An Innovative "Woo Ha" of an Idea
I've been an entrepreneur all my life. I had a paper route starting at age 9. I fancied myself a photographer, so I saved my route money, bought camera, lights, and backdrop and marketed myself to my paper route customers. I charged those poor people $100 for a sitting, plus development! I was 10-years-old! At the same time, I tied flies (as in fly fishing, it was north-northern California) and sold them for $4 a dozen. I house-sat, dog-walked, wrote newsletter copy in the ninth grade, and started teaching piano at age 16 (I was a pianist until age 30). I hired myself out as a music director during college and self-produced two CDs and planned and "starred" in two national summer tours. During college I started a performing arts school and then rolled it into a nonprofit and appointed a board of directors.Since then, I've worked for my share of corporate cogs -- starting out in the arts and ending up, by some miracle (or disaster) as a corporate executive recruiter for one of the nation's most prestigious executive search firms.
What the hell?
After 30, I buttoned myself up -- living the good corporate boys' life and playing by the rules. The trouble was that along the way I found myself more interested in looking at Ferragamos under the table than anything else. I was an actor -- absorbing what I needed to succeed in my play world. I was in my own verison of "How To Success In Business Without Really Trying."
Now, of course, I take that corporate experience and give advice to those who are still in the rat race. I run a resume writing Web site, which offers top notch resumes for folks looking to get ahead, make a career change, or just get the hell out. I teach them that it's all in how they spin their web.
I love my resume writing -- and my other ventures. But I'm always on the lookout for new, entrepreneurial business ideas ... because I'm a geek that way. Home massage? Grocery delivery through the Internet? I recently found what I thought was a brilliant idea -- and if I wasn't already up to my eyeballs in multiple small business ventures myself, I'd consider it.
It's a newly coined term called "Virtual Assistant." I'm even thinking about using one, what with meetings here and there, services and products to deliver on time, and not enough hours in the day.
Entrepreneur.com (yes, I also buy the magazine to read while multi-tasking on the treadmill, like the fanatical partner I used to work for back in the day in New York who called from her treadmill barking orders about this or that) covers a great emerging idea -- virtual assistant! Is it really new? Well, it's new to me and I've to tell everyone about it. Either to use one or become one! The article covers virtual assistant certification and even virtual assistant job placement. Who knew?
For anyone considering an entrepreneurial idea -- if you have half a brain -- skip the dog walking, jump on past "What Color Is Your Parachute" (great book, btw, but you'll probably actually never read it), and consider becoming a virtual assistant. I just might hire you!
posted by Jay @ 10:32 PM
1 Comments:
I'm sure you enjoyed it. Too bad I don't have ANY NEED OR DESIRE TO LOOK AT WEDDING GIFTS!
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