My Lifestyle Career

Who Fuels Your Innovation?

As I write this, it is a cold, rainy and gray afternoon in Connecticut, the type of day that normally makes me feel like curling up in bed with a good book and a cup of tea.  But instead of ending my day on a lethargic note, I am energetic and upbeat, thanks to a great conversation I enjoyed today over lunch with an old colleague I hadn't seen in over two years.  

My colleague is like a great cup of coffee who perks me up with a wonderful blend of inspiration and practicality.   Her suggestions are well placed; she knows when to talk and when to listen.  In just two hours time, I left our lunch pumped-up by the many ideas  we brainstormed together -- far more numerous than I could have envisioned on my own.

Some people may consider business lunches a "nice-to-do" networking activity.  But when you dine with the right person, the meal transforms into an activity that fuels both your body and your mind.  Ideas flow, problems are minimized and "insurmountable" challenges morph into interesting possibilities.  

So, next time you're feeling hungry for career advice, pick up the phone and invite one of your favorite colleagues to lunch.  Their input might provide just the jolt you need to get your energy, innovations and ideas percolating again.

5 Ways to Structure a Lifestyle-Friendly Business (so it doesn't take over your life!)

Last night, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Park Slope Parents Career Networking Group as part of a panel on the challenges of "having it all" as a working mom.  During the Q+A session, I was asked a question about whether it is possible to run a successful business - without it overtaking your life.  

It is an important issue that many entrepreneurs consider, particularly those who are starting a business specifically for lifestyle reasons.  Let me share some of my thoughts about ways to structure your business in order to maintain better control over your life and your business:

1) Offer a by-appointment only service: Limiting your client contact to a by-appointment only service  gives you the opportunity to schedule your work activities around your personal life.  When my children were in elementary school, I rarely booked clients during after-school hours -- I told clients I was booked between 3:00 - 6:00 and nobody seemed put-off by that.  Clearly, I made myself available when clients had an urgent need to speak, but that was a rarity, not the norm.

2) Niche your service to a clientele that has similar lifestyle patterns as your own:  All businesses have natural peaks and valleys built into their business cycles.  For example, an internet retailer who sells camp care packages will be busiest during the summer months, while a speaker touring the college circuit will be free during the summer.  Select businesses that are likely to afford you time-off when it is most beneficial to your lifestyle needs.

3) Leverage your expertise with informational products:  If you are selling your expertise as a consultant, coach or teacher, your income will be limited by your billable service hours.  However, you can multiply that income by adding downloadable informational products -- teleclasses, membership sites, e-books, podcasts, etc.-- to your line of products and services.  It takes work to develop those products, but once you have created them, the opportunities for marketing them on the internet 24/7 are virtually limitless.

4) Partner:  Find complementary business partners who can feed you business leads and work with you to provide client services.  This will reduce the amount of time you need to spend on marketing, increase your base of clients and provide you with a network of reliable colleagues who can help you out on an as-needed basis

5) Charge enough for your services:  One of the classic mistakes newbie entrepreneurs make is pricing their services too low.  As a result they have to work twice as hard to make the same amount of money as their more expensive competitors (and they tend to get a higher percentage of pain-in-the-neck clients).  

Of course, sometimes raising your rates can backfire, making you even more desirable to potential clients because they assume you must be the top-of-the-line provider in your industry.  I once had a client who provided SAT tutoring services and was looking to cut-back her hours.  I suggested she double her rates and take half the number of clients.  She called me six months later laughing that "it was the worst piece of advice she ever heard."  Evidently, once she raised her rates, the buzz around her services grew and she was more in demand than ever before!

Reinvention Strategy: Build a Better Sundae

When I was a child, one of my favorite activities was to go down to our local Carvel for ice cream.  Back then, your flavor choices were limited to chocolate or vanilla, although you could jazz up your selection with an assortment of sprinkles, nuts or sauces.  It still brings a smile to my face thinking of the twinkle in my Dad's eye as he ordered a CMP - a chocolate, marshmallow and peanut sundae.  

What a difference a generation makes.  By the time my own children were old enough to enjoy an evening of ice cream on the town, the choices for frozen dessert had exploded.  Carvel is now considered downright old-school; compared to the allure of freshly-churned real Italian gelato, chocolate dipped waffle cones and sorbet made from organic fruit offered up by dozens of competing venues.  Even our local ice cream truck has eschewed popsicles in favor of ginger and hazelnut artisan ice cream.

Just as our consumption of ice cream has been revolutionized by changing times and the influences of a global economy, so too has the world of work evolved. In a recent  NY Times op-ed column, Thomas Friedman emphasizes the need for all workers to step up their game.  

