How a 17-year-old got a $150,000+ job with me

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This email is from THIS podcast - iTunes - Spotify

It’s 2006.

My buddy Dave McClure introduced me to a guy named Aaron who was building a product called mint.com (at the time it was called MyMint).

I was super impressed. “This is the best product I’ve ever seen,” I told him.

I noticed he was looking for a Director of Marketing - so I pitched him on why I would be a great fit.

He laughed at me. “But you don’t know anything about marketing.”

Fair point. So I spent the next week creating a 6-month marketing plan and launch strategy. Over 80 hours of researching online, reading Seth Godin’s books, and working on this plan for FREE.

I reached back out to Aaron and said, “If you like this plan, I’ll execute it for 3 months and then you can pay me a six-figure salary.”

See my full pitch deck

He LOVED it! He hired me, we executed the plan, and it crushed.

Only 3 years later, Mint sold for $170 to Intuit.

This “permissionless” strategy works if you want to land a job, get clients, or even sell a product.

Most people ask, “How can I help you?” or “What can I do to work with you?”

The problem with that approach is that by asking without showing, you’re actually making them do MORE work to figure out how you can help and if you’re any good.

Since Million Dollar Weekend has been out, I get hundreds of DMs like this a day.

The probability that someone will go out of their way to figure out who you are and what you can do is much lower than if you showed them that you can do the job.

Think, “How do I make this a no-brainer for them?”

Don’t offer to do free work, just do it.

Here’s how Jay Yang, a high schooler convinced me to pay him $150,000+ to work with me.

Jay reached out to Jeremy, my former Creative Director for our YouTube channel with a 19-page pitch deck that broke down all the things that sucked about my social media and email.

See Jay’s full pitch deck

He also created 9 pieces of content that was ready to be published.

Immediately, that showed me two things:

He had done his homework
He knew what he was talking about

Now Jay runs all our social and email marketing - and is making more than his teachers while in high school.

Anytime someone uses this approach, I always hire them and never regret it.

Another example:

5 years ago, Jeremy Mary reached out and wanted to help with my Instagram. At the time, Instagram wasn’t my priority. But he kept sending me examples of content that I could post immediately.

He said, “Why don’t you let me run your Instagram for free for two more weeks, and if you like it you can start paying me.”

Jeremy eventually became my YouTube producer and helped me grow the channel to over 1,000,000+ subscribers.

Now he runs his own YouTube title/thumbnail agency and has an awesome podcasted called Backstage Careers.

Don’t offer to do the work, just do it.

Outwork your inexperience

The coolest thing about this approach is you don’t have to have any experience or money to get started.

All you have to do is put some effort BEFORE you reach out.

If you do this enough times, I promise you you’ll get 6-7-figure opportunities.

It’s not free work, it’s pre-work

A lot of people may think that doing free work isn’t worth it because they don’t know that they’ll get paid.

Instead of viewing it as free work, see it as pre-work.

Best case? You get the job.

Worst case? You learn and build your portfolio.

If you want a job, you have to create it yourself.

Last example:

Mitchell Cohen saw that I was doing a charity bike ride called SumoRide. He asked if he could volunteer for it. He did such a phenomenal job that I asked him to volunteer again.

He established trust and showed that he was a hard and smart-working person.

Now Mitchell runs content and helps with influencers at AppSumo.

Just do 1% more to stand out. It doesn’t have to be anything super huge.

• Create a video

• Make a pitch deck

• Publicly break down someone else’s work

Persistence beats resistance

Some of these people may not respond. Sometimes the timing isn’t right.

But eventually, by repeating this process, you’ll build a portfolio of work to showcase and people will start coming to you because of your work.

That’s the power of pre-work.

I can’t wait to see what opportunities you create! 💚

Rooting for you,

Noah 🌮

Ps. I’ve always struggled to find the perfect software tool for my content and business… so we did something about it! My team and I recently launched FiveTaco.com - a curated directory to find the best software for solopreneurs. Check it out! 🌮

