Noah Preihs started Changing the Rules at the tender age of 14 when despite his Dad's doubts he sold a pair of sneakers online. From that moment he was hooked and a business was born. He graduated college early so he could devote himself to growing his business full time. Today, Noah's Everything Shop is expanding continually. Meet this young entrepreneur and learn more about his motivations and goals. Visit www.theluckiestguyintheworld.com to learn how we can help you become one of the Luckiest People in the World, too.
Diane Dayton 0:01
This is changing the rules, a podcast about designing the life you want to live, hosted by KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world.
KC Dempster 0:13
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Changing the Rules. This is KC Dempster and I am podcasting from home today because we're in the middle of tropical storm Isaias. And so the only one who actually made it to the studio is our wonderful engineer Taylor. But let's let's get back right into the thick of things. We call our show changing the rules because we believe that it is an important thing for people to understand and appreciate. And the bottom line is when we're born, we have people that start imposing rules on us from the very beginning. It's our parents, teachers, churches, society, and and that's fine because they're usually trying to keep us safe. To help us to learn how to live in society successfully. But as we get older, oftentimes these rules start to become restrictive. And they keep us from doing the things that we want and need to do in order to be successful in life. So we've discovered that the luckiest people in the world recognize that fact. And they start to change the rules, to modify them or to make totally new rules for themselves in order to be successful. And that's what this podcast is all about. We'd like to introduce you to people who are rule changers. Good morning, Ray. Are you staying dry?
Ray Loewe 1:35
I'm dry, I'm safe and sound in my home and and it's pouring rain outside. It looks like the world is flooding. And we have a special guest later and it's very appropriate because while the world is flooding, we have Noah on the phone. Now Noah, it just say hello from that. Okay, we're going to come back again and say hello. Okay, so Let's, let's talk a little bit about these luckiest people in the world. This is a group of people that I've been following now for 45-50 years, most of my adult life. And and the reason is because they're absolutely fascinating. They're fun to be with. They're the people that walk around with a halo around their head, and they're always happy. And they always seem to be excited about life. And I decided long ago that these were the people that I wanted to hang out with. And in fact, this was the kind of person that I wanted to be. And one of the things that we found out is that these people do several things. Number one, they design their own lives. They don't put up with the rules, they don't put up with the lives of others, they they step in and do it their way from the beginning. And there are a series of mindsets that they had that set them apart and we're going to explore three of them this morning. Okay, that our guests, particularly exhibit number one is changing the rules, our guest, very early in life learned that he's not going to let the rules restrict him and that he's not going to be bound by tradition. The second thing is that he knows what he wants. And you're going to see that in a minute when we bring him online. And the third thing that's going to happen is he follows very much what fascinates and motivates them. He doesn't get bogged down in things that he's not happy with. And he doesn't want to do and you're going to see this right away I am. We're going to take a short break. And we're going to come back with Kristine Parsons, who is in our non studio today, right? She's Skyping in, too. And she's actually going to introduce Noah. So Taylor, quick break.
Diane Dayton 3:52
You're listening to changing the rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world. We will be right back with more exciting information
Ray Loewe 4:05
so I love the short breaks, okay? Okay and and you wonder why they have them but but they're so that you know that you're listening to us. So you're right there right channel. So let me reintroduce Kris Parsons. Kris is our PR person. She does a whole lot of stuff for us in the background and she actually introduced us to Noah Preihs. So Kris introduced Noah for us
Kris Parsons 4:31
Yes, I'm just honored to introduce him because I've known him since a little boy. Noah is the family friend of ours, he and my sons are cross country runners, they've been in high school together, and one of my sons went to college with him. Noah is a 2021 graduate of the College of New Jersey, up north a little bit in New Jersey. And actually, he's a graduate this year, but he only went three years. So he's already advanced there. He was on the dean's list, a business management major. And at the ripe old age of 15 years old, which was six years ago. That's when he started his business that we're going to be talking about today. His business is Noah's Everything Shop, where he buys and sells all sorts of items. And he'll tell you a lot of details about that.
