The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau

Between comments, Retweets, Tweets and Facebook shares there were 30 people participated, and a few participated several times earning them an extra entry.

Now no more waiting.

The winners are…

1. Julia Benson-Slaught – @ArtofthFirebird
2. Becky Flansburg – @FranticMommy
3. Charles McCool / McCool Travel – @CharlesMcCool

To the winners:

I’ll announce the winners on Twitter, but I’ll need you to email me your shipping address: Sandy@TheDreamingCafe.com

Congratulations!

Sandy

Related Posts:

$100 Startup Book Review
The $100 Startup Book Giveaway

I LOVE The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau and have from the 1st page. It’s one of the best books I’ve read about starting a business, marketing, launching a product and learning to look at opportunities in a new way to support yourself while living a life of freedom and independence and a life that is meaningful to YOU.

Chris collected data and stories from over 1500 entrepreneurs. Dozens of these stories made it into the book –stories that are inspiring because they are so diverse and so real.

What sets The $100 Startup apart from the crowd and what makes it a ‘must-have’ for anyone interested in starting or growing their own business is the wealth of practical information he shares that you can begin using immediately.

For example, Chapter 5, The New Demographics is page after page of ideas to you can begin using today. Examples from the book…

Pg. 82 Three questions to ask your readers, customers, clients:
• What is your biggest problem with ______ ?
• What is the number one question you have about ______ ?
• What can I do to help you with _____ ?

Pg. 83 – talks about a survey to enlist the help of your customers in deciding what project idea they like the best (and would be willing to buy).

Pg . 86-87 provides a simple, easy way to rank your ideas and help you decide which wants to focus on today.

Two more examples from Chapter 6 are the one page business plan (he includes an outline of questions to create your own) and suggestions for how to write a 140-character mission statement.

These are just a few examples of the practical information Chris shares that you can start implementing right away to use your time more productively and to make more money…all while creating a lifestyle that fits YOU.

Before I was even halfway through The $100 Startup I had twelve pages of notes. And, LeeAnn (my new business partner) and I just finished a conference call about how we can begin implementing some of the ideas from the book in our new business as early as tomorrow. How cool is that?

If you don’t have your copy of The $100 Startup yet you can order it now from Amazon, or try to win a copy in my giveaway. See Friday’s post (The $100 Startup Book Giveaway) for details.

After you’ve read it I’d love to know what you learned and how you put it into practice in your own business.

To your success!
Sandy

I met Chris Guillebeau when he was on his sixty-three city book tour for The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World.

He’s now written a new book, The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.

In his new book he shares stories and practical advice about living a life of freedom and purpose.

It’s about the surge of microbusinesses sweeping the country and the world.

It’s not about twenty something’s becoming overnight internet millionaires.

It is about men and women of all ages and backgrounds who have started and succeeded in building a fulfilling life by starting their own business.

To support Chris’s book and the message he is sharing I am giving away 3 copies of The $100 Startup.

Here’s how you can be entered to win a copy:

1. Leave a comment below
2. Retweet this post (use the Retweet button above)
3. Share it on Facebook

Each time you do any of these things you will get another chance to win.

I will choose 3 random winners on Monday, May 14 and post the winners right here.

Remember leave comment, retweet this post and/or share it on FB. Each time you do you will be entered to win.

Haven’t heard of Chris Guillebeau or just want to know more? Go to: ChrisGuillebeau.com

These are my three favorite productivity applications.

Evernote is a FREE, cloud based application that is used to make notes on the go.

It can be accessed via my web browser on my Windows laptop, from a a free app on my Android phone and from a a free app my Apple iPad. I use it to capture short notes and ideas and I even use it for my grocery shopping list. No matter where or when I make my notes it all syncs to the cloud and my notes are available anytime, anywhere, from any device. Now, that’s pretty awesome.

Basecamp is a web-based project management and collaboration application by 37Signals. Basecamp is web based so there are no apps to download. It’s not free, but does come with a 45-day free trial and after that it can be as little as $20 a month.

This is by far my favorite application. It’s helped me stay organized and focused with a to-do list that is totally integrated into a project calendar. You can assign to-do tasks to anyone on your team and assign a due date. I get daily emails about what I have due tomorrow and a daily recap of everything that was updated, changed or added the day before by both me and my project team members. You can upload documents and share them by project and create text documents within the application. Plus, it has a discussion features that allows you to easily communicate with other people working on the same project.

Basecamp is VERY easy to use and it’s fun to boot.

