesses Grow |
| How to Allocate Your Time (...if You Don't Have Much of It!) |
| Other Lessons |
|---|
| Introduction: Getting Ready to Dive In |
| The "Success Equation" |
| The Secret to How Service Business Grow |
| How to Allocate Your Time |
| Introduction To Powerful Online Presence |
|---|
| Welcome! |
| Be Findable 1 - Name and Logo |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction: Name and Logo |
| 2 - Thoughts on Choosing a Business Name |
| 3 - Business Name Availability |
| 4 - Finding and Purchasing a Domain Name |
| 5 - Creating Your Logo (Canva or Fiverr) |
| Be Findable 2 - Social Profiles |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction: Social Profiles |
| 2 - Facebook Business Page Setup Walkthrough |
| 3 - Instagram Account Setup Walkthrough |
| 4 - YouTube Setup Walkthrough |
| 5 - Vimeo Setup Walkthrough |
| Google My Business (GMB) |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - What is Google My Business and Why Does it Matter? |
| 3 - How to Set Up Google My Business |
| 4 - Link to Other Social Profiles |
| 5 - What to Have on Your GMB Listing |
| 6 - GMB Posts |
| 7 - Importance of GMB Reviews |
| Principles for a Great Website |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - The Purpose of Your Website |
| 3 - Showcase Your Work and Educate |
| 4 - Build Personal and Emotional Connections |
| 5 - Establish Professional Competency and Trust |
| 6 - Contact and Call To Action |
| 7 - Mobile Friendliness |
| 8 - Website Builder Recommendations |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fundamentals |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - What is SEO and Why is it Important? |
| 3 - What Google Looks For |
| 4 - Optimizing Your Webpages |
| 5 - Keyword Research |
| 6 - Backlinks: What Are They and How to Get Them |
| 7 - Improving Website Visitor Interaction to Boost SEO |
| Building Your Website |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - Registering Your Domain |
| 3 - Creating a Squarespace Account and Choosing a Template |
| 4 - Connecting Your Domain to Squarespace |
| 5 - Adding Your Logo |
| 6 - Adding Background Video and Logo |
| 7 - Creating Your Pages |
| 8 - Filling Out Your Header Section |
| 9 - Building Out Your Home Page |
| 10 - Setting Up Social Media Links |
| 11 - Adding Your Instagram Feed |
| 12 - Fonts and Colors |
| 13 - Setting Up Your Portfolio Page |
| 14 - About Page, Part 1: Setup |
| 15 - About Page, Part 2: Writing Your Story |
| 16 - About Page, Part 3: Formatting |
| 17 - Your "Contact" Page |
| 18 - Your "Get A Quote" Page |
| 19 - Optimize For SEO |
| 20 - Set Up and Link Google Search Console |
| Building Your Portfolio |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - Why Do You Need a Portfolio? |
| 3 - What Should You Put in Your Portfolio |
| 4 - Three Ways to Build Your Portfolio |
| 5 - Maximum Findability |
| 6 - Nine Examples of Good and Bad Portfolios |
| Introduction To Drone Business Back Office |
|---|
| Welcome! |
| Be Business Ready 1 - Business Entity and Banking Setup |
|---|
| 2 - Your Instructor in This Section |
| 3 - What Is a Business Entity? |
| 4 - Why Bother With a Business Entity? |
| 5 - Different Types of Business Entities |
| 6 - What Type of Business Entity is Right For You? |
| 7 - How To Set Up and Register a Business Entity |
| 8 - How to Create and Operating Agreement |
| 9 - Applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) |
| 10 - Sole Proprietorship Setup |
| 11 - What is an S-Corporation and When to Switch |
| 12 - Setting Up a Business Bank Account |
