Depression-proof your career: work for yourself online
The New York Times hit me with a jolt this morning -- apparently if the pandemic lockdown in the U.S. goes on until summer, social scientists estimate that the unemployment rate could reach 25%, the same percentage as during the Great Depression.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh.
My friends and family members who worked in restaurants, small shops, and movie theaters have all already lost their jobs -- and I feel very grateful to be able to help them financially through this time.
Not only am I very grateful, I'm a little bit giddy to get a chance to be the Big Mama kind of feudal leader I always wanted to be.
But my fantasies of fiefdom aside...
This economic situation is grim, my heart aches when I ponder the devastation.
And also:
I think this can be a beautiful, galvanizing moment for many people who have long put off starting or growing their own businesses.
Huh? What?
What kind of business can you start when you're stuck at home and you hardly have any cash?
Well, in 2013 I started building my online teaching and coaching business while homeless for over a year (thank you, kind friends with couches!) and earning about $500 - $1500 a month as a freelance resume writer for illiterate Coca Cola executives.
Literally, I was sitting on the same couch where I slept, coaching people and posting to my blog and social media from my old laptop with a broken keyboard.
In the morning while my friends were at work I would coach clients, then I'd go to the coffee shop to write and make lousy resumes, then I'd spend the evening crying because I was almost thirty, broke and alone.
What right did I have to be coaching people while my own life was in shambles?
Well, arguably, none.
But even while living on friends' couches, eating dumpster-dived food, and typing on a badly broken keyboard, I still knew how to ask mind-blowing questions and help people navigate out of their unconscious limitations... (it's always easier to help others, I was slower in helping myself, lol)....
... so my clients got great results, they gave me fantastic testimonials, and then those testimonials and referrals attracted other clients, and I built from there.
Of course, not everyone wants to be a coach.
What other kinds of service-based businesses can you build online with just a barely-functional keyboard, some skills at creating transformational results for other people, and a dream?
The list is bigger than you might think... here's some that jump to the top of mind, in no particular order:
Graphic Designer
Book Whisperer / Editor
Parenting Consultant
Illustrator / painter of people's pets and children
Teacher of... just about anything! Languages, music, cooking, technology skills, fitness, etc.
Hypnotist
Video / Podcast Editor
Bookkeeper
Copywriter
Spellcaster / Conjure Worker
Herbalist / Holistic Health Mentor
Virtual Assistant (so many stripes of this - personal assistants, administrative assistants, customer service assistants)
Astrologer / Tarot Reader (the divination business jumps during uncertain times!)
.... and more.
There's probably something I just named on that list that you already have deep skills with.
I mean, think about it.
Let's say you've lost your job recently, or you're holding on to a job you don't particularly like.
Even if unemployment does tragically sky-rocket to Great Depression levels as a result of this pandemic shut down -- that means 75% of people will still be employed, and they'll still want to buy services online.
In fact, they'll want to buy services online more than ever before, because people will still likely be wary of much in-person socializing for quite awhile even after lockdown restrictions get lifted.
Will you be there to provide those services, or will you be waiting for rescue? From who? The government? Another employer?
Why wait? Why not take matters into your own hands, dig deep into your soul, and find a way to give to the world what you've always wanted to give?
I mean, let's be honest: even in the best of economic times, most jobs suck.
In fact, you're always in business for yourself, you're always selling your labor and time, and having a job is just the most limiting form of business that you could possibly be doing with your labor and time.
Even if you have a relatively fancy job, like being a doctor or a lawyer... you could still help more people, earn more money, and create a more sovereign life if you leveraged your skills into an independent practice or a scaleable company rather than working for someone else's organization.
Of course, creating employment for yourself by starting a service-based business online is a simple endeavor, but it's not easy.
Working for yourself takes determination, effort, and a lot of highly uncomfortable expansion of your belief in yourself and what's possible.
Oh, not to mention plenty of failure, humiliation, and confusion along the way.
In fact, this is why I tend to think that entrepreneurship is one of the most hardcore spiritual paths available - it involves so much ego-death!
That's one of the reasons my husband Taia and I created the WEALTH community: to provide a place where leaders can not only learn the kind of communication skills that grow awesome businesses, but also be excellently supported in their journeys and learn to overcome the primary hurdles we all face when expanding our work in the world:
fear of being seen as somehow bad
inner resistance to being highly valued and desired by others
feelings of self-doubt
My favorites ;)
Anyway, I have MUCH more to say on this topic, so stay tuned for more information and inspiration about growing an online audience and service-based business.
best,
Carolyn Elliott
author of Existential Kink: unmask your shadow and embrace your power
P.S. I'm having a blast with the founding members of the WEALTH community -- I'll be opening up registration again in May, more info to come. :)
