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Issue 135 |
February 22, 2006 |
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Changing Course is dedicated to helping you:
~Live Life on Purpose | |
Inside Today's Issue Featured Article Creative Income Streams for People Who Love to Cook Featured Resource Funding Your Business via Circle Lending Guest Article A Call to Action Upcoming Workshops & Teleclasses Work at What You Love 2006 Workshop Schedule The View From the Other Side
Resources for A Change |
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When you have a dream you've got to grab it and never let go. ~ Carol Burnett |
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Opportunity Knocks:
By Valerie Young To an "opportunity analyst" like me, words like, "All the good ideas are already taken," or "I had a great idea but then I found out someone else was doing it" are the career equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. With a U.S. population estimated at close to 300 million and a world’s population of six and a half billion – it’s a big world out there folks with plenty of untapped ideas and opportunities to go around. To say all the good ideas are taken is like saying, "I was going to write a cookbook but then I went to the bookstore and found someone had beaten me to it." Have you looked in the cookbook section of a large bookstore these days? A lot of cookbooks can be based on the style of cooking – Italian, Thai, French, vegetarian, and so on. Some are specific to the type of cookware used, like for example, crock pots, woks, or grills. Still other cookbooks feature recipes centering on one particular food garlic or goat cheese. Regional cookbooks are nothing new. But what if the location is not north, south, east or west but "up"? While most cookbooks note recipe variations based on altitude, baking teacher and cookbook author Susan G. Purdy decided to reach for the sky. Her book Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes includes 100 recipes for cakes, pies, breads, cookies, and pastries. Working with physicists and doing her own testing from sea-level to the mountains of Colorado and everywhere in between, Susan found that a lot of conventional wisdom about high altitude baking didn’t pan out. Because her cookbook takes into account a range of altitudes, it’s perfect for RVers or and others who travel to different altitudes. The idea of location cookbooks got me thinking. There are a number of cookbooks out there on microwaves and on cooking with 3, 4, or 5 ingredients. But what about a cookbook that combines the two aimed at the business traveler staying at extended–stay hotels? Find out which hotel has the most locations and partner with them to sell the cookbook to guests and to stock their mini-kitchens with the ingredients in your recipes. To get you started, Better Homes and Gardens website offers free software to create your own cookbook http://ww5.bhg.com/bhg/mycookbook/index.jhtml?ordersrc=gmycookbook. Another cooking-related opportunity was inspired by a recent USA Today (February 10th, 2006) article featuring over a dozen restaurants, hotels, inns and resorts offering cooking classes and opportunities to play chef for a day. For example, apparently while I was sitting in the dining room at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North on a recent speaking trip, other guests were paying for the chance to be in the kitchen helping chefs fill orders and to make dinner for guests at their own table. The cost, which includes the chef joining your party for dessert is $500. Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia holds several popular cooking classes including Barbecue University taught by barbecue cookbook author, Steve Raichlen. Rates start at $3,000 per person with a discounted rate for couples and includes three nights lodging and some meals. Clearly the cost is not a deterrent since most of this summer’s classes are already sold out. More reasonably priced are the $320 weekend "culinary escapes" at Wheatleigh, a luxury hotel in Lenox, Massachusetts. The price includes all classes and some meals. Lodging is extra. So where’s the opportunity? Right now, it appears each location is marketing their offerings on their own. That presents an opportunity for someone to create a portal website where cooking fans can find these kinds of courses around the country. Charge each establishment a monthly or annual fee to be listed. The price could be based on a percentage of the course fee. Or, if you’re going to register people directly at your site, you could receive a percentage of each registration. If your writing skills aren’t up to snuff, hire a ghost writer. Or take a self-study course like the American Writers and Artist Institute’s Passport to Romance. You can learn more about this and other helpful resources for travel lovers in the Cool Jobs section at Changing Course (ChangingCourse.com/cooljobs.htm) There is no end to ways to turn an interest into income. All you need is an open mind, a little creative thinking, and the willingness to act. As with any idea, start small… but by all means, start. About the Author Outside the job box expert, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com offering resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited in Kiplinger’s, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Woman’s Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie has spoken on the topic of How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are to such diverse organizations as Daimler Chrysler, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Harvard, and American Women in Radio and Television. Find more articles written by Valerie at ChangingCourse.com/articles/ |
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The moment you let avoiding failure become your motivator, you’re down the path of inactivity. ~ Roberto Goizueta |
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Featured Resource Funding Your Business: A Better Way to Borrow Money from Friends and Family Financing for most small or growth-stage businesses, says the Small Business Administration, comes from friends, relatives, employees, customers or industry colleagues. Yet according to Asheesh Advani, Entrepreneur magazine columnist and founder of Circle Lending, a company that manages financial transactions between private parties, the process of managing interpersonal loans is fraught with emotional hazards, administrative hassles, and financial risks. For example, the average default rate on interpersonal loans is 14% compared to a 1% loss rate for bank loans. One of the main reasons the default rate is so high for interpersonal loans is because repayment is typically organized in a haphazard manner often involving a lump-sum payment at the end of the loan term. Borrowers are frequently unable to make lump-sum payments and need the discipline of monthly payment plans to ensure that debts are repaid. When interpersonal loans are managed with repayment plans though, the default rate drops substantially. The mere act of making regular payments instills discipline and good credit habits. That’s where Circle Lending comes in. America Online calls Circle Lending “A good source for both borrowers and lenders... which serves as an intermediary between friends or family members.” If you’re planning on borrowing from a non-professional lending source such as family or friends, Circle Lending may be worth a look. Learn more at TinyURL.com/hzj82 |