Dropbox – is a free file sharing application.

You can share your files with yourself and access them on the go from anywhere, anytime. Just log in from your web browser. It also downloads to your hard drive and syncs to the cloud when sharing.

You can share files with other people, too. This means no more zipping files because they are too big to email. Dropbox makes flash drives almost obsolete. Whatever files I’m going to need when traveling I just move into Dropbox and they are there when I need them even if I’m not using my own laptop. All I need is a internet connection and a web browser.

With these three productivity applications I can access my notes from anywhere, collaborate on projects, share files and stay organized. What’s not to love?

Have you tried Evernote, Basecamp or Dropbox? How have they helped you?

Are you an idea factory? Does your brain sometimes feel like a popcorn maker, ideas popping all over the place? Do you have ideas for businesses, books, blog posts, products, services, etc. in the shower, while you’re driving, vacuuming the floor, when you’re just about ready to fall asleep or at 2 o’clock in the morning?

If so, you’re probably an idea factory – a person who has a continuous stream of new ideas.

What do you do with your ideas?

Well, first I hope you capture them.

I always try to have a notebook and a pen nearby, whether in my office, the living room, kitchen table or my car. I also carry a digital recorder with me and I have Evernote (a cloud based application to capture notes) installed on my laptop, Android phone and iPad. All of these tools help me capture my ideas so I don’t lose them.

But, what do you do with them after you capture them?

If you’re like a lot of people you may feel pulled in a million different directions, unfocused and unsure of what idea to pursue next.

I used to feel this way, but not so much anymore.

What’s changed?

Two things have changed.

First, I’ve created a filter that all new ideas need to pass through to determine if they are ideas that need to be addressed right away. The filter is my current goals and objectives. Each time I have a new idea I ask myself “Does this idea fit with my current goals and objectives and support me in achieving them?”

If yes, then it gets added, by degree of importance and priority to my action list. I then spend time fleshing the idea out and playing with it. I get it out of my head and onto paper. Next I break it down into small to-do steps with due dates.

If the answer is ‘no’, then I still go through the process of fleshing the idea out and playing with it, but it then goes into my ‘parking lot’, a folder (online and/or off) of ideas for the future.

These two steps, using a filter and a parking lot, have helped me stay focused on what I need to do right now to move forward.

Being an idea factory is a gift. It’s fun. Just don’t let your ideas distract you from taking action, moving forward and achieving your goals and objectives.

To recap, if you are an idea factory:

1. Capture.
2. Filter.
3. Play.
4. Act or Park.

If you’re an idea factory what do you do with your ideas?

I’ve often thought about having a business partner, someone I could share the ups and downs of growing a business with, someone to explore new ideas with and someone who totally ‘got’ me and accepted me – the awesome, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Several times in the past I thought I had found a potential partner. Unfortunately I either scared them off (I can be quite intense when it comes to things I’m passionate about or things I want to do) or they were more into talking about what they wanted to do than actually taking any action. So, in the end, I just did what I wanted to do on my own and stopped looking for and thinking about finding a business partner.

It’s funny though, sometimes when you stop looking for something it shows up when you least expect it. That’s what happened to me. I didn’t find my new business partner, she found me. Actually, she asked me to be her partner because we actually found each other about three years ago online through a mutual contact.

I forget the exact date and how we exactly ended up talking to each other, but I do remember feeling amazed and in awe of the woman on the other end of the phone line.

I learned that she was a master coach, speaker, facilitator and an education and business consultant. She worked with secondary education school administrators and teachers, as well as corporate business and non-profit leaders. She specialized in helping people become more authentic leaders, teachers and learners both personally and professionally. She was also an expert at building learning communities and in teaching people how to create relational partnerships.

Then she went on to tell me a little more about her background.

She was an accomplished equestrian having been around horses since she was a little girl. On top of that, she had also trained horses and riders for national championship competitions for over 30 years…Olympic level competition (all I could think was WOW!).

She was also a former school teacher having taught students in grades 3rd, 6th, 8th and High School and she was an ordained minister.

We continued to trade details about our lives, our work and our personal life philosophies and at the end of the call I just gushed telling her how much she had amazed me.

Over the last three years we’ve gotten to know each other even better and we developed a strong friendship.

It’s been such a joy to meet and get to know such an accomplished, caring, intelligent, motivated and deeply spiritual woman. I’m still in awe of her, although I don’t gush as much as I did in the beginning.

So, who is my new partner, the inspiring woman I’ve been writing about?

Her name is LeeAnn Gibbs.

