I met with BAD-ASS high school entrepreneurs

Happy THURSDAY! Happy SPRING! 

Quick update on what’s been going on before this week’s email…

✅ What happened:

• Florida trip. Much needed family time. Booked a photoshoot for my pregnant wife with a lady who has grown a 6-figure maternity photography business while raising 3 kids. 
• Office hours. Hosted exclusive monthly office hours for this email list. Not as many people as I hoped but will try again next month to test again and see if it’s worth doing in future. 
• Interviews. Interviewed Patrick Bet-David at the Valuetainment HQ. Cybertruck interview with Codie Sanchez was fun. 
• YouTube. Released “How to Get Rich for Introverts” video, performed so-so but great learnings for future videos.

📋 What’s coming up:

• YouTube. More videos in the pipeline. Going to film what it’s actually like behind the scenes of running AppSumo. Getting content ready for summer prior to my leave 👶
• Mexico. Attending Dynamic Circle (entrepreneurship community) in Playa Del Carmen.
• Shows. Staying consistent with weekly promotion of Million Dollar Weekend - Jon Morrow, Chris Koerner, Millionaires Unveiled with Jace Mattinson, Arvid Kahl, Thinking Digital, Morning Brew/Founder’s Journal with Alex Lieberman, Young and Profitable, and Ansh Mehra. 
• Guests on Podcast. Excited to interview Cal Newport and hopefully Bill Perkins on the show.

Onto this week’s email…

Kids these days impress me.

Last Friday, I spoke with a class of high school entrepreneurs. And I was amazed at how smart and mature they were. A few of them had already made thousands in revenue (!!)

So today, I’m sharing the common traps and pitfalls many new entrepreneurs make, and how you can avoid them.

7 things new entrepreneurs need to know:

1/ Get ultra-specific

When I asked many of the high school entrepreneurs what they wanted for their businesses, many replied with vague answers.

“Gain traction. Go viral. Get rich. More social following”

That’s a good start. But the more specific you get about what you’re trying to achieve - the easier it is to get there.

The first step to improving in ANY area of your life is to get ultra-specific.

Instead of saying “I want to get more sales.” Start with, “I want to get $3,000 in sales by the end of Summer.”

Because once you know what you want, you can work backward to get it.

$3,000 / 3 months / $50 product = 20 sales per month.

Spreadsheet we use to track my content KPIs

2/ Use your zone of influence

Shelless Sunflower Seeds had few sales - and was focused on going “viral” on social media.

But their biggest sales were from their coach - so we brainstormed asking their coach for referrals to other coaches.

They also gave out samples to their baseball team - but never asked their teammates to BUY!

Why not start with people you know? Ask your parents, friends, or teachers to be your first customers. Then ask them for referrals to their friends. And so on.

3/ Users vs. Customers

In marketing, there’s a distinction between Users and Customers.

Users are the people who USE your product. Customers are the people who BUY your product.

For example, teenagers use Playstation, but their parents are the ones who are buying it.

Who you market to may be different from who your product serves.

Sweet Scribe was trying to sell their pen caps to fellow students.

They wanted to sell to middle schoolers, but it turned out they had no money. But teachers and parents who have middle school kids did.

It’s much easier to market to people with higher purchasing power.

4/ Double Down - Leverage your momentum

A big mistake I see first-time entrepreneurs make is not doubling down enough on the things that are working.

One of the entrepreneurs made their first sales from a tradeshow. But then they stopped going to tradeshows and their sales also slowed. Do more trade shows!

I constantly push my team to double down on the things that are working.

• If a piece of content performs well, how can you make more?

• If a marketing channel gets you quality customers, how can you focus on just that channel?

Ask yourself, “What’s working that I can do more of?

5/ Feedback is a gift

Students in the class made many sales. I asked every one of them if they talked to their buyers about what they thought. They hadn’t. Talking with your customers is an easy cheat code for success.

One of the greatest things we did for Million Dollar Weekend was creating a Launch Team to give feedback on each chapter of the book.

Ask your first few customers for feedback:

• What do they like about your product?

• What do they not like about it?

• Will they re-order? Why?

Spreadsheets don’t make sales. Talk to your customers!

6/ Go on an adventure

The older I get, the more I realize how precious life is.

As cliche as it sounds… you’re only in high school once.

When I graduated from UC Berkeley, I got in my Honda CRX and just drove around the country by myself. It was scary being in motels alone, amazing to see Mount Rushmore, and fun to visit nerdy friends over at Microsoft.

Check out my sweet CRX ;)

You will be working your whole life, what’s the rush to do it as soon as possible? 

Go get lost and get some adventures under your belt. More experiences create more new ways of looking at the world!

Pick a direction and just drive.

7/ Get around young blood

I love being around people who are filled with exciting ideas, naive about what they don’t know, and are willing to work their ass off.

There’s something special about the energy in the room. It’s incredibly inspiring.

Surround yourself with excited people!

Rooting for you,

Noah 🌮

Ps. I’m considering speaking at more schools, companies, or organizations about entrepreneurship - if you’re interested - fill out this form 💚

Sumo Group Inc. 1305 East 6th Street Suite #3 Austin, TX 78702 USA Unsubscribe