Last week I presented a scenario from one of our readers. Anna was recently laid off from a middle management job, and rather than look for work, she was hoping to become self-employed for the first time.

What are the first steps? she wanted to know. I said that I would share my answer, but first I wanted to hear from the rest of our community.

If you’re in a similar situation or are just curious, you can read some of the answers and see if any advice serves your needs. I’ve copied a few of my favorite responses below.

Derek said…

I think *THE MOST* important thing to working for yourself is to earn your first $100 to $500. That means that in the first few weeks, skip:

- Branding
- Buying business cards
- Establishing LLCs
- Complicated strategies
- Etc

Skip everything except things that will generate immediate cash. Why? Because the very first time you make tangible money as a freelancer or solo entrepreneur, it suddenly becomes a lot more real. You’re no longer just experiencing it as a dream or a hope, but you’re actually on track to making it happen.

Krishan said…

Create something — anything — and get it in front of a potential customer. If you think you want to help people with their taxes, create brochure. If you want to do arts and crafts, make something and post it on Etsy. If you want to start writing, start a blog on posterous and send it to all your friends via email and ask them subscribe and share it.

Michelle said…

The old cliche of do what you love and the money will follow, should actually read, “Share what you love and the money will follow.” It is through the sharing of what you love that value is brought into the world – the doing is only a fraction of the process. So I think you should focus not so much about what you’re going to do, but what you’re passionate about and how you can share that with the world.

Gene said…

What’s missing in your life? What are you looking for that you can’t find? That’s how Restoration Hardware was started. Someone who had a need and couldn’t find the goods they were looking. And it doesn’t have to be goods it can be services too.

Alain said…

Self employed for 20+ years. First thing you need is to be ABSOLUTELY comfortable with uncertainty. Regardless of what you decide to do, being self employed you will rarely know where the next few checks are coming from. You need to be real honest with yourself that you can deal with this. In twenty years of self employment [successful 6 figure hospitality consulting/lobbying] I rarely could tell where my money was coming from 90 days out. I simply did the work, persisted and it all worked out but the anxiety never left. Your partner, children, family, friends, bankers etc are usually not that accepting.

Brandon said…

Decide whether you want to be self-employed or if you want to own a business. There is a big difference. Either way can be the right way for individual people. But decide whether you are a solo individual providing a service (like writing, or graphic design, etc.) or whether you are creating a system where a product (or service) is being provided for customers, and you are the one who manages the system.

Heather said…

Unlike many other folks here, I’m not going to recommend you dig deeply into yourself and follow your heart. You need to create a business that meets your financial needs and rewards you with all the benefits of self-employment. Yes, you can create a business around your skills and interests, but at the end of the day it’s still a business and must be treated as such. You need your work, and you need your hobbies.

Our biased judges picked Derek as the winner of the $50 gift certificate from UnconventionalGuides.com. Thanks to everyone who shared advice!

My Thoughts

I’ve been self-employed for almost all of my adult life, a story I told in more detail in the AONC book. It wasn’t always a strategic process—in the beginning I was motivated primarily by the desire to avoid working for anyone else—but most of what I’ve learned in nearly 15 years of working for myself can be reduced to a few simple concepts.

My first step would be to figure out what I can offer that other people will buy. Everything comes down to this interaction. How can I create something that is both desirable and compelling?

People ask all the time about various technical things: “Which web host should I use? What’s an RSS feed? How can I accept online payments?” and so on. There’s nothing wrong with these questions, but they’re not what you should focus on when first learning about self-employment.

I made a short video about the distinction between strategy and tactics a while back. Simply put, you can always figure technical things out. When you’re not sure what to do about a technical issue, this site is a great resource. But there’s no website that will tell you exactly what kind of business you should run.

Instead, ask yourself questions like these:

What do I know how to make?

What do I know how to do?

Is there anything I can teach?

What skills do I have that are valued by others?

Your “first steps” should comprise of answering these questions, or at least thinking carefully about what to offer the world. You can then tackle the “next steps” of figuring out how to create a business model around the answers, how to craft an offer from your business model, how to get the word out about your offering, and everything else.

Note: We’ll soon be gearing up for the pre-sales of The $100 Startup, a book that has been in the making for more than two years. The book is all about this very subject—how to make a living doing something you love. I’ll be going on tour to 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada starting in May, then to other countries a bit later. Stay tuned!

We have a big community of people like Anna, as well as a lot of people who are already self-employed. I hope to do a better job of answering questions like the one we’ve looked at here, and also to facilitate more interaction between both groups.

But First, I’m Off to Nauru

This morning I’m leaving Brisbane, Australia to fly to Nauru, the world’s smallest republic. Long-time readers may remember that my previous attempt to visit Nauru was disrupted due to a visa problem which resulted in my first visit down under. I LOVE everything about Australia—we’re planning a whole tour down this way later in the year—and I’m also glad about finally getting to Nauru.

