Multiple Passions, Multiple Profits

There are so many selves in everybody and to explore and exploit just one is wrong,
dead wrong, for the creative process. ~ James Dickey

Steven Kalas is a family counselor with a lively practice. He also plays in a band that’s been busy promoting their new CD, but I know Kalas for a different reason: he writes Human Matters, my favorite column in the Las Vegas Review Journal. Like many people with multiple interests, he’s found ways to incorporate his diverse interests into satisfying ways of making a living.

Of all the ideas in Making a Living Without a Job, none has ever gotten a stronger response than the notion of incorporating eclectic interests into a unique livelihood. Many people have felt stalled in their lives trying to fit themselves into the Single Occupation mold. There’s often a visible sense of relief when I suggest that it’s possible to create a business from diverse passions.

Whether you have diverse interests or a strong singular passion that you’re building around, the key to a solid business is what I call Multiple Profit Centers (MPCs). Quite simply, a profit center is any activity that generates cash flow. Whenever you add another product or service to your enterprise, you’re creating another profit center. It’s also important to realize that profit centers come in all different sizes. Some will provide the largest percentage of income for you, while others will be fillers.

There’s a practical side to the MPC notion, as well: multiple income sources can level out cash flow. No business, no matter how large or small, is immune from the ups and downs of income. To everything there is a season, including cash flow. Having a variety of sources is one way to even things out a bit, since each profit center will have its own cycle.

Here are a few more things to keep in mind when planning your profit centers.

  • They don’t have to all be the same size in order to be valid. Some profit centers will be occasional, some will peak and then decline, some will be major income sources. Keep in mind the Mall Model where you find anchor stores on the corners with smaller shops in between. Your business will be a small scale version of that.
  • Under one umbrella or separate identities? If your profit centers are completely unrelated (eclectic rather than clustered), you will probably need to have individual identities for them. It’s up to you whether or not you want to have one bank account for various things or a different one for each. Whatever makes things easier for you, is probably the best choice. At the same time, you don’t want to confuse your market by clustering things that don’t go together.
  • If it matters to you, it belongs in your portfolio. If your interests are diverse, you may decide that some ideas aren’t serious enough to turn into a profit center. More likely, your apprehension comes from the old belief that if it’s fun and pleasurable, it should remain a hobby.

    Nobody tackles this issue better than Steven Pressfield who writes in The War of Art about turning pro. He says, “The conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his ‘real’ vocation.”

  • Differing activities can boost creativity. In the name of efficiency, we’ve turned many of the workers of this world into robot-like machines who show up in the same place at the same time to do the same things day in and day out. The capacity to think creatively is the first casualty of that system.

    Creativity thrives on variety and setting up your profit centers to give you a wide range of experiences is ultimately as good for your imagination as it is for your bank account.

  • Take inventory on a regular basis. Many profit centers require a lot of time and attention at their launch, but become somewhat self-sufficient after that. It makes sense to review the various projects you’re working on and align your attention with what each one needs.

    Sometimes a profit center becomes a noisy child and takes you away from the others. At other times, you’ll find you’ve grown bored with an idea and it’s time to consider a different future for it. Every 90 days or so, do a review and make changes where necessary.

  • Be wary of multitasking. Time magazine did a story about Suze Orman, a woman who clearly understands MPCs. She is not an advocate of multitasking, however. “I think it’s the absolute ruination of the perfection of a project,” she says. “The people who multitask do everything to mediocrity at best. While they are getting a lot done, they are getting it done in such an inefficient way that they usually have to do it again.”

    One way to stay focused, is to assign different days of the week to different projects. When you’re throwing pots, you aren’t writing your pottery seminar, for instance.

  • It’s evolution, not instant creation. Profit centers evolve over a long period of time. Ideas morph, new ones show up, old ones have served their time. The important thing is to create a business that engages your talents and imagination, and pays you to do what you love doing most. As Paul Hawken reminds us, “The business you can succeed with is distinctly and utterly you and yours. It is unlike any other business in the world.” You have your MPCs to thank for that.

Turning Personal Experiences into Profit Centers

Shortly before the end of the year, I was talking to Karyn Ruth White and the subject of resolutions came up. “I don’t really make them,” she said. “But I do sit down at the end of the year and write about ten lessons I’ve learned in the previous year.” Then she added, “I’ve even had a couple of them published.” What began as a personal project, got shared with others. Great idea, isn’t it?

While it could be argued that every business is informed and influenced by our personal experiences, a great deal of opportunity goes unused by people who fail to see the potential of putting that experience to work for them.

I have written a mission statement  that is a reminder to that personal experience is the crux of my business. My  mission is this: “Have a great life and talk about it.” That may  sound simple, but inherent in it is a constant challenge to keep growing and adding experiences that can enlarge and enliven other lives too.

In order to create a profit center that grows out of your own life, there are four essential ingredients that need to be present. They are:

  • Value Your Own Experience. Very often the things that are easy and effortless for us are overlooked because we assume that what we can do, everyone can do. That’s almost never true. Our special set of talents, skills and life experiences are a one-of-a-kind package, but we have to recognize why that can be valuable to others.
  • High Self-awareness. Writer Carolyn See says, “I hope I’m wrong, but I imagine about 90 percent of the human race is snoozing along, just going through the motions.” Staying awake for the journey is important if we are to find the gold in our lives.
  • Generous Spirit. We must be convinced that what we have discovered will make other people’s lives richer, happier, healthier or smoother in some way. Keeping it to ourselves seems, well, selfish.
  • Eager to Learn. Starting a business based on personal experience is just the entry point. It’s really an invitation to mastery if we use it to learn, grow and improve.

