It's 2016 people! How did we get here so quickly?
I can still vividly remember the very first time I browsed the web. It was the
early 2000s and I thought I'd never manage to tame that mouse that
wanted to run all over the screen. It took me forever to find a single letter on
the keyboard and a whole hour to write few sentences. The whole experience
was both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.
I was always a little bit sceptical of new technology. I thought the Internet was
for geeks, who didn't have friends and that I would never need to use it when I
enter the workforce, so I wasn't too excited about it.
Fast forward 14 years and the Internet is the reason I now have work in the
first place and I couldn't wish for a better career. We, millennials, are the first
generation in history that have grown up immersed in a world of digital
technology. It’s now so embedded into our everyday life and work, that we
can't imagine being without it.
If you think about it, we use web for literally everything: information, research,
communication, work, shopping, making friends, dating, entertainment and
income generation. All you need is Wifi and an online presence.
Internet has lead the way to a more equal playing field in the western world.
Everyone on the web can be a content producer and a participant at the same
time. Social media has given more people a voice to discuss even unpopular
ideas in a safe space. And that's something that has never happened before.
It has taken democracy to the next level.
Your personal website or blog is the most important asset in your professional
life. Web is often the only place people can find out about you and buy from
you.
There are so many ways to profit from your passions and generate income
online. If you are currently unfulfilled in your office job or curious to see
whether you could be your own boss, why not start something that gives you
a true purpose, joy and the sense of achievement?
It can be anything from one off project, a small side-business, or a simple
blog. You don't have to have a long-term plan. You just need to start and see
where it takes you. Don't wait until you're ready, because you will never be
ready. An idea at rest, tends to stay at rest. The longer it stays sitting, the less
likely it ever it to come to fruition (“Idea inertia” - concept of physics). The idea
is too precious to waste.
Don't wait until you know who you are to get started. If I'd waited to know who
I was or what I was about before is started, well, I'd still be sitting around
waiting instead of making things. It's the act of making things and doing work
that we figure out who we are.
Ask anybody doing creative work and they tell you they don't know where the
good stuff comes from. They just show up and do their thing.
I can still vividly remember the very first time I browsed the web. It was the
early 2000s and I thought I'd never manage to tame that mouse that
wanted to run all over the screen. It took me forever to find a single letter on
the keyboard and a whole hour to write few sentences. The whole experience
was both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.
I was always a little bit sceptical of new technology. I thought the Internet was
for geeks, who didn't have friends and that I would never need to use it when I
enter the workforce, so I wasn't too excited about it.
Fast forward 14 years and the Internet is the reason I now have work in the
first place and I couldn't wish for a better career. We, millennials, are the first
generation in history that have grown up immersed in a world of digital
technology. It’s now so embedded into our everyday life and work, that we
can't imagine being without it.
If you think about it, we use web for literally everything: information, research,
communication, work, shopping, making friends, dating, entertainment and
income generation. All you need is Wifi and an online presence.
Internet has lead the way to a more equal playing field in the western world.
Everyone on the web can be a content producer and a participant at the same
time. Social media has given more people a voice to discuss even unpopular
ideas in a safe space. And that's something that has never happened before.
It has taken democracy to the next level.
Your personal website or blog is the most important asset in your professional
life. Web is often the only place people can find out about you and buy from
you.
There are so many ways to profit from your passions and generate income
online. If you are currently unfulfilled in your office job or curious to see
whether you could be your own boss, why not start something that gives you
a true purpose, joy and the sense of achievement?
It can be anything from one off project, a small side-business, or a simple
blog. You don't have to have a long-term plan. You just need to start and see
where it takes you. Don't wait until you're ready, because you will never be
ready. An idea at rest, tends to stay at rest. The longer it stays sitting, the less
likely it ever it to come to fruition (“Idea inertia” - concept of physics). The idea
is too precious to waste.
Don't wait until you know who you are to get started. If I'd waited to know who
I was or what I was about before is started, well, I'd still be sitting around
waiting instead of making things. It's the act of making things and doing work
that we figure out who we are.
Ask anybody doing creative work and they tell you they don't know where the
good stuff comes from. They just show up and do their thing.
Your side projects matter to employers, too
I believe what you do on the side will create your next job opportunity. And
employers like it, too.
It used to be that employees were rewarded by showing up on time, tangible
deliveries, and paying attention to deadlines. Now employers want to see a
history of side projects, starting a business, failing at business, but most
importantly - learning from those experiences. Employers want well-rounded
business savvy characters with a passion to go for things they love.