But he started this at age 15. And now at 21. He's serving the tri state area, he's selling everything and anything to clients who wants to downsize, they're moving or they're just looking to find some extra cash for some of the things that they have around the house. It's now grown to a $200,000 a year business with sales of over 7000 items. He also handles the shipping all over the world. So I would say no is probably one of the luckiest people in the world though. So then KC and Ray, Oh, there's no there's there's no question here. So let's talk about changing the rules first because Most people when they get out of college, they go and get a job.
Ray Loewe 6:06
Okay, I don't think Noah did that. So Noah started his own business. He didn't follow the traditional plan. And tell us what motivated that Noah I you know, it's about time we let you talk I think
Noah Preihs 6:20
I appreciate. Yeah, so it really started out like Kris said, when I was 14, I was just I've always had that entrepreneurial spirit. So I was just looking around the house for stuff to sell and I found some old sneakers in my closet that I ended up selling on eBay. And the first sale is probably the best feeling ever. I just so like fulfilling you know, being able to find something that I wasn't using, and then selling it for money to someone who you know, actually wanted it. So started from there and it really just branched out by me selling everything around the house for my parents, and then quickly branch out to family and friends. Because I realized that you know, if my parents had stuff to sell then my neighbor probably has something to sell. And any family friends have something that can be listed on eBay. So that's really how I branched out and started that small idea and seeing that it worked. And this now, from there.
Ray Loewe 7:16
So, KC, have you ever sold anything on eBay?
KC Dempster 7:19
No, I haven't. Because I'm basically a princess. I would love to have that I don't want to do the work.
Ray Loewe 7:29
You know, I wouldn't even know where to begin. And and I think the role and I think this is what happens to a lot of people, you know, everybody's kind of enamored with this internet and internet sales and all of that stuff, but but how do they begin and what do you bring to the table? Now? What What do you do for people like me that don't know what to do?
Noah Preihs 7:48
Yeah, and that's one of the things that I try to educate people on. I mean, I always tell people that you know, I can help you sell on your own if you really want to, and then if you don't have any luck, you can always you know, come to me down. Later on the line. But yeah, that's the big thing. Anyone could sell on eBay but I but really with my service, there's an expertise of how to list things, what to list them at, and professionalism. You know, how I take care of customer service and how I ship every day. So that's really the big thing. And you know, when someone gives me something that it's gonna get sold, and you know, you're gonna get a fair price for it based off the research that I do. So that's really the big thing. It's not, you know, super complicated business plan or, you know, you know how to list things, but it's effective and people enjoy it because once something's out of their hands, they no longer have to worry about it. They just get a check every month for what is sold.
KC Dempster 8:43
I sound sounds like you're who I've been looking for.
Noah Preihs 8:47
Yeah, I get that a lot.
Ray Loewe 8:49
Yeah, so he gets rid of stuff that I get rid of clutter out of my house and I get a check. That's all I have to worry about. So what are some of the most Interesting things that you actually sold.
Noah Preihs 9:03
Yeah. So I've had, obviously a wide range of things that have been a little quirky or weird in general that I've sold. But definitely the one that takes the cake is I did a consignment pickup in North Jersey. And a gentleman had old bottles, which I thought were maybe soda bottles or medicine bottles, which I knew there was a market for. But he revealed to me that they were actually bottles for embalming. So he had a collection of these things. And I would have never guessed that they would have went for money. But apparently, there's a huge market for it. And I was able to sell for him. So it just goes to show that everybody has something to sell. And there's literally a market for anything. Because there's always somebody interested in what you may no longer have an interest in.
Ray Loewe 9:49
Yeah, I never would have thought of putting a pair of used sneakers online. I never in a million years and yet, stuff like that happens all the time, doesn't it?
Noah Preigh
Yeah, it does. More than people think.
Kris Parsons 10:02
Celebrity Well, excuse me wasn't a celebrity who started a business selling sneakers? Wasn't that
Noah Preihs 10:08
Yeah, there's there's a couple people on and that's actually how I really got started was it started out with us sneakers, but then I you know branch out to higher end sneakers and that was really like my first experience in you know, reselling. And I kind of took my, a lot of what I learned from that and brought it to my consignment business, which is obviously my full time hustle. Now.