Personal experience lends itself to all sorts of enterprises. Here are some possibilities:

  • Find a Better Way. Doris Drucker, the wife of management guru Peter Drucker, found a new opportunity for herself this way. She writes, “For years my  role as the wife of a professional speaker was to sit in the last row of an auditorium and shout ‘Louder!’ whenever my husband’s voice dropped. I decided that there had to be a better feedback device and if there wasn’t, I was going to invent one. Then I decided, at the age of 80-plus, that I would start a business to sell it.”

    Solving a problem or simply finding a more effective way of doing something has been  the start of  many a successful business. As a college student, Tony Buzan wanted to learn how to use his brain effectively. When he couldn’t find any useful information to assist him, he began a personal crusade to learn all he could. As a result, millions of people are mind mapping and learning other techniques to optimize personal intelligence.

  • Tell Your Story. Benjamin Franklin said we should all write something worth reading or live something worth writing. Personal experience can be the basis for autobiography and how-to books. My bookshelves are full of personal experience stories such as Frances Mayes’ Under the Tuscan Sun , Amy Stewart’s From the Ground Up, and Anita Roddick’s Body and Soul.

    Workshops, seminars and consulting are other ways of making your experience pay. You need to live it first, of course. That may sound like common sense, but at least once a week I’ll get a call or letter like the one I got from a man in Idaho who went on at great length about how confused he was about what business to start, then added a p.s. to his letter saying he plans to organize a seminar on Discovering Your Purpose.

  • Pay It Forward. A few years ago, Kevin Spacey was in a movie with that title. Apparently the message of passing along our good to others took root. Spacey took a year off from film making to put his energy into a website called Triggerstreet.com that is creating opportunities for the next generation of screenwriters. Spacey says he realized that his considerable success was the result of others believing in him before he believed in himself and now he wants to pass that gift along to others.

Your experience could be utilized through teaching or mentoring those coming along behind you too. “If you have knowledge,” said Margaret Fuller, “let others light their candle at it.” If it’s time to plan a new profit center, take a fresh look at your own life. You may be sit-ting on a gold mine, you know.

It’s About Time

My local tv news just featured a booming business called Vegas Errands. The owner is a young woman who responded to an ad on Craigslist, and ended up starting her own service business. As the story reported, business is booming. That didn’t surprise me.

Asked whether they would rather have an extra $100/week or five more hours, the overwhelming majority of Americans polled said they’d take the time.  We’re not the only folks wanting more time, however.

An article in London’s Daily Express newspaper reports that a study found busy Brits are now spending an average of £114  ($170) each month to buy three hours and ten minutes of extra time.  The study, conducted by an online bank, concluded, “Making time for yourself, doing things you enjoy, are crucial to mental and physical health. The report shows that people are willing to spend significant sums to do this.”

All this rushing around was discussed in The Popcorn Report where trendspotter Faith Popcorn named this trend 99 Lives. She  says, “We scramble to keep up. We scramble to keep track.  And we have other crusades. To stay young, get fit, live healthy. Achieve self-fulfillment and conquer self-doubt. Win friends and influence people. Get rich, get smart. Accumulate toys and trophies. Save the planet, save ourselves. Test out the theory that nothing is impossible.” Then she concludes, “What we really want is to buy back time. Marketers that help us do that will be the all-time winners.”

Obviously we can’t package and sell time, but creating a business that saves people time is the next best thing. Once limited to domestic things such as cleaning and babysitting, time saving services have grown imaginative. Find ways that will save time for your customers and clients or create a business that has time saving at its core and you’ll be helping solve a common problem. Here are a few ways of doing that.

  • Deliver the goods. “Leave the driving to us,” was the slogan of Greyhound Bus. Today it’s a slogan that is being adopted by all sorts of delivery services.

    Grocery and meal delivery services have had uneven success in many cities, but the basic concept remains sound. While some of the larger companies have failed, smaller specialty delivery is thriving.

    I bought a sofa a while back and the store had no delivery service of their own, but put me in touch with two men with a truck who I hired for a reasonable fee. A retired couple I knew delivered tickets for travel agencies while a small courier service specializes in deliveries for legal offices.

    Then there are people who travel the country delivering cars from one area dealer to another. This is a perfect business for people who like being out and about.

  • Be portable. Savvy service providers save their customers time by coming to their homes or businesses. I’ve been meaning to find a massage therapist but hadn’t had time to do so. When a woman in one of my seminars mentioned that her daughter had a mobile massage business, I promptly asked for her brochure and called to set up an appointment. Personal trainers have also found that getting out of the gym and into their client’s homes has been good for business. And for a small fee, a man in Texas will do an inspection on a used car you’re thinking of  buying.

    Everyone knows what a drag it is to lug a defunct computer to the repair shop. The Geek Squad gave itself a competitive edge right from the start by making housecalls. While services that require special equipment (like dental drills) aren’t easily mobilized, some innovators are outfitting a van or motorhome and taking their business to their clients.

  • Edit. In this information drenched time, opportunities exist for those who can scan vast amounts of information and cull out the most important. Specialized newsletters and websites keep popping up all the time to save readers investigative time.

