Pamphleteering: Finding your voice

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, once the printing press had become more common, there was a self-publishing phenomenon. Books, yes, but from what I understand a great deal of pamphlets, or what we might understand as articles, white papers, and booklets.

For political purposes. For scientific glory. For vanity. For scandal.

Great titles like "The Migratory Habits of the Peruvian Mudhatch, Modestly Proposed by a Gentleman."

The means of publishing had become accessible enough that people were willing to fork over some money in exchange for getting their ideas in print.

We are obviously going through a similar phenomenon today.

80,000 blogs are apparently being created everyday. That's a lot of people with something to say. Of course, most will not rise about the digital noise to be heard, but many will, and more could. I daresay the gentleman who would write something like The Migratory Habits wasn't intending on all of London reading his pamphlet. In fact, if he was smart, he was probably hoping for a few key scientists, natural philosophers, and nobles and merchants with money to read it. He probably had a target audience.

It is a wonderous time. Our ability to broadcast what is on our mind is an opportunity.

I wonder whether we are at a peak in popularity for self-publishing, or whether this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

How can you use this opportunity to develop your career? What do you have to say? Is it going to be more and more of a requirement as things develop or will it stay a nice to have for a small sub-set of the market?

I don't know. As you can see, I have been at it, broadcasting my message, my ideas, my voice for close to 4 years now here at BoldCareer. it is an integral part of what I do.

How about you?

• Build and maintain a personal online portfolio


• Explore your area of expertise


• Develop you interest in your professional area, even becoming a thought leader, or influencer


• Start conversations. Conversations that help, or support, or provoke debate.


• Be a hub for something you are passionate about.

This just scratches the surface. Of course, I am thinking of writing here. But the same goes for giving presentations. Bringing people together for real-time conversations. And on.

Your voice. Your message.

Interesting possibilities, Modestly Proposed, of course.

Sign-up for the Portfolio Career Teleclass

Back in March, I wrote about the Portfolio Career, a strategy that you might employ if you want the independence and flexibility of self-employment, without the risk of full-scale entrepreneurship.

Based on the positive response to that article, and the fact that I am working on this strategy with some of my clients, I have created a 90-minute teleclass to provide an introduction to this strategy. Learn more about the Portfolio Career Teleclass.

The fun and headache of a new laptop

Once in a while, life throws you roadmarks - signs that allow you to measure your progress. Something happens that reminds you of the passing of time since the last time the same thing happened.

I bought my new laptop this weekend, sticking with the same one I had before - the amazing Apple Powerbook G4 15”. It really is a great system, with lots of hardware improvements over my previous model.

Thinking about it this morning, it was a sign of the development of my solopreneur business (a good sign) that I am focused on getting it working, and not playing around. A few years back when I bought my previous system, I had the time to play with it. Yes of course, it was a business tool, but being honest, a really nice toy as well. This time around, I do not have that time. My business has grown, and the value of my time has increased. Of course I notice the cool features (two finger scrolling on the track pad!), but I have to get this up and running as efficiently as possible. I have clients to serve. Products and services to develop. Articles to write. And a family and personal life to enjoy.

So, I was delighted to try the Mac to Mac file transfer with firewire cables yesterday. It saved me a lot of hours. I wish I could say it was perfect. One essential, but complicated program I use didn’t like the transfer and will not start-up. My goal of being up and fully functioning this AM did not pan out. I will get it sorted.

The cool thing, going back to the roadmarks, is that working on my business is a funner, more satisfying endeavor that playing with a new tech toy. Now that’s cool!

The core challenge of self-employment

This is my 2nd time around in the ranks of the self-employed.

The first was very successful. I sold the business. In between, I also had the great privilege of managing Monster.com’s self-employment / free agent market. Talk about interesting times. For the last 18 months, I have been working on my 2nd venture.

I can tell you from experience, that the ultimate challenge of self-employment is managing yourself.
*How effectively & efficiently you use your time
*Focus
*Determination, persistence and vision
*Self-confidence and how you come across with those you interact with
*Energy
*Knowledge
*Wearing many, many hats

When you think about it, no matter how simple the business model you are pursuing, it is an incredibly complex equation. Most of us fail, apparently. And the latest statistics show that the self-employed earn far less than the employed, on average.

I relish the challenge, and the freedom, and the opportunity. But, it isn’t easy, and at times, it seems frightfully impossible. It takes immense faith and persistence to stay the course. And sacrifice.

And yet, I recommend it highly - if you have the stomach for it. The rewards can be immense.

Bold Career is a good place to get encouragement and practical tools to be successful self-employed. Be certain to subscribe to our free resources or if you would like some help from me, let me know. Good luck!