Wherever I go, there I work (and play)

I have no idea how to accurately title this post. Last night I was going through some of the amazing videos on Vimeo’s Documentary channel and came across this one. Just watch it (it’s about 5 minutes long) and comment back with any words you can think of to describe it.

Whatever you’d call this, it inspires me to ignore temporary or even permanent setbacks in pursuit of an end goal. Kudos to Sean Mullens for a well-done mini-documentary.

“It’s not a pink slip. It’s a blank page”

Last night I finally sat down and watched “Lemonade,” a documentary about several different advertising professionals who were laid off by their respective agencies and used the opportunity to focus on turning their passions into careers. The 35-minute film itself was produced by one of the professionals in the film.

If you have any entrepreneurial spirit whatsoever (which I think many of you do), you need to see this film. Whether or not you have a job with an employer, the spirit and passion that these people used to turn a seemingly negative situation into motivation to succeed at their own venture is incredibly inspirational.

It’s a quick film (35 minutes), but it packs a lot of punch. It’s almost like watching a film version of Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It,” which is a short book but really pumps you up to chase your passions. I think there are so many different stories in the film that you’re bound to relate to at least one of the featured individuals. The guy who created the film itself started a blog/job board for laid-off advertising pros called Please Feed the Animals, and I found myself really relating to him. Now, I haven’t been laid off before, but I am passionate about blogging and video.

My Response

One thing my wife and I discussed after viewing this: People with a marketing background definitely have a leg-up when it comes to starting their own venture and making it known to the world. Many of them are web-savy and know how people respond to various approaches of advertising. Many times the business ideas are the easy part. It’s getting the ideas/products out to the general public that takes the most creative muscle.

With that in mind, one of the things I’ve recently started doing in my spare time is starting “mini-businesses.” These are basically products/services for which I can create an entire web presence in a day or less. I’m also looking at offering this type of service to clients (especially startups like the folks in this film, but not necessarily advertising pros) through yet another mini-business.

I’ve been doing some video documentation on this process, so be sure to come back soon for details on how I’ve been starting these mini-businesses in a rapid deployment manner. I’m a big proponent of throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. This is my attempt at forcing myself to do it on a regular basis.

Two Thumbs Up

I definitely recommend seeing this short film. In fact, you can watch in right now, right here! Here’s an embed of the full-film from Hulu:

Take the time to watch this film, be inspired, and then report back with your thoughts. If you’ve seen it already, what did you think?

SPOILER ALERT: One featured individual used his layoff as an opportunity to turn himself into a woman, but I’m guessing most of you won’t go down that path.

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• Lemonade: a short film about creative unemployment (core77.com)

I recently came across this video on a YouTube channel for EmployAid.  Some good content on how to talk with your boss about a possible telecommute arrangement, but even better acting. Enjoy!

Apologies for the lack of posts here on AnywhereMan this week. Projects, Christmas preparations, and family have been consuming my time. I hope that your holiday plans are going well, everyone!

I love that I get to live where I do.

Winter isn’t my favorite time of the year, but on days like the one when I filmed this, it sure is beautiful. I also like being able to adjust my work schedule to work on building new skills, such as filming and editing.

I’m a freelancer. I’m also a husband and a father.  My wife stays at home with our kids and she’s a great mom. Sometimes she needs to get out of the house to get groceries, take pictures, or go for a run. It’s been nice for her that I’m usually at home to keep an eye on the kids so she doesn’t need to load them up and bring them with. 

I know that many of you are parents, and if your kids are pre-school age, this is yet another advantage of the Work Anywhere lifestyle.  While working from home definitely has its negative aspects, being available as a part-time daycare provider has been a good thing.

Obviously my kids agree. I’m like a human jungle gym.

NOTE: Sorry about the crappy audio on this one again. The level meter says I’m okay, but something is distorting the signal. Might be time for a clip on mic.

I posted this quote by Epictetus on my Twitter account today just as a reminder of how so much of life is how we react and adapt to the situations thrown at us.  The more I think about it, the more I see this can really be applied to our lives as Anywhere People as well. 

In these days of crappy economies, bailouts, and layoffs (in the USA at least), many people are being thrown into situations where they are out of a job and are forced to do what they can to pay their bills and earn a living.  I agree with what the folks at Outright call it on one of their blogs: “Unintentional Entrepreneur”.  That about sums it up perfectly!

Many people out there are without jobs right now. As a freelancer, I often feel as if I have to find a new “job” every month in the form of a new project or new client.  But getting discouraged NEVER does any good. Sure, millions of people are totally getting the short end of the stick right now, and we should voice our displeasure with these things. However, look forward: You STILL have abilities, skills, talents, aptitudes, creativity, etc. 

I honestly believe that the best kind of innovation comes in the form of grass-roots entrepreneurial movements.  Focus! Innovate! Create! Do what you do best, do it some more, and you’ll figure out how to make money doing it.

I echo Gary Vaynerchuk’s sentiments exactly: Wipe the tears away, get out there, and Crush It!

Let’s make the move from corporate-driven back to entrepreneur-driven economies.