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

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                                <h2 class="ql-align-center" style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px; line-height: 135%; text-align: center;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This email is from THIS podcast - </strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-a-highschooler-got-a-$150-000-job-with-me/id1187402810" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><strong><u>iTunes</u></strong></a><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> - </strong><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/75FeG6IU246Zj3qftSESm6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><strong><u>Spotify</u></strong></a>
</h2>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It’s 2006.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">My buddy Dave McClure introduced me to a guy named Aaron who was building a product called mint.com (at the time it was called MyMint).</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I was super impressed. “This is the best product I’ve ever seen,” I told him.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I noticed he was looking for a Director of Marketing - so I pitched him on why I would be a great fit.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He laughed at me. “But you don’t know anything about marketing.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Fair point. So I spent the next week creating a 6-month marketing plan and launch strategy. Over 80 hours of researching online, reading Seth Godin’s books, and working on this plan for FREE.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I reached back out to Aaron and said, “If you like this plan, I’ll execute it for 3 months and then you can pay me a six-figure salary.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://appsumo.com/products/mint-marketing-plan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: #0550ff; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="image" src="https://sendfoxprod.b-cdn.net/media/b19v8r3lQ3g2FntGJoZ0jDAH48sXW0QyWH70L8hD332" style="max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: auto;"></a></p>
<p class="ql-align-center" style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; text-align: center; margin: 0;"><a href="https://appsumo.com/products/mint-marketing-plan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>See my full pitch deck</u></a></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He LOVED it! He hired me, we executed the plan, and it crushed.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Only 3 years later, Mint sold for $170 to Intuit.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This “permissionless” strategy works if you want to land a job, get clients, or even sell a product.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Most people ask, “How can I help you?” or “What can I do to work with you?”</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The problem with that approach is that by asking without showing, you’re actually making them do MORE work to figure out how you can help and if you’re any good.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Since </span><a href="https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>Million Dollar Weekend</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> has been out, I get hundreds of DMs like this a day.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: #0550ff; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="image" src="https://sendfoxprod.b-cdn.net/media/RSNP5Nszfy4JSKrzYneSEgdV6ZyByfjUesAzeA1c332" style="max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: auto;"></a></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The probability that someone will go out of their way to figure out who you are and what you can do is much lower than if you showed them that you can do the job.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Think, “How do I make this a no-brainer for them?”</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<h2 style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px; line-height: 135%;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Don’t offer to do free work, just do it.</strong></h2>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Here’s how </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Jayyanginspires" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>Jay Yang</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, a high schooler convinced me to pay him $150,000+ to work with me.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Jay reached out to Jeremy, my former Creative Director for our YouTube channel with a 19-page pitch deck that broke down all the things that sucked about my social media and email.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://noahkagan.notion.site/How-to-Land-Your-Dream-Job-Using-Free-Work-fbbe64fa51164d9db21555d61e637070" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: #0550ff; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="image" src="https://sendfoxprod.b-cdn.net/media/KJ7qEOT9icQ8EaFTDMSVjSmU1XVuts7u3g3OuZGz332" style="max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: auto;"></a></p>
<p class="ql-align-center" style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; text-align: center; margin: 0;"><a href="https://noahkagan.notion.site/How-to-Land-Your-Dream-Job-Using-Free-Work-fbbe64fa51164d9db21555d61e637070" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>See Jay’s full pitch deck</u></a></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He also created 9 pieces of content that was ready to be published. </span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Immediately, that showed me two things:</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<ol style="-webkit-margin-before: 0; -webkit-margin-after: 0; margin-block-end: 0; margin-block-start: 0; padding-left: 35px;">
<li style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">He had done his homework</span></li>
<li style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">He knew what he was talking about</span></li>
</ol>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Now Jay runs all our social and email marketing - and is making more than his teachers while in high school.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Anytime someone uses this approach, I always hire them and never regret it.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Another example:</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">5 years ago, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/jeremyjohnmary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>Jeremy Mary</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> reached out and wanted to help with my Instagram. At the time, Instagram wasn’t my priority. But he kept sending me examples of content that I could post immediately.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He said, “Why don’t you let me run your Instagram for free for two more weeks, and if you like it you can start paying me.”</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Jeremy eventually became my YouTube producer and helped me grow the channel to over 1,000,000+ subscribers.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Now he runs his own </span><a href="https://clickables.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>YouTube title/thumbnail agency</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> and has an awesome podcasted called Backstage Careers.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Don’t offer to do the work, just do it.</strong></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<h2 style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px; line-height: 135%;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Outwork your inexperience</strong></h2>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The coolest thing about this approach is you don’t have to have any experience or money to get started.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">All you have to do is put some effort BEFORE you reach out.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">If you do this enough times, I promise you you’ll get 6-7-figure opportunities.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<h2 style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px; line-height: 135%;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It’s not free work, it’s pre-work</strong></h2>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A lot of people may think that doing free work isn’t worth it because they don’t know that they’ll get paid.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Instead of viewing it as free work, see it as pre-work.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Best case? You get the job.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Worst case? You learn and build your portfolio.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">If you want a job, you have to create it yourself.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Last example:</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MitchellLandon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>Mitchell Cohen</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> saw that I was doing a charity bike ride called SumoRide. He asked if he could volunteer for it. He did such a phenomenal job that I asked him to volunteer again.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He established trust and showed that he was a hard and smart-working person.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Now Mitchell runs content and helps with influencers at AppSumo.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Just do 1% more to stand out. It doesn’t have to be anything super huge.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">• Create a video</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">• Make a pitch deck</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">• Publicly break down someone else’s work</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<h2 style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px; line-height: 135%;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Persistence beats resistance</strong></h2>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Some of these people may not respond. Sometimes the timing isn’t right.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">But eventually, by repeating this process, you’ll build a portfolio of work to showcase and people will start coming to you because of your work.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">That’s the power of pre-work.</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I can’t wait to see what opportunities you create! 💚</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Rooting for you,</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Noah 🌮</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ps. I’ve always struggled to find the perfect software tool for my content and business… so we did something about it! My team and I recently launched </span><a href="https://fivetaco.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>FiveTaco.com</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> - a curated directory to find the best software for solopreneurs. </span><a href="https://fivetaco.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"><u>Check it out</u></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">! 🌮</span></p>
<p style="color: #222; font-family: Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 0;"><br></p>

                                

                                
                                

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THIS EMAIL IS FROM THIS PODCAST - ITUNES
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/8dpj7v] - SPOTIFY
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/wzxdoe]

It’s 2006.

