Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

5 Biggest Mistakes Side-Giggers Make

In her new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life, financial columnist and successful sidepreneur Kimberly Palmer urges aspiring and newbie side-giggers to avoid these five common pitfalls:

1. Waiting until you’re “ready” to launch

Many successful side-giggers discovered their side-gigs almost by accident; a friend asked them for a favor, and suddenly they were in the floral business, or running a social marketing consultancy, or pet-sitting. Instead of first building a Facebook page or stocking up on inventory, they said “yes” to the opportunity in front of them, and their side-gigs grew from there.

2. Letting the first failure stop your progress

Almost all established side-giggers experienced some kind of setback early on, and many still experience occasional failures: a pitch gets rejected, a client gives negative feedback, or a new digital product flops. “But they keep going,” Palmer stresses, “because they know that one rejection doesn’t mean their contributions are worthless. Instead, they take it as proof that they are trying something new and taking risks, some of which are bound to fail.”

3. Thinking you’re earning too little to make a difference

Many side-giggers make what seems like peanuts: $100 to $200 a month, or just a few thousand dollars a year. Over time, however, that money adds up—$3,000 a year equals around $40,000 after ten years if it’s in an account earning 5 percent interest. Plus, it represents new promise and potential in the event of a layoff. “An income of $200 a month, earned from working a few hours a week, can often be scaled up dramatically if time allows,” Palmer points out.

4. Overinvesting in start-up costs

It’s easy to plow savings into a side-gig before it’s even launched: a beautiful website, a professional marketing plan, new certifications. But before investing a cent, successful side-giggers often look for ways to bring in revenue, while simultaneously testing the market. That might mean offering nutrition consulting services before setting up a new website, or selling an e-book through an e-commerce channel before printing paperback versions.

5. Working too hard for too little

When side-giggers are first starting out, they sometimes make the mistake of undercharging for their services, or setting up a business model that would require a 100-hour-a-week schedule to earn a living wage. A classic example is selling a handcrafted crocheted sweater for the same price as a store bought, machine-produced one. “Simply charging more for products and services can signal quality to potential buyers,” Palmer observes. “Testing the market to see what it can bear, and checking out competitors’ prices, can help side-giggers avoid starting too low.”

5 Ways to Uncover Your Roots

My friend Pam Slim, who has been blogging about meaningful careers since 2005, has a fantastic new book out called Body of Work.  The book helps every reader find the thread that ties their unique story together and has been praised by everyone from Seth Godin to Nancy Duarte.

I recommend reading the whole book, of course, but I especially enjoyed the section on identifying one's roots.  Your roots are the purpose, beliefs, and convictions that provide the foundation for your body of work.  They keep you strong and stable when you face challenges in your career and remind you why it's important to keep moving through adversity.  Here are five questions Pam suggests you ask to harness the power of your own roots.

1.  What do you value?

Your values describe what is most important to you.  They guide you to make decisions and set boundaries around what you will accept in your life and career.  When you know your values, you can answer questions like, "should I take this job?" and "should I partner with this person?"  Examples of values are critical thinking and honesty.

2.  What do you believe?

Your beliefs are unique to you and form the foundation for how you interpret and act in the world.  They are shaped by your childhood, your life experiences, your education, and your philosophical or spiritual orientation.  A simple way to understand beliefs is to answer the question:  "what do you know to be true?"  An example of a belief is that everyone has the capability to do great things.

3.  Why do you believe it?

Which experiences have shaped your values and beliefs?  What has made you certain in your values and beliefs?  Using the example above, you beliefe that everyone has the capability to do great things because you watched your father, who came to this country as an immigrant, build a successful business with next to no money.

4.  Whom do you care deeply about serving?

Of all the people who you could impact during your time on earth, whom do you want to work with?  Which type of person "gets you" and really needs what you have to offer?  An example is that you are a trainer and you love to work with highly technical people.  You appreciate their intelligence, curiosity, and critical perspective.  You notice that when you teach them, you are pushed to deliver the highest quality courses.

