Tag: digital marketing

This video was filmed in Las Vegas during a conference weekend. Four of us sat down—young adults who are actually doing the work every day—to talk through a question we hear constantly: “Should I go to college, or should I do something else first?”

Our answers aren’t identical because our paths haven’t been identical. That’s the point. There isn’t one correct route. There is a smart first move, though: build skills that travel with you.

We All Took Different Paths—and We’re Still Moving Forward

Here’s what that looks like in real life for the four of us in this video:

• Jack Wendt didn’t go to college.
• Sam is in college right now.
• I plan to go to college.
• Luke went to college but didn’t finish.

Same table, same conversation, different decisions. Nobody is “behind.” Nobody is locked out of a good career. What separates people early isn’t the label of student or non‑student. It’s whether they’re gaining real ability to create value.

What We Teach Is Practical and Transferable

At High Rise Academy, we work directly with local service businesses, so the training stays grounded in what actually drives growth. The goal isn’t to memorize concepts. It’s to learn how to produce outcomes.

Here’s what apprentices practice in the program:

• Using modern tools to speed up research, writing, and creative production.
• Turning customer reviews and job photos into content people respond to.
• Improving websites so visitors turn into calls and booked jobs.
• Running simple ad campaigns and tracking what’s working.
• Communicating with business owners and following through on deadlines.
• Building repeatable workflows such as the content factory so that results aren’t random.

These skills transfer into almost any lane—whether you end up in business, tech, sales, operations, or entrepreneurship.

Real Ways People Use the Program

People come into High Rise Academy with different starting points, and the same skills end up helping them in different ways. That’s because the Academy sits in the middle of a two-sided market: on one side are local service businesses that need real marketing help, and on the other side are young adults who need real experience. When both sides show up, everybody wins—businesses get growth work done, and apprentices get reps that actually matter.

Some apprentices work directly with local service businesses through the Academy. They learn our systems, build campaigns, and get daily reps on real client work.

Others start close to home by running marketing for their parents’ local service businesses. They’ll fix a website, post content, set up ads, and organize reviews—then see what happens when consistent marketing meets real operations.

Some take that family-business experience and turn it into outside work. That step—from “helping at home” to “helping clients”—is a common bridge.

A good example we talked about is Ethan Murphy. He began by doing marketing for his parents, then applied the same playbook to the fencing niche. Within a few months he had picked up five or six fencing clients and was delivering results fast. He’s basically building a niche agency around that skill set.

Those are four distinct, real outcomes from the same skill set. Same training, different applications—because the two sides of the market keep feeding each other: businesses create the problems worth solving, and apprentices build the skills by solving them.

Why Skills First Makes the College Decision Easier

College can be a good move for some people. It can also be the wrong move for others at a given time.

The problem is that most people are asked to choose before they’ve done enough real work to know what they want.

Skills fix that.

When you can produce useful work:

• You have proof of what you’re good at.
• You can earn while you learn.
• You can switch directions without starting from zero.
• You walk into college (if you go) with context instead of guessing.

That’s why we keep saying this program can be an internship, a first job, a career start, or a way to level up a family business. It’s not a narrow track. It’s a skill-builder.

What To Do Next If You’re Still Unsure

If you’re undecided about college, that’s normal. Most people are being asked to choose before they’ve done enough real work to know what fits. Getting real reps first makes the decision a lot clearer.

If you want to learn these skills in a hands-on way, then the High Rise Academy might be right for you. You’ll work on real local service business campaigns, learn modern marketing systems, and build a portfolio that makes your next decision easier.