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What Your Guidance Counselor, Career Counselor, and Own Mother Probably Never Told You... The alarm clock jars you awake at some insanely early hour. As you hit the snooze button you think, "there's gotta be a better way to make a living." As someone who rolled out of bed this morning at 8:30, I'm here to deliver the good news: there is. A lot of people dream of escaping "Dilbert's world" and being their own boss. Perhaps the biggest reason these dreams get derailed is money. Or, more accurately, faulty thinking about what it means to "make a living." I'm no exception. For a long time I thought before I could take the leap to self-employment, I had to first figure out a venture that would generate the same amount of income as I was then earning. Develop Multiple Profit Centers Not so, says Barbara Winter, self-bosser and author of Making a Living Without a Job Winter is an enthusiastic advocate of what she calls "multiple profit centers." Instead of thinking in terms of a single income, i.e. a "job," Winter recommends aspiring entrepreneurs develop several income sources. Outdoor enthusiast and neighbor Bob Sadowski is living proof that you can have your cake and eat it too. Bob lives on 80 acres in rural Plainfield, MA where he's parlayed his life passions into his livelihood. When not running New England Bob's Snowmobile Tours of Quebec snowmobiling tours throughout Quebec (one covers nearly 1,100 miles) this vintage car enthusiast specializes in buying and selling antique car and truck parts out of his barn. Today my income comes from five sources: 1) I publish eBooks and other resources for other people looking to take the leap from having a job to having a life. 2) I do telephone consultations with people from literally all over world on how to turn what you love to do into income. 3) Drawing upon research I did in graduate school, I've established myself as an expert on the topic of women's self-limiting patterns and philosophies. Now I'm asked to deliver my How to Feel As Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are for such diverse organizations as American Women in Radio and Television, Bristol Myers Squibb, and MIT. 4) I get paid to deliver other people's seminars. My biggest client for freelance training is my former employer, a company called Time/Design. Time/Design hires me to fly around the country to lead their one-day course called Time Management to Focus Management for such clients like Ruby Tuesdays, Georgio Armani, and the US Army. 5) I seek out other products Keep Your Day Job Maybe you aren't interested in quitting your job but you like the idea of not having all your eggs in one basket. When traveling to San Francisco, I stay in an apartment in a lovely hilltop home in the Ashbury Heights section of the city. The owner is a Bay area native who, in addition to teaching reading to grade schoolers (which she absolutely loves), has set up several additional sources of income. For one, she rents the in-law apartment to tourists through the local B&B association on per night basis earning considerably more than she would with a year-round tenant. For weekend and summer time income, she parlayed her knowledge and love of the city into a personal tour guide business with a steady stream of customers right in her own home. She even takes in a few extra bucks renting videos to her overnight guests. Maybe you don't really like your job but can't afford to just up and quit. Say your long-range goal is to make $50,000. You don't need to be a math whiz to know there are different ways you can slice and dice this. For simplicity sake, though, let's say you decide to set up five income streams, each generating $10,000. Since you'll be building your multiple income streams while you're still gainfully employed, starting two side businesses simultaneously is probably about your max time-wise. What you now have is a monthly goal for each business of just over $800. That's $200 a week. If making $20,000 a year seemed daunting, Winter says, psychologically earning $200 is more feasible: "Knowing what your financial goal is makes it easier to determine what action you'll need to take to accomplish it." So what are you waiting for? It's your life! Top 10 Skills for New World of Work There are many changes coming in the world of work, such as increased competition, the need for more education and certifications, and the trend to change careers 5-7 times in a lifetime. No matter what job or career path you decide to take, there are some basic skills that all employers look for. To succeed in the modern world of work, keep your skill set up- to- date. The following is a list of the top ten skills needed for the new world of work. Q & A How to Find a Great Search Firm Q & A Technology in the Workplace - Boon or Curse? Like all new innovations, technology in the work environment can either work for you or against you. What is good for the employer or is not always the same for the employee. What Can I Do To Improve My Job-Interviewing Skills? Whether you're a student job seeker or a polished and proven executive, the first thing you must come to