Derek Rydall – I’ve been working with Derek as my personal business coach since the beginning of 2011. I can’t speak highly enough of Derek and the help he’s been to me both professionally and personally. You can get a taste of Derek’s work by signing up for his free Law of Emergence Course.

Jan Terkelsen – Jan is my wife so I get awesome coaching at home on a regular basis. Jan talks straight with clients in the corporate and self-employment arenas and can really get things moving if you are stuck in business, life or health.

From here on in it’s alphabetical

Carol Roth – Carol is the author of The Entrepreneur Equation and takes no prisoners. Under the banner of ‘Tough love for business, Carol can be booked for in depth strategy sessions that will ‘kick your business in the butt’.

Carrie Wilkerson – The Barefoot Executive. A busy mother of four and very successful in business. Read this post on Carrie’s blog and you’ll get a sense of how well she understands the ‘stuff’ behind small business ownership.

Geoff McDonald - Geoff McDonald is the Ideas Architect. He can help you design ideas that inspire you, create products that spread your message and attract more clients.

Matthew Kimberley – From Matthew’s website – “Read my stuff. Implement. Get More Clients. It’s often tough,but always worth it.”  My wife has worked with Matthew and speaks highly of his work. I like him ‘cos he’s funny and he’s a smart businessman. Sign up for his ebook and you’ll get a taste for Matthew’s unique blend of humor and sound business building tactics.

Nicole Fende - The Numbers Whisperer. Nicole’s specialty is ‘unruly profits’ and loves to laugh. You can catch Nicole live every Wednesday at 11 a.m. US CST on Blog Talk Radio. She is the host of SmallBizFinance with a listenership of 6,000 and growing.

Subscribe below and I’ll keep you posted with future recommendations.

Note – some of the links above may be affiliate links but the recommendation stands with or without it.

Yes, all of these things are possible but being self-employed has little to do with it. You can have any or all of these things by working for someone else. You may not have them in your current job but there are certainly jobs where all of these things can be available to you. Self-employment might bring some or all of these benefits but they are the exception rather than the rule.

If you have any doubts, take a look at this infographic published on Mashable in March 2012 – The Pitfalls of Freelancing. Some quick facts arising:

• 8 in 10 freelancers didn’t get enough work in 2009.
• Of those, half went through stretches without any work at all and half had to dig into their savings to get by.
• 12% relied on food stamps, 26% borrowed money from family and friends and 37% relied on credit cards to get by.
• Less than 50% saw their incomes increase over the previous year.
• Of those studied, 60% were happier being independent workers than being employees. That means 40% were not and would rather be working for someone else.
• Based on the above stats, it would be safe to say that of the 60% remaining, few would be kidding themselves that they were enjoying financial freedom or would be in a position to determine their own destiny (yet).

NB - The stats are from www.mastersdegree.net. They are US based and relate to freelancing but  could probably equally apply to many other economies and self-employment models.

Self-employment is not some Utopian world that’s out there waiting for all and sundry to stake their claim. Anyone who enters self-employment thinking it’s going to be ‘better’ than employment is in for a shock because ‘wherever you go, there you are’.

If you struggle financially working for someone else, chances are you will struggle financially working for yourself. If you have problems relating to your current boss, chances are you will have problems relating to your new ‘bosses’,  your clients, bank manager, landlord, etc. If you feel unfulfilled working for someone else, chances are you will feel unfulfilled working for yourself. If you are getting into self-employment to escape bullying in the workplace, chances are you’ll be bullied by someone else, a landlord or a competitor. You can certainly deal with these issues but self-employment isn’t the remedy.

Highlighting the money side of things, I like this take on it from Carol Roth, Author of The Entrepreneur Equation*…

Sick of hearing “the average person won’t get rich working for someone else”. The AVERAGE person won’t get rich w/ their own business either

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) February 12, 2012

Self-employment will serve up whatever you bring to the table. If you want above average results, it takes above average effort, creativity and commitment.

You may well get to the point where it does deliver the life of your dreams but that’s not the default setting. The statistics say the default setting for self-employment is failure. That’s not because it’s particularly difficult or beyond most people’s capabilities. It’s because they underestimate effort and overestimate reward.