    Similarly, professional organizers and declutterers help clients weed out unnecessary things and activities and become more efficient.

  • The Ultimate. For years upscale hotels have offered the services of a concierge to their guests. Today that’s expanding into a lively self-employment opportunity.  What does a concierge do exactly? According to the website of the National Concierge Association, “A concierge is a caretaker, someone who wants to be needed, give advice and help other people.”

    Many people think of concierges as miracle workers. While they may specialize in the difficult, they also make ordinary arrangements that save their clients precious time. This is a particularly fascinating business for those who love challenge and diversity. Today’s concierge delights in serving their clients with grace and charm—and making it look effortless.

    If you can do something, make something, or license something that helps unclutter busy lives, you are bound to find yourself on your own fast track to success.

Creating a Steady Cash Flow

Several years ago, I had a lovely long-term consulting assignment which kept me both busy and solvent.  One morning I woke up and realized that it was coming to an end and I had nothing lined up.  After a few moments of panic, I decided to get serious about creating my next income source.  I didn’t have a great deal of time to devote to this, so I gave myself the challenge of finding a way to earn $100—an easily accomplished goal.  What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I had just created a new habit that has kept my business—and cash flow—moving smoothly along.

Over time, I’ve learned that there are other benefits to this simple technique.  For instance, I teach a seminar called “Making a Living Without a Job” throughout the United States and Canada.  Nearly every seminar has at least one person who tells me that they want to be self-employed but don’t know what kind of business to start.  Using this technique is a wonderful way to sample a number of different possibilities, while training you to be creative.  In other words, you’ll learn to think like an entrepreneur.

There’s an old saying, popularized by Robert Schuller, that goes, “By the inch, it’s a cinch. By the yard, it’s hard.” Any successful goalsetter will tell you that reaching goals big or small is dependent on breaking the big picture into tiny, doable steps.  That’s the essence of my favorite idea, the $100 Hour. It works with such infallible certainty that once you make it a regular part of your plans, it’s like a rocket propelling you to your goals.

You can begin implementing the $100 Hour even if you now have a job or other commitments that clamor for your time.  Begin by making a pact with yourself that you will set aside time daily, if possible, or at scheduled intervals for the purpose of finding an idea that will bring you $100.  You needn’t complete the plan in the hour, but if time permits use your surplus to get your idea rolling.  Do research, make calls, write letters—anything that advances your goal.  If you’re focusing your energies on a single profit center, then come up with an idea for expanding it in a way that will earn another $100.  If you’re going to try a number of different ideas in order to figure out what you most want to do, then this time can be spent designing a variety of projects.

A word of warning is in order here.  While this idea works wonders, your ego may tell you that $100 is too insignificant to bother with. Ignore it. After all, great fortunes and grand achievements have been accomplished by steadfast devotion to creating tiny successes—which ultimately add up to enormous successes.  The discipline that comes with using this technique is perhaps its greatest bonus.  However, once you start seeing results, don’t stop using it.   With continued practice, you’ll find it gets easier and easier to come up with a $100 idea.  At that point, you can raise the monetary stakes, if you like. At any rate, you’ll discover that the quality of your ideas gets better and better with practice.

$100 Idea Starters

To show you how easy this is and to get you thinking along these lines, I’ll give you some of the $100 ideas that have appeared on my lists and those of others who are joyfully jobless.  Each of these could be worth far more than $100 and each can be adapted and embellished to suit your interests and skills.

* Be a broker.  Match up a buyer with a seller and collect your fee.  If you’re smart about automobiles, for example, you could be a consultant for people shopping for a used car.  Or you could develop a referral service for professionals.  That’s what speakers’ and writers’ agents do. If you know a lot about art, you could broker the work of artists as a couple I saw on television do.  These folks live on an island off Vancouver and run an international art business via the Internet.  Read some classified ads and see whether you might be a matchmaker between someone offering something for sale and a potential buyer.

* Clean out a closet.  There may be cash in your trash. Isn’t it time for a yard or tag sale? I know several folks who run sales every month, earning at least $100 each time.  If you’re really loaded with old stuff you want to sell, consider renting a table at a flea market.  Clothes, especially high-quality ones that are in good repair, can be taken to a consignment shop—as can toys, sporting equipment and computers.  You could also organize and promote a neighborhood sale, and collect a small fee from other sellers in exchange for doing the advertising and promoting.  Now that recycling is trendy again, used merchandise is politically correct.

* Sign on as a temporary worker.  All sorts of temporary agencies match workers with work.  Many are general, such as Kelly Services, while others specialize in computer operators or medical workers.  Some people make a career out of doing temporary work; you may want to use it as an emergency profit center, since it can be tedious.  You may have to put in a lot of hours to earn $100 this way, but it’s nice to know you can if you must.

* Eliminate an expense that doesn’t bring you joy.  Every so often, use your $100 Hour to save $100 that you’re now spending.  It’s the same as earning it, in a way.  Quit smoking. Or find a credit card company with a lower interest rate than you’re now paying.  Find a tax deduction you’ve overlooked.  Cancel the movie channel you never watch.  Sometimes our spending becomes automatic and habitual.  It’s healthy to reevaluate and change old spending habits from time to time.