5.  Which problems do you want to solve? 

Which challenges get you really fired up?  What impact do you want to have in the world?  What specific knowledge do you have that can make a difference?  An example is that you are passionate about childhood nutrition.  You notice that parents are so busy that they don't have time to plan and cook healthy meals and you feel you can help solve this problem. 

Pam says not to sweat it if you can't answer all of these questions right away.  Simply plant them in your head and pay attention to the answers as they come to you.  A little insight goes a long way!

Leadership Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

After the original Wizard of Oz movie but before all the remarks, there was the leadership theory.  Craig Hickman, Tom Smith, and Roger Connors came up with their The Oz Principle nearly twenty years ago.  The theory and the book of the same name demonstrate how to overcome the Blame Game in your organization and help your people take ownership for their work.  By moving above the line and being accountable for their results, like Dorothy and her friends your employees can achieve whatever their hearts desire.

What is This Line They Speak Of?

In their work, Hickman, Smith and Connors establish the concept of a line below which many people live much of the time.  They possess an attitude of victimization and get stuck on a yellow brick road of sorts by blaming everyone else for their problems.  Instead of taking action to improve things themselves, they wait for a wizard-like someone to wave a magic wand.  That wizard-like someone is often the manager, who must then take on her employees’ responsibilities as well as her own.  In an effort to stop this harmful process, the authors advocate the following four-step process to personal accountability.

• See It:  Recognize and acknowledge the full reality of a situation and respond to it effectively.

Just like the needs of the Cowardly Lion, this takes courage.

• Own It: Accept full responsibility for one’s current experiences and realities as well as those of other people.

Just like the needs of the Tin Woodsman, it takes heart to take ownership of the problem rather than passing it onto someone else.

• Solve It: Change those realities by finding and implementing solutions to problems (often solutions not previously considered) while avoiding the trap of dropping back below the line when obstacles present themselves.

Just like the needs of the Scarecrow seeking a brain, this step requires a new way of thinking and a high level of personal engagement.

• Do It:  Summon the commitment and courage to follow through with the solutions identified, especially when there is great risk in doing so.

To learn more about how to put the four steps together, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

5 Key Qualities of Real Ambition

In a wood-paneled, authentically British office in central London, I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Allen, one of the original advertising “Mad Men.”  Kevin led massive global teams during his multi-decade tenure at McCann-Erikson and Interpublic Group, including the one that came up with the famous Mastercard “priceless” campaign.

In his new book, The Hidden Agenda, Kevin talks about the fact that everyone has ambition.  Real ambition, he says, is the human desire to create something good where nothing existed before.  It is a measure of our individual worth, and that of our organization.  It has five key qualities.

Noble Intentions

Real ambition serves an overarching goodness and is of benefit to all constituencies.  It is the compass that guides all of our activities, and it appeals to the core in all of us that wants to be a part of creating something special.

Clear Intent

Real ambition is not a destination or a “hoped for” goal.  It is a steely confidence in what is to come.  It is a statement of unequivocal intention and certainty of purpose that makes it clear that “almost” is not good enough and half-measures are no measures at all.  Dreams are thoughts, but real ambition is action.

Difficult to Believe

Real ambition is not about increments or percentage points.  It’s about making the great leap to a completely new state of being.  It is the path that no one thinks is even possible.

For more from Kevin, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

4 Reasons to Use Social Media to Market Yourself

My friends Miriam Salpeter and Hannah Morgan are always on the cutting edge regarding the efficient use of social media for your career.  Now, in their new book, Social Networking for Business Success, they provide advice for how to launch and grow a business or personal brand using social media.  Here are four gems to start.

 

Keep up with the economic trends

 

Research shows the global workforce will become more and more reliant on freelancers and independents to get jobs done. Use social media to begin to market yourself and you will be ahead of the curve.

