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Opportunity Knocks:
Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job
Ten Tips for
Figuring Out How to Get Paid to Do What You Love
By Valerie Young
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Valerie and her rescue
dog,
"Cokie Roberts" |
I love proving people wrong. Not all people… just the
ones who are operating under the kind of faulty self-limited
assumptions that prevent them – or the people around them – from
working at what they really love. That was definitely the case for a
client named Ellen (not her real name). Ellen was totally
convinced she’d be, as she put it, my “first failure,” a belief
she’d repeat several times throughout our session.
To
prepare for our phone meeting, I asked Ellen to send me a list of things she
loves to do. It was pretty clear right from the get-go that she held out little
hope of turning any of her passions into viable income streams. “I don't think
there is any money maker in my Love to Do's,” she wrote, adding, “I really
worked at this list. I am not sure you can help since this is all I came up
with.”
Boy
was she wrong. By employing a few simple techniques, I was able to help Ellen
come up with not one, not two, not three, but seven ways to make a living doing
exactly what she loves.
Using Ellen as an example, I’ve put together ten tips to help you discover the
income generating possibilities and opportunities hiding inside your own
passions. In other words you’re about to attend Opportunity Analyst Boot Camp!
And, just in case any of the books I recommended to Ellen resonate with you, for
your convenience they’re available in the Changing Course Bookstore at
ChangingCourse.com/bookstore.htm
Before we begin, take a minute to read Ellen’s “Things I Love to Do” list to see
if you can come up with any ways she might turn them into income. Ellen loves
to:
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Go to art museums
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Travel
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Politics
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Photography
-
Writing
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Research
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Archeology
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Planning things
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Get dressed up
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Different cultures
Okay, any ideas?
If
you came up empty or close to empty, that’s understandable. What often gets
framed as a lack of creativity, I happen to think, is really just a lack of
information. The information-gathering phase is critical to discovering ways to
make a living from your passions. Which leads us to our first tip…
1. Ask Good
Questions
If
you want to come up with great income-generating ideas, you’ve got to get into
the habit of asking questions… lots and lots of questions. Take Ellen’s list for
example. Presumably, she knows what “research” and “planning things” mean, but
did you? I didn’t.
As
silly as it might sound, you need to start asking yourself some questions too…
questions like, “What exactly DO I mean when I tell people I love to cook or
surf the net or write…?” What kind of cooking, surfing, or writing? Do I want to
do it for or with other people? Do it at home? Do it outside of home? Do it
every day, a few times a month, a few times a year…? I could go on and on, but
you get the idea.
For
now, use Ellen’s list to practice flexing your Opportunity Analyst muscles by
making a list of questions. For example, do you want to learn more about what
her love for “politics” is all about? What does she mean when she says she loves
“different cultures?”
2. Focus
on Your Life First, Work Second
In
short, despite everything we’ve learned from guidance or career counselors,
making a living isn’t only about work, careers, or income. Making a living is
also about making a life. Your quest for right livelihood must start with a
clear vision of what you want your LIFE to look like. In fact, I can’t even
begin to help someone figure out what their ideal job might be until I
understand what they want their ideal life to be.
Once you’ve determined the kind of life you want, your vision then becomes a
bench mark by which to evaluate various career options – or what I call the Life
First Test. For example, if you want to work from home and work best alone,
opening a bookstore wouldn’t pass the Life First Test… but being a freelance
writer might.
Like a lot of people, Ellen’s ideal life is a combination of working from home
and being out in the world. In her case, it means starting her day at home
researching things that interest her… like history and travel. In the afternoon
she’d like to get outside. When I asked Ellen what she might like to do outside
the home, she reluctantly told me about what she called her “crazy dream job”…
being the organizer of a big museum installation like the King Tut exhibit.
I
didn’t think Ellen could land her fantasy job overnight, but I didn’t think it
was crazy either. What I did wonder was whether it would pass the Life First
Test. You see, Ellen’s ideal life includes living in the country… so living in
any city big enough to support a large museum was definitely out. But still, the
excitement in her voice was too important to just dismiss this interest in big
exhibits. Which leads to the next technique every Opportunity Analyst must know…
3. Go Deeper
I
decided to probe beneath the surface to try to understand what exactly it is
that Ellen likes about being in charge of a big museum installation. What really
excites her is doing things on what she referred to as “a grand scale.” “The
biggest event in most people's lives,” she explained, “is their own wedding. I
think events like this should be really wonderful and grand."
