Can You Make $1,000 Extra This Year?

Today! Tell me how you could make an additional $1,000 this year, OUTSIDE of your current job/employer.

I’m a fan of “multiple streams of income,” and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make an additional $1,000 a year.  And then doing that 100 times - would that be 100 different things, each generating $1,000?  I’m not sure, but it’s been on my mind.

I’ve thought of a few things I can do, and have some of them in-progress.  Think about what YOU could do to make an additional $1,000, and then tell me about it at http://www.JibberJobber.com/onethingblog.

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I hope this doesn’t make me sound too materialistic, and money-hungry.  For me this is diversification of my income, which should reduce income risk the same way a mutual fund should reduce investment risk.

I threw this out as a “One Thing” because I have been thinking a lot lately… what could I do to make an additional $1,000 next year?  Could I think of 10 things that would each make an additional $10,000?  Could I think of … 100 things?  Fun to think about, and yes, I came up with a number of ideas.  Read the comments in the post, TR has a bunch of suggestions, and Alan Ferraro suggests something that I think could make you a lot more than $1,000.  It’s all doable.

Here’s an idea that I thought was perfect:  Benton Crane’s dad wrote a book and self-published it 10 years ago.  Benton came across the inventory and thought it would be cool to move them for his dad, so he made a website.  Go check it out, it’s a very simple website, something that you (and perhaps your high school neighbor) could put together.  And he’s moving his dad’s inventory for him.

This isn’t a huge business, it’s simply a way to create a revenue stream.  It isn’t going to require Benton to work hours, and shift his energy and focus elsewhere… it’s just something to diversify his current income.  He probably won’t get rich from this, but it’s a terrific example of doing a small thing that could make a difference financially.

The book is Manny’s Christmas. I have a copy but haven’t cracked it yet… it’s a short story, which apparently is the type of Christmas book that sells well… if you are in the holiday mood, go check out Manny’s Christmas, it’s only $9.95 (which includes S&H).

What can YOU do, outside of your employer, to make an additional $1,000 next year?

In response to recent questions about my new venture, I’d like to share with you what I’m doing – and ask for your help.

With my 10 years of experience in digital media, community journalism, and government administration, I merged my skills into consulting. I have a small but growing list of clients who reached out to me after wanting to hear how social media, interactive marketing, and online branding could help them.

If you visit http://ariherzog.com, I list some questions that every CEO should be able to answer and identify with. You can read about the value I offer in social networking, blogging, search engine optimization, online branding, lead generation, and much more.

With the economic downturn, social media is all the more relevant because it’s downright affordable, and in many cases is free. Can you think of a better way to sell your products and services?

If this strikes a chord, I’d enjoy hearing from you — or anyone you can recommend. I’m available for either consulting or speaking opportunities with larger groups.

Scary… to get away from steady paycheck, health insurance, matching 401k, etc.  I wrote about having guts to do it here …. my guts came because I had no other choice, and admire anyone who makes the decision when they already have a job!

If you are looking for help with your social media or social marketing strategy, I encourage you to check out Ari Herzog.  He’s been a frequent commentor on this blog and he and I have corresponded quite a bit over the time we’ve known one another.  He’s a sharp guy!

Finally, if you are looking for guts to do something like this (start your own gig), go follow Pamela Slim, author of Escape From Cubicle Nation.

1. I have a scar on my head, from ear-to-ear. When I was a baby the doctors decided my skull was going to fuse too early, and not leave enough room for my brain to develop (ah, that’s the problem!).  Now I have a scar to prove it.
2. I’d like to shave my head but I don’t feel comfortable because I feel my head is … how do I say this, deformed. I always wondered why it hurt to “head” a soccer ball … now I know.
3. I never wanted to start blogging. When first introduced to blogging I thought “I have nothing to say and no time to write.”  I have blogged almost every day (less weekends and holidays), and write on about 5 blogs.  I think I’m addicted… in fact, I stole a line from Robert Merrill and call blogging my heroin drip :p
4. The best thing I’ve done for myself physically is the body for life program. Hands down awesome.  I did it for almost two years and it was amazing… I felt so healthy, I ate healthy, our food bill was dramatically reduced, my joints didn’t hurt… all the way around it was awesome.  I stopped when I suffered from a herniating disk, and haven’t picked it up since then.  I should, though.
5. When I wrote my first book I had NO intention of speaking or consulting. But this year I’ve spoken more than 50 times.
6. I love burgers and fries. When I’m on the road i usually get burgers and fries… it’s as simple as that.  I should enjoy local cuisine more, but I really do dig the burgers and fries.  And, well, pizza.
7. I have always wanted to start my own business, but figured all the ideas were already taken. How could I become the successful company when there all the great ideas were taken… lol.
8. bonus: I have always wanted to write a book. I kind of started my first book about 10 years ago when I became an IT manager and had no resources to help me do my job (I reported to the CFO and there were no internal IT staff to lean on).  The owner of the company had about 40 books in print and I thought that was dang cool.  It only took me about 9 years to realize this dream, and wow, what a difference it’s made on my life/career.

