Help for downsized, outsourced and other "reluctant entrepreneurs"

Humorous-but-savvy advice from Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club:

Get your author book jacket photos taken now, while you’re young.

If you’re old enough to be reading this, you probably already regret ripping up all those less-than-perfect photos taken when you were young, slim and gorgeous. (And my beautiful wife’s, even more.)

Oh yeah, the rest of Chuck’s 13 (fiction) writing tips aren’t bad, either. But this is the one that tickled me.

Source

One of my all-time favorite quotes is pretty good advice, too.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what make you come alive, then go do that. What the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Howard Thurman (1899 – 1981)

Even if it’s not the perfect antidote to recession burnout, at least it’s fun: happy hour + networking meetings. Here’s how it happened in Austin.

“We basically just circulated an e-mail to all of our tech friends that said, ‘Hey, let’s show up and have some drinks,’ and strangely about 100 people showed up,” said Bryan Menell, a veteran entrepreneur who is also a co-founder of Austin’s Capital Factory. “That’s when we knew that there was a need for tech people to just network and chat about their projects in a fun setting.”

Creative sparks can fly spontaneously when you rub two startups together. “The entrepreneurial community here fills this really interesting niche. It’s not a dominant force overriding everything — it’s a part of the larger ecosystem,” said Joshua Baer , a veteran Austin entrepreneur who mentors and invests in startups. “There are a lot of people who have had successes and are still part of the community, still hanging out at the same events and participating in the same groups they started out as members of, and are now mentoring.

What about you? Have you gotten out of your cocoon lately? and starting mingling with like-minded folks? Not necessarily potential customers, although that’s fine too, but SYOB peers. If not, maybe you’re the one to start something. If you do, let me know in the comments.

From statesman.com

“Unemployment for middle-aged workers is the highest it’s been since data was first collected 60 years ago,” reports the NY Times. “It’s worse for men over 45 (7.7 percent in July) than women the same age (6.9 percent). Laid-off people over 45 were out of work 22.2 weeks in 2008, versus 16.2 weeks for younger workers.”

Another good reason to at least consider self-employment…

Self-employment is a lot more empowering and soul-gratifying than scanning job boards, sending out applications and resumes, or schlepping from one job interview to another, hat in hand, hoping to catch a break.

When you’re looking for a job, you’re naturally in a submissive position. You’re asking. For a break. For a job. For a chance to prove yourself.

But when you’re a self-employed professional, it’s a totally different situation. You’re not asking for anything. You’re giving. You are presenting yourself to potential clients or customers as the solution to their problems.

Result: The “power equation” has shifted 180 degrees. You’re no longer submissive. You are in command. You are the one offering something quite valuable: the benefits of your experience, expertise and insight to ease a burning problem or deliver a desired outcome.

Prospective clients won’t always take you up on your offer, of course. But neither will potential employers when you’re begging for a job.

If you’re unemployed, consider spending only half of your “job hunting” time looking for a new job. Spend the rest of your time looking for potential clients who would benefit from your knowledge and skills.

If you can do that, you’ll never need another job.