Five self-employed jobs you could be doing right now

• 2-minute read •
Looking for a job where you really get on with your boss?

If you dream of a flexible career where you can always work on your own terms, then becoming self-employed might be the perfect fit for you. And it striking it out on your own really isn’t as scary as it sounds – especially if you make sure it’s something that really suits your skills.

We’ve already covered whether becoming self-employed is the right choice for you, but to help inspire you, here are five self-employed jobs you could be doing right now.

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7 Things Wildly Successful People Do Before 7:30 a.m.

• 2-minute read •
Successful people come from all walks of life, yet they all have one thing in common: where others see impenetrable barriers, they see challenges to embrace and obstacles to overcome.

Their confidence in the face of hardship is driven by their ability to let go of the negativity that holds so many otherwise sensible people back.

Obstacles do not block the path; they are the path.

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Stop Thinking and Start Doing

You want to find a satisfying career, and you're doing all the right things to make it happen: career tests, introspection, research, informational interviews and more. But your hard work hasn't produced any results. You're still stuck.

As it turns out, there's a sensible explanation: Most people who don't know what career to pursue "can't figure it out in their heads, with a workbook or by introspecting about their past jobs," says Herminia Ibarra, author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career and professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, an international business school in Fontainebleau, France.

Ibarra is just one of several career-development experts who say the traditional approach to choosing a career -- learning about yourself, seeing what career opportunities exist in the world of work and then trying to match yourself with the right option –- has one major flaw: For many people, it just doesn't work.

"If you don't want a career, spend time planning it," says San Francisco career counselor Kathleen Mitchell, who works both in private practice and on the career-development staff at City College of San Francisco.

Don't Think So Much

The pressure of determining what to do with your life can be paralyzing, says John Krumboltz, a professor of education and psychology at Stanford University, and coauthor with Al Levin of Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career.

"It's hard enough to figure out what I'm going to do this afternoon," Krumboltz says. "If I have to figure out the rest of my life immediately -- now that's pressure. And that shuts many people down."

How should you approach choosing a new career? You may be better off using what Mitchell calls a "planned happenstance" strategy. This entails taking small actions that are likely to lead to career insights and opportunities (the planned part) and then seeing where those insights and opportunities lead you (the happenstance part).

Think and plan a little less, but do a lot more. Experiment a bit using strategies like these:

• Sample Different Career Options: Volunteer for a nonprofit organization whose cause is important to you. Try a few temp assignments or freelance projects that will expose you to new people doing new activities. Take a part-time internship in a new industry to see what the work is like.

  The more you test new career options on a smaller, less-risky scale, the more you'll learn about career opportunities, Ibarra says. You'll have a greater chance of discovering that one of them is a good fit for you.

• Talk to People Outside Your Circle: The people you're closest to might unknowingly limit you when you're trying to chart a new career path. If you're an accountant, for example, the people around you might tell you to simply look for another accounting job. At best, they might advise you to seek another job that involves number crunching.
  
  

  "You need to find different people to talk to," Mitchell says. "Find people who are willing to hear you out and move you toward your vision without reaching conclusions too quickly."

• Focus on Job Activities, Not Job Titles: In their book, Krumboltz and Levin tell of a woman who decided she wanted to be an art director for an advertising agency. She became so intent on landing that exact job that she turned down several offers to do similar work at other companies. The result: She remained stuck.
  
  

  "The notion of declaring an occupational goal can give you tunnel vision and prevent you from selecting alternatives you might hear about along the way," Krumboltz says. Focus on the job activities and conditions you're looking for rather than a specific job title.

Of course, thinking and planning both have their place in the process, Mitchell says.

"Just don't get caught up in the planning," she stresses. "Don't feel every step needs to be laid out before you move ahead. Begin with any idea rather than the perfect idea."

In doing so, she says, you'll create your career along the way -- without having to know exactly where you're going ahead of time.

Headknocking, Brick Walls... and What’s a Manager to Do?

It’s great to see many companies are now acknowledging that the old, traditional methods of management are not effective and they are modernizing their strategies and taking steps to improve employee morale, and therefore productivity. CEO’s are taking an active interest because they have to and senior managements all over the world are issuing new guidelines and goals to their middle management to initiate.

CEO’s and senior managements accept that low morale among their workforce means low productivity, which in turn, means low profits. Smart companies are hiring Coaches and Consultants to turn this around – everyone wants a happy workforce with improved productivity and profits. Some companies are trying other methods. But whatever method is being used, it still falls on Middle Management’s shoulders to implement. They are in a unique position to see what isn’t working, what won’t work, why it isn’t or won’t work, and what adjustments could and should be made that would make it work.

