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ChangingCourse.com, Find Your Life Mission and Live It

Issue 164

June 7, 2007

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ChangingCourse.com
since 1995 dedicated to helping people like you to:

~Live Life on Purpose ~Work at What You Love ~Follow Your Own Road

Inside Today's Issue

Opportunity Knocks

It's Who You Know that Counts:
The Importance of Learning by Example

Featured Resource

Get Paid to Travel Teleconference

In the Garden

Fast Track Your Dreams Community

Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses

Work at What You Love Workshop
"How to Become Joyfully Jobless" with Barbara Winter
Dream Makers Teleclass Series

The View From the Other Side

Resources for a Change

This ad-free bimonthly newsletter is brought to you compliments of ChangingCourse.com.

When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. ~ John Ruskin

Opportunity Knocks
Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job

It's Who You know That Counts:
The Importance of Learning by Example

By Valerie Young

My nephew Todd is about to wrap up his first year of college at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. On a recent trip home, I asked if he'd decided on a major yet. “Yup,” he replied confidently, “I’m gonna be a business major.” “That’s great!” I said, “You can become an entrepreneur!” “No way,” Todd said. I was stunned. “But, why not?” With great certainty Todd informed me that, “Most businesses fail.”

Now where would an eighteen-year-old kid come by such blatant misinformation about small businesses? It’s not like he grew up on reality television shows about eBay sellers trying to survive on deserted islands or videogames that pit small business owners against evil economic forces.

In the traditional job world, landing a plumb job often comes down to having “connections.” Of course “who you know” is helpful for self-employed folks too. But if you’re miserably stuck in your job-job, it’s who you DON’T know that can make the difference between a lifetime of enduring your work or relishing it. It suddenly hit me that the reason my young nephew is so down on going into business is that, like most people, he doesn’t hang out with people who have done it successfully.

Time for a little auntie-to-nephew chat… “You know, Todd, if you spent time around entrepreneurs like I do you’d see that there is an entire parallel universe out there of people who are making their living in ways that are fun, that contribute to the world, and that are far more financially rewarding than the vast majority of job-jobs."

Todd definitely liked the idea of doing something “fun” and he was vaguely curious about how a job could help change the world. But it was that last comment – the one about making more money – that got his attention. “Like what?" Todd asked.

Understanding the value of learning by example, I rattled off a few of the folks that I “hang out” with. Each offer valuable lessons for us all.

Work Can Be Fun

Annamarie von Firley started wearing vintage clothing as a teenager and got hooked on the look. Today she spends her day in ways the average employed person only dreams about. Annamarie’s five-person company, reVamp (reVampVintage.com) designs, makes, and sells historically accurate clothing. How fun is that?

Proving once again that multiple profit centers are the way to go, reVamp runs weekly fashion shows and offers “vintage immersion classes.” Los Angeles-area vintage  buffs and others can sign up to learn about such fun topics as vintage make-up and hair styles, advanced apron making, and 16th and 17th century cosmetic preparations taught by, get this, a make-up historian. Who knew?!  

Making a Living by Making a Difference

Another business that’s sure to inspire my college-bound nephew is Mercado Global (MercadoGlobal.org). In 2003 while they were still students at Yale, Benita Singh and Ruth DeGolia spent nine months in the western highlands of Guatemala. They fell in love with the beautiful handicrafts made by the local women. Before returning home with a suitcase full of samples, they made a plan to sell to the U.S. market by linking up with local women’s cooperatives.

Back on campus the two students managed to sell all of the items they’d brought back at a 300 percent profit. A year later they started Mercado Global and soon thereafter launched its first catalog featuring products from 14 community cooperatives. Their first-year profit was $75,000. The second year it was $600,000.

But the real success of this business can not be measured in dollars. Ninety percent of the profits go back to the local community. In its first year, sales from Mercado Global provided fair wages to 178 cooperative members across Guatemala with enough additional revenues to send upwards of 100 of their children to primary school for one year.

Knowledge Equals Money, Selling Knowledge Equals Lots of Money

Another “under the radar screen” business that gets surprisingly little press in the mainstream media is information products. The great thing about selling information products is you keep your day job while you grow your business on the side. Last week I toldFast Track Your Dreams Community about a guy named Andrew who is doing just that.

Andrew is a veterinarian who wrote a little eBook that teaches people how to care for their ailing dogs and cats. Over time he was able to get sales up to a pretty steady $1,000 to $1,500 a month. Not bad when you consider that he was only charging somewhere around $27.

A lot of people would be happy with an extra $12,000-$15,000 a year in “passive income.” But Andrew had read all the statistics about the size of the pet market in the U.S. All he had to do was find a better way to tap it. So, he did what smart business people do. They find other business people who have “cracked the code” and they learn from them.