Ray Loewe 10:31
Let's, let's talk a little bit about what you do for people. I mean, here, here we are a I'm definitely a novice at this. But and one of the things I'm going to be doing sooner than later is moving again, and when I move I'm going to have to downsize quite a bit. And so I'm going to have stuff right? stuff.
Yeah. And, you know, you can throw it away or you can call Noah right? And so what are the things that you bring? You can tell me what's worth putting up? What's not worth putting up? How to do this? You know? Go ahead, tell me Give me some insight.
Noah Preihs 11:12
Yeah. And that's one of the big things is educating people on you know what actually sells. So that's why when I have a client that tells me they want to, you know, they're moving or they want to just downsize in general. I tell them don't throw anything out. Like let me look through everything and I'll tell you exactly when I know I could get money for and what you know, might also have value that I can take.
But you know, it's a shame because a lot of people especially right now, during the total lockdown and COVID era, people were going through their garages, basements, you know, really any room in their house and they were throwing out a lot of things before you know, even considering that there may be a value for it. So that's my big thing is just educating people to you know, really, you know, thanks for throwing something out like hey, maybe there is a market for it on eBay or at least You know, giving me a call and you know, see what I think about it.
Ray Loewe 12:03
And you know, you know what to throw out and what to say, hey, maybe it's gonna shell. Okay? Tell me. Let's tell everybody how to get in touch with you again so we don't forget about that. And then I want to come back and I want to probe a little bit into your mindset about why you got into a business like this. But how do we contact you first of all,
Noah Preihs 12:27
so I'm on basically all social media platforms, Noah's Everything Shop on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and then My website is ebay.com/Noahseverythingshop and that'll take you right to the eBay store where you can search all the products that I have through the different categories. And you can also reach out to me that way as well.
Ray Loewe 12:47
Okay, so we can post that on our on our notes section on our podcast, right. Okay. All right. Now, let's figure out what motivated you because This one will you really get into why you are one of the luckiest people in the world? So I have a note here that said that you help individuals and families who are not able to sell things on their own, or could use extra money to make ends meet. What a great goal. Okay, yeah, well,
Noah Preihs 13:19
it's really the most redeeming aspect of the business is just knowing that I'm helping out people that would have no you know, capability of selling us on due to, you know, other jobs or, you know, just other things that they want to pursue. And it's seamless. I mean, the big thing is, once it's out of the person's hands, it's no more work on their part. And I take care of the rest. So it really is, you know, rewarding knowing that I'm helping people out who could use the extra money or, you know, just want to declutter, and a lot of times, people that, you know, want to get rid of all this stuff, and declutter their house. It's just, like mentally clearing that, you know, it's, it's a lot less stress than, you know, knowing that it's not around and I'm actually you know, storing it and then shipping it when it sells and then they get a check in the mail every month. So I mean, that's really the big thing is that people really enjoy that they don't have any work on their part. And you know, I'm, I bring a sense of professionalism that can help people sell their items.
Ray Loewe 14:16
And then this came this all stemmed from selling a pair of old sneakers that you didn't, what what would, you know, what did you just wake up one morning and say, I'm going to go to my closet and see if I got an old pair of sneakers to sell, you know, how did how did this come up?
Noah Preihs 14:33
And literally, that's what happened. I mean, throughout my childhood, I was always, you know, mowing lawns, or doing even younger doing lemonade stands and stuff. So I was always just, you know, looking for an edge, you know, besides just having a, you know, regular job. So that's really what it came down to. I heard from my friend that he was or someone that was actually older than me at the time that they were selling on eBay, because you know, technically you're not even selling eBay when you're that young. That was a double life that I was living
Kris Parsons 15:08
changing the rules, yeah,
Noah Preihs 15:09
it's not like I had, you know, collectibles to my name at that age. So it was really just a limited selection of what I could sell. And I saw some old sneakers that, you know, I knew were worth a little more when I bought them, but I saved up all my money to buy them. So I figured, you know, why not sell them and they were in decent condition, then they definitely get some value on eBay. And I was so excited when they finally sold because it was it was silver leaving knowing that, you know, I had so much more stuff like that, that, you know, may not go for a lot of money, but you know, it makes a difference when boy 14 or 15.