It’s the same as any other aspect of life, it’s what you make of it. Just don’t get sucked into all the hype about it. Manage your expectations and take a reality check before you take the plunge and things should work out just fine. And if you decide self-employment is not the thing for you, well and good. Play to your strengths and have a fulfilling life either way.

Have you found managing expectations a challenge in your self-employment journey? Comments are welcome below.

Want more of the same? Sign up below for updates and I’ll also send you a link to my ebook – “7 Self-Employment Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Business Without You Noticing and How to Avoid Them.” 

*Affiliate link

Despite what the sound bites say, it actually takes a lot of work to set up a four hour work week or to fund an early retirement with a passive income. Even the simplest of business models, including the ‘formulas’ that you can buy on the internet for next to nothing (for a limited time only of course) require a substantial amount of initial and ongoing effort to rake in the dollars.

Even Pat Flynn, the man behind Smart Passive Income, says he works about 25 hours per week generating a very healthy six figure income.  Though he can take sustained breaks he still needs to put time at his desk to keep the plates spinning. Here’s an excerpt from an email he sent in reply to some questions I put to him about it – “At this point, I could walk away for a couple of months and still see a decent income come in from the businesses I have setup, possibly longer, however I’m always working more to create more passive income streams and diversify my portfolio. It definitely didn’t happen overnight though, and many long hours were spent investing my time and effort to create each and every one of my assets.” (bold text is my emphasis)

My own experience and observation of clients and others, is that if the dream of not working is too dominant, it actually stands in the way of its own achievement. In a nutshell, anyone who fronts up at their desk with ‘not working’ as their predominant driver, even if they rationalize it as being ‘eventually’, is setting themselves up for a struggle.

They’ll find themselves easily distracted by ‘tasks’ that seem like work but are actually are more closely related to not working –  studying or taking courses to further their learning about their chosen easy path to riches, networking at the local cafe or on the internet, researching on the internet to find even more secrets, tidying up the office, learning a new software package, etc. Even answering the phone when you’ve set aside some ‘productive’ time can be seen as not working. Though these things may be work related, and though you may even put countless hours into them, they aren’t actually productive.

It’s like the chronic dieter who has a whole bunch of ‘healthy snacks’ through out the day, believing they are doing themselves good but still raking in the same calorie count as when they have their donut binge. It might feel fulfilling and maybe even seem like the right thing to do at the time but at the end of the day, it doesn’t get you any closer to where you want to be.

For the aspiring non-worker, it doesn’t actually create anything of value, a service or product, that needs to be created in order for money to change hands at some point. What it does do though, is it satisfies the goal of not working while giving the appearance of the opposite. Because none of the activity is ‘real work’, the underlying goal of not working is thus being met. The trouble is, it’s not sustainable, both financially and psychologically.

The financial non-sustainability is self explanatory so no need to elaborate on that. The psychological cost is more subtle though and can bite you were it hurts. Without going too deep and meaningful here (will definitely do it some other time though) every day of non achievement chips away at your psychological capital.

In this case the goal of not working has a specific set of requirements, a passive income of $X/month to sustain your lifestyle. If the ‘work’ you are seeming to do isn’t bringing you any closer to that goal, you’ll experience a gradual build up of frustration, resentment, disappointment, hopelessness and maybe even anger.

It’s not what you signed up for but that’s the inevitable outcome of working towards something that’s devoid of meaning. Ironically, it’s probably what you’d be feeling even if you hit your passive income goal on day one and started not working on day two. Not working is simply not all that satisfying. This is reflected in the stats via the high numbers of people who die shortly after entering retirement. They literally bore themselves to death.

So the question is – What are you willing to work for? Generating a passive income is well and good but what do you plan to do with all that time that you are not working? Be present for your children? Write a novel? Tend to your garden? Devote yourself to a meaningful cause? Travel the world? Run for Mayor? Using Pat Flynn again as an example, he is clearly willing to work to spend more time with his family.