Sadly, for some of them, their senior management, CEO’s and Boards of Directors don’t listen. Sometimes, when a middle manager tries to express his view about a new strategy or goal, senior management can sometimes close their ears. After all, what would this middle manager know? If he was so smart, he’d be “one of us”. They may listen just to humor him, but they have their plan of action, and really, they just want him to carry out orders and toe the line.

If the bottom line employee is the one getting his or her hands dirty, it’ s middle management who has the task of instructing and overseeing the way in which their hands are dirtied. They receive their instructions from those at the top, which is not always the best place to be if you want a clear understanding of what is happening at ground level. Middle Managers who attempt to enlighten them often find themselves doing the equivalent of banging their head against a brick wall.

Too often they are told they are not in a position to “know”, and to just do as they are told, which is a shame, really, because they are in a position to know. They may not know what plans are discussed in the boardroom, but they do know whether the plan is working or has a hope to work in real life, or at the very least, be able to identify trouble spots where some tweaking of plans would be ideal.

It is frustrating for middle managers when their senior management, the CEO, and the Board members, expect them to carry out reforms and oversee changes that are designed to make improvements, but may be misguided and miss their mark.

So, does the middle manager assertively argue with his senior management and risk his or her position and possibly jeopardize his own career goals within the organization? Nobody wants to rock the boat if it means their job is on the line, or they’ll be ostracized, even if they know they could save the company thousands in misspent dollars on initiatives which are poorly designed. And there are those in senior management who simply don’t want to be “shown up” by a lower level manager who may just know ‘better’ than they do… so reports and advice are not passed on. Middle Managers are humored and sent on their way.

What can a middle Manager do in this situation? When he has an idea he knows will work better, but his own senior management won’t even do him the honor of hearing it? He knows the instructions he’s been given are going to be a waste of time, mostly his time, and there isn’t anything he can do about it because those who make the decisions higher up, simply don ’t want to listen.

This brick wall is familiar to many Managers. They’re too scared to speak up too loudly because their family’s welfare and the family home (mortgage) are often riding on his/her permanent paycheck arriving each month. He can’t afford to rock any boats. Meanwhile, his own boat is sinking and the Captain has left the ship to play golf.

So off they go to try and achieve their set goals and unable to achieve them successfully, yet powerless to do anything about it. The system or the senior level of management has let them down. And when this happens time and time again, it is a very demoralizing experience for the Manager involved.

So, what can a Manager do? There are courses of action one can take, some of which involve jumping off the deep end with their eyes closed – a leap of faith, and some which are just plain old common sense approaches.

1. A Manager can continue to do what is always done and the organization will not achieve anything worthwhile. If you are the type of Manager who doesn’t particularly care, just so long as his gets his/her pay check each month, then there isn’t a problem for you.

2. If you are the type of middle Manager who does care and who is getting a headache from the way the system operates, you can lay it on the line with your senior Management and just tell them like it is – politely, of course. If you strongly believe doing this would be detrimental to your career within the company, then you need to think carefully about this first. Feel your way; find a pair of friendly ears – someone must be willing to listen to you and help you champion your case. If not, is your career really likely to suffer, and if it is, can you live with that or do you have a contingency plan?

3. If you are really fed up, whether you decide to be assertive and speak up or not, maybe you should speak to a Career Coach or look for a new job. If your income is the sole income that your family depends on, maybe you should also start putting some aside for the possible eventuation that one day, you may be out of a job and need several months worth of savings to live on until you find new employment. If you never need to use these funds, the little nest egg you’ve saved will always come in handy for other things.

4. Maybe you can put it in a report and present it if a verbal presentation is out of the question. Or maybe you can organize a private chat with an influential senior level Manager, or the CEO, and have a heart to heart. Maybe the problem is with your own immediate manager. That ’s a common scenario. You could try providing your immediate manager with a written report and copy it in to the CEO, and that way, whether your own manager is dismissive or not, you know the CEO is finally going to hear/read what you have to say.

5. Don’t just criticize any goals or plans or instructions that have been handed down for you to carry out without providing sound reasons and examples of why it doesn’t work, or won’t work, and perhaps hasn’t worked in the past. List alternative courses of action that you believe will work and ask for permission to try them. Where possible, show evidence of where and how your suggestions have worked and why they will work in your current situation. Show the organization the benefit to them of implementing YOUR strategies rather than the ones they have designed. And don’t dismiss the possibility that maybe senior management does know something you don’t, and maybe once they enlighten you, you will feel differently about everything!

