Since I'm taking the month of January to hunt down new Mavens for the first season of 2009, I thought I would use this time to highlight a few great resources out there for the entrepreneurially inclined. First on my reading list this year has been Michelle Goodman's The Anti 9-5 Guide.
The books starts with a familiar story (at least familiar to me) of a young woman--Michelle--working the 9-5, stuck in a cubicle, and hating it. So she ditched her job and launched her freelance career. Without a plan, I might add. This book is her "if I only knew then what I know now" tome to being your own boss.
Unlike a lot of career books that teach you how to set up and manage a business, Goodman's book shows you how to get out of the job you don't like and into the profession you've been dreaming of. A more creative, flexible, and freelance profession.
Goodman includes a lot of tips that I wish I would have had during my days as a 9-5-banker-contemplating-a-big-career-change, like how to do research about the job you want (hint: a lot of it includes networking and interviewing other people). She stresses how important budgeting is before you leave your bread-and-butter job, and how to nurture a business on-the-side until it is grown enough to work full time. Goodman also shares some great tips on working from home (I applied a lot of these to myself), and how to work with kiddos/spouses/pets in the house and still get stuff done!
Overall, her practical how-to's were insightful and easy to implement. And encouraging. I can wholeheartedly say that this is the book I wish I had had before I left the 9-5, but it is certainly better late than never. So, if you are contemplating a career change from the cubicle to the home (say a new mom, or a twenty-something creative crafter, or a current maven), this is a great book to add to your library.
To read an interview of Michelle, conducted by previous Mavens Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears of The Boss of You, click here.
See you all tomorrow!
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