| Be Business Ready 2 - Bookkeeping |
|---|
| 1 - Wave Intro & Setup |
| 2 - Creating and Sending Invoices |
| 3 - Linking Bank Account to Accounting Software |
| 4 - Categorizing Expenses |
| 5 - Interpreting Your Profit and Loss Statement |
| Business Taxes |
|---|
| 1 - Tracking Expenses For Tax Deductions |
| 2 - What Tax to Pay, How to Calculate, and How to Pay |
| Drone Insurance |
|---|
| 1 - Intro to Drone Insurance |
| 2 - About Skywatch.ai |
| 3 - What Will Be Covered In This Section |
| 4 - Why Do I Need Drone Insurance? |
| 5 - Different Types of Drone Insurance |
| 6 - Getting The Right Drone Insurance |
| 7 - Policy Duration, Pricing and Management |
| 8 - Fly Safe, Pay Less |
| 9 - Meeting Client Demands: Proof of Insurance |
| 10 - What To Do When You Crash Your Drone |
| 11 - Drone Insurance Claim Process |
| 12 - Lessons Learned: How to Avoid Crashing Your Drone - Train and Prepare |
| 13 - Lessons Learned: How to Avoid Crashing Your Drone - Take Off |
| 14 - Lessons Learned: How to Avoid Crashing Your Drone - Flying |
| 15 - Lessons Learned: How to Avoid Crashing Your Drone - Landing |
| 16 - Drone Insurance Q&A from Live Class |
| Sales Tax For Drone Businesses |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - Taxation on Digital Products |
| 3 - What Is "Economic Nexus"? (And Why It Matters) |
| 4 - Tax Rates, How to Collect and Bookkeeping Setup |
| 5 - How to Register For Sales Tax With Your State |
| 6 - How (and How Often) to File and Pay Sales Tax |
| Introduction To Landing Dream Drone Clients |
|---|
| Welcome! |
| Networking, Outreach, and the Free-to-Paid Strategy |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - About Guest Instructor: Cody Retlich of Midwest Aerial Production |
| 3a - Free-to-Paid Strategy (1 of 2) |
| 3b - Free-to-Paid Strategy (2 of 2) |
| 4 - The Power of Reciprocity and Playing the Long Game |
| 5 - Identifying Warm Leads |
| 6a - Refresher on Businesses and Industries Positioned for Drone Use (1 of 2) |
| 6b - Refresher on Businesses and Industries Positioned for Drone Use (2 of 2) |
| 7a - How to Reach Out to Warm Leads (1 of 2) |
| 7b - How to Reach Out to Warm Leads (2 of 2) |
| 8a - Cold-ish Leads Approach (1 of 2) |
| 8b - Cold-ish Leads Approach (2 of 2) |
| 9a - How to Follow Up (1 of 2) |
| 9b - How to Follow Up (2 of 2) |
| 10 - Utilizing Community Blogs, News Sites, and Local Social Media Accounts |
| 11 - Trading Services |
| 12 - Networking Events, Industry Groups, and Business Card Strategy |
| 13a - Active Outreach (1 of 2) |
| 13b - Active Outreach (2 of 2) |
| 14 - Driving for Dollars |
| 15a - WCWEAC Method (1 of 2) |
| 15b - WCWEAC Method (2 of 2) |
| 16 - More on "Why are you reaching out?" |
| 17 - Outreach Methods: Instagram |
| 18 - Outreach Methods: Phone |
| 19 - Outreach Methods: Email w Loom |
| 20 - Outreach Methods: Handwritten Notes (High-touch) |
| 21a - Mock Outreach Phone Call (1 of 2) |
| 21b - Mock Outreach Phone Call (2 of 2) |
| 22 - Pricing Considerations |
| 23 - Agreements |
| 24 - Proposals |
| 25 - Deliverables |
| Landing and Working with Residential Real Estate Clients (with Jeremiah Oschwald) |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction to This Section |
| 2- About Our Guest Instructor: Jeremiah Oschwald of Beardhouse Media |
| 3 - What Matters in the Real Estate Industry |
| 4 - What Matters Most to Real Estate Agents |
| 5 - How to Break In and Where to Start |
| 6 - Secret Weapon: Join This Organization |
| 7a - Example Presentation to Give to Real Estate Agents (1 of 2) |