Friedman writes, "Just being an average accountant, lawyer, contractor or assembly-line worker is not the ticket it used to be.  As Daniel Pink, the author of "A Whole New Mind," puts it: In a world in which more and more average work can be done by a computer, robot or talented foreigner faster, cheaper "and just as well," vanilla doesn't cut it anymore.  It's all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top." 

Finding your niche, customizing your service, and putting your own unique stamp on your work is a critical skill for anyone looking to build a lifestyle career.  Don't look to be all things to all people.  Think about ways you can sell your expertise in a way that hasn't been done before.  

Here are some examples of enterprising moms who did just that in order to sell their food products.  They took a basic concept and added their own unique twist to their services -- turning plain vanilla into a delicious new treat:

Heidis Heavenly Cookies: Lots of people sell cookies.  But the beautiful packaging turns Heidi's cookies into something really special.  Heidi started the business when her husband lost his job and she needed to find a way to make an income from home.  Today she enjoys a thriving business and the satisfaction that comes from knowing how happy her cookies make her lucky customers feel.

Challah Connection:  Jane Moritz has captured the power of the internet to help people send kosher food and holiday treats to their loved ones.  Started as a small local challah delivery service, Jane has grown her business to be the online leader for Kosher gifts.

The Lollipop Book Club:  At a time when local bookstores are struggling to survive, Karen Gallagher came up with a unique way to make ordering books a really "sweet" experience.  What grandparent wouldn't love to order a gift that would make their favorite youngster smarter and really happy at the same time?

Now, what about you?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on ways you can slice, dice and repackage your expertise into delicious new offerings.

Reinvention Tip #6: Build a Vision Board of Your Ideal Career

During my 12+ years as a career coach, I've worked with all different types of personalities and learning styles.  Some of my clients create their "a-ha" moments by talking through their confusion, others find journaling to be effective and still others find their lightbulb moments when they are immersed in quiet thought. The truth is that there is no one magic potion that speeds up this process.  

Career discovery is a journey, and like any other personal journey you complete, it pays to try different techniques to create the results you desire. If you are having difficulty identifying your career goals, you might benefit from building a career vision board.  

For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, a vision board is a collection of visual images (photos, paintings, pictures, etc.) displayed on a bulletin board or poster as a graphic representation of your dreams and ambitions.  Once you've designed the board, displaying it in a prominent place will help serve as a daily reminder of your ambitions and career goals.

Creating a vision board is easy and fun.  There is a whole industry available to help you build your vision boards (software, templates, etc.) but I personally prefer the old-fashioned glue and paste methodology.  Here is a simple four-step guide to building a vision board:

1. Collect the images:  Cut out photos and meaningful phrases from magazines.  Look for pictures of people doing activities/occupations you find enjoyable and pictures that represent the type of work environments/people/work outfits/ or companies you'd like to be associated with.  
2. Arrange the images on the board:  You might want to group the images into categories representing different aspects of your career.  For example,in one corner put photos depicting the type of office you'd like to work in and in another corner include photos of the types of people you want to work with or have as clients.  Be sure to save space for an area where you can display photos illustrating some of the benefits you look forward to enjoying as part of your career.
3. Glue the pictures:  Once the photos are in place, add-in phrases or words that relate to your career goals.  Feel free to include references to people whose careers you admire and would like to emulate.
4. Display the board in a prominent place:  Post the board in an area where you will see it on a daily basis.

Have fun with this.  And if you have already developed a vision board, I invite you to write your reactions to this project in the comments section of this blog.

What Would You Do if You Could Not Fail?

 

What would you do if you could not fail?  It is an interesting question to ponder. 

Fear of failure stops us before we get started.  We don't allow ourselves to even consider pursuing certain careers because we are sure we will fail.  The little voice inside our head does a masterful job of squashing our inner desires.  Want to be a doctor?  Don't bother, you'll never get into medical school.  Always wanted to be a newscaster?  Forget about it -- you are not good looking enough.  Thinking of running for office?  Good luck, you'll be torn apart the press.  (Okay, maybe that objection is hard to dispute). 

But, what would happen if you allowed yourself to dismiss the internal critic, even if just for a day?  Almost like magic, all sorts of options could be open for consideration.  Instantaneously, your world of wishful thinking would be transformed into an arena of possibilities and probabilities.

By removing the fear of failure, you'll gain insight into what you truly value and be better equipped to separate your fantasy dreams from your meaningful visions.  

