A really cool job. Everyone wants one. Right?
But what if you also want to do your own thing? To enjoy more flexibility and control over when, where, and how you work?
To put the life side of the work-life equation first?
Then my friend you need to create your own cool job.
It’s not as hard as you might think. Nor is it the fast-easy path to overnight riches that some gurus make it out to be.
Fundamentally, making the leap from having a boss to being your own boss comes down to two things:
1) A great idea
2) The courage to act on it
The good news is there truly is no end to the creative ways to make a livelihood without a job-job.
Creative Options For People Who Want to Do Their Own Thing
Last time I shared 3 cool “jobs” you can create or build on:
- A cool way to share your of love of wine
- Imitating master artists
- Baking and delivering warm cookies and cold milk
In This Issue
In this issue you’ll discover how to:
- Get paid to share your love of crafts
- Invent a new toy
- Cater to kids
- Attend an inspiring Entrepreneur Awards Gala
without leaving home (It’s tonight folks!)
As always, some of the cool ideas you’re about to “meet” come from people in an international community of licensed Profiting From Your Passion® coaches.
I hope these ideas inspire you to make your own job!
[font family=”arial” size=”24″ color=”DE0202″ textshadow=”0″ alignment=”left” weight=”bold” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]Cool “Job” #7 Share Your Love of Crafts[/font]
There are hundreds if not thousands of craft-related websites. What caught my eye was one that brings together two unlikely passions.
Geek Crafts combines geeky stuff (or what some might call nerdy) like Starwars, Harry Potter, and Wonderwoman and, of all things, crafting!
It’s also a great example of how you don’t actually have to “do” crafting. Instead you can dedicate yourself to scoping out cool crafting ideas like they do.
Plus, the blogger bios are a fun reminder that there’s more to life than office politics and commuter traffic.
Take Pauly who tells us that he “lives in the fabled lands of Canada” with his wife, son and “a small zoo.”
For his day job Pauly “travels all over the world” where he says he “sees the inside of many airports, hotels and taxi cabs.”
During his own time though, he “enjoys cross-stitch, as long as it is geeky.” Who knew?
Pauly and full-time crafter wife Redd co-run a store on Etsy called Geekopolis.
Oh yes, Pauly says he’s also “totally a Viking.”
Building on That Idea
When you calculate in materials and time, it can be tough to make any real money selling individual craft items. So a lot of people just give up.
But what if there were a way to sell just your crafting IDEAS?
Enter the craft pattern and education site You Can Make This. Once your project has been accepted, the company shares it with their eager crafters. Then when your pattern sells you get 50 percent of the revenue.
Side note: The business was founded by stay-at-home mom and avid crafter Kim Christopherson. It was so successful her husband Ryan was able to quit his technology job to join her. Sweet!
[font family=”arial” size=”24″ color=”DE0202″ textshadow=”0″ alignment=”left” weight=”bold” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]Cool “Job” #8 Invent a New Toy[/font]
As kids Mike Cheshire and Tom Aiezza they knew their parents weren’t keen on them playing Frisbee in the house. So they fashioned their own smaller disks out of jar lids, shaved bottle caps… whatever worked.
The childhood friends teamed up after college to produce the same mini-Frisbee toy.
Rather than go to China, they hired a plastics company in Southern California to produce a first run of 7,500 Flickerz. Total cost from prototype to mold to finished product was only $10,000.
Stellar sales at 12 independent toy stores meant they were on the right track. Today their site features lots of video demonstrations. But back then the pair had posted a video of themselves doing trick throws that they posted on LinkedIn of all places.
A toys sales rep saw it and told them they needed to go to a toy fair happening in two weeks. Mike and Tom quickly put down $2,500 for half a booth and with that, Jungo Toys was officially born.
In 2012, they sold between 50,000 and 60,000 discs. Before long they were able to begin paying themselves.
In 2013, Jungo sold 120,000 units. This year they expect to double again breaking the half a million mark in revenue. Customized versions with an organization’s logo are especially profitable because there’s no packaging or sales commissions to pay out.
Building on That Idea
Having such a low price point has had an unexpected benefit. One non-government organization purchased a batch of Flickerz to keep kids standing in food lines amused. And for children at an orphanage in Kenya it’s the first toy they ever owned.
This could be a great opportunity to start a non-profit that matches non-government organizations serving poor children or those in refugee camps with toy manufacturers willing to donate over-stock toys.
Have an idea for a toy?
I found this article by the folks at Sesame Street.