6. Then there are those who admire managers who are willing to take risks. But it’s a fine line between showing initiative and insubordination. To deliberately disregard a directive from your own senior manager and implement your own plan which you believe will work (and his won’t) takes more than just courage. If you are wrong, your job and your reputation are on the line. Of course, if you are wildly successful, even the CEO will sing your praises (although there will always be some slight concern about your willingness to toe the line!)

In some organizations, middle management are not expected to make certain ‘executive’ decisions and their level of authority and responsibility is low. They are just a link in the chain of command. Some managers are happy to be here – they can safely ‘pass the buck’ upline. Many managers at this level are too scared to make decisions or instigate their ideas for change for fear of negative repercussions in the form of losing one’s job, or chances for promotion.

The trouble has always been, and continues to be, that in some very large organizations, senior level management are too far removed from the real day-to-day operations to know what is going on, let alone what will and will not work. When something fails, rather than admit the plan was bad, blame is laid at the middle Manager’s feet. It must be his fault – couldn’t possibly be our excellent plan!

This situation can occur in both large and small organizations. It occurs in very large organizations, because usually a more authoritarian style of management tends to be used. In this situation, middle managers are expected to do as they are told and not question their superiors. However, larger organizations who train their managers in a more participative style of management and who practice open communication and the expression of ideas are happy to find this system works.

It occurs in smaller companies because unlike the larger companies who can at least afford to hire experts to help them, smaller companies rely on their existing resources and their own board of directors. On the plus side, smaller companies find it easier to adopt a team spirit and engage in teamwork – which involves the middle manager, naturally, but all is not necessarily plain sailing if there are personality clashes or the company has limited funds to bring in outside experts and instead, consider themselves to be the experts.

Senior level management need to take more notice of the Managers below them. Listen to them and their suggestions; include them at your around table discussions and forward planning sessions. It may save your company thousands of wasted hours and dollars, and if nothing else, will improve your middle management’s morale and their own level of productivity!

Do You Have Enough Time For Fun?

Is there enough time in your day for fun? Are you able to find moments to laugh at the little things? Are you able to see the joy in your job, you family, and your friends?

Or, are you too focused on getting things done rather than focusing on what's important to you? Are you too busy checking off items on your to-do list? Are you unable to remember the last time you had fun?

Fun is what brightens our world. It gives us a reason to get out of bed everyday. It improves our health, mental well-being, and self-confidence. You can not feel bad about the things we should be doing when we are having fun every day.

Would You Like To Have More Fun? Follow These Easy Steps:

1) Acknowledge That You Are Not Having Fun
The first step to having fun is admitting that fun is missing. Once you know it's gone, you can take steps to put it back in.

2) Recognize That Life Is Too Short
We say that we understand this, but sometimes our actions are not consistent with our words. If we really understood that we may not be here tomorrow, we would do everything in our power to enjoy today.

3) Realize That We All Make Mistakes
Sometimes we cannot have fun because of guilt we feel from past mistakes. All your guilt does is prevent you from moving forward. It does not matter what you did yesterday. You did the best you could and you should congratulate yourself for trying. Put it behind you so you can be free to enjoy the future.

4) Spend Time Around Kids
There is nothing that fills the heart more than watching kids. (Usually) They enjoy life to the fullest and they do so without inhibitions or restraints. They laugh because they want to. They run because they want to. They roll in the mud, snow, grass, etc. because it feels good. Imagine if you could incorporate that kind of freedom into your day. I bet it would be different.

5) Delegate Or Eliminate
If the day to day tasks are weighing you down, find ways around them. Are you asking for help with the chores, or are you doing everything yourself? What can you order online so you don't have to go to the store? And, who can you hire to help with the cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc. Yes these things cost money, but do you think that not having fun is costing you more?

6) Schedule Time For Fun
In the beginning you may have to put fun into your calendar until you are used to having it in your life again. I know this may sound funny, but old habits die hard and your goal is to acquire new habits. After a while you will find that fun will become a daily part of who you are. But, in the meantime, you may have to put in some discipline.

7) Reward Yourself For Having Fun
Guess how you do this? With more fun!