The world’s smallest republic is not known for high-speed internet access, so I’ll keep comments off on this post and we’ll resume them again later in the week when I’m back on the mainland.

See you all from the road!

###

Image: Robert

I said I was heading to the airport, and someone said they hate flying because of the TSA. “I just can’t stand to travel anymore!”

I said I was passing through LAX, and someone else said, “Ugh, LAX. What a mess.”

It’s OK, I told them, I have a one-night layover in the city before moving on to Asia.

“My sister lives there,” I heard, “and I don’t know how she stands it. The traffic is terrible!”

***

Gosh, flying is such a pain. You have to take your shoes off to go through security! Sometimes there’s even a queue to stand in. We should all give up and hand in our passports—it’s just not worth it anymore.

And yeah, Los Angeles is awful. All that 80 degree weather in February and all those beautiful people walking around. That Hollywood feeling that you could be anyone you wanted and achieve anything you dreamed of—so overrated. I told the aspiring actor who made my coffee that he should go back to the midwest.

Comfort zones are comfortable. But since I spend zero hours commuting to work at home, I wasn’t too worried about a long wait with traffic backed up on Santa Monica Boulevard.

I had my layover two streets over on Sunset. A union protest on the sidewalk greeted my arrival, with lots of marching and slogan-chanting, but happily it was also free wine hour inside.

After free wine and a power email session, I went to a diner and had a flashback. Fourteen months ago I sat at the same booth during the final stretch of the Unconventional Book Tour. That night I was with good friends at a tiny bookstore with a crowded house, then at the best afterparty of the whole tour, and finally at the diner for omelets and ice water long after midnight.

Mostly I like looking forward, but once in a while it’s nice to look back.

I paid the bill and walked back to the hotel. It was just 9pm, but I had a cup of herbal tea in my room instead of a rooftop pool drink. Old age setting in? Perhaps not just yet—I was flying to Tokyo in the morning, and wanted to get some rest in before changing eight time zones.

The next morning I enjoyed a nice breakfast (“Another dry cappuccino, sir?” Travel is so difficult!) and hopped a cab to LAX. Security wasn’t bad at all, and before I knew it… it was time to see the world again.

###

Image: Andy

Anna wrote in with a common question: how to get started working on your own?

I hear these questions a lot, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Despite the variations, most of them have a common theme. Here’s how Anna put it in her message, which I’m sharing with her permission:

I was recently laid off after working in a middle management position for the past four years. The layoff was sad, but not completely unexpected. The company has been losing money, and while I’d like to think I was irreplaceable, I know the truth is that they simply had to eliminate some positions.

My job was tolerable—I didn’t love it and didn’t hate it. I’m not opposed to going back into the workplace, but the job search is difficult. Many people are looking for work in my field, and some of them are much more experienced than me. I was making a good salary and might have to take a lower one if I was actually able to find a new job.

Besides, what I really want to do is work for myself. I want to find a way to create some kind of small business that pays the bills. I’m not trying to get rich, but I do like the idea of establishing my own security. I don’t know where to start, however. There are lots of things I’m excited about, from writing to making crafts to helping people with their taxes (I know, that’s weird), but I have no clue how to “monetize” these things.

I have a college degree in Psychology. I don’t have any debt except for a student loan that is low-interest and can be deferred for a while. I’m a fast learner and can afford to spend a few months without income while I’m starting up, but not much longer. What should I do?

I’ll share my advice to Anna in a forthcoming post… but first I’m wondering, what would you suggest?

What are the first things she should do to begin creating more self-reliance? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments.

Keep your advice as specific and helpful as possible, and remember: it’s not just Anna who wants to solve this for herself. LOTS of other people are thinking about the same things and looking for ideas.

###

Update: Thanks for the great input. We’ll announce the winner in a follow-up post within the next week.

*Free prize! Our biased judges will choose one answer from the comments and award a $50 gift certificate to UnconventionalGuides.com. All answers must be in by Wednesday at 9am PST.

Image: Matthew

This article doesn’t have much to do with travel hacking or unconventional work. And in fact, it will only apply to a minority of the people who read it.

If you’ve always had a great life and nothing truly unfair has ever happened to you, feel free to skip this one. There’s lots of other great reading out there elsewhere.

But for the rest of you—this one goes out to everyone who has had terrible things happen to them that weren’t their fault.

I had a list of examples here that I thought fit the subject. But then I took out the list, because who am I to judge what is terrible and what is just bad? In the end, only a person who has been victimized, abused, or otherwise harmed knows the degree to which they have been hurt.

So there are no examples, but if the shoe fits, you know what to do.

Good people, bad things—what’s up with that?

