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Note from the editor: Valerie's out of the office this week and I'm thrilled to share this article by
Barbara Winter. If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing Barbara speak or read
her books, I highly recommend them. Valerie will resume her articles in the
next issue.
It's So Much Easier Now
By Barbara Winter
 Recently,
I heard Robert Stephens, founder of The Geek Squad, speak about his humble
beginnings. "In the absence of capital," he said, "creativity flourishes." I
almost jumped up and cheered, "Hey, I am living proof of that!"
Shortly after I started my first business, I boldly sent a press release to the
nearest large newspaper. To my astonishment, I promptly received a call from a
reporter who said she'd love to interview me and wondered if she might come to
my office. I quickly suggested I come to her office. After all, I didn't want to
reveal my secret: I didn't have a proper office.
We early homebusiness owners worked largely undercover. Not only were we not
taken very seriously, we also had to be extremely clever about finding ways and
means to run our businesses. There were almost no resources other than a few
books on building conventional, highly capitalized businesses. There were a few
workshops and booklets available from the Small Business Administration, but I
quickly learned from attending one of their programs that they didn't take solo
entrepreneurs seriously, either.
I was in business for almost two years before I met another woman who was
self-employed. There wasn't any Internet or e-mail, no personal computer or fax
machine. Any books or seminars that might be considered motivational were
targeted to corporate workers. No magazines or newsletters existed to share
information that would help the joyfully jobless stay that way. I marvel that I
survived. I'm not sure when things began to change, but I do recall feeling
quite alone in this adventure for more than a dozen years.
Now hardly a day passes when I don't read about or meet someone who is
happily working on their own. Late last year, Nick Williams sent me an article
from a London newspaper with the headline, Huge Rise in Workers Who Go It Alone.
The article stated that last year in the UK an estimated 300,000 people decided
to abandon their jobs to go out on their own. That's an impressive number.
The US Census Bureau, in a report from the late 1990's, shared this affirming
information: In the past, a homebased business was viewed as a side business
operated primarily as a hobby or as a source of secondary income. The data
contained in this study show that assertion to be inaccurate. The researcher's
findings demonstrate how the home has become a hub of business activity,
entrepreneurship, and business creation. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, and
S corporations added $2.9 trillion to the economy , with homebased firms
contributing $314 billion, or 11 percent. The SBA reports that every year there
are dramatic increases in the numbers of homebusiness operations. Who knew we'd
become so trendy?
All this activity has another consequence: as more of us go down this path and
share what we've learned, it gets easier for the next round of self-bossers to
step onto the trail we've been busily blazing. Magazines, books and Web sites
offer more information than one person can possibly absorb. Best of all, much of
this information is created by people who have run their own businesses and are
passing along real life experience and advice, not dry business theory.
Technology, of course, has made an enormous contribution to the growth of
businesses like mine. No longer dependent on our immediate area for customers,
virtual businesses serve an unlimited marketplace.
It's also made it possible for anyone to set up shop on an island, in an RV, or
remote mountaintop, if they choose. City dwellers do, of course, run small
businesses, but those who prefer a quieter setting can have the best of both
worlds a lively business in a bucolic setting.
Comedian Jon Stewart said, "The big break for me what when I decided this is my
life." I think this new epidemic of self-employment is being driven by an
increasing awareness that we can all create our own big break. In a political
climate that increasingly discourages individuality and original thinking, in an
economic climate that teeters on uncertainty, thoughtful people are seeking
fresh options – options that honor their creativity, add meaning and purpose to
their lives, and allow them to go as far as their imaginations will permit.
I am both humbled and proud to have played a small part in this renaissance. I
also know that even if I d have remained alone in this homebased entrepreneurial
life, I couldn't have gone back to working for someone else once I d tasted
freedom and discovered the unsurpassed joy and adventure that comes only by
taking responsibility for exercising my entrepreneurial muscles. I get deliriously excited thinking about future possibilities. Claude Whitmyer from the
Center for Good Work nailed it when he said, "Is self-employment the ultimate
right livelihood?" I think the answer is yes.
About the Author
Barbara Winter, author of the bestselling book, Making a Living Without a
Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love, is also a business owner,
itinerant teacher, and self-employment advocate who found her own right
livelihood after overcoming her early notions that work was meant to be
drudgery. You can learn more by visiting her at
BarbaraWinter.com and be sure to
check out the Making Dreams Happen audio program featuring Barbara Winter,
Barbara Sher and Valerie Young at
ChangingCourse.com/makingdreamshappen.htm
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live
life on purpose
