You’re a creative entrepreneur with expertise in, and passion for, a particular subject.
This subject could be based around your chosen vocation – i.e. you might be a solo professional (or running a small team) such as an architect or financial planner – or it might simply be a hobby that gets you jazzed every day; for example, you might be a French cooking aficionado or an expert bush walker…you might be into handmade jewellery or marathon running or training rottweilers.
Whatever the subject, we’re talking about a passion and skill-set that one day you’d like to turn into a full-time gig. So obviously spending time doing something you love (and are good at) is an awesome start.
To become what we at microDOMINATION like to call a ‘micro maven’ you will need to develop your platform, build your personal brand and then start growing a business enterprise that generates revenue from a number of difference sources. To recap:
- Establish a platform that rocks!
- Strap a rocket to your personal brand
- Grow a business off the back of your reputation
But the ultimate goal, of course, is to create a business the works for you. This will be a case of different strokes for different folks…perhaps you only want to work 20-30 hours a week so you can spend more time with your family; maybe you want flexibility in your day to pursue other hobbies, or be able to work remotely and run your business no matter where you are in the world.
Other things that might be important to you include:
- Doing work that has meaning and purpose.
- Spending time doing what you love and creating value for others.
- Attaining a high level of financial independence.
These are all good things by the way, and boxes that many successful micro mavens have ticked, or are well on their way to ticking.
For example, home organising expert and mother of five – Nicole Avery aka @PlanningQueen – wanted to run a business from home that fitted around her family, not the other way around.
Natalie Sisson and Chris Guillebeau (pictured above *) are super-keen travellers. They want to be running their business no matter where in the world they are at the time.
Ross Clennett is the recruiter’s recruitment expert; his goal in doing what he is doing is to work from home near the beach so he could spend more time with his family.
Others tread the micro maven path as a way to build profile and credibility for their more traditional bricks-and-mortar business, in turn helping to boost sales. In this case, growing the company is perhaps a more important goal than having a flexible lifestyle.
There is no right or wrong, just what works best for you personally.
Portfolio Approach
The good news is, the technology is in place for you to not only cost effectively build your brand on a global scale but also leverage off your good name by developing numerous pipelines of revenue (I call this a ‘portfolio approach’ to work).
Whether this is:
- writing a blog via WordPress or producing a podcast on iTunes;
- connecting with fans and influencers using the likes of Twitter and Google+;
- communicating with clients via Skype;
- co-opting via oDesk a virtual team of experts to help you to run your business;
- holding Google+ Hangouts as a way of chatting with fans and followers from around the world;
- running webinars (via a provider such as GoToWebinar) to attract people to your brand and build your email list;
- publishing ebooks or digital training programs sold via your website and/or a network of affiliate merchants;
… the technology exists and these activities can be done freely and cheaply in many cases.
Of course that doesn’t mean it’s easy work – it takes considerable effort, focus, humility and imagination to become a micro maven – but it can be done more easily, cheaply and efficiently today than any time in our history.
Prepare to dominate!
* Pic sourced from Chris Guillebeau's Twitter account
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