It seems that bad things and good people tend to go hand in hand, and when the two meet up, we naturally want to know why. It’s not fair, we say, as if this blunt observation could change anything.

Entire books, eulogies, and sermons have been devoted to this topic, and yet most of them arrive at the same conclusion: we don’t know why.

But the fact is that all too often, the weak enjoy a show of force over the strong. It gives them a sense of power that they are unable to achieve through legitimate means.

After become sidetracked from being hurt, some people fail to recover. They end up emotionally or spiritually paralyzed, unable to get beyond the hurt they feel even after a long amount of time.

I don’t believe there’s a 12-step program to fix this problem. If something like that works for you, great. But if not, here are a few other ideas.

1. Don’t be bitter; be neutral. What happened wasn’t OK, but bitterness will end up hurting you even more.

2. Reevaluate your life. Recovery is always a good time to look at what you’re doing and determine if you are finding fulfillment through it. Did something teach you that life is short? You’re a survivor for a reason, so make it count.

3. Do the things you were told you couldn’t do. If someone said you would never amount to anything, go and prove them wrong. Don’t do it for their attention, and don’t expect them to acknowledge it later. Do it for yourself.

4. Prove yourself wrong. Most people who have been sidetracked have allowed low expectations from someone else to come into their own life somewhere. You don’t need to prove anything to someone else, but prove yourself wrong and learn to set higher expectations.

5. Refuse to believe that you’ll never be truly OK. Why can’t you fully recover? Maybe you can, maybe you can’t, but don’t rule it out right from the start with the belief that you’ll always be a victim.

***

My favorite poem is Ithaca by Constantine Cavavy. I love it because the theme is pretty much Life, Work, and Travel. That guy was ahead of his time!

You can read the whole poem if you’d like, but here’s the introduction:

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

It’s time to say goodbye.

The Lestrygonians, the Cyclopes, the angry Poseidon, and those people who sidetracked your life—the way you avoid them, or at least get past them, is to refuse to carry them with you.

That’s why YOU will ultimately win, as long as you can let go of the people who will ultimately lose.

What you do with those people is really not that important. What’s more important is to figure out what to do with yourself; how you’ll change the world in spite of what happened.

You’ll know you’ve accomplished this when those people become irrelevant in your mind. You don’t hate them, you don’t love them—you just don’t care. Maybe you even feel a little sorry for them. In the end, you win because you’ve shown yourself to be stronger.

Often the people who have been hurt the most are the ones who go on to true greatness. They’ve seen the other side, and they’ll do anything to make something better for themselves and those around them.

The best news some of these people can hear is, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

What a crazy idea! Oh, and this is good too:

“I can be changed by what happened to me, but I refuse to be reduced to it.” -Maya Angelou

That’s all I have to say about that. We’ll return to travel hacking and general world domination next week.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to chime in if you’d like.

###

Image: Melomane
]]> http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/what-to-do-about-those-people/feed/ 46 http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/the-feeling-of-the-entire-day/ http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/the-feeling-of-the-entire-day/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:45:35 +0000 Chris Guillebeau http://chrisguillebeau.com/?p=6932

In JFK I got on the 16-hour Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. It was 3pm in the New York afternoon, and 3am in HKG—exactly halfway around the world.

The Boeing 777 took off, I had lunch, and I took a short nap.

I always set my watch to the destination time when boarding a flight, so it was now sunrise in Hong Kong… with 13 hours to go. What’s next?

I like long flights, but this was pushing it even for me. I had the whole day set out before me, with nowhere to go and nothing much to do except what I made for myself.

I ordered coffee and sparkling water, then set up shop and got to work on a series of tasks. By the time I arrived in Asia, I hoped to:

*Draft a blog post
*Draft a newspaper column
*Revive my desperate-action-needed Inbox from 300 to 75
*Review an upcoming writing project
*Decide on a business strategy for another upcoming project

I got down to work on these tasks and found fulfillment as I go through the list. I also watched half of a movie, which is all I can usually handle, and caught up on an important game of Kingdom Rush on my iPad.

The day in North America faded away as we began our flight across the Pacific, chasing the sun. The day in Asia went by and the sun finally disappeared outside my window.

Did I use this time well? Did I feel alive, and did I do something that mattered?

I remember watching the entire day unfold like this in other parts of the word. I remember the long bus rides through Africa that stretched out over hours that seem endless.

Sure, there are some obvious differences between African buses and Cathay Pacific Business Class. But there is so much similarity too. In either mode of transport, you wait. You keep waiting. And you wait some more.

One time I rode the bus through the night and into the next morning. The day after, the same disorienting feeling: another day passes by outside the window. We change borders and there’s a new stamp in my passport, but the world looks the same.