Check out The Blockbuster Toy! How to Invent the Next Big Thing
Or if you’re further along in the process or don’t mind investing $1,250 for immersion education, consider learning from industry experts at either of these mega-events:
- World Congress of Play September 8-10th in San Francisco
- International Game and Toy Innovation Conference November 20-21st in Chicago
[font family=”arial” size=”24″ color=”DE0202″ textshadow=”0″ alignment=”left” weight=”bold” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]Cool “Job” #9 Cater to Kids[/font]
When you walk into the romantic, candle-lit dining room at Chandler’s Restaurant in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, the last word that would come to mind is “children.”
But when you realize they are part of Yankee Candle’s huge flagship store known for its Disney-like Bavarian Christmas village, then it all makes sense.
It must be a hit because Chandler’s recently added kid’s cooking classes for $25.00 per child. This includes instruction, recipes to take home, lunch, and complimentary lunch for one accompanying parent.
It’s a great deal for the parent and smart way for the restaurant to attract first-time diners.
Building on That Idea
That got me thinking. Someone who loves creative marketing and children could fashion themselves into an internationally recognized children’s event expert. (I like to think big!)
You could research other innovative ways normally adult-focused businesses are using kid-friendly events to bring parents and their credit cards in the door. Then sell your findings in the form of an e-book or marketing white paper.
Or simply use it to custom design children’s events for restaurants, retail stores, libraries, even car dealerships or dental practices.
Resource for a Change
[font family=”arial” size=”24″ color=”DE0202″ textshadow=”0″ alignment=”left” weight=”bold” style=”normal” lineheight=”110″]Attend the SCORE Awards Gala Without Leaving Home[/font]
In celebration of their 50th anniversary, on Thursday, August 14 at 7:00pm Eastern SCORE is live streaming their Awards Gala
This is a great opportunity to get some inspiration and potential ideas without ever leaving home!
Two honorees that caught my eye are:
Garbage to Garden A Maine-based company picks up your food scraps and returns them as compost. If you love this idea as much as I do, this could also be a great opportunity to contact them to see how you might work together to launch this same business where you live.
Lulyboo The founder and inventor of this baby bed carrier worked with two Score mentors. One guided her to grow the business while another helped her script and produce a video entry for a local entrepreneur forum. The video came in 1st place netting the founder a cash prize of $10,000.
Add Your Voice to Cool Job Tribe
Thousands of heads are always better than one!
How would you build on any of these cool jobs? What other options, ideas, or additional profit centers did you picture? What other cool jobs have you spotted lately? Post below!
The Big End of Summer
Income Generation Idea Sale!
You Really Can Live Life
On Your Own Terms.
All You Need is A Great Idea
Ideas are powerful. When you finally see a way you can make money doing what you love, something remarkable happens.
Suddenly the fear, procrastination, overwhelm, self-doubt and all the other dream killers suddenly take a back seat.
An idea gives you direction. Without your own idea, you’re destined to watch others pursue their passion while your own life passes you by.
Over the span of 19 years, I’ve helped thousands of aspiring self-bossers just like you to connect the dots between what you love to do and how you can make money at it.
And the most important “dot” of all? Making sure that all ideas pass the all-important Life Test. That way you can put your life first – and work second.
Now for a limited time you can schedule a personalized Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session for the significantly reduced price of just $499.
That means for under five hundred bucks you can get one – or quite possibly – multiple income generating ideas.
Not sure what you love to do?
“The way to find out about your happiness,” said renowned mythology scholar Joseph Campbell, “is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy – not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy.”
That’s why to help you re-discover your lost passions, your laser session includes a copy of It’s Never Too Late to Find Your Calling: A Handbook to Help You Find Your Passion and Get a Life.
And if you worry that the thing you most love to do won’t pay the bills, think again!
Once you discover the utterly liberating concept of multiple streams of income you’ll realize that more is possible than you ever imagined.
Normally this option-inspiring guide is $19.99.
But it’s yours free when you book your Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session.
Unfortunately, my busy travel and speaking schedule means I can only make this offer to the first 10 people.
If you really want to discover how you can get paid to do what you love click here to secure your spot at this special End of Summer Sale rate of just $499.
Next, get out your calendar and call me at 413-535-5107 eastern time during normal business hours. I’ll do a brief intake and schedule your one hour session.
I’ve taken a lot of career assessment tools and they always end up telling me I’m creative – which I already knew – but they still leave me stumped as to what to DO with my creativity to actually make a living.
Valerie gave me a lot of good ideas that really made me think. She helped me see how many different possibilities there are in the world for us creative types.
Lynette Turner
Los Angeles, CA
I am still trying to catch my breath after our call! I am very satisfied with the way things went… You were giving me ideas, tips and resources until the second our call ended.
Bob Nelson
Chicago, IL
Someone booked an Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session just before this blog was posted.
That leaves just 9 available spots.
This End of the Summer “Idea Sale” will sell out.
To reserve your spot on my schedule or see more cool jobs go to : http://dreamjobx.com/career-advice-planning
