The Inspiring Barbara Winter

I said months ago that I'd post a review of Making a Living without a Job by Barbara Winter. I don't know why it's taken me so long to post about it because basically I just want to say that I loved the book.

It's a cheering and inspirational book for aspiring indie businesspeople. The author was ahead of her time with a lot of her ideas about self-employment, including her idea about setting up multiple streams of income. What I especially like about the book is her emphasis on not getting overwhelmed by instead focusing on small and achievable goals. For an idea of the author's philosophy, check out this recent blog post of hers about her concept called The $100 Hour.

If you're thinking of shifting more into working for yourself and/or want to expand your existing independently-run business, check out Barbara's book. It's a great source of encouragement for solo-entrepreneurs.

Speaking of solo entrepreneurs, check out this interview I did with Part-Time Ted, a guy who has built a career on developing content-rich websites.

An Inspiring Book for Indie Businesspeople

I've been meaning to post about some books I read earlier this year, but I keep getting busy posting interviews to With Five Questions. Well, I was thinking this morning about how much books help to inspire me as an independent author and entrepreneur, so I wanted to take time to share.

If you read blogs and/or books about do-it-yourself small businesses, you've probably already heard of Chris Guillebeau. I'd been hearing his name for quite a while but hadn't read any of his stuff. Turns out that I liked The $100 Startup quite a lot.

The subtitle of the book is "Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future." The central idea of the book is that you can start a small business on your own right now, using skills you already have. The author shows you lots of examples of creative people working in a wide range of fields who are doing just that. Guillebeau bases the book on his own experience as well as the experiences of a number of people he's personally interviewed. He has a very encouraging voice as an author; basically he wants you to put down the book and go and set up a website or write a sales letter or do something to get your business idea off the ground.

What I like most about the book is the author's assertion that you don't need a lot of capital or other resources to start a business. In fact, he discourages readers from borrowing money, etc. His emphasis is on starting small. This low-risk and potentially high-yield approach is very tempting, and you can experiment with it without quitting your day job.

The book actually inspired me to start teaching some independently-run online classes. I read about an artist Guillebeau interviewed who had turned her photography skills into a series of online classes, and I decided to try the same with my writing skills. My first poetry workshop is just wrapping up, and I'm taking registrations for a summer workshop now.

With his examples and his you-can-do-it perspective, Guillebeau makes you want to explore new ways to turn your interests and skills into businesses that you can run independently from home (or from anywhere in the world, if you want to travel with your laptop or tablet or smartphone). There are enough examples in the book that something is going to resonate with you. Based on my personal experience, I can definitely recommend The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.

Coming soon: a review of Making a Living without a Job by Barbara Winter.

What Is Fiverr?

Here's a brand-new article I wrote about starting a small business on fiverr.com.

How to Start a Micro-Business on Fiverr
By Amanda Laughtland

On Fiverr, sellers offer goods and services for five dollars, and buyers use PayPal to purchase those goods and services. The website functions as an international marketplace and an intermediary, processing payments, handling disputes, and taking a commission of 20 percent from every sale.

On the one hand, you might well be thinking, "What am I going to sell for just four dollars?". On the other hand, Fiverr is more complicated (and offers more earning potential) than its name would suggest.

Outside of the active community of sellers on Fiverr, a lot of people don't know that Fiverr has a small but significant series of levels, and as you advance beyond the basic level for new members, you have opportunities for sales beyond the five-dollar mark.

The key to making more than pocket change with Fiverr is to become a Level One seller, at which point you can add extras onto your five-dollar gigs. There's also a Level Two, and then there are Fiverr-selected Top Sellers, but simply breaking into Level One marks a solid step toward more income through the site.

For example, if you want to offer article writing services, you might offer a 250-word article for five dollars, with the option of a 500-word article for ten dollars, and maybe another option for a set of three related articles for 20 dollars. We're still talking micro-business, but it can become a nice part-time job, especially for someone who wants to work from home and needs flexible hours.

All sellers must start out with five-dollar gigs with no extras. You need to be on the site for 30 days and have completed at least ten orders to earn the Level One status; you also need to maintain high ratings from buyers.

And so we return to the question: What are you willing to do to make four dollars? Some sellers create gigs that are worth far more than the price tag, biding their time to reach higher levels where they can restructure their gigs and add extras. But why not give serious thought to that four-dollar question?

There might be smallish jobs you'd gladly do for just a little cash. What skills do you have? What jobs are easy for you to finish quickly? Do you have (or could you put together) an e-book that teaches valuable tips that aren't readily available elsewhere? Maybe you have something you're already putting time into (like a website, Twitter account, or Facebook page) that you could leverage into a Fiverr gig.

My best advice is to find something you like to do. When I signed up on Fiverr, I knew I wanted to do writing-related work, but I didn't want to be on the computer for hours to earn less than a penny per word. So I started by coming up with some gigs that utilize my skills in writing and blogging but also involve buyers in sharing the writing tasks.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to browse the different categories and listings on the site to see what other sellers have to offer, and definitely take time to visit the Fiverr Forum (linked at the bottom of the main Fiverr page) and talk to other sellers for some friendly chat and good advice.

Amanda Laughtland is a writer, editor, and publisher who teaches English at the college level. She offers a range of gigs related to writing, publishing, and the arts on her Fiverr page, located at http://fiverr.com/teenytinypress.

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