I feel this way on ferries, on trains, on long drives through the U.S. Always getting closer to something while putting distance behind something else.

But really, what is life but to love and to create? And to keep moving along, always choosing forward motion and never backtracking.

***

I staggered off the plane at 8pm local time. I still had another flight ahead of me, a three-hour hop to Bangkok, but first I sat on the floor of HKG airport and logged on to the world. Greetings, everyone.

My outbound messages lept into space and a flock of new ones swooped in, the yin-yang of email management.

When I walked to the lounge and prepared to board the flight, I was already moving on. Time to think about the next stop, the next project, the next level of the tower.

What are you working on over there?

###

Image: Paul

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had created a page on the site that lists current airline mileage credit card bonuses. With just a couple of new cards, you can earn 100,000 miles or more—and then book round-trip plane tickets all over the world.

Much to my surprise, card bonuses have continued to get better and better over the past couple of years. It’s never been easier to earn a large stash of points or miles that you can quickly convert to plane tickets and hotel stays.

I’ve now created a whole minisite to serve as a free resource for those who are interested. We’ll keep this site updated with current offers and more detailed information on how you can take advantage of mileage earning for years to come.

—>Check out CardsforTravel.com here

***

Questions and Attempted Answers

Since posting the link to the initial page, I’ve received a ton of questions about how airline credit card bonuses work. Here are the most frequently asked ones, along with the answers. If you ever need help with specific recommendations, you can email me as well.

Q. How do you manage multiple credit cards responsibly?

A. Credit cards are a great way to maximize mileage, but must be handled with care. Apply for the best offers, keep track of the cards you have and be sure to meet any required minimum spending so you get your miles or points. The best way to manage multiple cards is to be sure you can pay off the balance each month. If you’re trying to get out of credit card debt, this probably isn’t the best way for you to get miles.

Q. I can only get 1-2 cards. Which should I get?

A. Different cards work better for different people, but long story short, my new favorite is the Chase Sapphire card. It offers a mega-bonus of 50,000 points which can be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners (including United/Continental and Hyatt), no foreign transaction fees, and the annual fee is waived for year one.

I also like the AA Citi cards and have been getting them for years on a 90-day cycle, reapplying after I’ve fulfilled the requirements for one card, getting the bonus, and then moving on to another.

Q. Do you cancel the cards after a year, when the annual fee comes due?

A. I usually keep them for a year, then see what happens. Sometimes I call up and say I want to cancel and they waive the fee. Other times, they shift the card into a no-fee version (which doesn’t earn as many points, but I don’t care since I’m not actively using it then).

On a couple of occasions, I’ve kept the card and paid the fee if I’m still using it frequently.

Q. Can I get a business card without a business?

A. Yes. One of the easiest ways to double your points bonus is to get both a personal and business card from the same issuer. For example, you can get the Chase Sapphire card mentioned above and receive a 50,000 point bonus—and you can also get the Chase Ink Bold card and receive an additional 50,000 points. The same strategy holds with the Starwood Preferred Guest Business card.

Similarly, you can get an AA card from Citi for a 30,000 mile bonus, and also add the AA Hilton version for an additional 40,000 Hilton hotel points. If you have a willing spouse or partner, they can do their own applications—so as you can imagine, the bonuses add up very quickly.

Q. I was declined. What should I do?

A. Sometimes a decline is not really a decline. All of the systems are automated, and the odds are at least 50% that you can get it approved if you call in to request a manual review. When you receive a letter stating that you’re declined, there is sometimes a number listed for questions.

For Chase cards, the reconsideration line is 888-245-0625. Call this number and say that you’re eager to get the new card(s) because of the great benefits. The representative will ask you a number of questions, then let you know if they can make it work. As mentioned, at least 50% of the time, this strategy will work as long as your credit score meets their minimum standard.

Q: What about cards for outside the U.S.?

A. There are some, but not many. In Canada we recommend the AmEx Business Gold card, which includes a 25,000 point bonus after completing an initial spend of $3,000, and the AmEx Starwood cards (two versions) which each offer an immediate 15,000 point bonus. If we find more for Canada or other countries, we’ll add them to the list.

***

I know that not everyone is able to do multiple card applications, and if you’re outside North America, your options are limited. But for those who are able, don’t ignore this possibility—you can get a lot of miles very quickly, and put the miles to good use in seeing the world for nearly free.

Here’s the link again:

–>Airline Credit Cards with Mileage Bonuses

Based on your input, I’ll be updating this minisite a bit over the next couple of weeks. If anyone has any other questions in the meantime, I’m happy to help.

Happy travels,

Disclosure: I receive referral bonuses on some of these cards. I only recommend cards I use myself, and you don’t need to use the links on that page if you don’t want to.