Let's be real -- some dreams are best left as fantasies.  What if you could wake up tomorrow and (voila!) be a successful movie star?  Would you really want to face the paparazzi and live in Los Angeles?  Or is just the allure of celebrity and status that seems exciting? Play around with your new "reality" for a while and take note of your emotional response.  

Other dreams, the ones that stick with you over time, that never fail to ignite a fire in you -- those are the pursuits worthy of exploration.  Write down your reactions to the different elements of living your new life.  Look for the clues to the real motivators in this situation.  Maybe you'll discover that your desire to be a doctor is driven more by a love of research than a desire to meet with patients.  Or, you might realize that you'd be willing to trade the higher earning potential of being a surgeon for the less lucrative, but more personal aspects of being an internist.  

I'll be the first to admit that this exercise is pure fantasy.  But, so what?  The fantasy you create will give you clues that can be incorporated into your "real" world.  Go ahead and indulge yourself.  It won't cost a penny and the "What if?" "Wouldn't that be nice?" and "Now, that would be amazing!" thoughts it generates could lead to a truly fantastical future.

Childhood Pursuits: Fond Memories or Future Career?

 

This past weekend, I surprised my husband with a romantic carriage ride in the Berkshires to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  The ride was delightful, especially so, because our driver Beth kept us entertained with stories about her 25 years in the business.

Of course, being a career coach, I couldn't stop myself from asking how Beth got started in the carriage-ride business.  Turns out Beth has been around horses all her life.  She is one of only four people in the state that makes a full-time living off providing carriage rides around the tri-state area.  After listening to her stories, I can't imagine Beth, the consummate horse lover, doing a different type of work. 

While Beth's profession is certainly unique, the fact that the seed for her future career was first planted in childhood is far from unusual.  In my work with clients, I always ask about childhood interests and hobbies. The activities we enjoy as children provide clues to our innate talents; more so than the way we spend our time as "responsible" adults who strive to satisfy societal expectations, often at the risk of ignoring our inner desires. 

Of course, linking your childhood pursuits to adult career options is not always as obvious as matching a girl's passion for horses to a thriving carriage ride business.  But with some research and creative thinking, it can be fun to consider the possibilities.  For example:

• A lifetime love of pets could be parlayed into a pet-oriented business such as dog-groomer, animal behaviorist or a pet-sitting franchise.  
• A long-forgotten interest in the performing arts could be revived in a career as a development officer for an arts organization, an arts administrator or as a public-relations freelancer who specializes in promoting community arts event.  
• A passion for baking could lead to opportunities in food writing, catering or as a specialty food retailer.

Pairing your childhood interests with the skills you have developed as an adult can lead to some interesting possibilities.  So grab those old yearbooks and scrapbooks, put on some music from your teen years and indulge in a nostalgic journey back to the old days.  You might just find the spark that will ignite your next career has been smoldering inside of you for a long, long time.

Reinvention Question: What is Your "I Can't Stop Myself" Mojo?

 

Everyone knows that skills, work experiences and values are important factors to analyze as part of a career assessment exercise.  But, I maintain that paying attention to your personal idiosyncrasies -- those behaviors that you just can't stop yourself from doing -- can provide equally compelling clues to your vocational direction.

I was reminded of this last week while speaking with a client about her favorite hobbies.  She discussed her love of cooking, and then almost as an afterthought, casually mentioned that she routinely inputs all of her recipes into her personal computer so she can quickly find them at a moment's notice.

I was impressed, but to her this was nothing out of the ordinary. She is a natural organizing guru.  A mom of two young children, organizing recipes is as much a part of her "must-do" routine as fixing bottles and changing diapers. (Not surprisingly, her favorite tasks at work including organizing data into spreadsheets).   The need to create order out of chaos -- whether at home or at the office -- calls to her with a magnetic-like force, even while juggling a four-month old infant and a four-year old son.  

My colleague LInsey can't stop herself from connecting people to resources.  Whenever I need any obscure career-related information, she is the first person I call.  Linsey has a book collection that is so expansive it could rival a small town library.  I once asked her if she actually read all the books she ordered.  "No," she replied, "but I love knowing that if I needed to find the information, I'd know where to get it."   Fortunately, Linsey's "connection- compulsion" is a wonderful trait for a career counselor and her reputation for sharing her knowledge library endears her to colleagues and clients alike. 

Another friend, a freelance editor, can't stop herself from proof-reading everything she reads.  She scans menus for typos and makes corrections to friend's e-mails.  While her perfectionist tendencies can sometimes be irritating to friends, that same trait is invaluable to her grateful clients.  Editing isn't a task for her, it is a pleasure.