Andrew used a small portion of his profits to invest in a self-study program that taught him how to expand his product by simply by asking his customers what they wanted. Once he’d created a higher priced product, he also learned from this same program how to more effectively locate and sell to the people eager to buy what he has to sell. In just two weeks he made $59,400 in sales.

The great thing about entrepreneurs is that they learn from failure but positively feed off of success. Building on that momentum Andrew went on to create a membership site that is now generating approximately $10,000 a month. Right now he’s looking at earning somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 in 2007. I’ll be meeting Andrew and other successful information marketers in person at the big Product Launch Formula seminar later this month in Denver.

Not surprisingly, I’m pretty sure the seminar already sold out. But if you recognize the power of learning by example, you can still sign up to learn more about Andrew’s big success by going toChangingCourse.com/recommends/productlaunchcase. And, if you think you’re ready to make a serious investment in your business, that’s also where you can check there to see if any new seminar slots have opened up.

I know I opened Todd’s eyes. You probably don’t need convincing as much as you do insight and information. Fortunately, each one of these entrepreneur’s stories offers lessons for the aspiring self-bosser:

From Annamarie we once again learn that there are an infinite number of fun ways to turn your interests into income. Ruth and Benita provide an inspiring reminder that you really can turn your values into your vocation. And from Andrew we see how a relatively small investment in your education can pay you back many times over.

I’ve got four years to work on my nephew before he ventures out into the wide world of work. But if you want to be a member of the joyfully jobless club sooner than that, you absolutely positively need to start paying attention to the people who have already arrived.

There are lots of ways to “hang out” with entrepreneurs. You can start subscribing to magazines likeEntrepreneur or to one of the thousands of passion-specific publications likeAtomic Magazine, billed as "The Essential Guide to the Retro Revival," Toy Soldier and Model Figure and In-Fisherman magazine.

And, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have your own business to join your local Chamber of Commerce or attend their various networking meetings. It costs nothing to do what Barbara Winter and I do and “grill” every interesting entrepreneur we come into contact with.

I’ve been self-employed for going on a dozen years now and I still get jazzed hearing about regular people who have found interesting ways to work for themselves. Apparently I’m not alone. Year after year, one of highest rates segments of the Work at What You Love workshop is the panel of local entrepreneurs sharing their stories.

For others the sheer energy of being in a room full of people or otherwise part of a community who are as excited about the prospect of making a living without a j-o-b as they are enough to get the entrepreneurial ball rolling. After all, when it comes to being a successful self-bosser – it's all about who you know!

p.s. Finally a bit of good news about today’s youth. According to Junior Achievement (JA.org), in 2006 a whopping 71 percent of kids aged 13 to 18 said they would like to become entrepreneurs. And between 1995 and 2006, the number of kids in this same age-range who participated in programs offered by The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE.com) jumped from 2,600 to 15,970. I can’t wait to tell my nephew!

About the Author

"Turning Interests Into Income" 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.

To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm  

Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Featured Resource

Get Paid to Travel Teleconference

Right now, you could be enjoying a week at a tiny hotel on a small Caribbean island, relaxing on a fine stretch of white sand, listening to the palms rustle overhead... for FREE. In fact, you could be getting paid to do it.  

If you've always dreamed of far-flung travels... on someone else's dime... then this is your opportunity to make it happen.

As the publishernearly 300,000 readers. “There’s an extraordinary opportunity out there for the people who can do this well,” says Kathleen. “Once you know a few important secrets, the rest is easy.”

To find out how you can be one of them, join theGet Paid to Travel teleconference on June 12, 2007. Together Kathleen and freelance travel writer Jennifer Stevens will show you how you could be traveling the world and getting paid to do it – and reveal to you real-world strategies to access this lifestyle – all for less than $20.TheTravelWriterslife.com/tel3/16

I am sure the LIMITED NUMBER of seats for this workshop will go quickly, so if you want to learn how to profit from one of the world’s most fascinating businesses, I encourage you to go to the link above and register before all of the spots are gone!

Feel free to invite your family and friends to this call as well. Just be sure toreserve YOUR spot first.  

And speaking of traveling…

I’m just back from a fabulous week in Paris. My company (that would be me!) sent me there to review the AWAI’s Ultimate Travel Photographer’s Workshop (watch for my full review coming soon). While I was in Paris I also had the chance to catch up with independent travel writer Steenie Harvey and her husband Michael.

Besides being one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever want to meet, Steenie is living proof that it doesn’t take a lot of fancy credentials to become a writer. Prior to becoming a professional globetrotter, this working-class Brit left school at 15 to live in a hippy squat house in London, tended bar in a strip joint, inspected bolts at a factory, and waitressed in a Chinese restaurant.

