But sometimes we need a little push… a budget for a special project.  That is where Kickstarter comes in.

First let me tell you what it is NOT – it is NOT a fundraising site –  it is NOT for people trying to fund their business start-up and it is NOT a donate for someone’s lifestyle concept.

So what is it?

Kickstarter.com is a site where you can propose your project and the amount of money it will take to do your project – and people who are interested in your project can pledge an amount towards the budget you proposed.  If the amount needed is not reached – for example you may say you need $2,000 to print and publish your original graphic novel – and you only get $1900 in pledges before the time is up on the proposal – then you do not get the money and no one gets charged for their participation.

What’s in it for the investors?

You determine what kind of perks you are going to give in return for the range of dollars an individual donates.   It might be a permanent ” Thank You” on your website – or a copy of the graphic novel, or an autographed copy or several copies.  If it is your project, then you figure out what you would give to sweeten the pot.

What kinds of businesses or areas can I submit a project for?

The categories include:  Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film and Video, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater.

Recently I participated in support of a gardening book to be published.  I have seen tech inventions, theatrical productions and art installations proposed on the site.

How can I submit a project?

Go to the Kickstarter Guidelines page on their site, all the information is there.

Or peruse the projects and see what interests you as an investment – you can invest as little as $1 or perhaps the whole shebang if the project really rings your bell!

The thing is – this is a wonderful way of getting your project launched and getting exposure to a wider audience (since most artistic projects are financed locally – this expands your reach).

Hope this is helpful – let me know!

Shifting gears and viewing oneself as an entrepreneur can enrich you.  It will change the way you view your job, if you are employed, and the way you perform your job.  It will also help you to understand that there are many options available to you.  You can write a business plan and use your own funds or secure funding.  You can work a full time job and start something part time in the evenings, thanks to the power of the internet, which can attract a global audience.  You can  experiment inexpensively with blogging, an Etsy store,  a Zazzle store, an ebay store, a part-time service, writing skills, cooking skills, handiwork skills, volunteer work – the ideas are unlimited, you just have to find one that works for you.  Ideally, you may find several oppportunities that can work for you.

Really — you are never stuck.  Stuckness (I know, I’m making up a word) is an illusion.  But I do believe that you need to follow your dreams in some fashion, if not in your 9 to 5 job — do something in your spare time that feeds your spirit.  Whatever you do that feeds your spirit can only lead you to a better, fuller, happier life.

My background is in recruiting, research and writing – those are key skill areas for me, but like Natalia, I enjoy art, crafts, cooking and other hands-on activities.  My daytime work in the non-profit world provides a great deal of satisfaction for me, but I view it as my “base” and use my spare time to explore other areas.  Currently I’m editing articles for a national magazine; writing web copy for a client; writing recruitment ads for another client; writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry; and I run an ebay store.  I’m toying with the idea of opening an etsy store.

I’m turning my dining room into a factory of sorts.  It will be a writing factory, an ebay shipping center, and an etsy crafting room.  Thinking about it makes my eyes light up with joy.

In 2009 I took Profiting From Your Passions (PFYP) coaching training from Valerie Young, author of  The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, so I could help people turn their passions — the things they love to do — into profit streams.  The reason I did that was because as a recruiter, I could only help a limited number of people find work.  I talked to many people who didn’t want to face the truth that their line of work was gone, or diminished to the point that finding a job like the one they once had was going to be an uphill struggle.  Some of those people were using up all or most of their savings in a quest to find a job that was turning into long-term unemployment.  Things have gotten worse since 2009.  I’m not being doom-and-gloom-ish here, I’m just stating the reality that too many bright and talented people are facing.

So, maybe you think this doesn’t apply to you — you’re working right now.  Even if you have all the right skills, and you are highly employable — can you depend upon your employer?  Will your employer make good decisions? If your company markets globally, will some event halfway across the world like a tsunami, an earthquake, or a war shut down their foreign facilities?  Will your work be outsourced?  Will you be replaced by a new, disruptive technology that makes your job obsolete?  Or — worse yet — do you dislike your work?  Do you dread going to work every day?

Americans have always taken pride in being independent.  Yet we also know that we are interdependent, not just on each other, but on the rest of the world.  America is not isolated from Europe, China, Africa or the Middle East.  I think part of thriving in this century will involve taking a good, hard look at your situation — whatever it is — and making adjustments to fit the times.  Whether it involves getting rid of debt, saving more, setting up a part-time or full-time business, following your passionate love of a hobby or pastime — if you think about it, you’ll figure out the right direction for you.  And when you’re ready — the path will appear, a teacher or mentor will come into your life, you’ll read the right article or see something on television – and you’ll have what you need to start shifting gears.

In future posts I plan to highlight innovative ideas to help stimulate your thinking and help you move forward with your dreams.  Some will involve people I know; others will involve business ideas I’ve seen on the web, in the paper, in books I’m reading, or in the news.  My goal will be to stimulate your own creative ideas and encourage you to make changes, and I would appreciate your feedback.