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The only limits to the possibilities in your
life tomorrow are the buts you use today. |
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All About Your Subscription You're welcome to forward this newsletter in its entirety to other dreamers. If someone sent this to you, don't depend on your friend for this great information. Get your complimentary subscription by emailing subscribe@ChangingCourse.com Please do not reply to this message. Subscribe or Change Your Address: ChangingCourse.com/ezine.htm Previous Issues: ChangingCourse.com/archives/ |
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We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~ E. M. Forster |
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Guest Article A Call to Action By Jim Clemmer "A parrot talks much but flies little." — Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer On the one hand, some people who fail to grow the distance do but don't think. They are like the hyperactive entrepreneur who burst into a travel agent's office and urgently demanded a ticket. "Where do you want to go?" the agent asked him. "I don't care," he breathlessly retorted. "Just give me a ticket! I've got business everywhere!" On the other hand, many unsuccessful people think but don't do. These people know all the theories. They can quote chapter, verse, phrase, and story from leadership and personal effectiveness books, magazines, and speakers. They are walking professors. But their experiences are all conceptual. They know, but don't act on their knowledge. They are like an "expert" in love and marriage who has never had a date. What Seeds are We Planting? A farmer prayed fervently every night during harvest season for a fine crop. He pleaded for crops as fine as his neighbors. After one night of particularly strong lamenting and pleading, the Lord finally replied; "Ben," He exclaimed, "How can I give you a harvest? You didn't plant any seeds last spring." Now is the time to prepare for our next harvest. We can't wait until harvest time to plant the seeds. We can't strike a bargain to plant seeds once we see whether the harvest is worth the effort. Harvest time will arrive whether we're ready or not. Now is the time to plant the seeds for the coming harvests. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to move from where we are to where we want to be. Now is the time to grow toward our distant dreams. That takes courage and discipline. It's far easier to be a victim and use excuses like we're too old, it's too late, we've missed our big chances in life, or today's opportunities aren't as good as they used to be. Such "Victimitis" leads straight to Pity City. If we're not careful, we'll grow ever more bitter and resistant to change as we regret what might have been. If we've going to live to the fullest, we need to be thoroughly used up before we leave this earth. Countless people through the ages who awoke late in life have shown that it's never too late. There's still time. If not now, when? Kerry was in her forties and slowly working her way toward a degree on a part-time basis. Many of her friends and family tried to discourage her from "wasting her time." "You will be fifty by the time you finally get your degree," they told her. Kerry responded, "I wish I would have completed my degree years ago. But since I am going to be fifty anyway, I want to have a degree when I get there." Perseverance, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"We must not hope to be mowers, About the Author
Excerpted from Jim's fourth bestseller, Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. View the book's unique format and content, Introduction and Chapter One, and feedback showing why nearly 100,000 copies are now in print at GrowingTheDistance.com. Jim's new companion book to Growing the Distance is The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. Jim Clemmer is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. His web site is Clemmer.net/articles. |
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You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ~ Maya Angelou |
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Upcoming Workshops & Teleclasses
Work at What You Love:
Discover
How to Replace Your Job With Work You Really Love…
Join “Outside the Job Box” expert Valerie Young and Barbara Winter, best-selling author of Making a Living Without a Job for what promises to be an extraordinary two days – filled with energy, enthusiasm, wisdom...and practical, life-changing know-how. Save These Dates…Details Coming Soon June 2-3, 2006 Ventura, California August 11-12, 2006 Northampton, Massachusetts September 15-16, 2006 Madison, Wisconsin To be on the early bird mailing list to receive workshop details the minute they’re available, email us at workshop2006@ChangingCourse.com. |
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View From the Other Side "You've got to get a kick out of whatever you're doing. I'd rather see you as a happy UPS driver enjoying your customers than a miserable senior accountant at a Fortune 500 company making $70,000 a year. You only get one trip around so you've got to enjoy what you do and who you do it with." ~Tom Peters
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Resources for A Change I usually stay off the traditional job path but was intrigued to learn about the huge demand for auto mechanics – or as they are known today, auto technicians. Apparently the career is no longer the relatively low paying grease monkey job it once was. Today auto repair is a very high-tech job paying $30,000 to $60,000 in metro areas with master technicians making up to $70,000. Automotive Retailing Today projects 37,329 job openings this year and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a need for 35,000 new technicians every year through 2010. For a school near you go to DirectoryofSchools.com/auto-mechanic-school.htm
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