You can find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/leeann.gibbs

And you can visit her websites (although we will have a new website up in a few days to share what we are up to).

Her business website: Learning Community Resources
Her personal blog: The Divine Cowgirl

If you have the time, leave a comment below, say hi and welcome LeeAnn to The Dreaming Cafe.

You’ll be hearing more about her and will get to meet her very soon.

“The E-Myth credo – Don’t work IN your business, work ON it.” ~ Michael E. Gerber

When you first start your own business more than likely you have to do everything. You’re CEO, COO, chief fulfillment officer, customer service director, PR, HR, IT support, web designer, copywriter, janitor, and on and on.

It’s all great experience, but eventually if you want more, if you want your business to grow, if you want more time, you need to find support for all the jobs that take you away from your core compentancies and take you away from “working ON your business”.

Depending on your business this could mean hiring employees or it could mean that you need to hire freelancers and outsource some of your work. In the end it comes down to finding the support you need to support you and your business.

I’ll be honest. This is new for me too.

But, I’ve got to tell you that having a team to support the vision my business partner and I have and a team to handle all the little details that eat up hours of our time has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in my entrepreneurial journey. Between the two of us we’ve done it all, from soup to nuts. But, now, as we grow an organization we can’t do it all anymore. There just isn’t enough hours in the day to create products and services AND do all the groundwork to make them a reality.

When I mentioned this to a friend recently (who is just starting out with her own business) she blurted out “But, I don’t know anyone. How do you find people to help you?” Then she shrugged and said, “Oh well, it’s just me anyway. I don’t have a big company.”

A few years ago I was asking the same question and feeling the same way.

But now I know differently.

It doesn’t matter if you are a solopreneur working from home, getting ready to open your own store or restaurant or if you are growing a larger company or organization – we all need support so that we can experience the success we desire.

Where to find the support is where I can help. Below are my favorite three ways to find the support you need for you and your business.

1. Get out of the house – Attend educational and business related workshops, seminars, expos, networking events, etc. Meet people. Talk to them.

   You can start locally. You don’t have travel out of state to attend events, although it’s loads of fun. If traveling is an expense you can’t afford right now time wise or money wise check your local chamber of commerce, library or community college for scheduled events. Search for events on MeetUp.com or do a Google search for local groups that interest you.

   The key is to get out of the house and meet people.

2. Social Media – Geography is no longer a limiting factor in our life or our business. Joining Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are easy and powerful ways to meet and connect with people.

   Here is great article by Chris Brogan for using Twitter: 50 Power Twitter Tips

3. Help other people – Whether you are meeting people in person or online remember that your first and primary goal should be to figure out how you can help someone else. This might sound counter intuitive, but if you have a sincere desire to help others that goodwill will help you develop real relationships and sometimes even real friendships.

   How do you help people? Get to know them. Discover who they are and what they do, their likes, dislikes, the things they are passionate about. Be a real person. Show a real interest in getting to know others.

   In time, when you need help you’ll know people that can help you or you’ll know people or know people who can help you. ( After all, you know me don’t you?! )

Sandy started blogging and teaching online workshops in early 2009 while working 60+ hours a week as a logistics manager and operations analyst for a large distribution/transportation company.  Her business/blog, TheDreamingCafe.com, explored the relationships between self-discovery, self-expression and self-employment and provided her an opportunity to share what she learned through her writing, teleclasses and online workshops.

In November 2009 she resigned from her full-time job and focused on self-employment. In October 2010 she was able to transfer her online relationships to the offline world and helped organized the Joyfully Jobless Jamboree (JJJamboree.com), a successful, multi-day workshop series celebrating self-employment held in Austin, TX.

Despite having launched her company during an economic downturn and having faced many  obstacles Sandy’s passion for self-employment and the independence and freedom it provides has only grown.  The roadblocks she’s encountered have helped her refine her goals and refocus her energies in 2012.

This year Sandy is  launching a new company focused on helping people with the backend operations of their businesses – the stuff she LOVES. Her passions revolve around writing, online technology, systems and problem solving. She has the unique ability to see the big picture, how all the pieces fit together and the possibilities, while simultaneously having the ability to break things down into small steps and to pull everything together. Combining these with her love of helping others succeed she believes she has found the winning combination for her new business.

Sandy’s new company will help solopreneurs and small business owners utilize and integrate online technologies and social media into their existing businesses while also including marketing and sales training, goal setting, system development, project planning and information product development.