###

Image: Ztephen

*World Domination Summit: Final Ticket Sales*

Earlier this morning we opened the final wave of ticket sales for WDS 2012. We sold out all 400 remaining tickets immediately (well, in 9 minutes), but due to various transaction errors, about 80 tickets were put back in the queue.

These tickets are now available on a first-come, first served basis here –>

#WDS2012 Registration

UPDATE: All tickets are now gone.

***

Here are a few answers to questions I’ve received:

Can you stream the event online for those who can’t come? No, sorry. I love the internet, but #WDS is all about being together in one place.

Do you have any scholarships? No, sorry. WDS costs less than almost any other weekend event, and we don’t make any money from it. In fact, last year I lost more than $25,000 on it—this isn’t about us making a profit, and it costs a lot to put everything together.

Can I be a speaker? Our main-stage speaking roles are finalized—not all are announced yet, but they’re all selected. All registered attendees are welcome to submit proposals for workshops and breakout sessions, which will be expanded this year. We’ll have a process for this after finalizing the registration.

Can I be a volunteer? We will indeed have a crew of “Ambassadors” to work during the weekend. These volunteers must be Portland-based, and we’ll have an application process in March 2012. (FYI, everyone on the action team that produces WDS is a volunteer too—no one is paid, including me.)

Happy Tuesday,

###

I recently posted a question to readers about what to do in an uncertain airport situation. This was the scenario:

You arrive very late at an airport you haven’t been to before. Security takes forever, but the flight is on time—which means you’re even more rushed.

You walk into the terminal and look for your gate: A70. Damn… you’re currently at A18. Above you is an “Express Train” that runs between A1 and A75 with an unknown number of intermediate stops.

You know if you take the escalator up to the train and catch a ride it could be faster—but remember, you’re unfamiliar with this airport.

Will you have to wait for the train to arrive? How much faster will it actually be? Might it be better to hoof it?

You can’t just stand there and think about it forever… remember, time is short. You have only ten minutes to get to A70 before they close the flight.

It’s up to you… what do you do?

I greatly enjoyed reading all the responses, which came in a range of perspectives. Readers were fairly divided on the answer. A majority said they would hoof it, but a significant minority said they would take the train. A few others had unconventional ideas that were fun to read.

I also tend to fall on the “choose the action you are in control of” side, and not just when I’m running late at the airport. Upon arriving in the downtown area of an unfamiliar city, I’m happy to walk for an hour with my bags… as long as I know where I’m going. When I’m lost, which happens often, I get incredibly frustrated with myself. In the case of the airport scenario, I hoofed it—and I made it to the gate just in time, sweaty but triumphant.

I don’t think this approach is always right, though.

Sometimes I notice similar situations where it would indeed be better to take the train, stop and figure out my surroundings, or whatever the equivalent decision is. For example, our internet went down at World Domination HQ (also known as my house) recently. I was frustrated and didn’t know what to do, but instead of trying to think it through, I used my iPhone as a connection for a while and then went outside to the nearby coffee shop for two hours.

Since I work online for much of the day, it was frustrating to lose the one thing that I absolutely need to function. Meanwhile, Jolie came home and spent five minutes figuring it out before it was working again. Ignoring the problem—my approach—was clearly not the best answer.

***

Showing up in Eritrea without a visa last week, I felt I was once again approaching the “walk or take the train” scenario, albeit with higher stakes. If something went wrong, I could be put in jail or thrown out of the country—which is exactly what happened in the end. But sitting on the tarmac before disembarking into uncertainty, I had a thought:

It’s not the outcome that matters. It’s the decision to act.

Most of us judge the outcome of a course of action, not the intent. Consider a guy who performs a dangerous stunt on a motorcycle. If it goes well, we think he’s brave, courageous, a badass. If he fails or is injured, we think he’s stupid, foolish, and deserves what he gets.

In the case of Eritrea, I wasn’t responsible for an outcome that was largely outside my control; I was only responsible for the decision to go. Perhaps it was a foolish decision, but I knew I had to take the chance.

By the way, thanks for the flood of input last week about whether the Eritrea adventure “counted” for my quest. Strong opinions were expressed from all sides, but it looks like a 3-to-1 majority voted in favor.

I also understand and appreciate those who disagreed with the majority. If I can get back to Eritrea at some point later, I will, but for now I’ve got to work on my 13 remaining countries.

As the plane touched down and we taxied to the remote stand where I’d hop on the shuttle bus and prepare to meet the officials, I asked myself: How am I feeling?

I had a lot of nervous energy, I really didn’t know what awaited me on the other side, and you know what? It felt good.

I resolved then that whatever happened, I was glad I had taken the risk. A few hours later as I was being marched back to the plane to Cairo with handlers who had confiscated my passport, I was exhausted and unsure how I’d find my way out of Egypt—but still glad I had made the trip.

