Investing 101: A Beginner's Guide

I started investing in stocks when I was 24 years old (early Robinhood user).

I bought my first crypto (#BTC and #ETH) in 2016.

I've made hundreds of thousands of dollars ($$$).

I've also lost hundreds of thousands.

Avoid these 7 mistakes 👇
1/ The "price" is irrelevant. It's the market cap that is important.

Right now, #AMC500K is trending.

People think AMC "the price" can reach 500k.

But that would put AMC's market cap at $1.2 trillion+.

Don't look at the price.

Look at the total valuation of the company.
2/ Timing the market is hard & stupid.

Everyone thinks they can buy the bottom and sell the top.

Nothing has lost me more money than trying to do this.

Because the bottom is rarely the bottom.

And the top is rarely the top.
3/ Bet on Category Kings.

Our research at Category Pirates shows Category Kings take 76% of the economics of the category.

Which means all your upside is betting on the leader of an emerging category.

Not "cheap" next-best alternatives.

categorypirates.substack.com/p/the-category…
4/ Want 100x+ return? Plan to hold for 20+ years.

There's a great book called 100 Bagger that studied stocks returning 100-to-1.

Nutshell: quite a few stocks can give 100x returns. But people don't hold long enough to ride all the way to the top.

amzn.to/3DQNgTf
5/ Sell Native Analog companies. Buy Native Digital companies.

Everyone says the S&P 500 is the best "safe" investment.

What the market hasn't accounted for yet is how many of those are dying Analog companies.

Buy the future, not the past.
6/ Smaller portfolio, bigger bets.

There's a Warren Buffett interview where he says, "Diversification is for people who don't know what they're doing."

$100 in 10 different companies isn't going to get you anywhere.

But $1,000 in 1 company you really understand will.
7/ Don't buy/sell the news. Audit your hypothesis of the future.

People buy stocks/coins/assets they believe will go up over time.

So, only buy/sell when a CIRCUMSTANCE changes.

(Don't sell Apple stock cuz WSJ said so. Sell it if you think nobody will buy iPhones anymore).
I have spent a few hours reading and experimenting with investing every day for 8 years now.

I still feel like I know nothing.

But I also know a LOT of people who don't know how to take the first step.

Hopefully this thread helps you get started.

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More from @Nicolascole77

13 Dec
10 bars from @russdiemon new album that every DIY creator should hang on their wall going into 2022

👇👇👇
"This industry is high school / Grown men and women actin' like they still in tenth grade."

Much of the creator landscape is one big popularity contest.

Just be careful what your driver is:

Sitting at the popular kids' lunch table today?

Or staying true to yourself for life.
"Broaden your horizons, faith, what you fightin' it for / Trust your purpose, have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

In order to stand out, you have to be willing to give up the game of fitting in.

Everyone says they want to be different.

But your actions speak for you.
Read 11 tweets
23 Nov
Attention Writing Twitter 📢

January, 2022 is gearing up to be Ship 30 for 30's BIGGEST cohort yet (1,000+ Shippers).

To celebrate, let's play a game.

1 RT = 1 digital writing tip we share inside the course.

Ready, go.
You can join the last Ship 30 for 30 cohort of the year here 👇

ship30for30.com
Digital Writing Tip #1: It's your content. You can do anything you want with it.

Atomic Essays can become:

• Newsletters
• Landing page copy
• eBooks
• Digital Products
• Course material
• Scripts for podcast episodes
• Etc.
Read 16 tweets
18 Nov
Ryan Holiday is one of the best-selling nonfiction authors of the past decade.

To date, his books have sold more than 3,000,000 copies.

Here's the crazy story of how a digital marketer niched down and created his own category around Stoicism:
Ryan dropped out college at 19 to apprentice under best-selling author, Robert Greene.

This is clearly where his "become known for a niche you own" thinking started.

Each of Robert's books focused on timeless human qualities.

(This early inspiration was critical.)
Ryan then spent several years as the marketing director for American Apparel, before making his name helping launch Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell."

The book sold more than 400,000 copies in 2009 alone, and 1M+ copies to date.
Read 10 tweets
16 Nov
7 ways to niche down & create your own category (with examples):
1. WHAT do you do… that you are uniquely known for?

Velveeta is known for "the melt."

There are fancier cheeses. There are healthier cheeses. There are more indulgent cheeses.

But "the melt" is what turned Kraft's Velveeta into a $100M+ brand.

What's your "melt?"
2. WHO do you do it for… who are surprisingly willing to pay large premiums?

One such audience is scrapbookers—who love, love, love buying scissors.

To Staples, scissors are cheap & mass-produced.

To scrapbookers, scissors can be a luxury good.

$50-$75 per pair.
Read 9 tweets
10 Nov
I started writing online when I was 17 years old.

Since then, I've...

• Written 3,000+ articles online
• Ghostwritten 1,500+ articles online
• Published 5 books & 30 "mini-books"
• Built two 7-figure writing businesses

If I had to start from $0 again, here's what I'd do:
Step 1: Pick a social platform

I pick Twitter.

Say I want to be a freelance content writer. I search "marketing" on Twitter and look for high-performing content.

I start curating high-performing content, building out my profile.

Showing off my skills.
Step 2: Offer my skills for free

After curating some world-class work, I introduce myself to top creators.

Tag them or DM.

Anyone who responds, I offer my services for free.

"Let me prove what I can do."

Someone will say yes.
Read 14 tweets
9 Nov
How to clarify your niche framework:

WHAT | FOR WHO | SO THAT

• What are you writing about?
• Who is it for (be specific)?
• To deliver what sort of outcome?

Here's what this looks like in action 👇
"I write about productivity."

No!

WHAT: "I write about productive work habits."
FOR WHO: "For busy product managers at SaaS companies."
SO THAT: "So they can have more time to build meaningful relationships with their coworkers."

Wow, so much better!
"I write about real estate."

No!

WHAT: "I write about how to buy your first rental property."
FOR WHO: "For people who want to get started in real estate but have no money."
SO THAT: "So they can quit the job they hate and create a job they love."

Wow, so much better!
Read 5 tweets

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