EPISODE 9: MOONLIGHTING: TWELVE TIPS TO BEING AN AUTHOR-ENTREPRENEUR
Listen to internet radio with Rebel Ragdoll Radio on Blog Talk Radio
Click the play button to stream, and for a downloadable mp3 of the episode, click the iTunes button OR click on the RSS button on the radio itself! Either link will allow you to download an mp3 or a WMA version of the radio show / podcast!
Being a novelist is an amazing and fulfilling vocation. However, writing novels is not the only way to bring joy and income into your life! I would know because I am both a doctoral student (and burgeoning market researcher) as well as a novelist and publisher. I love all of my vocations, and while I would love to spend most of my time writing, there are also times where I just need to dip my toes back into research and data analysis!
So what about you? Do you have dual interests & skills and want to be the best in both arenas? Do you want to be an author AND have another day job that you would like to excel in or move up in? If you decide that you want to write fiction AND also maximize your skills as a professional in another area, this is the radio show for you! Tune in and check out my TWELVE tips to being an author-entrepreneur!
In this podcast I discuss:
- The definition of an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship comes in many forms, and we all have our differing understandings of it. In essence, entrepreneurs are self-motivated, successful, risk takers who maximize their skills for profit (whether that be emotional, intellectual, or financial). You can be an entrepreneur who is independent of a larger company or you can even be what we call an intrapreneur. Intrapreneurship is the act of not only working for a larger entity, but taking control of your destiny, exercising your leadership, and navigating your way to job security, a paycheck, and a love for your work that fulfills your needs. Regardless of your leanings, this podcast will help you become successful in both author-entrepreneurship and author-intrapreneurship!
- How entrepreneurship essentially needs four things to be successful: passion, quality, visibility, and resourcefulness. The twelve tips I’m going to give you are going to ultimately fall under one of these four categories, and each one is just as important as the other!
- Passion, which is that innate desire or drive to do something. Usually passion just is, and whatever you are passionate about doing won’t feel like work. And on the days it does feel like work, you still love it so much that it is actually a labor of love. You enjoy and you feel fulfilled by it. I’ll discuss three tips on being an entrepreneur that fall under the theme of passion, including: 1. knowing yourself, 2. loving (or learning to love) what you do, and 3. dreaming big, thinking big, and turning those big dreams into action plans.
- Quality, which for me means increasing your personal worth as a professional, honing your skills, and being the best you can be in your fields. For both authors and entrepreneurs, quality is one of our biggest concerns. As authors, we want our book to be at its best, content-wise as well as presentation wise. As entrepreneurs in our particular fields of work, we also want to produce top quality product. I’ll discuss four tips on being an entrepreneur that fall under the theme of quality, including: 4. putting yourself in the way of opportunities to learn and grow, 5. honing your skills and looking for places to improve, and 6. mimicking success, finding mentors, and most importantly, surrounding yourself with positive people, and 7. learning how to package and market yourself as a professional. Check out an example of how I market my skills at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/colbyrrice
- Visibility, which means not only putting yourself in the sight of others, but also increasing your own sight. You should learn who is in your field, what companies and business entities are specializing in your area, and what the current issues of your craft and field are. Learn the lay of the land, join social herds, and participate in the issues and conversations of the day. I’ll discuss four tips on being an entrepreneur that fall under the theme of visibility, including: 8. not waiting for permission to be who or what you want to be (because you’ll be waiting for a long time), 9. using social networking and the internet to your advantage, and 10. finding a market that needs you (SO IMPORTANT!)
- Resourcefulness, which I also like to call “the hustle”. Being resourceful means finding innovative solutions to your challenges, both on the day-to-day level as well as for the long-term. Being a tactician and seeing the full potential and benefit in every learning situation is key to being a resourceful and successful author-entrepreneur. I’ll discuss four tips on being an entrepreneur that fall under the theme of resourcefulness, including: 11. learning how to manage your time wisely, or in other words, don’t forget to WRITE!, 12. thinking creatively and learning to turn your various skills into streams of income, and finally, 13. knowing your resources, knowing your surroundings, asking questions, and becoming an observer.
- And to end, here’s a motto that I think you should think about: Always act and exist in the spirit of abundance but plan in the spirit of survival, even when things are going well.
I hope you found this helpful! 🙂 What else would you recommend for becoming a successful author-entrepreneur? Are there some things that you have done that you believe work but aren’t on this list? If so, please drop a line and share!
In the meantime, keep it indie, and remember, dolls set the trend!
<3 Colby