It’s not the outcome; it’s the decision to act.

###

*Last reminder: tomorrow is the big day for WDS 2012! We expect to offer the final round of tickets to those on the waiting list at 9am PST / 12pm EST.

Image: Fayj

I always knew it would happen one day.

Having successfully arrived in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Angola without the necessary visas, I had been pushing my luck.

Having challenged Belarus to a blogging duel, complete with a response by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was no stranger to difficult countries.

But last weekend in Eritrea, the luck ran out.

Let’s be clear: I’m not interested in taking unnecessary risks. In each case where I’ve had to take my chances on traveling without a visa, it was because all other options had exhausted themselves. I would have much preferred to have the necessary permission instead of trying to pull off an East African wedding crasher routine. Nevertheless, sometimes the best laid plans fall by the wayside, and that’s when you have to make a decision.

In Saudi Arabia’s case, the New York consulate came through with the visa at the last possible minute—and then promptly mailed my passport back to Portland, instead of holding it for local pickup on my way out of the country as agreed. Angola just kept the money and returned my passport without a word—and without the visa.

Eritrea, however, was the worst offender of all. Having paid for the visa a total of three times and waited a full 90 days with my passport at their Washington, D.C. embassy without results, I was in a quandary. With only 15 countries left on my list and 13 months to go, I couldn’t keep putting it off.

I decided to go for it and travel to the country anyway. What choice did I have? Passive resistance wasn’t getting me very far.

I managed to obtain my Egypt Air boarding passes in Madrid with only minimal subterfuge. Airlines are responsible for ensuring that passengers have the necessary approvals before traveling, so I knew there would be an interrogation of sorts. I decided I wouldn’t lie if directly asked about something, but I wasn’t above leaving out a few key facts if necessary.

It wasn’t that difficult; the agent was bored and had already printed the boarding passes when she remembered to check on the visa. I showed her my paperwork with a smile (but without the visa) and she wished me a good trip. So far, so good.

After a four-hour flight to Cairo, I powered up with an espresso and chocolate muffin. While sipping the coffee and preparing to board the final flight, I thought about the possible outcomes for the night ahead, based on ten years of experience in convincing random countries to allow me to visit.

Outcome 1: It would take some doing, but I’d get the entry visa upon arrival after pleading my case to various higher-ups. Predicted odds: 50%.

Outcome 2: I would get the entry visa upon arrival without any trouble at all, and my whole concern would be for nothing. Predicted odds: 25%.

Outcome 3: I would have a serious problem, would not get the entry visa, and would be thrown out of the country or thrown into jail. Predicted odds: 25%.

***

We landed after 2am and I was wide awake with nervous excitement. What would happen? How would the night end? Do Eritrean prisons have WiFi?

The plane parked on the tarmac and I rode a shuttle bus to the terminal with all the other passengers, most of whom were Eritrean. I began to feel relieved as the bus made the short trip; despite the late hour, everyone was smiling. Some of them caught my eye and said, “Welcome to Eritrea!”

“Welcome home!” I said in reply. The friendliness was a good sign, I thought.

Upon arrival at the first immigration blockade, however, I quickly realized that Option 2—the easy entry without any trouble—was definitely out.

“You don’t have a visa?” the first guy asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“Not yet,” I said, projecting confidence and wearing my only nice shirt of the trip. (I had even made sure to tuck it in before landing. When crashing a country, you only get one chance to make a first impression.)

I had no visa, but I was not without ammunition. “Here is my landing card, my passport photo, my hotel reservation, and my return ticket,” I said, presenting the papers with a flourish. “How much does the visa cost?”

This ruse often works. Four years of arguing with numerous government leaders in West Africa followed by another six years of frequent international travel has taught me the power of paper. If you don’t have the right piece of paper for the job, bring lots of other paper instead.

Unfortunately, the paper-pushing trick didn’t work on the first guy, and the second guy I was referred to didn’t even look at any of the printouts. I kept getting passed off higher and higher until I finally ended up in the office of the Chief Immigration Officer. It was here I would make my last stand.

Alas, this final challenge didn’t begin well. In another ominous sign, the Chief Immigration Officer was not nearly as friendly as the smiling Eritreans I had rode in on the bus with. I tried some light banter: “Wow, I’m really excited to be here. Do you guys have a hop-on, hop-off bus? Any theme parks I should visit?”

Despite my brilliant attempt at making friends, the boss didn’t seem very interested in getting to know me. An offer of a complimentary Turkish Airways amenity kit from a previous flight was also swatted away.

I sat and waited, feeling optimistic (“60/40 odds,” I told myself. “Maybe even 70/30″). Calls were made. Officials were dispatched to check the records to see where I had previously applied for visas at the embassy in Washington. Long conversations about me were conducted in a language I didn’t understand, although naturally I assumed that the phrases “bestselling author” and “popular Facebook page” were spoken.