In
this case, going deeper meant figuring out what kind of grand scale events, in
addition to weddings, Ellen could put on that would really jazz her? I’ll give
you a hint… the answer is in her list. Take a look… any ideas?
Since Ellen loves history and research, I asked her what she thought of
specializing in coordinating large and elaborate family reunions? Not only could
she do all the event planning, but with a little training in genealogy, Ellen
could also offer to research the family tree. And, depending on what she
uncovered (and the client’s budget), she could get her grand-scale kicks by
organizing historical re-enactments using local actors or somehow involving the
family members themselves. Ellen loved the idea!
To
help launch her new business, I suggested she take a page out of Barbara
Winter’s Establishing Yourself as an Expert class and create a tip sheet. She
could put together The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make in Planning a Family
Reunion or a piece called 5 Ways to Guarantee a Stress-Free Family Reunion.
She
could use the tips in a press release to her local newspaper, include them in a
brochure, or on her website. To educate herself on the event planning business,
I also suggested Ellen get a copy of a book called Dollars & Events: How to
Succeed in the Special Events Business by Joe Goldblatt, Frank Supovitz.
And
what about the Life First Test? If Ellen lived in jeans and sneakers and liked
to be in bed by 9:00 p.m., we probably would have nixed the idea of putting on
gala affairs. Instead we’d have explored how she could put her passion to work
putting on fantastic children’s parties or mega- picnics. Fortunately, since
Ellen loves dressing up and is a night owl, the family reunion and wedding
planning idea passed the test with flying colors. But why stop here…
4. Go Even
Deeper
We
could have stopped here, and Ellen would have been perfectly happy, but during
this same conversation she also told me about an armor exhibit she’d seen at the
Metropolitan Museum. The fact that Ellen was not the least bit interested in
medieval weaponry and yet clearly so taken with the exhibit told me there was
more gold to be mined here. Time to keep digging.
It
didn’t take much probing before Ellen was practically gushing as she described
how incredible the shiny armor looked displayed in front of the rich, colorful
tapestry. As we talked, it became clear that Ellen also loves arranging things
for maximum aesthetic value. Any ideas on how she might use this passion?
Ellen was only mildly interested in room décor so we quickly dismissed interior
decorating. Instead I suggested she think about freelancing as a window dresser
for retail stores or as a photo stylist. Photo stylists are the people who
clients pay to arrange products, props, food, and the like so they look good in
print ads, catalogs, TV, film, and so on. I pointed Ellen to the
Association of Stylists and Coordinators where she could learn all about
what it takes to break into this fascinating field.
5. Be Specific
We
know from Ellen’s list that she liked writing… but that’s pretty broad. Normally
when I ask someone what kind of writing they like, he or she will say they enjoy
fiction, non-fiction, romance, children’s books, technical writing, etc. But the
first word that popped out of Ellen’s mouth was “concise.” Ellen likes writing
paragraphs, not pages and she also prefers non-fiction. Any ideas leap to mind?
My
first thought was that Ellen had all the makings of a columnist. She loved the
idea but naturally had lots of questions about how to get started… so I pointed
her to a book called You Can Be A Columnist by Charlotte Digregorio. The
more specific you are, the better able you are to pinpoint what kind of
information you need to get started.
6. Turn
Deficits Into Benefits
Ellen also enjoys politics. So writing a political column was a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, political columns are the toughest kinds of columns to land.
That’s because the powers that be want established “experts,” which is really
just short hand for political insiders.
The
fact that Ellen is considered a commoner among the political elite doesn’t need
to be a dream stopper. The trick is to find a way to make this apparent
disadvantage work for her. For example, by calling her column (and maybe ending
each one with), “But, Hey What Do I Know?” she just might be able to use her
“just a regular Joe-anne,” “average woman on the street” type status to her
advantage. It worked for Ross Perot!
