A Lifetime of microBusiness

could you be successful in a microBusiness?

I was in Orlando this week, and while working in one of my many satellite offices (otherwise known as Starbucks) I overheard a couple of guys talking about their corporate jobs and how they'd like to be "out on their own, doing the consulting thing". They just knew they would make smarter decisions, have more freedom, enjoy their work more, and make more money.

I have often said--regarding the successful operation of a microBusiness--that if I can do it, anyone can do it. After all, I had no special training, no mentor, no real encouragement, and I don't have a high-level of formal education. It seemed to me that if a guy like me could do it, then anyone should be able to do it.

But, I was wrong. “Anyone” cannot successfully operate a microBusiness.

It takes a certain kind of individual; in my mind it takes a special person to be successful. It takes a man with his head and heart in the right place. It takes a woman who sees the microBusiness as a better way of life, not as Plan-B, to be used as a stop-gap remedy because Plan-A didn’t work out. It takes an independent spirit, tenacity, fortitude, and a sense of adventure. It takes belief in yourself, and a high-level of self-motiviation and commitment. The successful microBusiness owner will wear many hats, roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty everyday. He will relish the simplicity, focus on quality, and enjoy the ride. The successful microBusiness owner shows up everyday, not because someone else dictates it, not because he's trying to fill a void left by some other failure, and certainly not because he sees a get-rich-quick opportunity. He does it because he wants to.

do you like what you do?

I am a soloist. What that means is, I work for myself, by myself; I have no staff. For me, that’s a wonderful thing, because I enjoy what I do, and I do it with nearly complete autonomy. I have discovered the ultimate way to integrate living and working. And when you can do that, you never have to go to work in the traditional sense. At least that’s the theory. Film maker, Baz Luhrman, once said, “Our work is life, and our life is work. There is no difference. One must feed the other.” I believe that. The two must exist in harmony if we are to be happy. And we are alive for only one reason: to be happy. What other reason could there be?

When you experience the enormous gulf separating working and living that exists in much of today’s society, you can only achieve minimal happiness at a maximum cost. The working part of you, the part separated so completely from the living part, is not having a good time, and that impacts everything and everyone around you. If you love the work that you’ve chosen, if you’re passionate about it, then you’ve blurred the line between working and living; and when you get good at blurring the line, you begin to eradicate it altogether. To be a soloist you must have work that you enjoy—it’s mandatory for long-term success. It’s even more beneficial if you have a passion for what you do. Work becomes life. Life becomes work. I’ll never understand why people will toil for a lifetime at a job that they dislike, where virtually everyday is drudgery. Of the myriad opportunities available to us in America, surely most of us can find a vocation that provides a reasonable wage, while leaving our souls intact.

what makes me angry

Dream killers. Some people will do whatever it takes to make changes and improve their lives, while others will have a dozen reasons why a better way won't work. All my life I’ve been subjected to people, many of them close to me, who dwell on why changes can't be made, or why new ideas won’t work. I call them dream killers. It really bugs me when educated, healthy people say they can’t do something; when they’re too timid to go out and work for what they know in their heart would make them happy. Instead they complain about their situation, and spread their wet-blanket mentality to those who dream of better things. Why do good people, smart people, let the world kick their asses when they could be creating a better life?

microBusinesses come in every size and description

Last week I took a drive through central Florida on a trip from Jacksonville to Clearwater Beach. On my route down US 301, I passed dozens of microBusinesses, everything from growers selling papayas and corn; to companies offering parachute jumping; to a barrel-bellied guy dressed up as Saint Nicholas (in 80 degree heat) selling exquisitely crafted Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus dolls. Add these to the entrepreneurs I’ve already talked with in the businesses of private investigation, software consulting, and the practice of law, and you can see that microBusinesses come in every flavor you can imagine. More and more microBusiness is the engine that makes America run.

This weekend I’m taking a short trip to Fort Walton Beach to help make arrangements for my son's wedding. In my 13 hours of windshield time (I like to drive the rural roads), I’m sure I’ll observe numerous other microBusinesses--courageous people of every description: the educated, self-taught, craftspeople, corporate dropouts, and accidental entrepreneurs, all working hard enjoying an extra measure of autonomy, and vying for their own piece of the American Dream. I’m continually amazed at the variety of ways thinking-people can devise to create a livelihood, a career, and a future for their families. I’ll try to bring back a photo and a story that I can post here.

need help in your creative life?

If you’re a creative person of any stripe, you’ve probably heard of Eric Maisel. He's a psychologist and creative counselor who has written numerous books to help artists and writers cope with the traumas and troubles that cause stress in the creative life. He has counseled me before; I was once part of his Creativity Coaching program. I’ve read a few of his books, and plan to read more; and I happen to think he is a very smart and helpful man. I think you will too. Here is a quote I’ve chosen at random from his Creative Newsletter of early 2003. If you’re a "creative", and having a troublesome time of it, or simply need some outside encouragement, please, pay Eric a visit. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Visit Eric Maisel, Ph.D.

"A person must be calm in order to live a creative life, even if she is also extremely anxious. You must be calm even as you are anxious, frightened, even terrified.  How can that be?  It is possible because we are both the hurricane and the hurricane's eye. We are both frayed nerves and great stillness. No artist has ever done away with anxiety. No artist has ever escaped. Sometimes that anxiety lays us low, blocks us, defeats us, makes us cry out in pain. But we can find calmness, too: if we breathe, if we are brave, if we remember to love."
      

      -- Eric Maisel

there are no bad ideas

I love talking to people with ideas. Ideas are energizing. Ideas move us forward. Ideas are fun. But ideas can be like fireflies. They burst upon the scene and surprise you, burn hot for an instant, and if you don’t capture them quickly, they’re gone. And once an idea slips away, you may never find it again.

the unreasonable man

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

   -- George Bernard Shaw

successful soloists are self-starters

If you read the classifieds much, you'll notice that one of the character traits often valued by people in hiring positions is called, "self-starter". Essentially, self-starters are great anticipators. They are people with ambition, who can see a need and take action before being told to do so. For example, a self-starter can often take an assignment, assess it, define goals, gather resources, and get to work, with little or no supervision. They have an inherent sense of urgency to get things done, and get them done on time, without management intervention.

Soloists and microBusiness owners must be self-starters if they are to succeed.

Think about it. A soloist must start at the beginning and proceed to the completion of every project, pretty much all by himself. There's no one to hand-off the undesirable parts to. There's no one to force you to make that 7:30 breakfast meeting. There's no one to assume responsibility for your project’s deadline on those days when you don't quite feel up to par. You have to be a self-starter, and just as importantly, a self-finisher. A soloist has to know what kind of work she wants, go out and find it, evaluate it, contract for it, and then perform -- governed by her own qualitative standards. And that takes a very determined individual.

tax tips for writers and artists

As a microBusiness entrepreneur do you ever feel like lawyers and accountants don't understand your little enterprise? I've personally spoken to many accountants who talk to me like I'm a traditional mid-size business with a small army of employees, an enormous multi-tiered accounting system, and all the complexities inherent therein. In short, they tend to over-complicate things. As a soloist I wear many hats, and I lean toward simplicity in all things. That's why I like June Walker. She's a different kind of accountant. Here's her list of tax tips for writers and artists that appears on her blog. Take a look around her website too, she offers a ton of valuable advice.

work worth doing

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

   – Theodore Roosevelt