* Deliver a valentine.  There are dozens of possibilities if you’re a natural romantic. You could specialize in enhancing romance all year long. (If you’re good at this, you may not realize that you have a gift!)  How about selling a basket of erotic massage oil and other romance-enhancing treats? Or catering breakfast in bed? Or setting up mystery evenings in conjunction with a limousine service?  If you love love, this one’s for you.

* Organize a tour.  Is there a geographic area or subject that you know a lot about? Do you live near a historic battlefield or favorite fishing spot? You could create a tour right at home that would appeal to visitors to your area.  Several companies in London offer fascinating walking tours covering everything from Shakespeare’s London to places where the Beatles hung out.  If you long to travel, find a travel agent or company that will work with you to organize a trip abroad.  In exchange for marketing the tour, you can receive a free trip.  A focused specialty tour offers the best possibilities, so concentrate on planning a trip around your area of expertise.  You could produce regular $100 Hours with this one.

* Take in a paying guest.  You may not want a full-time roommate, but what about an occasional out-of-town visitor?  You could specialize in providing homey accommodations for business travelers in town for long-term assignments, or hook up with a local college that hosts visiting professors and conference-goers.  If you speak a foreign language, be a paid host to travelers who aren’t sure about their English.

* Barter services.  Some people thrive on exchanging services, building their own underground economy.  This moneyless way of doing business can be great fun if you find other traders who enjoy bartering, too.  I’ve known people who have bartered for everything from laser printers to time in a vacation home. There’s a fabulous architectural drawing hanging over my sofa that I got in exchange for some promotion services for a home furnishings consignment store.

* Clean something.  Windows and floors always need cleaning, but you might aim at something larger—like an airplane or boat—and collect your $100 more quickly. It’s unfortunate that cleaning is considered lowly work, since the opportunity to clean things is enormous.  If you find tidying up a satisfying occupation, you could easily clean up financially with this one.

* Give your opinion.  Market research companies are always looking for people to try new products or sample old ones.  For this they rely on consumers who are potential users of the product.  Check your Yellow Pages for such firms in your area and ask to be added to their database.  If you like telling people what you think, why not get paid for your opinions?

* Teach a class.  Not long ago I found an old $100 Hour list of mine.  One of the ideas was to send a proposal to Open U in Minneapolis for a class called “Making a Living Without a Job.” That single idea has brought me tens of thousands of dollars in income and hundreds of hours of bliss in the classroom.  What are the hobbies you love? Where’s your expertise?  Build a class around what you know and start teaching.  This idea can, of course, be repeated endlessly, bringing you many $100 bills.

* Throw a party.  Planning special events can be fun and profitable. Or offer to cook for your busy friends for the price they’d pay in a restaurant.  If you have abilities as a confident host, this is a wonderful way to indulge your partygoing personality—and get paid.  Companies, too, engage the services of professional party planners; or you might specialize in class reunions or wedding receptions.

* Get a grant.  Thousands of dollars go unclaimed every year.  All sorts of private foundations offer grants for a huge range of projects. If you want to do research, work on a product design, or investigate another culture, there may be a grant just waiting.  You need to do lots of legwork and proposal writing for this, but don’t overlook this option for acquiring cash.  Your reference librarian can point you to the directories of available grants.

* Contact former customers.  Remind them that you’re available and willing.  Generating repeat business can be easier than finding new customers all the time.  Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Once your have customers to call your own, keeping in touch with them should be a regular event.

* House-or pet-sit.  House- and pet-sitting are popular ways to earn money. You could have a specialty, such as caring for cats or vacant houses waiting to be sold.  One enterprising fellow offered his services through real estate agents, housesitting for people who had moved, but not yet sold their house. He’d bring in some oriental rugs and a few pieces of nice furniture, making the empty space more attractive. One woman I know got hired to housesit for a client’s home in the south of France. If you’re flexible and love a change of scenery, this could be perfect.

* Finish things.  How about a follow-through service to complete unfinished projects? If you’re handy at repairs or household jobs, you could complete things that do-it-yourselfers didn’t do.  Needlework is another area where enthusiasm sometimes diminishes before the work is done.  Busy people often start more than they can finish so you could find a gold mine here—and relieve a bit of guilt.

Every single one of these ideas can be started easily and inexpensively, so there’s no excuse for not getting your own $100 Ideas List started.  Better yet, each of these have the potential to grow into large, luscious profit centers.  You might think of them as acorns, harboring an oak inside. Get busy planting.

Keeping It Lively In Austin

A month after my daughter and her family moved to Austin, TX, I went to visit them in their new hometown. As soon as I walked off the plane, I saw signs that this is a place that is proud of local businesses. The airport has few chain businesses, but you can find Salt Lick bar-b-que, Amy’s ice cream and magazines and books from Book People.

Jennie, Hector and their kids picked me up at the airport and we were off to explore. Before we went to their house, I got the mini-tour. When I commented on all the people we saw who were running, walking or bicycling, Jennie said, “This town isn’t about buying stuff; it’s about doing stuff.” I liked it already. I got even more interested when Hector exclaimed, “What I love about this place is all the little independent businesses.”

That entrepreneurial spirit has rubbed off on both of them. Early this year, Hector launched his online business, Live Counseling, which uses 21st Century  technology to connect clients with experts from many fields. Jennie opened her doula practice, Sweet Beginnings, to give support to pregnant women before, during and after childbirth.