Whatever it is doesn’t matter, so long as it has more substance that simply ‘not working’. Now the structure doesn’t contradict the process. You can actually work towards something and the cream of your tasks can rise to the top. When you front up to the desk for work you’ll actually be ready for action and will gravitate towards the tasks that take you in the direction you want to go rather than those that simply seem like they are.

It might seem like it’s just word play but if you are struggling to get ahead in your business, take some time out to reflect honestly on what it is you are working towards? If it’s ‘not working’ you might already be there without even knowing it.

Note – a key distinction here is to ask yourself what you plan to do with your time, not with your money. If your passive income goals are all about having stuff, they can still be underwritten by not working. That puts the not working structure back in place. There’s no problem with wanting or having stuff but you still need some ‘doing’ goals so that not working isn’t the dominant factor.

Bottom line, the goal of not working won’t work. Find something else that you are willing to work towards and get to work.

Want more of the same? Sign up below for updates and I’ll also send you a link to my ebook – “7 Self-Employment Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Business Without You Noticing and How to Avoid Them.” 

The raisins were brought out on a silver platter. We were each given one to sit in the palm of our hands. Wilde then guided us on a gourmet dining experience.

He had us study the raisin closely. We looked at the ridges and bumps. We imagined the raisin when it was a plump juicy grape on a vine, covered in dew, catching the morning sun. We followed the journey of the grape from being picked to drying out slowing in the hot sun, squeezing itself into its current form. We held our raisin between the thumb and forefinger, looking at it from all angles, holding it up to the light.

We closed our eyes and smelled our single raisin. Subtle yet intense at the same time. Never really noticed much smell before.

We placed our raisin between our front teeth. Held it there gently while we explored the texture with our tongues.

Then we let the raisin fall gently into our mouth where we rolled it around and played with it. The whole process took maybe three to four minutes before we finally got to take a bite and enjoy the taste explosion in our mouths. Such incredibly intense flavour.

I recommend you try this at home. I’ve since seen and done the exercise in various other forms but what I like about it is that is shows us how very easy it is to shift our perspectives. In this case, by slowing down and appreciating the finer details of a particular experience, the experience itself becomes much more rewarding and satisfying.

Think of all the other experiences that you could enrich by following the same process. It can be a walk in nature, spending time with your children, cooking a meal for your family, listening to some music from a totally different perspective… The options are endless.

Even the experiences we might previously think of as boring can be turned around by appreciating the finer details. That’s what I call Raisin Consciousness.

He’s recently developed an interest in spear fishing. Hasn’t done it yet as he needed to do a ‘free diving’ course first (free diving = diving without scuba gear). So that’s where he’s been the past three days.

Suddenly he’s an information sponge. It turns out free diving is surprisingly intense and complex. It requires discipline, focus, concentration, trust, courage, respect, understanding of the sea and a reasonable understanding of how the body works. He’s learned more about biology in the past three days than in the past three years. He’s learned about pain management, the power of the mind and the importance of maintaining a healthy body. He’s talking about taking up yoga so he can be in peak form for diving.

Ask him to describe what happens to the lungs as you go deep and the answer flows like he’s the teacher. Out come the pen and paper. Diagrams are drawn. Concepts are explained. This kid is really taking things in. That’s my boy!

Ask him what to do if your diving buddy is in trouble. Bam – he rattles off the drill with military precision, throwing in a couple of moves for visual effect. That’s my boy!

He’s showed such commitment to the task that the diving instructor has offered extra lessons and diving experiences in exchange for chores at the dive centre. That’s my boy!

It’s a joy to see him come alive like this. It makes the average results at school seem irrelevant and unimportant.

It’s a nice follow up to a speech his Principal gave the week before at a ceremony for his older sister’s year. The Principal said the students he remembers most are not those that achieve the highest results, but those who discovered and lived their passion in their school years.

If only they were the rule rather than the exception. I don’t pretend to have all the answers when it comes to fixing the education system – some might say it works fine as it is – but the one size fits all strategy doesn’t seem to work. Something needs to shift.

