Hang onto your day job. It’s a thread of conversation among folks looking to ditch their job in favor of pursing their passion of entrepreneurship. But unless you have buckage in the bank to pay your bills for a year in addition to the investment of starting a new business, most small business pundits would not suggest throwing in the towel – cold turkey.
But there is swelling support to help you achieve what social media expert Chris Brogan calls “escape velocity.” “The ability to leave a situation that isn’t helpful or desired.” It’s the path less traveled where you’ve got your feet planted in the financial security of a steady job, while igniting the journey toward doing work that you’re passionate about.
Chris wrote about this idea in a recent blog post: An Escape Velocity Bookshelf, where he lists books that helped him and others generate escape velocity. It’s the niche of choice these days on his blog as his, “goal is to help people humanize business.” Those words are music to my ears here at WorkLife Nation because that’s precisely why I started writing this blog – to exalt the human experience in the workplace and in business.
At the recent social media #SOBcon conference in Chicago, I recorded a few minutes of Chris’s workshop when he spoke about escape velocity. That’s the topic of this weeks WorkLife Nation video. Meantime, here are some tips that might help you in your journey toward pursuing more fulfilling work.
- Identify your strengths: Write a list of your strengths. You might have some skills that are going unused in your current job. Perhaps there are ways to generate income doing part time or freelance work that is related to your desired business direction. This would allow you to dip your toe in the waters of a new field of interest, without giving up the ship of solid employment.
- Consult on the side: Depending on the mandates of your current job, there might be wiggle room to do some consulting work on the side, in your new field of interest. Not only are you using this avenue to explore the niche, but you can begin to network within this new community and start building a reputation and a database.
- Affiliate marketing: Chris Brogan mentions this in the video. If you have a popular blog that people in a certain niche like to visit, seek out affiliate opportunities within your network. You don’t have to hit people over the head with product, but you do have to deliver quality content on your blog.
- Passive revenue streams: All of the above can create extra revenue streams, but there’s a difference between a stream that requires a lot of effort and one that is passive. Affiliate marketing directs your readers to the material and products of associates. But you can generate your own passive income through your own products.
- Knowledge is a cash cow: Since you have already identified your strengths, how about turning them into paid content? Do an inventory of your knowledge base. Is there a niche of wisdom which you command, differentiates you from others in your field and others will pay for? If so, create an e-book or an informational audio series. You can sell these products on your blog, but more importantly you’re building a platform and generating escape velocity to graduate to the next phase of your career.