What about you?  What are you the go-to person for?   What can't you stop yourself from doing?

Pay attention to your "I Can't Help Myself" behaviors.  Those quirky, sometimes compulsive, "so-you"  behaviors, just might hold the key to your next career move. 

Reinvention Tip #5: Don't Go it Alone

 

I couldn't end this week of "get primed for success" tips without discussing the value of creating a support team to help you through a career reinvention.  When you think back to other key transition points in your life - graduation, marriage or becoming a parent - chances are that you had a support team of professionals, friends and family in your corner.   

They held you accountable for getting things done, provided you with logistical support and resources, spurred you on when you got frustrated, listened to your concerns, gave advice and cheered your efforts.  They served as your sounding board and helped you to see solutions, when you couldn't see them yourself. 

So before you get too far down the reinvention path, think about who you want to to have on your team. A seasoned career coach is a worthwhile investment (couldn't resist including that), but other people can be very useful as well.  

Find a trusted friend who wants to partner with you as you explore your options.  Consider partnering a group of like-minded individuals who are actively in the process of weighing their second-act careers.  Join an association in order to establish relationships with people who can provide you with advice and contacts.  Get involved with a class where you can meet others who share your interests.

Remember, a great support system turns possibilities into probabilities and dreams into reality.  Now is the time to enlist your team into action.

Reinvention Tip #4: Surround Yourself with Inspiration

 

There is nothing like a good success story to energize and inspire you as you work through your career reinvention.  Fortunately, the internet is filled with an endless supply of videos, articles and podcasts featuring ordinary people who have undergone successful career transformations.  

Here are some of my favorite sources for finding motivational success stories online:

Part(2) PBS Series for Boomers:  Wonderful series that explores what folks over 50+ are doing for "encore" careers.

Entrepreneur.com:  Outstanding site for everything connected to entrepreneurship and franchises -- a must-visit for anyone contemplating starting their own business.  They have an entire section devoted to success stories, segmented by business type (service businesses, online retailers, etc.). 

Inc.com:  Another great source for entrepreneurs.  Not quite as expansive as Entrepreneur, but still very worthwhile.

Make Mine a Million: Stories of women who have turned their businesses into million dollar enterprises. 

Making It!: Features videos of minority entrepreneurs who have created a wide range of business ventures.

MomInventor.com:  Ideas and resources for anyone looking to turn their invention into a successful product.  

National Public Radio Profiles: Take Two:  Stories of people who have reinvented their careers in response to changing life needs and circumstances.

Reinvention Tip #3: Get Out of Your Own Way!

Single-minded persistence isn't always the best approach to solving a problem.  Sometimes taking a break from your work can provide a greater productivity boost than trying to simply think through a problem.

I periodically remind my husband of this when he works on the New York Times crossword puzzle.  He always starts the puzzle with great enthusiasm, but as the clues become more challenging and his progress slows, he grows more frustrated.  Of course, the more annoyed he becomes, the harder it is for him to stay calm and focused.  

Ironically, when he does force himself to take a break, he is then able to finish the puzzle with relative ease.  He is amazed by this phenomena, but to me it is completely logical.  Walking away from the puzzle gives him a chance to relax, refresh and look at the clues with a fresh perspective.

Crafting a new career is a bit like solving a crossword puzzle.  At the beginning, you'll find the process relatively easy.  But, when you start to make tough choices that impact your future and finances, then it becomes more challenging to stay focused.    Fear, stress, doubt and uncertainty can cloud your thinking -- and your ability to move ahead.

Next time you feel stuck, try stepping away for a while to gain some perspective.  And if simply taking a break doesn't do the trick, consider incorporating some of the following activities into your routine to help reduce the stress that is undermining your efforts: 

• Take a walk:  Exercise helps to stimulate the production of endorphins that improve your mood and outlook.  The sunshine and pretty scenery can be downright therapeutic.
• Indulge in a cultural activity:  Go to a museum.  Attend a concert.  Listen to classical music.  The visual and auditory stimuli can help open up your mind to new patterns and possibilities.
• Pamper your body:  Even traditional medical schools have begun to embrace the healing power of holistic modalities such as massage, Reiki or reflexology.  All these options help to reduce stress and stimulate blood flow.
• Meditation/Prayer:  Whether you prefer the benefits of personal meditation or the power of communal prayer, the value of taking time away from your everyday life for quiet reflection is well-documented.  

Remember, career reinvention is a marathon, not a sprint.  It is important to pace yourself to ensure a meaningful and satisfying outcome to your reinvention efforts.