Self Employed or Bust

A Relaxing Self-Employment Thought

January 5, 2009 – 4:39 pm

I recently had an epiphany. As usual, what serves as an epiphany for me tends to be common sense for the rest of you, but here it is anyway; when it comes to being self-employed, your options are practically limitless. There you have it. I anxiously await my Genius of the Year award. Please send it post-haste. You may stop applauding when your arms get tired.

Ok, as epiphanies go, that one was pretty weak but I’m sincere when I say that the realization of just how limitless our options are had been lost on me recently thanks largely to the single-minded focus I’ve been applying to make-money-online and work-from-home efforts. It’s been nothing but niches and blogs and websites and affiliates lately and I’ve, perhaps, done you an injustice by having so narrowed my scope. In my defense, I’ve never suggested that this blog or the lessons I learn would move at anything other than a snail’s pace. Before I can review or even intelligently analyze any self-employment solution, I have to really dig in and try it out, after all.

It was an email exchange with a reader which brought the light shining down and I thought I’d share a little bit of that enlightenment with you. The reader was Kris Stecker, President of Spa Tech Institute. Kris was just asking general questions but the exchange reminded me of a colleague many years ago whose wife had taken massage courses and, over the course of a couple years, turned her hobby into a thriving business. Though I haven’t been in touch with this former colleague in years, when last we spoke his wife had opened the doors on her own spa and he, the colleague, was planning on resigning from the company for which we worked to join her in running their business.

What I learned, or more accurately, was reminded of as a result of my exchange with Kris, is not to let myself become too narrowly focused in my quest. In your pursuit of self-employment, don’t limit yourself exclusively to a work-from-home option. Self-employment isn’t just about where you work but also about for whom you work. It’s about independence and freedom. It’s about being your own boss, owning your own company and answering only to your own clients or schedule. If you are a talented baker, consider opening a bakery. If you aren’t but still dream of being one, you owe it to yourself to enroll in a program which will teach you what you need to know to be successful. By the same token, if you want to open a spa or become a massage therapist, get the education you need in massage therapy and cosmetology at a place like Spa Tech.

I’m a huge proponent of continuing education both through formal institutions and by actively paying attention to the world around me and taking the extra step of analysis required to turn a simple experience into a lesson. Your goal should be the same. Learn from everything around you. There’s a lesson in just about everything. And when simply observing and analyzing your world isn’t enough, take classes. Whatever path you choose in your hunt for a life without a boss, it’s up to you to ensure you have the tools to succeed. Never stop learning.

Oh, and if any of you are wondering, no I’m not being paid anything for mentioning Spa Tech. I considered trying to squeeze Kris for free massages for life but assumed the request would be politely declined. However, should any of you enroll, I’ll gladly volunteer if you need a back on which to practice your newly-learned massage skills.

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