171 Comments
Over the next two weeks, I'll be touring India and then traveling elsewhere in the world. While I'm away, we'll be publishing a new series of Questions and Attempted Answers (Q&AA) from readers. I'll share my answer, and you're invited to share an answer of your own as well ...
Read More
Greetings from Hong Kong. I made it in from Vancouver last night and will be flying on to Mumbai shortly to begin the first leg of an extended tour in India. I'm very excited about this trip. I haven't been to India in many years—in fact, the last time I was there was right after I started writing this blog way back in 2008. This is also my first experience in presenting the ideas and stories from The $100 Startup to a crowd that is primarily cross-cultural. I don't expect that everything from the U.S. or “the western world” applies elsewhere, and I try to position myself as a learner. At the same time, however, I also believe that the ability to start a successful microbusiness and earn a good living on your own is increasingly becoming universal.
Read More
Let's do this one more time, because it's important. Micro-entrepreneurship is changing the world. The best opportunities in the new economy are centered on creating your own assets. It doesn't matter who wins the U.S. election this fall, at least not in terms of how the economy affects you. No matter what happens, the unemployment rolls will continue to be full. Perhaps even worse, many people will remain underemployed by working at jobs that offer few benefits and little opportunities for advancement.
Read More
28 Comments
I'm back on the road to meet readers of The $100 Startup! After a summer break where I hosted WDS 2012 with a great team, traveled to Yemen and Congo, and began work on an upcoming business project, I'm glad to be hanging out with readers again and talking about freedom almost every night. If you've read the book already, you might recognize the great illustrations that accompany the text. These were created by Mike Rohde, a Milwaukee-based artist.
Read More
Happy Labor/Labour Day! If you're in the U.S. or Canada, I hope you're enjoying the holiday. Everyone else, enjoy the lull in traffic while many people in North America are offline doing other things. As for me, I'm heading back out on the road, flying down to San Diego today and then around the U.S. for a few more tour stops over the next two weeks ...
Read More
Awesome people of The $100 Startup event: San Francisco, Tuesday, May 29th
Greetings from Santa Cruz, California—soon heading down to Los Angeles for a book reading party at Vroman's bookstore tonight.
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. The $100 Startup launched as an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. We've sold 30,000 copies in the first three weeks and plan to reach many more people over the next few months with the message of freedom and value.
Read More
22 Comments
Greetings, friends and readers. This week I'll be in Milwaukee and Columbus, then flying over to London for the first international stop of the new tour. I hope to see many of you on the road! Dates and schedule here.
Read More
Greetings, friends and readers. I've been on the road for 10 days, meeting people in 7 cities and counting so far.
We kicked things off in New York City with a great crowd.
The next day I rode Amtrak up to Boston for a return visit to the Harvard Coop, where I was 18 months ago for The Art of Non-Conformity tour.
Read More
One week down, many weeks to go. I've met 700 people on the $100 Startup tour so far, and looking forward to seeing many more.
This week: Chapel Hill, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, and Denver.
And have I mentioned ... THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I'm extremely grateful.
Read More
45 Comments
The book is out, and I'm on the road!
The launch party in New York was extremely fun. Last night I was in Boston at the Harvard Coop, and tonight I'm heading down to Washington, DC. We're hitting a new city almost every day for the next four weeks. Tour dates here. And by the way ... THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! It's going very well so far, and we hope to keep it going for a long time.
Read More
Greetings from midtown Manhattan, where a large amount of coffee is about to be consumed in a corner room at the Doubletree hotel.
Today is the day.
After three years of research and writing, it's finally here.
The $100 Startup is going out to the world!
Read More
58 Comments
Greetings from East 42nd Street in New York City. I'm here to begin a new journey as The $100 Startup goes out to the world tomorrow. Here are a few notes on the early beginnings. It all started back in 2009. I had established the blog and began a new way of life: writing for a living. Or mostly, writing because it was what I wanted to do more than anything else ...
Read More
If you're trying to figure out what you're good at, or trying to start a business for the first time, there's a simple strategy that will help.
Start by listening.
Pay attention to what people ask you about. Chances are, there's something you're good at that other people want to learn.
Read MoreOver the past six months, my video mastermind Wes Wages has been traveling the country on behalf of The $100 Startup. Along the way he met with several of the people in the book to document their stories ...
Emily Cavalier left a six-figure job in New York to run Mouth of the Border and Midnight Brunch. Michael Hanna was unemployed and started an unconventional mattress store that offers delivery by bicycle. Sarah Young founded a yarn shop at the height of the recession. She now employs seven people. In the video she talks about calling her dad after having her first $1,000 day. Last month, she had her first $10,000 day.Read More
Home for a month before setting out on a new adventure, I resolve to make some changes in my life. It starts with exercise. I'm a committed runner, a casual yogi, a beginning swimmer, and every week or so I head to the gym for an unfocused session of strength training. In other words, it's too random—so I resolve to change it up.
Read More