The future is about multiplying your skills and streams of income, not focusing
on just one. Because if you're reasonably intelligent, being employed at one
role is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself. There are far
better ways to make a living than selling yourself to a company by an hour.
If your time is your money, you will never have enough of, well, both – time
and money. There are only 16 waking hours in the day, there's only so much
you can do in 8-10 hours of them working.
If your dream is to eventually have location independence and comfortable
income and you currently trade 100% of your time by an hour, it's going be
difficult for you to create time freedom and build the life you want.
9 to 5 in an office is not the natural order of things, especially in the Internet
era, where we have technology that allows us to work anywhere, any time.
Are you taking advantage of the Internet? Are you afraid of uncertainty and
failure? People get hung up by some of the technical steps that are involved
in putting together a website or an online business. Heck, if you have a high
school education, you can figure this out. Building a website is dead easy
with drag and drop website builder Weebly and it's free. When it comes to
failure, my suggestion is to start small, enjoy the journey and keep your full
time job or go part time. Because if the stakes aren't high, there's nowhere to
fall.
The 27 year old friends behind Whistle & Bango said that launching their
business in London was only possible because they chose to do it solely
online. After building out their Weebly e-commerce site they began shipping
their bespoke British bangles all over the world. Whistle & Bango is a side
business and a passion project two girls run from home.
“It's important to keep an agile approach and open mind about all areas of
business, you can't plan too much ahead, start small, because things can
change. And once you persist and learn, more opportunities come your way”
says Rosie, co-founder of Whistle & Bango.
For everyone thinking of starting a business she recommends to try, fail, learn
and improve. “You don't need a lot of cash if you're willing to learn 'how to'
yourself.”
One thing that I really learned in my career: it's the side-projects that take off!
By side project I mean the stuff that you thought was just messing around.
Stuff that's just play. That's actually the good stuff. That's when the magic
happens.
We live in the world where ordinary people become extraordinary by following
their dreams. 2016 is a very special time to be alive. It’s the best time to be an
opportunist: someone who sees a creative opportunity, grabs it with both
hands and gives it a try. Because starting is half the battle.
employers like it, too.
It used to be that employees were rewarded by showing up on time, tangible
deliveries, and paying attention to deadlines. Now employers want to see a
history of side projects, starting a business, failing at business, but most
importantly - learning from those experiences. Employers want well-rounded
business savvy characters with a passion to go for things they love.
The future is about multiplying your skills and streams of income, not focusing
on just one. Because if you're reasonably intelligent, being employed at one
role is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself. There are far
better ways to make a living than selling yourself to a company by an hour.
If your time is your money, you will never have enough of, well, both – time
and money. There are only 16 waking hours in the day, there's only so much
you can do in 8-10 hours of them working.
If your dream is to eventually have location independence and comfortable
income and you currently trade 100% of your time by an hour, it's going be
difficult for you to create time freedom and build the life you want.
9 to 5 in an office is not the natural order of things, especially in the Internet
era, where we have technology that allows us to work anywhere, any time.
Are you taking advantage of the Internet? Are you afraid of uncertainty and
failure? People get hung up by some of the technical steps that are involved
in putting together a website or an online business. Heck, if you have a high
school education, you can figure this out. Building a website is dead easy
with drag and drop website builder Weebly and it's free. When it comes to
failure, my suggestion is to start small, enjoy the journey and keep your full
time job or go part time. Because if the stakes aren't high, there's nowhere to
fall.
The 27 year old friends behind Whistle & Bango said that launching their
business in London was only possible because they chose to do it solely
online. After building out their Weebly e-commerce site they began shipping
their bespoke British bangles all over the world. Whistle & Bango is a side
business and a passion project two girls run from home.
“It's important to keep an agile approach and open mind about all areas of
business, you can't plan too much ahead, start small, because things can
change. And once you persist and learn, more opportunities come your way”
says Rosie, co-founder of Whistle & Bango.
For everyone thinking of starting a business she recommends to try, fail, learn
and improve. “You don't need a lot of cash if you're willing to learn 'how to'
yourself.”
One thing that I really learned in my career: it's the side-projects that take off!
By side project I mean the stuff that you thought was just messing around.
Stuff that's just play. That's actually the good stuff. That's when the magic
happens.
We live in the world where ordinary people become extraordinary by following
their dreams. 2016 is a very special time to be alive. It’s the best time to be an
opportunist: someone who sees a creative opportunity, grabs it with both
hands and gives it a try. Because starting is half the battle.
By Tanya Korobka Tanya is a blogger at Lucky Attitude - the UK's only Millennial workplace blog with a mission to revolutionize the way we work for the better. |