terms with is, "Regardless of the position you seek, you are now in sales!" The product you are selling is YOU! The interview is your opportunity to differentiate yourself in the eyes of your customer [the interviewer] when compared to your competitors [other job applicants]. Where Do I Go From Here? Making Your Future Work Better For You Career Transitions : Fearless Flyers You may have read one of my previous articles on career transitioning which described how to create complementary careers for yourself. This article will introduce you to three people I call Fearless Flyers because they have taken the leap of faith that many of us would only dream of considering. Career Change - Is Your Career A Good Fit Or Is It Causing Pain? Do you leap out of bed in the morning looking forward to the day ahead? Wake Up and Learn Something New The US Government has just released last month's job creation figures. It was the lowest number in two years. This is a revealing and disturbing snapshot of what is actually happening in the real economy, not the one artificially created for the headlines. Our US GNP or Gross National Product, is based upon manufactured durable goods. Unfortunately, the manufacturing economy in the US has not yet recovered from the devastating collapse it saw commence in the spring of 2000. The recent improvements in jobs and growth are substantially confined to the service sector. Manufacturing is what drives the US economy and it is suffering. Youre Fired Isnt The Finale According to the U.S. Department of Labor, March 2004 had the largest gain in hiring in nearly four years. But as of then, there were still about 8 million Americans without jobs, and almost 23% of those had been unemployed for six months or more. Do Your Very Best in All Things -- Because Someone Is Looking.... Your job is to rise ABOVE the challenge. Do more than is expected. Say nothing negative about anyone or anything. Yes, that is easier said than done for most of us. Still, it is simply good advice for all. You never have to watch your backside when there are no boomerangs returning. Choose Your References Wisely! So, you need to submit employment references. A simple task, right? Sure, you could contact three of your closest friends and ask them to be your references. They may be able to testify to your character, but do they know how well you would perform on the job? Probably not. Let's explore the types of references you must seek, the number of people you should include, and to whom references should be submitted. Why Employers Want an Employee with a Degree You wake up in the morning, head to work, and find out your company is downsizing and you are being laid off. No big deal you think, you have experience, you've worked at the same company for years. You think companies will WANT to hire you. Guess what, your wrong. It's a new day and age, while you may potentially find work. It's a lot more difficult than you may think to get a job these days. Most reputable companies are looking for qualified people who also have an education. The 10 Biggest Career Change Mistakes - And How to Avoid Them Career change is no walk in the park. What is Mystery Shopping, and Can You Really Get Paid to Shop? Mystery shoppers visit businesses "disguised as normal customers," and do the things other customers do-ask questions, make a purchase, make a return-but with a twist. These undercover customers are there to evaluate the businesses and their employees. After a visit, the mystery shopper completes a report or questionnaire detailing what occurred. Wishing and Hoping Years after Disneyland was built, after the completion of Walt Disney World, the story goes that someone went up to Mike Vance, Creative Director for Walt Disney Studios and said, "Isn't it too bad Walt Disney didn't live to see this?" Without pausing, he replied, "But he did see it, that's why it's here." Discuss Your Accomplishments During the Interview When preparing for your interview, you need to be ready to discuss your accomplishments. Surprisingly, many people are reluctant to talk about their accomplishments. But this is exactly what the interviewer wants to hear from you. Knowing and Guessing The line between average and exceptional work performance is dotted with ordinary day-by-day behaviors. I was reminded of that line recently. My husband was explaining to a nurse how he'd inadvertently taken the last dose of the live typhoid virus on the wrong day and wondered if he needed to retake the sequence prior to our Africa trip. "No," she commented, "I think you'll be fine." We both knew she was guessing. Cover Letters Cover Letters: Are you telling them what they want to know? Seven Ways to Say You?re Fired and What to Do When It Happens to You Today's employers scramble for creative ways to advise employees of their unexpected departures. The days of employers being loyal to their employees are long gone. We now live in a culture where every working adult should be wearing a parachute just so he or she can land safely when forced to jump from the corporate tower. How are employers giving employees the boot?
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