 

Grow your network

 

When it's time to land a new job or gig, you can't always rely on your close network to help you connect to opportunities. When you use social networking tools, you can engage with people from around the country and around the world and become a thought leader in your field.

 

Demonstrate your expertise

 

Anyone who hires you will want proof that you are as good as you say you are. When you use social media to demonstrate your expertise, you can show how well you know what's going on in your industry.

Highlight your emotional intelligence

Social media is great to showcase those hard to categorize skills, such as leadership, communication and judgement. When you maintain a vibrant community online, for example a LinkedIn group or Google+ community, you show an employer your leadership potential. Similarly, when your social media streams are 100% professional, they demonstrate you can stay out of trouble and represent an organization well.

Chat with Dan Schawbel: Promote Yourself Better Today

I'm thrilled to share that at long last, my pal Dan Schawbel is releasing his new book, Promote Yourself!  I couldn't wait to talk to him and get the scoop on what this new title brings to the current literature about Millennials.  Here's what Dan had to say.

Dan, given the success of Me 2.0, what did you want to accomplish with this new book?

Both of my books are targeted at millennials but with advice that can benefit anyone who is serious about building a successful career. While Me 2.0 was focused on getting your first job out of school, this one focuses on how to advance your career when you already have a job. My goal will this one is to support my generation, give them a reference book and changed how they are perceived in the workplace, from negative to positive. From a professional standpoint, I turn 30 after the book comes out so it marks a new phase in my life and it's my best work. I've made a lot of sacrifices to pull this book off and it took me over three years to get this publishing deal. I hope my story inspires others to work hard and never give up on their dreams.

What's a secret or two of Promote Yourself that readers won't find on the Personal Branding blog?

Promote Yourself has an exclusive study I did in partnership with American Express on millennials in the workplace and over 75 interviews with millennials, their managers and executives from top brands like EY, PepsiCo and DreamWorks. I've relentlessly researched the topic, I lived the topic and now I'm reflecting on it in this book. 

You have done such a great job of branding yourself in addition to giving advice to others on branding.  What are one or two personal must-dos every day?

Read as much as you can. When I wake up, I just start reading so I know what's going on in the world and the latest workplace trends. The more I learn at the beginning of the day, the smarter I will be as I work through my projects during the day. The most successful business people I know are also the ones that read the most. If you aren't in touch with what's going on around you, it's extremely easy to become irrelevant and lose your edge.

Make at least one new connection each day. We are living in the social age and the more connected you are, the more valuable you become. If you want to increase your value, and your network, you must strive to reach out to new people. It's never been easier to connect and you can do it on social networks ,at conferences, at association events and even through your college alumni network.

What is the greatest hurdle you've faced in establishing and sustaining your own brand? 

The biggest hurdle is to be able to constantly think of new ideas, keep my name out there and adjust to new economic realities and topics. It's getting increasing hard because of how fragmented the media is, how the publishing and speaking market is changing and just the sheer global competition.

Anything exciting happening around the launch of Promote Yourself that readers should know about?

I have two really exciting things going on for the book before and after it comes out. I'm going to have a New York City launch event where I'll be keynoting and having a panel of corporate executives on with me. Also, I've worked with a computer animator to create a new infographic video that's coming out soon called "Why Millennials Matter".  For more information, please feel free to check out our website!

Chocolate and Business? Sign Me Up!

What's not to love about a book that uses the analogy of chocolate?

I'm sure Rose Fass felt the same thing as she was writing her new book, The Chocolate Conversation : Lead Bittersweet Change, Transform Your Business.  An experienced business transformation consultant and a former executive at companies like Xerox and Gartner, Rose shows us how leaders can avoid a meltdown and instead drive change by the way they communicate in a language that all stakeholders can understand - just like chocolate!