While it’s hard to miss all the local ventures in this lively and creative city, you can see the planning process at work at any one of the local coffee shops that are springing up all over town. One of my favorites is Dominican Joe where you’ll see almost as many laptops as coffee cups. Eavesdrop on the folks at the next table and you’re apt to hear enthusiastic brainstorming.

Austin entrepreneurs have another terrific resource to help them on their Joyfully Jobless Journey. In a beautifully restored post-Victorian house David Walker runs Austin’s first co-working space called Conjunctured. He and his partners have created a place where solo entrepreneurs can come and work in a less isolated environment.  Walker is wildly enthusiastic about the Joyfully Jobless life, but this isn’t his only business. He’s also co-owner of 302 Designs which produces t-shirts with beautiful designs and inspirational words. When I met him last fall, Walker had just signed a contract with Whole Foods who will be distributing their shirts. Everything about being an entrepreneur seems to excite him.

When the new Red Rocks Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas decided to include an authentic Texas bar-b-que restaurant they scoured the Lone Star state looking for the best they could find. Austin’s Salt Lick was the winner. Even though the Vegas locale is in my neighborhood and the menu is the same, I prefer the original for ambiance. Located in the gorgeous Hill Country outside of Austin, the original features long wooden picnic tables, live music and country hospitality.

If a visit to Salt Lick isn’t enough to satisfy your bar-b-que cravings, the County Line, with two locations in Austin, offers up more genuine treats for carnivores.

Another business caught my eye on my first visit when we passed a parking lot where there was a shiny Airstream trailer with a giant cupcake on the roof—and a long line of people. As I was about to discover every time we passed that way, the long line of people never diminished. I couldn’t wait to learn more about Hey Cupcake! As soon as it was politely possible to excuse myself, I began investigating this business on the Internet. I found out that Hey Cupcake! is the brainchild of Wes Hurt, a 20-something Texan who says he was born entrepreneurial.

His story reminded me of an article I wrote in Winning Ways newsletter called Take a Trip, Come Back With a Business. That’s exactly what Hurt did. The inspiration came during a trip to New York when he visited the Magnolia Bakery. He says, “I waited in line for 20 minutes or so and was amazed by the enthusiasm and anticipation emanating from everyone in line. That day I started planning what would eventually be Hey Cupcake!”

Hurt’s idea wasn’t exactly an instant success, however. He opened his first cupcake stand on the campus at the University of Texas where about 10,000 students passed by daily. Unfortunately, not enough of them stopped to buy a cupcake. Hurt was disappointed, but in true entrepreneurial fashion decided to revamp. He changed locations and moved into the Airstream. That did the trick. On their busiest days, they now sell about 1,000 cupcakes.

Of course, there’s more to the business community than food. Happily, Austin is home to one of the great independent booksellers, Book People. If you’re a booklover, you’ll find two floors of temptation here. There’s an extensive children’s section, gifts and all sorts of in-store events including author appearances, book camps for teens and preteens and weekly story hours for the younger crowd.

In this health-conscious community you’ll find lots of yoga studios, gyms and numerous alternative health practitioners offerings their services. One of the loveliest spas in the area is The Crossings, which is also home to retreats and workshops.

Finally, if you want to see more of the entrepreneurial spirit in action, visit some of the small towns in the gorgeous Hill Country surrounding Austin. There’s Fredericksburg, home to dozens of little shops, restaurants and charming bed and breakfast inns. Or take a slightly longer drive and you’ll find yourself in Gruene, situated between Austin and San Antonio. How could you ignore a place whose slogan is, “Gently resisting change since 1872”?

Create your Own Inspiration Station

We don’t need to push life so much as we need to
experience it more elegantly, to be motivated more by
inspiration than by ambition. ~ Marianne Williamson

If you’re like me, you may have given little thought to inspiration. For much of my life, I believed that inspiration was random and rare—and something only artists cared about. I would occasionally hear someone say, “I was struck by inspiration,” but that only reinforced the notion that it was an infrequent event. My thinking has changed about that, of course, and so are the results I see in bringing my own visions to life.

I’m not sure how that change occurred, but I do know that there’s nothing rare about inspiration. While it still remains somewhat mysterious, I now  know that it’s not a feeling, it’s a phenomenon… and a rather quiet one at that. Although we may sometimes feel fired up in an inspired moment, it’s equally possible that an inspired state is serene.

Inspiration comes bearing gifts. It expands our horizons, transcends and dissolves obstacles, makes us feel both lighter and more powerful at the same time. Inspiration always leads to more, not less. When operating from this state, we feel more creative, more confident, more intelligent, more loving, more alive. It also engenders trust that we’ll always have what we need, when we need it. Inspiration is the loving parent of innovation, problem-solving and action. It’s nearly impossible to be inspired and complain at the same time.

Best of all, it’s absolutely free and available to anyone who wants it. The trick is knowing that it needs to be invited. As James R. Ball reminds us, “An uninspired mind is a handicap we can all do something about.”

You may know you’ll be inspired when visiting Venice, but what about the rest of the time, the time spent in familiar surroundings? What if, in addition to putting yourself in inspiring environments, you were equally determined to create your very own Inspiration Station right where you are? Here are some ways to do just that.