And if a millionaire businessman can convince millions of Americans that he’s
just like them, then Ellen’s got a shot at selling her column to a local editor.
7. Look
for More Than One Way to Use Your Gifts
Like most writers, Ellen also likes editing. What if, I suggested, she offered
her editing services to professors and graduate students who need to write
papers but for whom English is a second language? Since she also enjoys doing
research, for an extra fee, she could also help them track down information.
8. Think
Outside the Box
Chances are you may have wondered what kind of photography Ellen loves. Bridal?
Portrait? Nature? Animals? Action? When I put this question to Ellen, she once
again hesitated, fearing I’d find her answer odd. Quite the opposite… I found it
utterly fascinating! You see Ellen’s loves photographing unusual buildings… and
she works exclusively in black and white. How cool is that!
Okay, you’re wondering, but who’s going to pay Ellen for her cool black and
white photos of interesting buildings? Well, there’s a bank in my area that
hands out free calendars featuring vintage photographs from the surrounding
towns. What if she pitched the idea of a calendar featuring unusual architecture
to a community-minded bank or to the Chamber of Commerce? If it worked out, it
could lead to a whole series of calendars or perhaps even posters or framed
photos. Which leads me to the next thing every Opportunity Analyst should know…
9. Always
Think Big!
There’s more than one bank and more than one Chamber of Commerce. In fact, there
are thousands of them, and they’re everywhere! Since Ellen loves to travel, why
not make this same pitch in towns and cities all over the country? She could
even make a name for herself as the unusual building photographer and publish a
book – or better yet, a whole series of books!
10. Leverage
Your Time and Talents
Since Ellen’s going to be traveling the country taking photographs anyway, why
not tap into her love of writing by becoming a travel writer? Not only can she make
some money, but travel writing is a great way to defray the costs.
Just ask Duane and Harlene Harm. According to travel organizer Barb Perriello at
Agora Travel, Duane and Harlene attended the
American Writers and Artists
Institute Travel Writing Course in Paris. Then they spent the following summer
traveling across the western U.S.
All
told, they visited 23 different dude ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana
over a three-month period, staying for an average of three days at each ranch.
The total value of their summer stays? About $55,000... and they didn't pay
anything. Not one cent.
What's more, they wrote an article for “Steamboat Magazine,” a high-end
coffee-table publication based in Steamboat Springs, CO that comes out twice a
year. And they were paid for their work. (You can learn more about careers for
people who love to travel at
ChangingCourse.com/cooljobs.htm.)
Okay, back to your Opportunity Analyst training. You already know Ellen likes
travel and writing, right? But there’s another clue that told me travel writing
was the perfect fit… do you know what it is?
It
was Ellen’s reference to “different cultures.” By employing the previous nine
tips, I discovered that Ellen has a real passion for learning about different
cultures… but not by reading alone. What Ellen loves is tracking down and
visiting the places the locals like to go. She’s also fascinated by local
traditions and etiquette. All this tells me Ellen won’t be writing about the
typical tourist haunts. Instead, she’ll be using her interest in cultural
diversity to educate her fellow travel lovers about how to see an area through the
eyes of its residents.
Nobody likes to be proven wrong… that is unless the thing you’re wrong about is
thinking you can’t profit from your passions. Follow these ten tips, and you’ll
be well on your way to becoming an Opportunity Analyst… and one giant step
closer to earning your living doing exactly what you love!
P.S. Does
thinking about creative ways to make a living without a j-o-b get you
totally jazzed? Do you love the idea of getting paid to brainstorm ways that
people can turn their interests into income? You’re not alone!
In
mid-December, I opened up my new “Outside the Job Box Career Expert and Small
Business Idea Consultant” Self-Paced Training Program. The response was so
overwhelming we had to temporarily close the program to new people. If all
goes according to plan I SHOULD be able to open up some spots later this
month.
If you’d
like to be notified when spots become available, sign up for the “First in
Line” early notification list now at
http://ChangingCourse.com/outsidethejobbox.htm
Add Your Two Cents
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article?
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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
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