Working For Yourself – But Not…

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People ask me all the time about what it is exactly that I do.  Each time I answer that question, I end up giving a different answer depending on what was happening that particular day.

My favorite answer is: “I golf”.

While it’s true that I do try and do that as frequently as possible, the reality is much more complex than that.  Essentially I’ve reached  my goal of having multiple streams of income.  I’ve always liked the idea of that, because it means that I’m not getting bored.  By making money from a variety of things, it ensures that I’m keeping things interesting and not getting bogged down in one repetitive task or job.

Sure I like some income producing activities more than others, but that’ll always be the case.

Entrepreneur, Employee, or both?

Over the months I’ve covered a lot of different topics on this site, however I recognize that I’ve been particularly vague about how I actually support myself.  I throw around the term entrepreneur a lot.  While I definitely fall into that category, there are also some things I do that don’t fall into that category.

I’ve got news for you.  I’ve got a job.  Two – actually.

Some of you may have known this, others may be more surprised.  While a large portion of my income does come from my own personal businesses and endeavors, I also receive a couple paychecks each month.

And you know what? I love it.

Better get started - before you end up working for him...

However, the reason I love it is because they aren’t jobs in the traditional sense.  I don’t have to show up to an office.  I have very few deadlines.  I rarely have to be anywhere at any specific time. In essence, my time is still my own.  I can golf, I can read, I can work out, I can nap.  And more importantly than any of those, I can work on my own projects.

Over the last decade there’s been a fundamental shift in the way many people conduct business.  All of a sudden results and personal accountability are more important than paying someone to sit there and spend half their day pretending to work.

By decentralizing your business and giving your employees the freedom they want, they are going to work much harder to succeed.  After all, once you have that freedom, would you want to give it up? No way, you are going to do whatever it takes to ensure that you can do that for as long as possible.

I think the reason that this works as well as it does for me, is that both the organizations I work for understand that my main motivation for working for them is to build skills, while building my personal businesses.  Don’t get me wrong, I hope to stick around in both my jobs for a long time to come – they are both blowing up, and I’m stoked to be a part of it.  However, a few years from now I’d love for it to be my business that’s blowing up.  I’d love to give someone else the opportunity I’ve got now to work remotely and build something on their own.

Job Security 2.0

A couple weeks ago I wrote a guest post for The Infopreneur called “The New Career Model.” In it, I discuss the concept of job security 2.0 and how a single paycheck from a single company isn’t nearly as secure as it once was.

Essentially what happened for me when I left my job last year, was I freed up a lot more time to network and meet people.  Through that networking I was able to generate new sources of income, as well as devote time to some affiliate marketing and side projects, which now help me support myself.

Networking forms the basis of job security 2.0.  The more people you know, the more opportunities you will have when you find yourself in need of some help.  I’d take that over a corporate paycheck any day.

Get a Job, But Not Just Any Job…

Starting a business is awesome.  You won’t find a bigger supporter of the idea.  However, for a lot of people taking that leap is a really difficult step.  To throw out all form of income and security can be a scary prospect.

Having a job such as the types that I’ve illustrated above can allow you to start taking your time back, building the skills necessary for your business to be successful, and help you ease into a life changing transition.

There are tons of ways out there to find a job that allows you to work remotely.  Whether its Craigslist, Elance, or personal networking, if you want to make money without having to show up to an office or workplace every day you absolutely can.

Getting a more fitting job can end up being one of the best steps you take towards starting a business and ditching the cublicle.

I don’t think being an entrepreneur and being an “employee” don’t have to be mutually exclusive.  What do you think?

Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty

I’ve been talking about my upcoming guide for months.  Well, it’s finally, almost, pretty much, done.  I’ve been working really hard to get the site up, content finalized and everything in place for a launch soon.  I’m not putting an exact date on it yet, I don’t want to blow by another launch date.  This next one will be for real.

That said, all of the concepts I’ve discussed in this post are addressed in the program, and I’m really excited to start helping people get the most out of their lives.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my newsletter for sneak peeks into the new product (see sidebar), as well as my Facebook Fan page.  You can also check out the RSS Feed.

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