| 7b - Example Presentation to Give to Real Estate Agents (2 of 2) |
| 8a - Pricing (1 of 2) |
| 8b - Pricing (2 of 2) |
| 9 - How Jeremiah Does Final Product Delivery |
| Getting Clients Through Instagram (Dominic Wilkerson) |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2- About Guest Instructor: Dominic Wilkerson |
| 3 - Relationship Building Principles For Real Estate |
| 4 - Be Patient, Not Pushy |
| 5 - Common Real Estate Industry Complaints (and How to Overcome Them) |
| 6 - Why Does Instagram Work? |
| 7 - What to Show On Your Instagram |
| 8 - Dominic's Hashtag Strategy |
| 9 - Targeting and Engagement for Best Results |
| Landing Construction Clients (Rut Patel) |
|---|
| 1 - About Our Guest Instructor: Rut Patel |
| 2- Drones In Construction: Benefits And Use Cases |
| 3 - Required Knowledge And Equipment |
| 4 - Deliverables And Pricing |
| 5 -Who Are The Players You Need To Know |
| 6 - How To Network With Construction Decision-Makers |
| 7 - Knocking On Doors |
| 8 - Getting On A Construction Site |
| Getting Clients For Thermal Inspections (Jeff Carrillo) |
|---|
| 1 - About Our Guest Instructor |
| 2- What It Takes To Succeed |
| 3 - What Equipment Do You Need |
| 4 - What To Do After You Get Your Certification |
| 5 - More Ways To Grow In The Industry |
| 6 - Overview Of The Industry |
| 7 - What Your End Product Will Look Like |
| 8 - Inspecting Walls And Facades |
| 9 - Who You Need To Know In The Industry |
| 10 - Insurance Claim And Dispute Process |
| 11 - Bridge Inspections |
| 12 -LinkedIn Outreach |
| 13 - Events And Conferences |
| Digital Marketing and Paid Advertising for Drone Businesses |
|---|
| Welcome! |
| Core Knowledge of Google Ads |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction to Google Ads |
| 2 - Why, What Is and Benefits of Google Ads |
| 3 - How Google Ad Campaigns Work |
| 4 - How Search Ads Work, Flow and Structure |
| 5 - Keyword Match Types and Negative Keywords |
| 6 - Search Ads Format and Ad Extensions |
| 7 - Location Targeting |
| 8 - SKAG Campaign Structure |
| 9 - Bidding Strategies |
| Live Campaign Setup Walkthrough |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - Setup Campaign and Conversion Action |
| 3 - Setup the Tag |
| 4 - Google Ads Editor-Introduction |
| 5 - Google Ads Editor: Settings Groups and Keywords |
| 6 - Google Ads Editor-Expanded Text Part 1 |
| 7 - Google Ads Editor-Expanded Text Part 2 |
| 8 - Google Ads Editor-Editing Sitelinks and Location |
| 9 - Google Ads Editor-Uploading and Monitoring Campaigns |
| 10 - Google Ads Dashboard-Introduction to Monitoring Ads |
| 11 - Google Ads Dashboard-Tracking Keywords |
| 12 - Google Ads Dashboard-Understanding Search Terms |
| 13 - Final Questions and Comments |
| Google Ads Optimization |
|---|
| 1 - Introduction |
| 2 - Troubleshooting Code On Website |
| 3 - Location Settings |
| 4 - Your Quality Score |
| 5 - What If I Don't Get Enough Clicks? |
| 6 - What If I Don't Get Enough Conversions |
That’s why we offer a 100% money-back guarantee.
Once you enroll, you’ll have an entire year to ask for a refund.
If you complete the entire program and show us that you’ve implemented what you learned, but feel like you didn’t get value out of the program, we’ll give your money back – no questions asked.
What do you have to lose?
With our money-back guarantee, this is a risk-free investment.
If you’re ready to get your drone business up and running successfully, what are you waiting for?
Join the Drone Business Mastery program today!
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