business : The Art of Non-Conformity

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How to Get Paid for What You Love

I'm no consultant, but from time to time (as in, several times a day) people ask for my opinion about building some kind of online business. I'm happy to give $0.02 for whatever it's worth, and I'm sure there are times when it's not worth more than that.

How can you do something you love and make a good living from it? Much of my Unconventional Guides business is devoted to answering this question in one way or another. And as discussed before, often when we ask for advice, we don't really want advice—we want someone to say “That's great! Go for it!”

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Starting Over

The question comes up a lot: "If you were starting over with this project, what would you do differently?"

In my case, I probably wouldn't put the domain on chrisguillebeau.com. If you have chrisg.com, that works—but Chris Garrett got to that one first, and for some reason, a lot of people have a hard time with Guillebeau. Oh well.

I would try to have a better understanding of my readers from the beginning, instead of waiting 6-12 months to figure it out. And I would have an agenda and a clear message of what kind of change I was trying to create.

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What’s Your Message? Why Not Share It?

Greetings from Burlington, Vermont. After today, I have a few days home in Portland, Oregon, then I'll set out to visit the midwest and Great Lakes region starting next week. In this (very windblown) video update, I talk about social media and why if you're trying to build a platform, you should talk about yourself more than others. Stay with me, because this idea is definitely contrarian to the conventional wisdom.

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How to Conduct Your Own Business Audit

Last week I headed out for the Sunday morning long run, and my legs decided not to cooperate. After four miles, it was time to pack it in. Bummer—so I tried again a few days ago. The same thing happened ... almost. At mile four I was ready to quit. Through an act of God and the new Josh Ritter album, I managed to pull it out and keep going. At mile six I was feeling great, and as I headed home, I was glad I didn't quit. Eleven miles for the win!

Life

Site Update: June-July 2010

Greetings once again from the homeland, also known as Portland, Oregon.

I haven't been running as much as I'd like lately, but this morning I made it out to the Springwater Corridor for a fun 10 miles in great summer weather. All is well with the world once again.

~~Each month~~ once in a while I look back at what’s happened with AONC in the previous ~~month~~ two months. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here ...

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Motivation and Product Launches

For a few months I used this image as my laptop background. Why do you do the things you do? is always a good question to ask yourself, whether in business or in life. This is the Sunday Store Update, where I write about the business side of AONC. Earlier this week I had the quietest product launch in ~~world~~ AONC history. A few weeks beforehand, we took over the internet with a barrage of announcements and reviews for the Empire Building Kit.

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Life

Free Advice

Free advice is often worth less than the price. Much of the time, you already know what you need to do about something—you just need to do it.

Nevertheless, I hear a lot of things being repeated, and I get asked a lot of the same questions... so here's my less-than-$0.02 for anyone who cares. As the saying goes, take it or leave it.

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Empire Building Kit: Take III

Two months ago, the Empire Building Kit launched out into the world. Thirty days later, we did it again, in one crazy launch with 30+ partners. Today, it's going out again -- once and for all. As of today, the EBK will be permanently available on UnconventionalGuides.com. Empire building for everyone! Yay.

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Revenge of Empire Building – The Final Saga

Greetings, friends and readers.

I made it back to America after the latest Round-the-World journey. People sometimes ask how jet lag affects me as I roam from continent to continent. Here's the general rule, Twitter-style:

Jet lag day 1 = zzzz. Day 2 = worst day! Day 3 = don't fall asleep! Day 4 = almost normal.

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Abundance vs. Scarcity, “Fun Shopping Cart Messages” Edition

Greetings from Frankfurt airport... or actually the skies between Europe and Africa, as I should be southbound to Equatorial Guinea when this goes out. Let the record show I'm in the back of the Lufthansa aircraft on this trip, with a bonus “wait-on-the-plane-an-extra-two-hours” stopover in Abuja. Sometimes even travel ninjas go long-haul Economy Class, when no upgrades are available.

This is the Sunday Store Update, where I look at some brief news about the business side of AONC ...

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Empire Building Kit, Take Two

Greetings from the home base in Portland, Oregon. I've got a big French press filled to the brim with Stumptown coffee, and I'm settling in for a long day in front of the MacBook.

And ... the Empire Building Kit has now returned! (Insert your preferred trumpet blast here.)

Life

Site Update: April-May 2010

I've often recommended the Waffle Window to people visiting Portland. It's still high on my list, but now I have another recommendation: Slappy Cakes. At this crazy place, you pay to make your own pancakes on a grill built into your table. I know it sounds weird—pay money to make your own breakfast, then tip the server who brings you the batter—but it works. Check it out the next time you come to World Domination HQ.

~~Each month~~ once in a while I look back at what’s happened with AONC in the previous ~~month~~ two months. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here.

Travel

Site Update: March 2010

Greetings from home base in the great Portland, Oregon. I've just returned from my first trip to Asia of 2010. The February trip was quite intense. First, I went to two faraway island groups: Papua New Guinea and the Maldives. I'm glad I made it, because they are both fairly time-consuming to get to. However, it's also true that flying to islands can sometimes present challenges ...

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Lessons Learned from the $100 Business Launch

Greetings from World Domination HQ in Portland, Oregon. After visiting the South Pacific recently, I’m happy to be home for several weeks before the next trip. This is the Sunday Store Update, where I share a quick update on the business side of AONC. Here’s this week’s important business lesson ...

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How to Conduct an Online Survey

As I mentioned in last week's survey invitation, when you’re trying to build a business, blog, non-profit, or pretty much any venture, regularly checking in with your peeps is an important way to make sure you know who they are and what they want.

This is especially important when it comes to a) transition points in the growth of your community, or b) product development at any time. Surveys allow you to take the pulse of a large group of people in a short period of time -- and because of how sampling works, you don't actually need to hear from all of them to know what most of them are thinking.

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