Know what inspires you. Inspiration triggers are highly personal and unique to each of us. Writer Philip Pullman says, “I don’t know where inspiration comes from, but I know

it goes to my desk, and if I am not there to receive it, it goes away again.” Music, stories, even smells can help move us into an inspired state of being. So can work. The late Michael Crichton, who was a prolific writer, said, “Work inspires inspiration. Keep working. If you succeed, keep working. If you fail, keep working. If you are interested, keep working. If you are bored, keep working.”

Just as important is to know what robs you of your inspiration and eliminate those psychic vampires from your environment.

Take a fresh look at your workspace. When Karyn Ruth White first set up shop at home, her office looked like a cold, impersonal cubicle. “No wonder I never wanted to go there,” she now says. Her current home office is anything but impersonal, with wonderful artwork and favorite quotes positioned on the walls surrounding her desk so she can see them easily.

Valerie Young's view


The place I call World Headquarters is a shrine to things that I love. There’s a vintage travel poster from Venice, a Chihuly drawing, and a framed reminder from John Ruskin which says, “We are not sent into this world to do anything which is not in our hearts.”

A room with a view can also be a source of inspiration. Valerie Young looks out her home office windows and sees woods and a field where cows peacefully graze.

Move things around. Uncluttering expert Peter Walsh has discovered that people who live in massively cluttered places reach a point where they stop seeing how bad it is. Even if our environment is spotless and tidy, it’s easy to become indifferent to our surroundings. Every few months, move your desk (if possible) and rearrange the things hanging on your walls.

Keep things that inspire you close at hand. When I first met Chris Utterback, I called her one morning when nothing was going right. “Make me laugh,” I demanded when she answered the phone. To my surprise, she said, “Just a minute. I’ll go get my cartoon scrapbook.” That was a new idea to me, but ever since, I’ve kept a folder labeled Make Me Laugh so I always know where to look when I need a giggle.

I take seriously Gustav Flaubert’s observation, “The greatest goal in life is not the attainment of fame. The principal thing in this world is to keep one’s soul aloft,” so

I also keep favorite books and music within reach in case I have an inspiration emergency. For instance, two books that made a huge difference in my life when I was contemplating self-employment were Supergirls: The Autobiography of an Outrageous Business  by Claudia Jessup and Genie Chipps and Macy’s, Gimbles and Me by Bernice Fitz-Gibbon. Both titles are long out of print, but have a permanent home on my bookshelves. Even after all these years, I consult them both from time to time.

Since I also think quotes can be sources of instant inspiration, I keep files of favorites on my computer.

Change the scenery. Julia Cameron advocates regular Artist Dates, time away from your office or studio to explore. Whether you call it an Artist Date or Inspiration Field Trip, you need it.  Designer Kaffe Fassett talks about hours he spent at the V & A Museum in London gathering ideas for his designs. I love the idea of regularly strolling through a shop or garden or museums in search of new ideas.

Equally important, it seems to me, is to have a short list of nearby spots where you can take yourself from time to time. Bookstores and libraries are high on my list although plenty of folks like plunking down with their laptops in a coffee shop.

Connect with inspiring people.As popular as social networking has become, it can’t replace the experience of spending time in the presence of people who lift your spirits. Whether it’s a formal master mind group or an informal collection of others who are building their dreams, actively find ways to connect.

One of the most memorable gatherings I planned came the first year I lived in Las Vegas and discovered I needed another 1,000 miles to keep my elite status with my old airline. I decided to make a turnaround trip to Minnesota and invited my joyfully jobless friends to join me at the airport. It was such a lively party that I could barely tear myself away when it was time to reboard my plane.

It was also a powerful reminder that when we take responsibility for staying inspired, we naturally inspire others to be their best.

Two Merchants of Venice

Even though I haven’t had much personal contact with Venetian entrepreneurs, there are two I will never forget.

Claudio is the owner of a small hotel I stayed in on a visit a few years ago. One morning he and I had a long visit about his hotel (a Rick Steves recommendation) and what his life as a native Venetian was like. On the morning I checked out, he was at the front desk. After we’d completed our business, I said, “Claudio, I enjoyed my stay. When I come back I will be sure to stay with you again.”

He bowed slightly and said, “I shall be here, Madam, awaiting your return.”  I giggled all the way to the train station thinking that Claudio would be there to welcome me back.

Then there’s Carlo. In October, 2006, my siblings and I rented an apartment in Venice for a week. When we arrived at the vaporetto stop, we were greeted by our temporary landlord Carlo. He shook hands with each of us and then escorted us back to the 500-year-old building he owns. The first thing I noticed about him was that he didn’t actually walk: he bounced. And he smiled a lot.

The next afternoon he stopped by to make sure that things were running smoothly. “So, Carlo,” I asked, “where did you learn to speak English so well?” The grin got even bigger and he told us how he’d decided to learn English when he was sixteen and began his lessons by  listening to Simon and Garfunkel. A few years later, he went to London and was dismayed to learn that nobody could understand him.

We invited him to sit down and tell us more about this building which he was renovating. What followed was a delightful story about creative entrepreneurship. He told us he’d been a pharmacist, but when the building came into his family rather unexpectedly, he left his pharmacy to devote himself to his new enterprise. His parents occupied an apartment on the ground floor and there was another space he rented to a group of architects. Carlo lived on the top floor while the other four apartments were vacation rentals.

Redoing the building had been a huge undertaking and he seemed to be enjoying it all. I tried to imagine how difficult it would be to rehab an old building in a city where everything had to be brought and removed by  motorboat. It seemed daunting, but Carlo seemed to have taken it all in stride.