The longer I waited, the more the odds improved—or so I thought. Another rule of these situations is that if you keep sitting around patiently, eventually they’ll get bored and let you in. Unfortunately, every immigration rule has an exception. All of a sudden, the waiting shifted to action, and the action wasn’t good.

In Which It All Comes To An Abrupt End

I couldn’t believe it, but after two hours of making new friends while gently pleading my case, I was going out on the return flight to Cairo… which now left in ten minutes. No way! But indeed, that was the plan, and I had no vote in the matter. I was assigned a handler, marched outside the airport, and guided around to the departure area in front. I was disappointed and sleep-deprived, but as I was given a hand-written boarding pass, I remembered to ask the all-important question: “Can you add my Frequent Flyer number?”

Yes, if I was really going to be deported, at least I’d earn miles for it. It’s 1,130 miles from Asmara to Cairo, plus any special “last minute deportation” bonuses that happen to be available this week. Lesson: never pass up miles or points when they come your way.

Everyone else had boarded and the plane was ready to go. My handler, the Egyptian Airlines station manager, and a couple of hangers-on walked me back out the tarmac and up the steps of the waiting plane. Inside the cabin, the station manager handed my passport to the purser and instructed him to return it only upon reaching the transit desk in Cairo. I never like to be without my passport, but such was the price to pay for being deported.

The plane took off and I dozed against the window, looking down at Asmara as we prepared to leave Eritrean airspace on the way back to Egypt. Exhaustion was creeping in after staying up all night, but the whole time I was thinking about one important question: does this count as a country visit?

Ask the Readers: Does This Count?

People often ask what my criteria is for visiting a country. Long story short, I don’t really have any. My one rule is that I don’t count airport stops—I can’t just be in transit somewhere. I’ve been on two flights that have touched down in Khartoum, for example, but since I didn’t get off the plane, I still can’t say that I’ve been to Sudan.

This case is trickier, though. I’ve paid to go to Eritrea on multiple occasions. I did make it to the airport, and even outside the airport. I had an extended interrogation session with several interesting people. It wasn’t like going on a tour of the interior and stopping by a few villages, but it was certainly a story-worthy experience.

Even if it probably shouldn’t count as a true visit, the honest truth is that I really don’t know if I’ll be allowed back into Eritrea, at least anytime soon. After 90 days of pestering the embassy and paying the fee three times, they still returned my passport with no visa.

The Eritreans I talked with have all been very friendly, much like the Ethiopians I know. But the government has a reputation for being hostile and highly secretive. Eritrea is in a long-standing conflict with Ethiopia, and the U.S. government is on the side of the Ethiopians. I’ve never held any position in the government and don’t have anything to do with politics, but when it comes to immigration and travel restrictions, these things matter.

When I visited Angola last year, I also had visa problems and wasn’t expecting to be able to enter the country, instead planning an extended transit. After much stress with the embassy and repeated payoffs, I had finally made my peace with accepting that the Angola visit might need to have an asterisk next to it. Much to my surprise, however, when I went there I was actually allowed free reign of Luanda—thus obviating the need for the asterisk. I’m tempted to put this visit in the same category, but I’d like to know what you think.

For those who are still reading, have I officially been to Eritrea, or will I need to regroup yet again and make another plan?

Share your opinion (yes/no/something else) here.

Go easy on me…

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Next week is the final round of ticket sales for the World Domination Summit! Tickets will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to this waiting list.

Image: Mike

More than two years ago, I wrote a free manifesto on becoming a professional writer in less than a year. It was called 279 Days to Overnight Success, and the purpose was to outline the roadmap I had followed in crafting a new career after moving back to the U.S. from overseas and finishing grad school.

Somewhere around 15% of the total AONC readership can be traced to the worldwide interest in this manifesto, so I thought I’d take a quick look back at the lessons from it.

But First, a Disclaimer

I almost never look at my old work. The reason is simple: once it’s old, I don’t like it. When looking back I inevitably find flaws, inconsistencies, poorly-phrased sentences and arguments, and things I wish I had left out or explained better. Nevertheless, I think that most of the advice and storyline in 279 Days holds true a couple years later, even if I might say things a bit differently now.

In the manifesto I made the argument that crafting a sustainable career oriented around creative work wasn’t that difficult. I also shared how I’d been able to earn just under $50,000 in year one of the project, without putting ads on my blog or relying on sponsorship.

As I said at the time, the thing about money is that it is always relative: for some people, $50,000 is a huge amount of money, and for others it’s very little. My point was that I knew I could live off $50,000, and if I could get paid that much to write and travel, I’d be thrilled.