If you have always wanted to be able to take credit cards or you have a merchant account and it is so expensive that you hesitate to do business with credit cards – take a look at Squareup.com .  This is a small device that is used with your Android or iPhone with a free application that you can download to those phones.  It enables you to swipe a credit card and process it, for a flat rate, using a little white square that plugs into the earphone jack of the phone.

The process is painless:

1. Go to the website.

2. Sign up for free.  They will send you a verifying email and also verify the bank account that you want to have your money delivered into.

3. Within a week, the little device shows up in your mail.

4. You go to the App Store for your phone and download the free application and log in to your account.

5. You are ready to go.

There is no minimum usage.

There is a flat rate for the four major cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

Your money gets into your bank account the next business day.  Your login (from when you signed up) allows you to monitor what you have processed and see when it was transferred to your account.

One of the best deals EVER for sole owners, small business, and anyone who needs to be able to take credit cards (think how handy this would be at the next fundraiser for your church or school).

And to you who are celebrating the Year of the Water Dragon – Gung Hay Fat Choy!

It is always a good idea to look at the interview from the perspective of the hiring side – do some research – what kind of people do they have on their team already?  How will you fit in? What would you like to learn more about their business?

This article at INC give more details.  Click Here.

If you are a member of Linkedin, you can initiate a group.  Or even on Facebook.   Or find a forum in your field (either of business or profession) and start a conversation there.  Do something small and new and kick-start your job search, or search for new business leads.

Another mini-marketing strategy is to ask for advice – often it will lead to referrals or new ideas that will help you.

Let me know what specific strategies work for you and I will share them here! Thanks and make it a great day.

Or view it here:

Why am I reading up on how to influence people?  I am trying my hand at sales, and like many people I have some bad experiences that have colored my perception of what it means to be a sales person.

I know it needn’t be true for me, and I know I need to get over the hurdle or I will have failed before starting.  What I know and what I feel about it are not in synch and this is a problem.

The thing is that I am fine until someone puts a label “Sales”on what I am doing.  I influence people all the time – what movie shall we see; where should we go for lunch; should we go for a walk?  But if I call it Sales I freeze up and suddenly feel as though I am trying to squeeze my round self into a square space.

Does anyone out there have any advice?  If so, please share it and I will post it here.

Thanks!

This week is going to be a bear for a few reasons, not the least of which is trying to figure out where I am in the process of my self-study classes and getting back on track. When you are on self-study and you have lost the thread you have no one to blame but the holidays. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

Seriously, everything I read before Christmas/New Years is gone from short term memory and I will have to study it again. And go to work and get some momentum going there. I think the inertia of the holidays is what I am fighting. I kept saying “after the holidays I’ll -fill in the blank-” and now it is after the holidays and all I have left is the blank.

Hope your Monday is shiny, and you can remember what you were going to be doing “after the holidays” – I will scramble around and do the same.

Happy Monday and make it a great week.

1.  A resume is not just an introduction to a potential employer, it is a screening tool.   More often it is used to rule out a candidate rather than a flag that says “here is the perfect candidate – hire him/her now”.  This is why you will see the more savvy experienced applicant leaving off some of his/her experience unless it is specifically germane to the job at hand, so that the employer will not screen them out for age or “over”qualification.

2. Knowing someone personally or having a reference that is personally known to the potential employer is helpful.  If you are one of those folks who believes that jobs are awarded by merit, and not by a few other various and sundry criteria, then you need to go find a good therapist because you probably are still hung up on how unfair life is….yes, I know that sounds harsh but reality is that humans are looking for humans that they feel good about to hire, whether that is because of trust in a third party’s opinion, or the fact that you go to the same church, or went to the same college or know the same golfing buddies – all people are looking for someone they can relate to as well as if you can do the job.  Obviously this can be distressing if you are a rocket scientist and you know that there are few rocket scientists with your credentials, but I assure you that unless you are the ONLY one with your credentials and they meet perfectly what the employer is looking for,  you will need at least one more item in your favor.

3. I know that in many cases of desperation, we are all willing to take ANY job.  The great frustration about this is that employers are not always willing to hire us for a position they think we will get bored in, or is less than our previous salary….it is an awful position to be in, and I have been in it.  This is where we all have to be creative, and know when to walk away and find something else to apply for, which is often one of the hardest things to do.  I am going to be 55 this year… I don’t feel old, but I know some employers see me that way because at my age – benefits are more expensive, the potential for illness and time off are more probable, and younger employees and clients may have difficulty relating to me and I to them.  The point here is to not fixate on the jobs you cannot get, but to continue to search for ones you can get, or to find ways to be entrepreneurial and either work or sell for yourself.

I fully believe that the next big thing will be cottage industries – especially with the trend to buy locally to alleviate dependence on oil, help conserve resources, and to be greener.  People who find ways to help others be green, upcycle old items, organize recycling where it really makes sense – those are the folks who will help re-establish small businesses and therefore create jobs.

Good luck out there.  If you are self-employed because of unemployment or underemployment – drop me a note and share your experience. We all learn from each other.  Thanks!