Ray Loewe 15:43
So you fed off of this right? You had a success. And then and then what happened? You went back into the closet to find more stuff to sell, right?
Noah Preihs 15:52
Yeah, exactly. And so Wednesday, my mom's closet eventually the basement so
Ray Loewe 15:58
so did you ever sell anything of your moms and dads that they weren't ready to show you that?
Noah Preihs 16:03
I'm not actually I would say with my dad, there was a couple of things that he was like, he was like, Oh, he only got 40 bucks. And, you know, that's a lot of times one of the problems that I deal with is just you know, people have this idea that things are worth You know, a lot more than it's actually worth.
So, a lot of it is educating people beforehand, just so you know, make sure things that are, you know, 100% clear, you know, how much they can expect to get for it. But yeah, like, he was like, all that was my prized possession.
Ray Loewe 16:32
And, and, and, okay, so you did this all through high school, and then all of a sudden, when college was done, did you ever really consider getting another job?
Noah Preihs 16:43
I mean, I wouldn't say that I never considered it. But I just know that I believe in what I sell in and I'm extremely confident that you know, I can help every single person because everyone has something to sell. So that was really my approach that I was gonna, you know, really go after after college and you know, try and help as many people as possible.
Ray Loewe 17:06
Okay, well, unfortunately, we're near the end of our time here. But But Noah, I think you're an inspiration. I think what I've seen here is that you've been able to take something that you got excited about, that you're passionate about. And you've been able to create your own business here, a niche where you can support yourself where you're working with things that you love to do. And this is what the luckiest people in the world all hope to do. And I think as our listeners, take a look at what Noah has been able to do here and how he's been able to build a business for himself, at only 21-22 years old, and I think you got a career I can't ever see you working for anybody else at this point in time. Any Any closing remark you want to make we only have a minute
Noah Preihs 18:00
Yeah, I just want to encourage other people, you know, that are, you know, in college or, you know, just graduated high school that, you know, it is possible to run your own business if you're, you know, super passionate about it and you know, you have, you know, clear insight into what you want to do. I would say go for it. I mean, especially at a young age, you know, you shouldn't take risks. So I would encourage everybody to, you know, try something that they're, you know, passionate and see if they can, you know, turn it into a business somehow.
Ray Loewe 18:29
Cool. Okay, I think we're near the end of our time. Let's do a quick break Taylor, and then we'll come back and close us up.
Diane Dayton 18:39
You're listening to changing the rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world. We will be right back with more exciting information.
KC Dempster 18:50
Welcome back, everybody. I'm just so fascinated by by what Noah had to say. And I've been I apologize for not listening closely. Because I've been mentally going through my head and making a list. But anyway, you know, getting back to the luckiest people in the world, it's it's not a one time decision to be lucky, you have to make it a lifetime commitment. And you have to make your choices constantly to take you down the path where you maybe you have to change rules, or maybe even change something even bigger. But we have several ways that we can help you be lucky and stay lucky. And one of them is our new website, www,theluckiestpeopleintheworld.com. And on that we have, you know, links to the podcasts. We have books that Ray and I have put written together, we have some courses that might be able to help you if that's where you want to go. So visit our website and we always want you to listen to the podcasts because we have so much fun doing them.
Ray Loewe 19:56
Yeah, and on our website, we're gonna have a link to Our virtual conferences coming up in September. And this is a chance to meet people like Noah. We've got an exciting presentation and hopefully Noah is going to be there too. And maybe we'll even condiment into running one of our breakout sessions like that. Okay, but Okay, so we'll see everybody next week and have a great rainy day.
Diane Dayton 20:28
Thank you for listening to changing the rules, a podcast designed to help you live your life the way you want, and give you what you need to make it happen. Join us in two weeks for our next exciting topics on changing the rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe the luckiest guy in the world.