The most exciting thing is that Sandy isn’t doing this alone.  Recognizing that the internet has removed the geographical barriers that once confined businesses she has joined forces with another creative entrepreneur in a new start-up company based out of Washington State. Sandy has joined this new company as an equity partner and will hold the position of COO. She will be intimately involved in new product creation and oversee the development of all the backend systems and processes needed for a growing organization.

Find Sandy on Facebook: SandyDFromNJ and Twitter: SandyDfromNJ, her blog: TheDreamingCafe.com and email: Sandy@TheDreamingCafe.com

PS… I’ll be blogging more frequently so stop by often.

We will be talking about…
• Cool, easy to implement marketing and tech tips you can use in your own business whether you are already self-employed or just thinking about it.
• We’ll be talking about the benefits of having a day job either part-time or full-time while you build your own business.
• We will continue to explore the exciting, fun world of self-discovery and creative self-expression.
• And, my new partner (who I will introduce in the coming weeks) will be sharing how you can become a master learner, an agent of change and a powerful, effective, compassionate leader.

Leave a comment and share what you’d like to learn more about, how I can help you or just say hi.

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It’s amazing what a little support can do

Since my Mom stopped treatments a few months ago and started Hospice her quality of life has increased tenfold. And, so has mine.

I have support and so does she.

With no treatments and better management of her pain we are enjoying our time together and having fun. We laugh a lot!

The support has also given me a chance to settle down and relax.

This support and quality time with my Mom combined with a three month break from my business and The Dreaming Café has allowed me to slow down and reflect on the journey I’ve been on for the past three years.

The Dreaming Café has given me so much. It’s provided the space for me to play and explore the relationships between self-discovery, self-expression and self-employment. And, it’s also given me the opportunity to explore my voice, to meet people, to try new things and to take risks.

Working with Hospice to care for my Mom has helped me see that support is something we all need. While reflecting on the journey I’ve been on with The Dreaming Café I realized that I was trying to do it all by myself and that I didn’t have a lot of support.

I also realized that support is something we have to seek out and ask for. It doesn’t just appear. In the past I never asked for support or sought it out.

But, now I’m ready for something new and I’m ready to do things in a new way. I’m ready to take everything I’ve learned (from my day job and The Dreaming Café) and combine it in a new way with new support systems to help me succeed.

I’m super excited and totally energized by the new business projects I’m developing and the new business partners I’m working with!

I’m excited and energized because I’m seeking out support from a variety of sources – on the home front I have Hospice and my family; from a business and personal perspective I have friends who ‘get’ who I am and what I want to do, I have a new business partner and new project partners and I’m joining organizations like the NAWBO and NAWBO-South Jersey that are filled with people as passionate about business and success as I am.

It’s really amazing what a little support can do to open up a whole new world of hope and possibilities.

This weekend I’ll share my new ‘bio’ with you and some of the things I’ve been up to the past few months since I’ve begun to seek out and find the support I need.

Stay tuned… Sandy’s back.

Dear Friends,

The passage above says it all for me. There is a season and a time for everything and for me, the season is changing.

I am writing to let you know that I will be stepping away from The Dreaming Café for an undefined period of time.

I cannot continue to try and balance taking care of my Mom, taking care of my family, working part-time, building a business and writing career and taking care of my own well-being all at the same time.

Balance is an unattainable illusion that just keeps you running in circles and beating yourself up for not succeeding.

And, I can’t do it anymore.

The decision to let go of The Dreaming Café, even if only temporarily, isn’t easy.

My inner critic taunts me with statements like:

“If you stop, you’ll never start again.”

“There are millions of blogs. If you stop now you’ll lose everything; three years of writing and building relationships down the tubes. You’ll have to start all over.”

“People will forget you.”

“You’re a failure. Just another blogger, writer wanna-be, who bites the dust.”

Stepping back in many ways does feel like failure. And, I am afraid that all of these fears will come true.

But, right now, despite these fears, The Dreaming Café it is a distraction and a burden.

Right now I have other responsibilities and other priorities, the main one being taking care of my Mom and supporting her during the final months of her life.

The truth is, if I have to, I will start over. I’ll take it one small step at a time, one day at a time, one post at a time, one relationship at a time.

It won’t be the first time I’ve had to start over and it may not be the last. I’m okay with this.

So this is goodbye, at least for awhile.

I want to thank all of you for allowing me and The Dreaming Café to be part of your life these past three years.

I wish you all the best and I hope I’ll have the pleasure of connecting with you once again in the future.

Peace, love and blessings,
Sandy