It’s worth asking the question, what needs to change so kids can make the connection between learning and what interests them? How many kids are switched off because they haven’t connected ‘life’ with school? Sports high schools and performing arts high schools are a step in the right direction but what else can be done to meet the needs of kids that don’t fit those molds?

Maybe the middle years of high school could be more about experiences and experimentation, giving the kids an opportunity to test things out. Spending time on farms and in factories. Enjoying the company of artists and entrepreneurs. Doing service work for those less fortunate. Maybe even have a taste of the military. Less desk time and more time out in the field.

It sounds expensive. It sounds complicated. It also sounds exciting, potentially productive and could possibly give these kids an edge in their senior high school years they might not otherwise have. Could even be fun for the teachers.

My son may or may not sustain his interest in free diving and spear fishing – only time will tell. Either way, he’s had a reminder that we all have an inherent yearning for learning. If we can meet him halfway, adapt our approach and allow him more of these opportunities in the coming years, he could well be one of those kids that the Principal remembers long after he’s left the school. More importantly, he himself will have fond memories of his teenage schooling years as being fun, exciting and full of rich and deep learning experiences. What more could anyone ask for?

The market’s saturated, we’ve left our run too late. I’m too small. We don’t have the experience to take this on. We’ll never be able to compete with the big guys. I don’t have a unique selling proposition. I’m too young/old. I don’t know enough.

These are the often imaginary fences that we put up. They limit the field we’re playing in. The fences are made with words like can’t, won’t, don’t, never, unable, not enough…

Who says the market is saturated? A lot of competition suggests there might be a big enough market to handle it. Even if it is saturated, there is always room for a stand out performer in any market.

How do you know you are too small? Maybe there’s a way to turn your small size to your advantage.

How do you know you don’t have enough experience – and even if you don’t, why should that stop you? Maybe you can partner with someone with the necessary experience to take it on.

Who says you can’t compete with the big guys? Maybe it’s them who will never be able to compete with you.

Who says you have to have a unique selling proposition? Sometimes being good at what you do is all you need.

Why is age relevant?

How much is enough?

This is how fences become gates. How playing fields become larger. The best tools for making gates are questions. How can we…? What if? Why not? What would it take?

I’m always on the lookout for fences that clients put up in front of themselves. I help them look for the weak links, break the locks, make the hinges, pull or push the gates open.

Sometimes the fence remains a fence – we can’t go through it, over it or under it. We have to make the most of the field we are playing in.

It’s always worth asking the question though. Is it a fence or a gate?

I’m still processing what I learned but the big take home for me was that advice or insights on the personal level really need to be structured to match the lens of the recipient. Generic tips that resonate or produce an ‘aha moment’ for one person might just get a shrug of the shoulders from another.

While that seems obvious – we are all different after all – the enneagram provides a framework so we can at least talk to the fundamental concern of a particular enneagram ‘type’.

Take time management for example. One system or approach might work beautifully for a person of one type on the enneagram while leaving someone of another type totally bewildered. Yet another type might wonder why on earth you would want to ‘manage’ time in the first place. Having spent countless hours implementing various forms of David Allen’s GTD approach and more recently lusting after Danielle LaPorte’s seductively simple approach to time management, the enneagram gives me hope that I can find something in between. Just knowing what really motivates me has already made a big difference.

I don’t know enough about the subject to be more specific at this stage or to offer any time management insights but will let you know when I do.

An enneagram expert would have probably worked out my type within the first few words of the second paragraph. “I’m still processing…” tells the reader I’m a Type Five on the enneagram – The Observer/Investigator. Type Fives are always gathering information. We want to know how the universe works so we’re always gathering information, processing it, then gathering more…

The expert would equally know how hard it is for me to publish the fifth paragraph – “I don’t know enough about…” For Type Fives that’s our dirty little secret – we hope and pray that you won’t find out that we don’t know enough. To say it publicly is one of the bravest things a Type Five can do. To blog about it is like jumping from a plane without a parachute (especially when the blog isn’t even finished).

What better way could there be to take the reluctant yet compulsive step into the world of blogging? Sign up below for updates – you never know what other dirty little secrets I might dare to share.