In “The Most Romantic Job in the World,” Steenie shares her personal story, including the secret to her success. Even if you don’t have the travel bug yourself, I know you’ll be inspired to think bigger about your own dreams – and act on them.

As the great scholar John Hope Frankin once said, “We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” And what could be better than getting paid to do it!

 

Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. ~ Mark Victor Hansen

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The Changing Course Newsletter Copyright 2007   Lisa Tarrant, Editor Valerie Young, Publisher info@ChangingCourse.com www.ChangingCourse.com 7 Ripley Road Montague, MA 01351

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Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
~ Samuel Johnson

In the Garden

What a Difference a Year Makes

With the 3rd annual Work at What You Love Workshop coming up August 24-25, I thought it would be fun to see how what’s happened with some of the seeds planted by dream seekers from past workshops.This one comes from Melissa Morgan-Oaks. The seeds Melissa started planting right after the workshop are bearing some incredible fruit! But I'll let her tell you the big news:

Hi Valerie,

My husband and I attended the seminar in Northampton this past year - the exciting one with the fire trucks. 

Before I attended work at what you love I was stuck. I knew what I wanted to do but really had no direction and no plan. I'd made a small beginning by getting a job teaching knitting and knitting designing patterns for Webs/Valley Fibers Corporation, a retailer in Northampton (Massachusetts) that sells their own line of yarns along with those of other manufacturers. There were vague ideas and concepts floating around about how to generate more income from my hobby.

One of the most memorable moments of the workshop was when Barbara told us to choose a word, one word, to inspire us. I chose the word endeavor. The fear of failure or rejection was strong in my mind and I needed to put it aside and simply push forward, endeavor, and make things happen. Another resonant concept was Valerie’s recommendation that each day we should take one step toward the eventual goal, win or lose, pass or fail; just one step a day.

After the seminar I felt recharged. I made a decision to do one small thing each day and see where it led. I began by researching my domain names and reserving them. Then I wrote a book proposal. In the last year we've come a long way. Since then things have grown faster than I expected. Like I said, I submitted a book proposal for a knitting technique and pattern book to Storey Publishing. The proposal was accepted, and I am wrapping up the manuscript this week. The book is expected out in November 2007. (There is a title, but I cannot share it yet as the technique is a bit of a secret.)

I've had designs accepted for publication by two yarn manufacturers, and have continued to develop my design relationship with Webs/Valley Yarns. My work has been featured in their catalog, and my designs consistently perform well. I've had a logo designed and am building a web page that eventually will sell my patterns retail and wholesale (MelissaKnits.com).

I'll be attending Book Expo America this year, and have plans in the works for three more books – which should keep me well out of trouble until 2010 or so. My husband cannot yet retire on my earnings by any stretch, and we're still developing other revenue streams based on my knitting and design work, but things are happening!

I believe it was the liberation and support of surrounding myself with people who were not willing to accept the word "can't" that helped me to push past the remaining limitations I was putting on my own development. When Storey asked if I could write a book between the end of October and the middle of February, I did not hesitate. I simply said "Yes." and went forward.

It's been an exhilarating year. I am grateful for all that we learned at the Work at What You Love seminar! It's been an astonishing ride so far and I cannot wait to see where I go from here! Thank you for the seminar experience!

Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Bernardston, Massachusetts

In the next segment of The Garden you’ll hear how another Work at What You Love Workshop attendee made her highly unique dream come true of working with (are you ready?!) penguins!

To learn more about how you can be a part of this powerful once-a-year event go toChangingCourse.com/workshop.htm

HURRY!The $100 OFF Early Bird Discount ENDS this Saturday!

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.
~ Foster McClellan

Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses

Work at What You Love:
The Life Changing Workshop for People Who Want to
Quit Their Job and Work at What They Love

Discover How to Replace Your Job
With Work You Really Love…
and Gain the Freedom, Flexibility
and Quality of Life You Deserve

 

  • Find out how you can escape the J-O-B box… and uncover a whole new world of possibilities.

  • Tap your wildest dreams...and start making a plan to make them happen right now... 

  • Discover the powerful secret to turning almost anything into an alternative to a so you can transform your passion into your job... 

  • Come away with the tools you need to create work – and a life – you really love. 

  • Highly successful entrepreneurs do it instinctively. Now you can, too. Learn powerful, proven techniques for marketing your business without the fear of rejection.

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.

August 24-25, 2007
Northampton, Massachusetts

Click Here to Learn More

Fast Track Members – Have Dinner on Us!*

HURRY!The $100 OFF Early Bird Discount ENDS this Saturday!

PLUS: If you are one of the first 40 people to register you will receive a FREE pass to a very special closed-door brainstorming event happening Friday evening.