Nearly three years later, the operation has scaled quite a bit, with multiple projects in the six-figure range. As it’s grown I’ve tried to keep the basic philosophy the same. I don’t want to hire employees or outsource my life. I also don’t make much of a separation between “life” and “work,” since I enjoy what I do and don’t have any desire to keep it at a distance.

Overnight Success: The Plan of Action

The plan in 279 Days was presented in six points, noted below with a few comments.

1# Create a Compelling Story and Be Remarkable. No matter who you are, you have a unique story to tell. Your story doesn’t need to be well-packaged or boxed down into a tiny niche, but it does need to be somewhat clear and interesting.

In my case the story initially revolved around my travel goals, and to some degree it still does. I’ve tried to broaden the mission, however, to focus more on non-conformity itself and how people with different interests can live their own unconventional lives. Ultimately, that is the more important mission, and I hope to get even more specific about it as we go along.

2# Clearly Answer the “Reason Why.” If you’re starting an online project, why should your readers (or customers, or followers, or whomever) care about what you are doing? In the case of online publishing, tens of thousands of blogs are started every day. Why does yours matter?

Answering this question is critical, and you don’t have to do it just once—you have to do it over and over.

3# Prioritize Writing and Marketing Over Everything Else. What I meant at the time was that if you want to craft a long-term project, you’ll need to devote consistent amounts of time to it. Instead of marketing, I would probably use the word connecting now, because that’s essentially what marketing is. But the point remains: treat your work with the respect it deserves. Carve out time to devote to it.

Everyone is busy, but we all make time for what’s important to us.

4# Be Bigger than You Really Are. Often, new writers worry that they don’t have much to offer, because they’re “just getting started.” But my point was that you might be getting started on WordPress, but you’ve had your own unique experiences and perspective to offer for a long time. No one is better or more qualified than you to share those things, so don’t be intimidated to jump right in.

5# Build Long-Lasting Relationships. On my first book tour I talked about how I wrote 10,000 short emails to the first 10,000 people who joined the AONC newsletter. I don’t have any delusions that every single person was impressed by a quick personal note, but over time 10,000 individual actions will have a positive effect. You can apply a similar strategy even if you have 10 readers instead of 10,000. (In fact, you can probably do a better job since you’ll have more time to devote to them.)

6# Carefully Introduce Products and Services.There are all kinds of good reasons to do creative work, but if you want to make a living from it, you have to provide opportunities for people to pay you in some fashion. It’s also better to think about this from the beginning, and to keep it as natural and organic as possible.

Last year a company offered a significant amount of money to sponsor this blog. If it was a “bad” company, it would have been an instant no. But in this case, it was a good company doing interesting things. Despite the generous offer, it was still an easy choice: “Thanks guys, I’m honored, but we’re keeping it sponsor-free.” I’m glad to have the store, and I wouldn’t want to operate AONC any other way.

***

Applications may vary, but if you want to get paid for creative work of any kind, I think these lessons will serve you well. The basic philosophy remains simple: Do work that you’re proud of. Care about people and help them. If you have a website, don’t clutter it with irrelevant ads. Instead, make things that people want and offer them for a fair price.

Looking back I can see mistakes and wrong turns, but I try to keep moving forward. I’m a better writer now than I was in 2009, and I hope to keep improving over the next three years and more.

It’s Not Enough to Say “Don’t Give Up”

A lot of advice about blogging leans toward the “Don’t give up!” mantra. Some of the time, it’s good advice. But if something isn’t working and you don’t enjoy it, there’s nothing wrong with moving on and trying something else. (Hat tip: old-school Seth.) I’ve experienced a lot of freedom by giving up things I was doing only out of obligation or guilt.

Similarly, it’s also not sufficient to say everything will be OK if you just keep going. The way you work something matters, not just how much time you devote to it. (Hat tip: Lefsetz.)

Nevertheless, once you’re on the right track… that’s when you don’t give up. That’s when you stick it out, building a tower every day by working on something that helps people.

Finally, A Note On Being “Too Late”

I often hear from people who feel like they are “too late” to start a new career or big project. Sometimes the concern relates to an advancement in technology (“I wish I had started this earlier”), and other times it’s more of a general feeling that they are just too late in life.

The thing is, that’s how I felt! In 2007 I looked around at successful blogs and wondered, is there any room for me? Fortunately, I’m glad I decided to start sharing my work, and fortunately, it’s improved over time.

This is probably the most important lesson: Forget about being too late. If you have something to share with the world, stop waiting. Your overnight success may be right around the corner.

Question: What is your creative work? Are you building your own overnight success?

Feel free to share your project with others in the comments. (Just be sure to keep links in the URL field, or your comment will be trapped in our active spam filter.)

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*Speaking of making things that people want, our new Unconventional Guide to Publishing is getting rave reviews. Do you have your copy yet?

Image: David