So, are you ready to find time for fun? In return, you bring joy, love, passion, and intimacy into your life. You will find that you are enjoying yourself more. Your friends and family will want to be around you because there's something about you that makes them feel really good about themselves. Imagine being able to give them the gift of a fun you? So, will you make time for fun today?

How Do I Get a Raise?

I usually get this question about 24 hours before the person plans to march into their boss' office and demand more money.

First, let's get our terms straight. Most people write to me about merit -- as opposed to cost-of-living -- increases.

Merit increases are often more substantial than cost-of-living increases and, thus, harder to get. This week's series is focused on merit increases.

Back to our job seeker who wants a drive-through raise. I say: The road to getting a raise is not traveled in a day.

Why? Because, contrary to what some career counselors will tell you, it's not only how you ask for a raise, but what you have to back up your request.

If, for example, you're a bad employee, no amount of smooth talking is likely to convince your supervisor to push for a raise.

Master the Basics

Some employees mistakenly believe that they can ignore job basics: Showing up to work on time, following instructions and being professional to name just a few.

Failing to master the basics is a monumental roadblock to salary increases and, more seriously, career advancement.

There's another interesting thing about the basics of holding down a job: If you master them, no one is likely to notice.

This may not make much sense until you compare job basics to society's basics.

Take stealing, for example. Now, if you don't steal something, chances are the police won't drop by your house and say: "Hey Mabel, we just wanted to thank you for being such a great citizen." But, if you do steal, you're likely to have an extensive encounter with the authorities.

The basics are the given of the employee/employer relationship. They are the fundamental rules without which companies could not survive. Flout them at your own risk.

Prepare Your Supervisor

When it comes to deciding who gets a raise, it's "deserve" that matters -- not "desire."

A raise goes through an approval process all it's own. In many cases, your supervisor has to get the approval of her supervisor before you'll see an extra dime.

Supervisors need more than a string of "really"s to make an effective argument for granting a raise. "I really, really, really need more money," will really, really, really fail in most cases.

Instead, back up your request with hard proof.

Bring along a copy of your performance review if it will help your case. If it's not a great review, be prepared to show how you've shown improvement.

• Provide hard copies of positive e-mails you've received from your supervisor, other employees or customers.



• Provide a list of major assignments that you've gotten good feedback on.



• Use a salary calculator to see how much people who share your job title and location are making.



• Have some idea about how your role feeds into the bottom line. Do you attract customers, who in turn spend money? Do you support teams that generate revenue for the company? Do you constantly look for ways to save the company money?



• Avoid issuing an ultimatum -- unless you're prepared to stand by it. Employees will often say, in so many words, that either they get a raise or they will quit. If you're just bluffing, be prepared for your supervisor to call your bluff. It happens more often than you might think.

Timing Is Money

The ideal time to ask for a raise is during the course of a performance review or promotion. Promotions that include title changes are usually accompanied by merit increases.

Don't approach your supervisor at a bad time. Wait until you and she have time to sit down and have a leisurely conversation. Don't trap your supervisor at the watercooler.

If you schedule a salary discussion with your supervisor ahead of time, chances are she will be keeping an extra close eye on your work to see if you really deserve more money. It's a critical period to prove you're valuable. The job basics we discovered earlier this week may be more closely monitored than usual.

As for new employees, they should generally wait a year before requesting a pay increase.

When Things Go Wrong, Understand Why

A bad performance review does not bar you from getting a raise -- at least in the long term.

But, you'll have to do some work.

A while back, I got an e-mail recently from someone who said he had been demoted, but didn't know why.

Demotions are ugly things, and sometimes -- though they shouldn't -- they come as a shock to the employee. But, your most important responsibility upon the news that you have been demoted or are underperforming is to understand why.

As the wise saying goes, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Avoid being defensive. Instead express your regret and willingness to improve. It might sound something like this: "I'm upset that I haven't been meeting your goals. I want to understand where I have underperformed, so I can focus on improvement in those areas."

Get specific examples from your supervisor. Write these down and constantly work to improve.

Money, as it has been said, does not grow on trees. But it also doesn't grow on magic beanstalks that spout up overnight without being carefully tended and nurtured. Getting a raise is not a short- term process, but it is one that can pay off. The good work you do in order to get a raise can also result in promotions and -- if you do eventually decide to move on -- great references.

7 Things You Must Do in an Interview

When you are looking to make the Big Leap -- the one that puts you closer to the power centers of a business or organization -- the interview process will likely be different from what you've experienced before. The more senior the person or people you're interviewing with, the more definite their ideas are likely to be about what they're looking for. They know that their own continued success depends on hiring the best people.

