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MenuAre there still ways to become financially independent through a job?
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I love this question! Thank you for asking it.
If you don't mind, once you finish I would love to know more about your startups and what led you ask this question. No judging, but everything is a learning opportunity - I guess, hence we're both here.
My name is Humberto, although I now run a hybrid global marketing agency, I started drawing and selling my designs to shirt companies in FL a long time ago, traded medical sketches for medical treatments LOL. Over time my passion for art led me to pursue a full time career making a living with my art but that didn't pan out. Through that time though I was learning how to sell, learning technology and programming basics. It was this that got me involved with the startup community in Phoenix, AZ area to what is now globally known as #yesPHX. My creative side was the driving force behind all the Startup Weekends, Pitches, pursuing ideas, joining teams and seeking investors to pitch shamelessly to as well as building relationships and strategy. I learned a lot.
Including the fact that it was my creative side that drives me and my passions. That "Entrepreneurial ADD" as I like to call it was reduced when I was working on something that allowed me to be primarily creative rather than doing managerial or repetitive stuff such as pitching and driving sales or improving code. It took 2 startups with financial backing to realize that I didn't want to grow a business for myself, I enjoyed the creative challenges of figuring out how to get them growing and grow them and then move on - not being stuck running them. I found out I was a wannapreneur.
But this was an opportunity because knowing that I didn't want to be stuck growing a startup for the sake of money or nerdy fame helped me realize that I wasn't going to 'change the world and make it a better place' I would be like most of us just stuffing the world with one more app or service that we can probably go without or be a feature of an existing rather than a new company. Anyway, through this time I was consulting with other startups on growth, creative ways to grow (now commonly coined as Growth Hacking by S. Ellis) this led me to make a living consulting, I was a young 20' something hispanic entrepreneur helping business men and women of all ages and industries because of my experiences. I came in and evaluated their situation, found holes, provided ideas and solutions. I would help execute then I would move on to another challenge elsewhere. A wannapreneur I think is a bad term for a certain type of personality such as what I can relate to.
I want to work, I am creative, and I am trying to make the world a better place but I don't like being stuck forcing growth of my own company. This has allowed me to grow my company by focusing on driving good growth for my clients and being helpful which generates referrals. Depending on your experience you can try a similar path in pivoting your skillsets to something else.
That's what pivoting does for the most part " what resources and experiences I have and what other ways can I utilize them better?"
What relationships did you build? can you leverage those as opportunities for others?
Try joining a startup as a sales agent, customer service, or get yourself into a franchise which have to provide structure and help.
Use your current job income to fund your other entrepreneurial business ventures.
Related Questions
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I have hustle and motivation to find a job, but every time I get a job I lose it due to anxiety. What is your advice?
You're definitely not alone with this feeling and it's very common amoung millennials because we were taught to figure everything out ourselves with the Internet- what we didn't know we were expected to look up. Admitting we truly didn't have the skill associated with the job would conjure up feelings of humiliation which would lead to the compulsive behavior to then just say-- yeah I can do that. It's my opinion that you're not trying to impress initially as so much as you're trying to not be caught in a vulnerable situation. I would recommend writing down all of your skills separate from your traits-- traits are the characteristics of yourself such as dependable, honest, persistent, loyal-- skills are how you can help them accomplish their goals - transferable skills are those you have accumulated throughout your career. - when someone asks you a skills based question like -- describe your normal methods of assigning work to your subordinates and you answer with "well I'm a very fair person and I wouldn't want their to animosity between the employees so I would make sure it's spread equally" - it's a honest answer but it's a skill question answered by subjective traits. - does that make sense? I think understanding skills/traits will calm your anxiety down and get you pumped for your next interview! :)WK
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What is the best way to scale a phone coaching program quickly and effectively?
In general it's hard to scale an hourly business. However, here are a few suggestions: 1. Offer a lower rate tier where you can capture a lot of people such as group coaching. You'll need address topics that are general to the group, and make sure that the people within the group are similar enough, but don't feel like they're competing with each other. 2. From the group coaching you can suggest people upgrade to a higher price such as the $4K for 6 1-hour sessions to address specific needs and provide the high touch individualized attention they're looking for. However, I'd still be cautious about letting people know how much they're paying for an hourly rate. 3. Can you productize this service in any way? Most businesses scale by productizing their information. If you can create learning modules for people to go through, then you can have the complete work on their own, then use 1-1 time more effectively.PV
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Entrepreneurship with my sister, or my chosen career path?
Be honest with her. Tell her your concerns now, and ask that she give you the same courtesy. The unique skills that you each bring to the table and the passion you both have is what can make the business successful - but only if you can communicate. If you aren't willing to commit 100% right now, then tell her what you are willing to give - I'm sure she'll appreciate whatever you can give her, including your support.HW
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How would you apply the Systems Mindset to your personal life?
The Systems Mindset would work for your personal life. Consider the following quotes from Sam Carpenter's book "Work the System" : "Unhappy people are not in control of their lives because they spend their days coping with the unintentional bad results of unmanaged systems. Happy people are in control of their lives, spending their days enjoying the intentional good results of managed systems." ..."each of us is a system of systems. But here’s the rub: some of them—each of which, always remember, can be visualized as a distinct entity—are headed in oblique directions, confusing our efforts to reach our conscious goals." So basically, we act as Project Engineers who constantly work to tweak and perfect the various systems that make up the various aspects of our lives. To move forward in an integrated manner rather than "firefighting" or constant crisis management. We start this by taking a stance "above and apart" from the issues so that the distance gives us the detachment to study the various systems that we are part of. Think about the 3 main documents that Sam Carpenter talked about in the book which he says is vital for business. These are :- 1. Strategic Objectives 2. Operating principles 3. Working procedures In your personal life, your strategic objectives would be your ultimate purpose or life mission. Operating principles would be the principles you use to make decisions and should be congruent with your strategic objectives. And working procedures would be how you do any specific "thing". For instance, if one of your strategic objectives is to live with integrity, your guiding principle for that would involve asking if a particular action is congruent with your sense of integrity. Then one of the working procedures for your relationships would deal with honest communication. Eg. in your "Late going home" procedure, you might have the following steps : 1. Call spouse 2. Inform true reason 3. Inform what time you can be expected back. "Inform true reason" would be congruent with your objective. You would communicate the true reason and not an excuse. The above is a rather simplistic example but this entire approach can be useful to all areas of our lives even if we don't create detailed working procedures as we would for businesses. This is how the Systems Mindset can be applied to our personal lives. It would help us identify our values and live more in line with them. And to live more effectively and efficiently too.LN
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How do you, as a working parent, balance work/life? Do you think it's stressful to be a parent? If yes/no, why?
OF COURSE IT'S STRESSFUL TO BE A PARENT!!! It's the hardest damn job in the world. Not sure you can have balance though. You just need to have a dream, execute your plan, and fix what is broken at the time. It's about priorities... Use tools to keep you scheduled and accountable. You'll be OK.DW
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