My buddy Dave McClure introduced me to a guy named Aaron who was
building a product called mint.com (at the time it was called MyMint).

I was super impressed. “This is the best product I’ve ever
seen,” I told him.

I noticed he was looking for a Director of Marketing - so I pitched
him on why I would be a great fit.

He laughed at me. “But you don’t know anything about marketing.”

Fair point. So I spent the next week creating a 6-month marketing plan
and launch strategy. Over 80 hours of researching online, reading Seth
Godin’s books, and working on this plan for FREE.

I reached back out to Aaron and said, “If you like this plan, I’ll
execute it for 3 months and then you can pay me a six-figure
salary.”

[image] [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/v0vdyy]

See my full pitch deck [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/v0vdyy]

He LOVED it! He hired me, we executed the plan, and it crushed.

Only 3 years later, Mint sold for $170 to Intuit.

This “permissionless” strategy works if you want to land a job,
get clients, or even sell a product.

Most people ask, “How can I help you?” or “What can I do to work
with you?”

The problem with that approach is that by asking without showing,
you’re actually making them do MORE work to figure out how you can
help and if you’re any good.

Since Million Dollar Weekend
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/xpkd69] has been out, I get
hundreds of DMs like this a day.

[image] [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/xpkd69]

The probability that someone will go out of their way to figure out
who you are and what you can do is much lower than if you showed them
that you can do the job.

Think, “How do I make this a no-brainer for them?”

DON’T OFFER TO DO FREE WORK, JUST DO IT.

Here’s how Jay Yang [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/e57vx0], a
high schooler convinced me to pay him $150,000+ to work with me.

Jay reached out to Jeremy, my former Creative Director for our YouTube
channel with a 19-page pitch deck that broke down all the things that
sucked about my social media and email.

[image] [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/y2edyd]

See Jay’s full pitch deck
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/y2edyd]

He also created 9 pieces of content that was ready to be published.

Immediately, that showed me two things:

* He had done his homework
* He knew what he was talking about

Now Jay runs all our social and email marketing - and is making more
than his teachers while in high school.

Anytime someone uses this approach, I always hire them and never
regret it.

Another example:

5 years ago, Jeremy Mary [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/lnrq2l]
reached out and wanted to help with my Instagram. At the time,
Instagram wasn’t my priority. But he kept sending me examples of
content that I could post immediately.

He said, “Why don’t you let me run your Instagram for free for two
more weeks, and if you like it you can start paying me.”

Jeremy eventually became my YouTube producer and helped me grow the
channel to over 1,000,000+ subscribers.

Now he runs his own YouTube title/thumbnail agency
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/zy0d76] and has an awesome
podcasted called Backstage Careers.

DON’T OFFER TO DO THE WORK, JUST DO IT.

OUTWORK YOUR INEXPERIENCE

The coolest thing about this approach is you don’t have to have any
experience or money to get started.

All you have to do is put some effort BEFORE you reach out.

If you do this enough times, I promise you you’ll get 6-7-figure
opportunities.

IT’S NOT FREE WORK, IT’S PRE-WORK

A lot of people may think that doing free work isn’t worth it
because they don’t know that they’ll get paid.

Instead of viewing it as free work, see it as pre-work.

Best case? You get the job.

Worst case? You learn and build your portfolio.

If you want a job, you have to create it yourself.

Last example:

Mitchell Cohen [/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/n7rjdp] saw that I
was doing a charity bike ride called SumoRide. He asked if he could
volunteer for it. He did such a phenomenal job that I asked him to
volunteer again.

He established trust and showed that he was a hard and smart-working
person.

Now Mitchell runs content and helps with influencers at AppSumo.

Just do 1% more to stand out. It doesn’t have to be anything super
huge.

• Create a video

• Make a pitch deck

• Publicly break down someone else’s work

PERSISTENCE BEATS RESISTANCE

Some of these people may not respond. Sometimes the timing isn’t
right.

But eventually, by repeating this process, you’ll build a portfolio
of work to showcase and people will start coming to you because of
your work.

That’s the power of pre-work.

I can’t wait to see what opportunities you create! 💚

Rooting for you,

Noah 🌮

Ps. I’ve always struggled to find the perfect software tool for my
content and business… so we did something about it! My team and I
recently launched FiveTaco.com
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/pgd7yd] - a curated directory to
find the best software for solopreneurs. Check it out
[/https://sendfox.com/trk/click/wox9y4xw/jegl5k]! 🌮

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

Unsubscribe [/https://sendfox.com/trk/unsubscribe/wox9y4xw]

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