When Carlo told us that he was facing a couple of off-season months with few takers, my sister Margaret suggested he advertise on Craigslist, which he hadn’t heard about. To our delight—and his—he promptly got two bookings after posting on that popular site.

If there are more charming landlords and hotel owners than Carlo and Claudio, I have yet to meet them.

Further Explorations

Writers, painters and musicians have found inspiration in this elegant city. From William Shakespeare to Indiana Jones, Venice has proved a fascinating backdrop for storytelling.

Books

  • A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlene di Blesi is the story of an American food writer and restauranteur who falls in love with a Venetian banker and moves to Italy. While the book is treated by critics and readers alike as a romantic tale, I saw something else: how di Blesi’s entrepreneurial spirit infected her new husband who ultimately leaves his dreary job.
  • The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt was not the story the author was planning to write when he landed in Venice, but an intriguing city disaster led to this unusual glimpse into modern Venice society. The audio version is also good.
  • If you love mysteries, American teacher-turned-writer Donna Leon has a series set in her adopted hometown.
  • There are countless works of fiction and nonfiction covering all eras of this enchanting city.  DK’s Eyewitness travel guide to Venice and the Veneto is fun to read, as is The Collected Traveler anthology of Venice, if you’re really curious.

Movies

  • The Merchant of Venice has been made into film several times with the role of Shylock played by Sir Laurence Olivier and Al Pacino, among others.
  • Dangerous Beauty is a personal favorite about an impoverished Venetian woman who becomes a courtesan when she learns that women in that profession have access to libraries. Based on a true story of the life of an early feminist.
  • What exploration of Venice would be complete without Casanova? The 2005 movie with Heath Ledger as the legendary lover is charming and fun.
  • Bread and Tulips is a movie that will be especially appealing to those who have visited Italy.
  • And, of course, there’s the romantic classic, Summertime, with Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi.

Ah, Venice The Elegant Home Based Business

Venice, Italy is an exotic and mysterious place that attracts visitors from around the world. It’s been doing so for centuries.

In its heyday, it was a rich and powerful center of trade and business. Poised between East and West, Venice became a city of merchants, many of whom ran their empires from exquisite palazzos designed to serve as their business headquarters, as well as being the family home. These gorgeous buildings still line the Grand Canal, greeting newcomers entering the city by vaporetti.

A typical Venetian house had an elaborate facade facing the canal since visitors and clients usually arrived by boat. The house was tall and narrow, with the ground floor serving as an office and, perhaps, warehouse. The second floor was used to entertain visitors and discuss business affairs, while the family quarters were kept on the third floor. Many houses also had additions on the street side that were used as an office, but  frequently became personal libraries.

So, you see, the home business movement  isn’t such a new idea after all. The Venetians, who did it more elegantly than anyone, were running international enterprises from their homes hundreds of years ago.

Despite heroic efforts to preserve Venice’s elegant buildings, the days when merchant ships sailed in and out laden with exotic cargo are long over. Today’s Venetian entrepreneur is more apt to be a shopkeeper catering to tourists—or a musician playing Vivaldi. If you are visiting, take a walk off the tourist paths and wander into a residential area. If you happen upon a supermarket or hardware store, pay a visit. It’s also worth a boat ride to see the glass shops of Murano where you’ll find pieces done by imaginative artists, alongside tackier pieces intended as souvenirs. The Lido is another island which is home to the Venice Film Festival. It also has the distinction of having streets where buses and cars can drive as well as beaches.

Booklover’s London

One of my earliest childhood memories is of my mother reading to me, “They’re changing guards at Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice.” My passion for London started long ago and it has never subsided. Like many Anglophiles, I became smitten with all things British from reading books, long before I ever made a visit.

Now, as an entrepreneur, I’m equally fascinated by the businesses that cater to local and visiting booklovers. If a London visit is on your horizon, here are a few places worth exploring.

Daunt Books Marylebone High Street, London

Browse in a bookstore. If you were to spend a month in London, you’d have to visit twenty-five stores a day just to take them all in. Assuming that your time is more limited, head straight to Charing Cross Road and stroll along this booklover’s paradise. Coming out of the Leister Square Tube Station, turn right and you’ll come upon Quinto, a dusty used bookseller and Zwemmer, specializing in design and art. In 2001 rents were raised sharply in the area so many of the smaller specialty shops are no longer there. In the next block is the famous Foyle’s, not an especially easy store to navigate. Check out the side streets, too, for more antiquarian and specialist shops.

Travel with guides, fiction and non-fiction organized by country. www.DauntBooks.co.uk

The smaller shops scattered around London are where you’re most apt to meet a bookselling entrepreneur. In the charming The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, there’s this observation about booksellers which is as true today as it was in post-World War II times when the book is set: “”No one in their right mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one—the margin of profit is too small. So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it—along with first dibs on the new books.”

You might be tempted to skip the chains, but don’t miss Waterstone’s in Piccadilly which claims to be the largest bookstore in Europe with seven floors of books. Each floor features books by category and has lots of lounging space. You can also have a bite to eat in the fifth floor cafe which has a spectacular view overlooking the Millennium Wheel.