This dynamic small group session will be led by a talented group of specially trained creative career consultants. Members of the “Dream Team” have all completed the Changing Course Creative Career Consulting Certification program preparing them to help people just like you to, in Barbara Winter words, "turn your passions into profits!"

Register Now and SAVE $100 atChangingCourse.com/workshop.htm

"How to Become Joyfully Jobless"
Teleclass Series hosted by Barbara Winter
 

If you're not yet familiar with Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job, be prepared to be amazed. Barbara is a vivacious and wildly popular speaker, and you'll understand why as soon as you tune into the first of the monthly, hour-long How to Become Joyfully Jobless Teleclasses she'll be hosting for Fast Track Your Dream Community members.

She'll focus on topics like -- Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job

·  How to start thinking like an entrepreneur

·  Why starting small is the smartest (and most profitable) way to launch your new enterprise

·  The power of multiple income streams…

·  And more…

Like mini-workshops, these monthly Joyfully Jobless Teleclasses are interactive, which means you can ask questions and benefit from firsthand feedback from the woman I call the "Muse of Self-Bossing."

Employee to Entrepreneur: Planning Your Transition
Wednesday, June 13th
8:00-9:00pm Eastern Time

Registration:

Fast Track Your Dream Community Members: FREE
Advance registration required at
changingcourseclub.com

Non-members: $29 Register at ChangingCourse.com/courses.htm*

Monthly Dream Maker Speaker Series

I laughed out loud when I stumbled onto a fascinating little website called “I Love Chicken Poop.” “And, what does a company called I Love Chicken Poop do,” you ask? Why they make lip balm of course!

Chicken Poop “lip junk” as it’s called, is the brainchild of Jamie Tabor Schmidt from Wichita, Kansas. You’ll be relieved to hear that while the product is all-natural, it contains no actual poop – chicken or otherwise. The unusual name comes from Jamie’s grandfather who, responding to her constant complaining about her chapped lips, would say, “I know how to fix those dry lips, I’ll rub some chicken poop on ‘em so you won’t be lickin’ em.”

One of the most important decisions an entrepreneur makes is what to name your company. As the guest “Dream Maker” for the June Fast Track Teleclass, Jamie will talk about how her company name helped land a national account with drug store chain giant Walgreen’s, how to start a beauty product line from scratch, lessons learned in her decade as an entrepreneur, and how she is going about raising big money to grow Chicken Poop… so to speak J.

Tuesday, June 26th
12:00-1:00pm Eastern Time

Registration:

Fast Track Your Dream Community Members*: FREE
Advance registration required at
changingcourseclub.com

Non-members: $29 Register at ChangingCourse.com/courses.htm*

 

*To learn more about how you can fast track your dream of working at what you love - and get a two month membership FREE - go to ChangingCourse.com/fasttracka.htm

**A portion of all revenue from this Teleclass will go to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of impoverished people in the US and internationally via the micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life. ~ Les Brown

Compass

The View From theOther Side

"It’s not really work for me because I have no idea what work is anymore. It is so much a part of my life."

~ Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

Compass

 

Resources for a Change

Learn How to Run a PR Campaign

I first heard about publicity expert Joan Stewart from Barbara Winter. After looking more closely at Joan’s track record I am only too happy to pass along this unique Teleseminar series. Over the course of 5 days from June 11-15, Joan (a.k.a. The Publicity Hound) and a small army of impressive guest speakers will train assistants, virtual assistants and interns (and presumably all of those who don’t yet need an assistant!) on how to develop and launch a publicity campaign. Topics include how to research media outlets, ghostwrite articles and post them to online article directories, use reprints multiple ways, update print and online media kits, find bloggers who can write about you, find podcasters who can feature you on their podcasts, use editorial calendars, form valuable relationships with journalists, and write press releases not only for journalists, but for search engines. With a 100 percent money-back guarantee, you really can't lose.  ChangingCourse.com/recommends/publicityu

Amazon Now Offers Self-Publishing

Amazon has partnered with BookSurge to offer Self-Publishing and Print on Demand (POD) services to offer editorial services, designing, promotional tools including marketing copy, press releases and more. There are a lot of self-publishing and POD services out there, but being backed by Amazon definitely makes this one worth a look.

Do Some Good in the World

American Express has launched a new campaign that encourages card members to come together to “dream up, and ultimately unite behind, one incredible idea that will do some good for our world.” Card members submit their big ideas, and on July 3, an advisory panel will name the Top 50 projects for which members will vote for American Express to make a reality. They’re contributing $1 for each card member that registers (up to $5 million). Submit your idea and vote at MembersProject.com

 

 

Note: Changing Course does not accept paid advertisements from any of the resources listed here. This list is provided to expand your thinking about just how many interesting ways there are to make a living without a job!