I asked Rose to share of our top tips for leaders coping with change here:

• When faced with a merger or acquisition, keep in mind you need to establish new standards and rethink your worldview.  Appoint an integration manager to address cultural differences and work to create a third identity.

• Every leader's job is to translate and create an emotional connection with his or her constituents. It’s important that people see themselves in the change that has to happen in your company. You can’t call yourself a leader if no one is following you.

• Craft your message carefully.  Distill it to its essence.  If you use message discipline effectively, it will translate into operational discipline.  Listen to your people, seek feedback, and do something with it.   

Rose uses a lot of big business examples in the book, but I believe the advice she gives about the art of conversation apply in our personal lives as well.  Sometimes, even when you're technically speaking the same language, you have to be a great translator.  This talent can mean the difference between whether a change initiative succeeds or fails.

How to Make Sales Work for You

Back in the fall, I wrote a piece about how we are all in sales to some degree.  Even if you’re not selling a product to an outsider, chances are you still have to sell an idea to an internal constituency or a promotion to your boss.

Earlier this year, my friend Dan Pink launched a new book that’s much along the same lines.  In To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others, Pink says that sales is really about moving people and convincing them to cooperate with you.  Anyone who has to influence or persuade in his or her job is a salesperson.  For example, Pink found that in a survey of what people spend their time doing at work, 40 percent of time is spent doing non-sales selling – regardless of role or profession.  Pink’s book is chock full of great stuff as always, but here are some of my favorite gems:

Tip #1: Be An Ambivert

Pink cites research from Adam Grant at Wharton Business School, which found that the most successful salespeople fall right in the middle between extroversion and introversion.  Why?  Apparently extroverts can be too pushy, but introverts can be too cautious.  A happy medium leads to greater trust from the “buyer.”  Check out Pink’s site for a quiz to see where you fall on the scale.

Tip #2: Don’t be Stone-Faced

You are not playing poker, so smile!  Show positive emotion and believe in what you’re saying, and others are likely to respond in kind.  Note, though, that being too bubbly can backfire, so pay attention to cues from the other person that you may be headed over the top.

For more tips, please check out the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Book Review: Dorie Clark's Reinventing You

I first met Dorie Clark at a Deloitte-sponsored talent management conference last summer.  Since then, we have kept in touch, and I am continually impressed with her insights around career development and personal branding. 

For those who don't know, Dorie is a former presidential campaign spokeswoman and a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the American Management Association's publications. At the young age of 18, Dorie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College, and two years later received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.  She's currently a marketing consulting for companies like Google, Yale University, and the Ford Foundation.

As you might gather, Dorie has reinvented herself professionally a bunch of times, and there's no one more qualified to write the book, Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. 

Some of you might remember that I also wrote a book on career reinvention called New Job, New You. I like Dorie's addition to the field because its strategies are easily accessible to anyone and everyone.  Career change and even personal branding can be daunting propositions, and people may hold off on both thinking that they have to involve a major life overhaul.  Dorie shows that this is not the case. 

One of my favorite recommendations in the book involves a personal 360 review.  Dorie suggests learning about your strengths, passions, and areas for development by gathering a group of friends in your living room for a few hours one evening.  By asking the people close to you for their honest views about your potential, you will receive the gift of a fresh perspective far more powerful than simply relying on soul searching.

Dorie Clark has gone places, and she's still going places.  Let her take you along for the ride and show you how to go places yourself!

5 Never-Heard Networking Tips

When my friend Ben Casnocha sent me a copy of his new book, The Start-Up of You, I knew that I was going to read something innovative about networking.  After all, Ben wrote it with Reid Hoffman, the cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn, and if anything has changed the game of networking in the twenty-first century, it’s LinkedIn.

I was not disappointed.  And so I decided to write a Fast Track post with 5 networking tips from Ben and Reid that you haven’t heard before.  That article turned out to be my most frequently shared post this whole year. 

I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think of the ideas, and if you would actually use them.