So how do you prove your readiness for the big leagues? By thinking like a big-league player. This interview will be different from others, but it will be your best chance to impress the decisionmakers, so there are some key points you want to be certain you get across. Here are tips to help you succeed:

Show You Get the "Big Picture"

Any number of interview candidates may possess specific subject-knowledge valuable to a business. But the candidate who goes beyond mere information and displays an ability to use it well is more likely to get the job. Senior executives and managers generally want people who pay attention to and understand the broader view.

Tip: Demonstrate you recognize patterns and understand their importance; that you know how to use and synthesize information.

Find Out What Keeps the Boss Up at Night

Do your homework so you understand not only the job or promotion for which you are applying, but also the job of the senior executive above it. Do you know to whom this person reports, and what the top issues are for your boss's boss?

Tip: Make that knowledge part of your interview conversation. Show an interest not only in the specifics of the job, but in the product and markets for that company. Ask broad questions: "What do you think the potential growth in the Indian market is?"

Look for Answers

Senior managers are looking for candidates who are creative thinkers focused on finding solutions. It is less important that you show you know the details of the problems the organization faces than that you're able to demonstrate readiness to look for options and find solutions.

Tip: Think about problems in the past you've identified and managed to solve. Show readiness to tackle the tough issues.

Show Some Guts

Chances are whoever you're interviewing with got where he is by showing some moxie, and you should too. Top people need and want folks around them who are not afraid to speak up and will confidently assert their ideas. It is the only way to be part of the process.

Tip: Be ready with an example of a time when you weren't afraid to go out on a limb and your actions helped bring about real change.

Show Your Softer Side, Too

Yes, you should speak up and assert your ideas. But there will be times when the folks at the top will want-- will even need -- for you to go along once a decision has been made, even if you don't agree with it.

Tip: Think about past experiences you can discuss to demonstrate you're comfortable with the challenges of a dynamic environment.

Listen

Just as you want to make it plain in an interview that you are not too timid to speak up, you want to make it clear you are not over-confident or intent on dominating the process. Demonstrate you are able to listen without being too eager to cut off dialog.

Tip: Ask questions that reflect the concerns of the questioner in a constructive way. For instance, if you are asked what you would do in a certain situation, resist the temptation to answer before you've asked some questions of your own.

Keep It Positive

If there's one thing senior managers have a universal distaste for, it's whining. Remember, every hiring manager wants to hire a team player who will bring positive energy and real initiative to the job. Be ready with examples of positive suggestions about problems or issues that you took initiative on in order to demonstrate your people skills.

Tip: Steer clear of any criticism of prior managers, even if invited to offer it.

Discover the Work You Were Born to Do

So you've been hearing that voice again, the one that says you're not doing what you were born to do. That may be true, but how do you figure out what you should be doing?

To begin answering this question, examine whether your current career path matches your core interests, beliefs, values, needs and skills. Professional career counselors usually undertake this strategy when attempting to help clients identify appropriate career directions.

Here's what I ask clients to help them find their core. Ask yourself these questions, and record your answers:

1. What subjects do you most enjoy reading about?
2. What television or radio programs do you most enjoy?
3. What are your favorite types of movies?
4. What are your favorite hobbies or pastimes?
5. What type of volunteer activities do you prefer?
6. What subjects do you enjoy discussing with friends?
7. What subjects come to mind when you daydream?
8. What have been your favorite jobs?
9. What were your favorite school subjects?
10. What are your pet peeves?
11. If you doodle, what do you often draw?
12. If you ran the world, what changes would you make?
13. If you won a million bucks, what would you do with it?
14. Who are your favorite kinds of people?
15. How would you like to be remembered after your death?
16. What are your favorite toys?
17. How would you describe your political beliefs?
18. Who do you most admire in life and why?
19. What tasks have brought you the most success?
20. What tasks do you think you could do well that you haven't yet done?

Examine your answers. Do you see a certain behavior or belief in more than one aspect of your life? What information do you see repeated that seems to reveal a behavior pattern? What are your long-lasting interests?

Using this information, paint a self-portrait by completing the following statements:

• I am mainly interested in…
• I believe most in…
• I most value…
• For a good life, I feel I need…
• I can do the following well…

Now ask yourself if your current job helps you achieve these five statements. If it does, you're probably in the right career. Chances are, however, that the nagging voice means your current career is not satisfying your core features. If this is the case, then it's time to find a better fit.