Thanks to my buddies for nudging me, and letting me read their 7 things: Chandlee Bryan, Chris Russell, Miriam Salpeter, Megan Fitzgerald, … and I know there are a bunch of others who have been tagged but I couldn’t find your 7 things :p  Add a link in the comments if you did it… or if you aren’t a blogger and care to share something personal about yourself, leave a comment :).

Someone asked me to include a worksheet they could use to track their LinkedIn efforts.  Here’s what we created… the page numbers coincide with the pages in the book.  Please download this LinkedIn worksheet and feel free to share it with your friends!

Wow, I am SO glad to have this submitted to the publisher so I can get on with the rest of my life!  Actually, I’m very happy to have this second edition out, which is cleaner and of course more current than the first edition.  As I was writing it it seemed like daily people would come back and say “make sure you include LinkedIn Applications,” “make sure you include LinkedIn Group Discussions,” “make sure you include LinkedIn Events,” etc.  I was going crazy…!

Alas, it’s done, and the LinkedIn ebook and paperback is available for purchase on the Happy About site, and Amazon might have it up as early as Friday (black friday).

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this process, leaving reviews on Amazon, emailing me, reading the LinkedIn blog, suggesting me as a speaker, etc.  I am super-duper appreciative of YOU.

LinkedIn has changed. Most of the changes you see are with their technology.  I guarantee in a year this second edition will feel outdated by the end of next year as new stuff comes out regularly (seemingly faster than before).  Regardless of the technology changes, let me suggest a few things I think are core to your LinkedIn experience and any success you might have on LinkedIn:

1. Relationships, relationships, relationships! The key to short term and long term success (in many areas of our life) centers around relationships.  Focus on real relationships with real human beings.  The technology might change, but this idea doesn’t.
2. LinkedIn is powerful. If you are not getting value out of LinkedIn, I’d seriously try and figure out what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.  I know many people are getting value out of LinkedIn, from many different industries.  Go ahead and ignore it, but I’ll tell you, in professional business networking, LinkedIn is the 800 lb guerrilla and no one is going to displace them anytime soon.
3. LinkedIn provides a great learning opportunity. Whether you want to see how to interact with other professionals online (or how not to), or you want to do industry or product research, LinkedIn is a terrific resource for more than “finding and being found.”  Just go in and lurk in the LinkedIn Answers section and you might find some rich, helpful stuff to help you be better at what you do.

I’d like to invite you to be an affiliate for my publisher, and get 30% of the purchase price for all books sold from his site.  This is way better than Amazon’s 4%, and if your audience (blog, newsletter, etc.) could get value out of my book, sign up!  Just go to http://www.happyabout.info/linkedinhelp.php and sign up in the upper right corner.

The price for I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? is $19.95 for the paperback and $11.95 for the ebook.

Here are 10 resources I’d offer up to those in a job search RIGHT NOW, and those who are concerned about future/looming/pending transitions:

1. JibberJobber.com. Yeah, that’s my site, and it’s self-serving for me to put it first.  Understand it’s a freemium site, which means you can have a free account for life, and optionally upgrade, and many people get value out of the free side.  JibberJobber replaces the spreadsheet and spiral notebook you are using to manage and organize your job search, allowing you to get long-term value out of all of the data you are collecting in your job search.  Plus, once you land your job, you can (should) continue to use it to manage your relationships in a way you can’t on LinkedIn.  It is NOT a social network, rather a complement to your social networking strategy.
2. Indeed or SimplyHired. These are the two biggest job board aggregators.  Instead of searching through dozens or hundreds of job boards, go to one of these two to see what’s being posted almost everywhere. Realize, though, that your job board strategy should be a SMALL part of your job search strategy, assuming that many jobs posted might already be filled, or you’ll have hundreds of resumes you are competing against.  Also, a strong job board strategy includes checking boards that are niche (profession or industry) or geography… not just ONE board.
3. Professional help. Seriously, consider getting a coach and/or resume writer.  There are a number of job search coaches and resume writers I partner with who can help you.  You can also go to CareerDirectors.com and some other industry sites to look for certified career professionals.  If you make $x,xxx per month, how much are you losing as your job search goes forward?  I lost tens of thousands of dollars because I didn’t bring in help, and spent my time on the wrong path in my job search.
4. LinkedIn, of course. If you have to choose ONE social environment for your job search, it’s LinkedIn.  My second edition of I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? has more information for job seekers, including a 10 point list on using LinkedIn for job seekers.  If you aren’t getting value out of LinkedIn, you are doing something wrong.  And stay tuned for info on the second edition.
5. Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. This is Dave Perry’s book.  This book is a MUST READ, and will help you expand your vision of what you could and should be doing.  Another excellent book, if you feel like you were thrown under the bus, is We Got Fired, by Harvey Mackay.  I am almost done with this book and have found it to be extremely therapeutic (maybe I’ll get this chip off my shoulder after all :p).
6. Develop a network of recruiters who you can ask hard questions to.  These aren’t recruiters to find you jobs, rather recruiters who you can ask “this just happened with this other recruiter, or company, … what does it mean?”  and “why isn’t my resume getting me interviews?”  This is a network friend who can help you understand the process.
7. Looking for company opportunities or key people to network into? Go to search.twitter.com and search for company names.  I bet 9 out of 10 times you won’t find what you are looking for, but that 1 time might be gold, and it only takes a few minutes.  You don’t need an account… just go to that website.  This is also a great place for market research, salespeople, etc.  Also, same principle applies to blogsearch.google.com, to find players in your industry or profession.
8. CareerHub blog - there are dozens of career coaches who blog there and they help you understand stuff you should be thinking about, whether it’s career management or job search.
9. A good understanding of the impact of being “wounded.” I think it’s CRITICAL to not come across as a wounded animal in your job search.  Bitter, depressed, etc.  will have a negative impact on your outcome.  I’m not saying you can’t have feelings, of course, but you need to figure out how to pull yourself together and become the professional you are. An HR professional told me, early in my job search, because I was pouting (we were/are friends) “Jason, HR can smell blood a mile away.”  He was telling me to be very careful about how I came across in my networking, even to good friends.  You can read more here: http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/2006/10/11/i-smell-blood
10. JibberJobber One Thing - a few weeks ago I set up a Yahoo Group and started to send ONE email each day giving you an ACTIONABLE item that can be done in just a few minutes.  I don’t want to overwhelm anyone (myself included!), but if you want to get a daily nudge, this has turned out to be a fun nudger :)  Sign up here.

I’m so passionate about career management, and being the CEO of Me, Inc, that I could just scream it from the rooftops.  I plead with you, whether you are in a job search or not, whether you own your own business (like me) or not, to seriously take control of your own career, and start doing this stuff ON PURPOSE!

Go back to #1 above (JibberJobber), get signed up for a free account, and then start working on the rest of this list - ON PURPOSE!

Cheezhead, and HR and recruiter blogger, wrote desperate times = desperate measures, where he talks about the troubles job boards are going through.

Job board owners are talking about 25-40 percent decreases in postings. Stories of layoffs at boards big and small abound. And it’s only November. December should be worse. Wait, did I say should be? I meant will be.

Will be? I don’t follow things like he does, but I don’t doubt his prediction.  But I love how he sums up his post, because this is something I’ve been thinking about for months:

The good news? Historical flipside says a downturn will once again give berth to a better species. Keep in mind, 2003 and beyond gave us Indeed.com, JobCentral and Simply Hired. It spawned LinkedIn and gave rise to Craig. I expect 2010 to do the same. It’ll just kinda suck till then.

Were do companies come from?  Market opportunities, forward-thinkers, risk-takers, lucky people, right?

Yeah, sure, I agree with all of those.

I think companies, great companies, also come from times like this.  If there are tens of thousands of finance professionals getting dumped on the streets, don’t you think some of them might have had brilliant ideas that they never had time to work on before?  What about all of the IT professionals, programmers, business analysts, product managers, etc?

I believe there are many people who are anxious to get their next steady paycheck, but will eventually see opportunities to do things they never had time to do before.  Companies will be born, millionaires will be created, products and services will surface.

