Is College Still Worth It?
As you probably know if you’ve read very far in my blog, I love to learn. I love reading, writing, and learning, and have spent many years of my life doing just that. Homeschooling my boys was an extension of...
Category: Entrepreneurship
Learn entrepreneurship with a micro-business for teens or adults.
Deep Work by Cal Newport: A Review in Visual Notes
I enjoy books on time management, life balance, and purpose, but I’ve read so many that it’s rare that one stands out. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport definitely stood out. Moving past elementary...
Ideas Worth Sharing: On Learning, Practicing, Autism, Entrepreneurship, and Dressing Well — IWS #2
I have a habit of adding great articles to my reading list, so I can read them more than once. Sometimes I don’t get back to them for awhile, and usually when I do, the delight remains. Some of the...
SWOT Analysis for Microbusiness
How to use SWOT Analysis for small business It’s been one of those weeks. It all started last week when my internet connection almost stopped working right before a conference. That’s the moment when a lot of things need to come...
Slipping into a Seasonal Business Routine
My business year has two primary seasons: the convention season and the contemplative season. The end of July saw the end of business travel until next February, unless something unforeseen crops up, and I have to admit I’m delighted to be...
Time Management for Entrepreneurial Parents
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurial parents, especially homeschooling moms, is time management — balancing home, school, work, and life, and doing reasonable justice to each. It’s probably always been hard, but the challenge seems to have increased with the speed...
College Alternatives, Part 2: Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeships, and Guilds
The last College Alternatives post focused on the skilled trades, such as machinist, electrician, arborist, and others. Since college has been pushed as a primary option for most students, there has been a labor shortage in many of the trades,...
Three Questions to Ask Successful Microbusiness Entrepreneurs
There are many ways to learn – books, blogs, classes, lectures, online videos, podcasts, and more. You can even learn by jumping in and trying something, though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the experiential method with brain surgery or alligator wrestling....
7 Reasons to Keep Your Business Small
I’ll admit it–I’m a bit of a contrarian. Most of the business advice you’ll read is about growing your business as big and as fast as you possibly can, but for the Do What Matters business, that’s not always the...
Joel Salatin: Doing What Matters as a Farmer
I was delighted to run across this video in which farmer, writer, and speaker Joel Salatin explains how to build a “do what matters, make it pay” lifestyle business. In just under seven minutes, he covers many of the key...
Create a Micro-business in Construction
Last time, I promised an example of what it looks like to create a microbusiness from what matters, what you love, and what do you do well. To do that, I’ll share the story of Curtis, a construction entrepreneur. Why Curtis became an...
Step 1: Decide What Matters
If you want to do what matters and make it pay, you must first decide what matters. Although most “find your passion” books begin with a straight line premise that your “thing that matters” will directly be the thing that...
Get Ready for Tax Time
Get ready for tax time with organized records A guest post by Carol Topp, CPA If you have been keeping an organized record of your income and expenses, you will find tax preparation easy. If you are unsure how to...
A Simple Bookkeeping System for Small Business
A Simple Bookkeeping System for Micro-business A guest post by Carol Topp, CPA Small business owners need a simple bookkeeping method. The system described here uses single entry bookkeeping, not double entry bookkeeping that is taught to accountants. Record keeping can...
Working with an Accountant
A guest post by Carol Topp, CPA Small business owners might delay working with an accountant until they think they can afford it, but this can be harmful to a new business. Knowledge that is too little or too late...
Keep Simple Business Records
Keep Your Small Business Records Organized A guest post by Carol Topp, CPA How do you know if your business has been profitable? In theory, you can look at the “books,” the financial records of the business, but only if...
How to Use Pinterest for Business
Pinterest is one of the most dynamic of the social networking sites. It’s not just fun and engaging; it can also be a very powerful tool for sharing what you do in your microbusiness and networking in a positive way....
How Small Businesses are Using Blogs, Websites, and Social Media (or Not)
How does your small business compare with these businesses in the use of the Internet? Are you happy with the return from your online investment of time, money, or energy? For most successful one-person micro-businesses, the ability to use free...
What Matters in Entrepreneurship is Whether You Can Get a “Message to Garcia”
Owning a business, even a microbusiness, is not a task for the faint-hearted or the spoon-fed. In order to succeed, an entrepreneur must be willing to focus, learn something new every day, and take the initiative to act when something needs...
Entrepreneurship vs. an MBA: Which Would You Choose?
For many years, an MBA was seen as a ticket to success. Non-traditional degree programs sprouted like toadstools after a warm rain, and billboards, ads, and postcards extolled the benefits of the executive MBA, the online MBA, and other alternative...
How to “Make it Pay”: The 5-Stage Business Model
There are many ways to structure a one-person business (sometimes called a micro-business), but I’d like to share a profitable business model that can be started debt-free. I discovered this path while developing my own business, and have further refined...
Just Say No to Desktop Notifications & Other Dings and Beeps
I receive e-mail through a Google apps interface that provides a calendar and docs, and handles mail in Gmail style. Every time I’ve logged in recently, a banner over my inbox has invited me to receive desktop notifications of new e-mail as...
Stopping SOPA and PIPA: Why Does it Matter?
You might think that as a creator of intellectual property, I’d be cheering on the SOPA/PIPA bills, but I’m not. Handing unfettered power to government or to any big business to shut off access to another business’s website on the...
My Top Three Tips for Online Marketing that’s Not Obnoxious
Many writers and entrepreneurs feel awkward about marketing. But what if you have something good to offer? How will people find it if you don’t let them know about it? If you think of marketing as communication– sharing something special...
Multi-tasking is Highly Overrated
So . . . exactly how many things are you doing at this very moment? How many programs are open on your computer, and how many windows in your browser? If you’re anything like me, I’m guessing there are too...
Why You Need Your Own Business Domain (And How to Get It)
How will your clients find you? Where will they go to get more information about your business? Hint: It’s not likely to be the phone book or the phone. Chances are that many of your customers will find your business...
What is Affiliate Income?
Affiliate income is another term for referral fee, commission, or revenue sharing. It can be a supplementary or substantial stream of income, and once a link is installed, it can provide passive income for as long as it remains current....
Beware of the “Chicken Little” Mindset
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Today is Mindset Monday. I’ll be talking about attitudes that can make it easier or harder to succeed as an entrepreneur. I recently came across a sentence that...
Spin Straw into Gold in a Microbusiness
Remember the story of Rumplestilskin and the ambitious miller who told a king that his daughter could spin straw into gold? Many people dream of finding or creating more income, but they sometimes overlook what they already have, such as...
5 Reasons Entrepreneurship Should Be Part of Every Education
I believe that entrepreneurship should be part of every education. Creating a small business does more than just provide a bit of extra money– it provides memorable learning opportunities.
