Anytime\u2019s a good time to feed your entrepreneurial spirit, of course. But if your weekend means you have a little extra time, here are some armchair travels for the joyfully jobless.<\/p>\n
I admit I\u2019m a bit of a snob when it comes to business cards so when Sara Young handed me hers at the end of my San Antonio workshops, I took notice. \u201cWhere did you find this wonderful thing?\u201d I asked. To my surprise, she told me hers had come from Etsy.com<\/a>. I couldn\u2019t wait to check it out for myself and was dazzled by the selection. If your business involves earth-moving equipment, you won\u2019t find anything here, but if you want something funky and slightly different, this could be a treasure chest for you.<\/p>\n Before you head over to Etsy, check out this article that Nicole Relyea sent me on Creative Business Cards<\/a>. You\u2019ll be astonished by the original creations in this piece. You’ll see cards that look like theater tickets, one made from a household object, another that looks like a razor blade. No kidding.<\/p>\n Wish you were wildly creative? That\u2019s what Ken Robert thought, too, but decided to settle for mildly creative. He wrote a terrific piece about his discovery and I bet you\u2019ll find it useful, too. Check out How to be Mildly Creative<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Your Next Quest is the name of Michele Meagher\u2019s business which helps women design the next chapter of their lives. Her February Quest Maker interview<\/a> is with Margaret Winter, my baby sister, and it\u2019s a great story of making the transition from employee to entrepreneur. Go take a look.<\/p>\n In 1999, I took an 8 month sabbatical and spent part of the time traveling solo in Europe. Along the way, I met an artist in London who urged me to contact Alternatives, a long-running program that offers workshops and talks on all aspects of spiritual and personal growth. Since I was avoiding anything resembling business at that time, I listened to her recommendation and promptly forgot about it. Fortunately, Alternatives came back on my radar screen and I became a huge fan of their work. Needless to say, I\u2019m thrilled to be going back to London the end of this month where I\u2019ll be doing two all-day workshops with them. On March 29 there\u2019s <\/a>Making a Living Without a Job<\/a><\/em> and the following Saturday, April 4, What Would an Entrepreneur Do?<\/em> If you or an entrepreneurial friend are in that part of the world, I\u2019d love to see you there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re in the UK or not, you can listen to the lively podcast interview I just did with Alternative\u2019s director Steve Nobel about learning to think like an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n Several days ago, I had to take my car in for some minor repairs. I grabbed a brand new book I\u2019d ordered to take along for company while I waited. To my amazement, I found myself hoping the mechanic wouldn\u2019t finish too soon. I could hardly put the book down. What was so enchanting that I didn\u2019t want to leave the smelly brake shop?<\/p>\n Rubies in the Orchard<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Lynda Resnick, that\u2019s what. Resnick is a) a marketing genius and b) a fabulous storyteller. You may not know her name, but I\u2019m guessing you have heard about some of the companies she and her husband have grown: Franklin Mint, Telaflora, POM Wonderful and FIJI Water. Besides having a fascinating personal story, Resnick\u2019s book is loaded with marketing tips she learned along the way. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n