I was scared to death to start my own thing, and didn’t think anything new could be invented.  There was no better mousetrap… all the good ideas were already taken (like Amazon, Google, eBay, wordpress, youtube, etc.)

And then I found myself with time, and found some investment money, and a very cool job search tool was put into my brain, and my job search ended.

How many others will end their job search and take a plunge that was impossible before?  I expect this recessionary time to catapult a bunch of businesses and entrepreneurs.  Will you be one of them?

Scot had been working on Cube Rules in his spare time, and getting laid off allowed him to dedicate his entire energy and focus into this service/venture.  I had dinner with Scot and his wife (who is a Personal Branding Monthly Winner) and was super-impressed with both of them - and that’s after at least a year of an online relationship!

Scot talks to the “Cubicle Warrior,” that is, the person who has a job, likely at a large company.  There are so many things to understand and navigate in the cubicle world, and Scot is the guy to help you navigate them. On the right side of CubeRules.com you’ll see things such as:

• Warrior Boot Camp
• Cube Rules Layoff Central Membership info
• A bunch of recent posts very relevant to all of us, and the most active posts and recent comments

I partner with a bunch of career coaches, job search coaches, resume writers, and other professionals who help you land your job, but if you are interested in navigating the cubicle maze, and being an awesome cubicle warrior, I strongly encourage you to sign up in Scot’s Career Training system.  Click the image below to learn more, or at least start following his blog.

But for 50,000 Citigroup people, it’s a personal recession.

For 60,000 post office employees it’s a personal recession.

For businesses who didn’t make it through this last year, it’s a personal recession.

For the hundreds of homes in my neighborhood who are forced to be on the market, it’s a personal recession.

For the guy/gal who was happily employed a year ago, and now watching coworkers drop like flies, the smell of personal recession is in the air.

Last weekend a guy in Silicon Valley who got laid off went back and killed the CEO and two others.  Personal recession and major workplace tragedy.

There are some who are going to be prepared, and some who are going to have their worlds rocked.  I really, really hope that you are doing the things you can to prepare for a personal recession.

When can it happen?  Who knows.  I had my personal recession when it was a job seekers market.  Go figure.

1. All 283 programs are free (including a podcast recording I did with them) from Wednesday, November 19th (that’s today!) through Sunday, November 23rd.
2. All business owners and managers who join during this time get their choice of a $500 gasoline rebate or a $500 fuel rebate.
3. The yearly membership investment is reduced to $299 per year (save $598 from regular membership price).
4. This means that people who sign up get their training free and $201 to eat or drive on us!

Here are all the juicy details I got in an email from Janet Walsh and Birchtree-HR:

Today’s economic uncertainty and slowing economy have hurt and continue to squeeze profits from many businesses.  How can you be competitive when the training budget is cut?

I’ll help you.  From November 19-23 I am giving you unlimited access to the Human Capital Show and the Profitability Channel training programs.  The Profitability Channel is the largest, on-line, on-demand, business training video library in the world.  All faculty hosts are nationally known business leaders, CPA’s, Financial Experts, Coaches, Sales Consultants, Marketing Experts, IT, Technical Experts and much more.  All 283+ shows are yours to watch anytime you wish.  You can spend a few hours and upgrade your personal skills, direct your employees to the site so they can upgrade their skills, help a charity of your choice train employees and managers for free or provide your family members with a competitive advantage.

As the Faculty host of the “Human Capital Show”, I will offer new business members a free, on line show, on an HR subject of your choice.  For an example of a collaborative program with our partner and client, Mountain States Employer’s Council, watch, “Workplace Bullying” with Ken Pinnock.  It’s a terrific program and has generated much feedback on our Blogs.

Most of you reading this will be eating lots of turkey this Thanksgiving.  Why not stuff yourself with knowledge as well as turkey and remain competitive in the economic market?

The Details:

All 282 programs are free from Wednesday, November 19, 2008 through Sunday, November 23, 2008.  To watch the programs in the library for free simply do the following:

Go to www.profitabilitychannel.com
Click the join button
Scroll to the bottom and put esp in the promo code space.

If you like what you see, join between now and November 23, you pay $299.00 for the year.  I will pay the balance of $598.00 on the full membership price of $897.00/yr.