Hear an author talk. Writers are the original homebased business owners. Author appearances are as popular in London as they are in the U.S. And, for the most part, you can listen to a contemporary author read from their latest book or discuss their writing career for free. Some bookstores charge a small admission fee, but allow you to redeem your ticket against the purchase of a book.

Most dependable for locating events and signings is Time Out, the weekly entertainment magazine. Locate the “Books & Poetry” section of the magazine for a current listing of events. Besides author appearances, they also publicize writer’s workshops and poetry readings which are open to the public. Even if you aren’t up on contemporary English literature, this could be an interesting way to spend an evening.

Take a guided tour.  Of all the small companies conducting walking tours, London Walks has the broadest selection of offerings. You can join London Walks and explore London’s Literary Golden Mile or follow in the footsteps of Eliza Doolittle. There’s Oscar Wilde’s London, along with that of Shakespeare and Dickens. Or you might choose a pub crawl that includes a few haunts of famous writers.

 

London Walks not only offers a wide range of walking explorations, they also have a diverse and entertaining group of tour guides. Many of the guides are actors, while others are art historians, authors or former museum employees. Still others have special qualifications. Alan, for instance, is the chief researcher and archivist of the Oscar Wilde Society and conducts his Wilde Walk attired as Mr. Wilde himself.

These two hour walks, which take place rain or shine, cost a mere £7.00 and are a wonderful way to pick up fascinating details about your favorite authors. Telephone: 020 7624 3978 www.Walks.com

Margaret, Barbara and Bill in London
Bill Bryson with
Barbara and Margaret Winter

Be a Bohemian for a day.  Bloomsbury, the area surrounding the British Museum, has long had a reputation as a scholarly oasis located in West Central London. Long before Virginia Woolf & Company made this area the height of literary fashion, writers had discovered this peaceful place. Thackeray writes about the area in Vanity Fair; earlier residents included Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw and Gertrude Stein.

However, Bloomsbury became most famous as a literary mecca when the Bloomsbury Group was formed. Although this group is remembered as a literary band, they’re also remembered for their ferocious insistence on personal and sexual liberty and freedom of expression. That should give you plenty of ideas about how you might behave on your Bloomsbury visit.
Begin your Bohemian adventure (dressed in black, of course) by taking the Tube to Holburn. This commercial area is unimpressive and somewhat frenetic. Follow the signs towards the British Museum and you’ll begin to move into a quieter and gentler neighborhood. This area has several lovely public areas, the largest of which is Russell Square. Although the ambiance has changed, you’ll find many vestiges of Bloomsbury’s literary connections by simply strolling along Bedford Place and Woburn Street. Blue plaques adorn the houses of Nos. 46, 50 and 51 Gordon Square where Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf and others of the Bloomsbury Group once lived; at No. 5 Woburn Walk you’ll find the former residence of William Butler Yeats.

Enjoy the perfect place to spend a rainy day. The new British Library is a feast for any booklover. Long housed in the British Museum, the new Library was opened amidst controversy on November 24, 1997. I can’t imagine a more enjoyable place to escape on a cold and rainy day.  Take the Tube to King’s Cross Station, turn right on St. Pancreas and walk about a block and a half.

All sorts of author talks and book-related events take place at the Library, most of them open to the public. There are three (well, four with the gift shop) main attractions. The priceless personal library of King George III is a spectacular display housed behind glass walls that are six stories high. The King’s Library contains some 65,000 volumes, 20,000 pamphlets and 400 manuscripts. While the contents are only available to serious scholars, visitors can enjoy the display while visiting the Cafe or Restaurant.

The manuscript room is the main attraction, however. It always takes my breath away to see an original notebook of Jane Austen’s, a first folio of Shakespeare, and the lyrics to a Beatle’s tune scribbled on a scrap of paper.  Besides historical books, you’ll also find original music compositions such as Handel’s Messiah with annotations.

Skip the hotel. Maggie Dobson is the entrepreneur behind At Home in London which matches up visitors with locals offering homey bed and breakfast accommodations. I have given up pricey hotel stays since discovering this great little business. Because Dobson selects carefully, her hosts are superb. www.AtHomeInLondon.co.uk

Explore on your own. When Napoleon called England a nation of shopkeepers, he didn’t mean it as a compliment, but you’ll be happy to learn that many small enterprises have survived throughout London. Even with the infusion of chain stores, London neighborhoods still house plenty of fascinating shops offering a wide range of goods, old and new.

Cheap Tricks: Marketing On A Shoestring

Very few people start a business because they love marketing. And yet, without marketing it’s unlikely that a business will succeed. Whether you’re a webmaster or window washer, an artist or an accountant, you know that success is dependent upon securing business and that attracting and retaining clients and customers is fundamental to your future. That’s what this seminar is all about.

You’ll learn:

  • How to master marketing fears and make marketing fun
  • The essentials of making your business stand out
  • How to find clients in off the beaten track ways
  • How to generate word of mouth endorsements
  • Free and inexpensive sources of promotion
  • Skills that will generate a growing customer base

 

Whether you own a business that’s ready for a makeover or you have just printed your first business cards, this seminar will offer dozens of ideas that will help your business stand out amidst the competition. Even if your marketing budget is small (or non-existent) you’ll come away with tried and tested practical ideas that will transform your approach to marketing and boost your confidence. It might even help you learn to love marketing!

 

 

One of the reasons that mature people stop learning is that they become less willing to risk failure.

~ John W. Gardner