When you join between now and November 23, I will also provide you with a $500.00 gas or grocery rebate coupon (check out www.freefuelcenter.com or www.freegrocerycenter.com). The $500 rebate certificate is only available until the November 23, 2008 free preview is over. When the preview ends, so does this special rebate.

When you join as a company, I’ll provide you with one, customized, Human Capital Show program of your choice.  Tell me what you want to see and we will work together to customize a training program for your company employees.

Three great offers to join, one free preview to experience the quality of the material and information.

In case you’re wondering, here are some of my best shows!

Live Interviews with your questions for key business leaders
DR. DAN ARIELY, Author “PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL”
DAVID ALLEN, Author, “STRESS FREE PRODUCTIVITY”
DR. DAVID MAISTER, Author, “STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER”
DR. DEBRA MEYERSON, Author/Educator, “ROCKING THE BOAT”
DR. DAVE ULRICH, The World’s Most Influential HR Professional
DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, World’s Greatest Business Coach

HR Strategy

What is Human Capital Financial Management?

Herman Trend Alert HR Business Trends
HR’s Role in Profitability

Enterprise Preparedness

Coping with the Gas Crisis

Staffing Programs
Search Strategies for Tough Economic Times

Effective Interviewing

Working with Volunteers

Extraordinary Staffing

Technology Recruitment

Impending Workforce Crisis

Benefits Programs
Managing Your Benefit Dollars
Maximize Your Benefits
Pension Plan Part 1
Pension Plan Part 2

State Incentive Programs

Gifts From the IRS

Coping with the Gas Crisis

Compensation Shows
How to Compensate Employees
Trends in Total Compensation

Improving Your Sales Compensation Plan

Training and Development Programs
Testing and Assessments-MSEC Best Practice

Tom Darrow and SHRM Atlanta Member Benefits
Workplace Bullying-MSEC Best Practice

Effective E-Learning

Workforce Development

Coaches and Coaching in the Workplace

Global HRM Programs

MSEC Global Workout Session
Expatriate Management

Immigration Issues

The Global 20(c)

Going Global

Relocation Issues

Technology and HR Programming

HRIS Systems
Integrating HR Technology

Social Networking
HR Contributions to IT

So, if you are interested, do this:

Go to www.profitabilitychannel.com
Click the join button
Scroll to the bottom and put esp in the promo code space.

Before I worked for that company, I was the IT Manager for a much larger, very successful building maintenance company.  I was the first IT Manager they ever had (first IT professional, in fact), and I was able to realize some significant wins early on.  I was given a lot of responsibility and absolutely loved every aspect of my job.  The commute was awesome (about 7 minutes), my boss was terrific and well-positioned in the company, the salary was right, the company was growing,… etc etc.  It was awesome, and I was in heaven.

Within a couple of years everything changed.  I got involved in promoting an acquisition of our ERP vendor, and my perfect little job came crashing down on me over the next few of years.  The acquisition happened and I moved over to that new subsidiary in a senior leadership position.  There were some red flags, but I didn’t have much of a choice.  And I never guessed the differences in company culture would be so strong.

That’s when I feel my career started to become destroyed.  And shortly thereafter (3 years?) I was let go.

I was let go over the phone, by my old boss who was so awesome, and the president of parent company.  I was warned “don’t burn any bridges” by the guy who I had been so very close to.  It hurt to hear that warning, as I wondered who the heck he thought I was, to even have to warn me to not be a jerk.

The so-called family company kicked me out of the family.  Spending years at a “family company,” and then getting voted off the island, was very painful.

I felt kicked in the teeth.

And I’ve held onto this pain for a long time.  I’ll never trust an employer like I trusted that family company leadership again.  I’ve learned, too many things can change, and job security is a farce.  And, I kind of felt that getting rid of this chip on my shoulder would make me lose my ability to blog passionately (funny, I know :p).

I came across WE GOT FIRED! by Harvey Mackay.  I like this type of book, as it chronicles stories of people who have been fired, or kicked in the teeth, and what they did after.  All of the stories are about people who have become rockstars in their own world, people who I recognize as fabulously successful.  But reading their experiences, and feelings, and actions, and attitudes, has been therapeutic for me.

I feel like listing everything I’ve learned from this book would sound too cliche, but for me, and my attitude, reading this book has been one of the best, most important experiences since I’ve been let go.  If you have a chip on your shoulder, or are wondering what is next for you (with some fear and trepidation), I strongly encourage you to find a copy of WE GOT FIRED! by Harvey Mackay.