Blog

entrepreneurship

48 essays

1. WORK

   Navigate using the links on the left or view any of the posts below. Learn to think like an entrepreneur, even if you have a job.

2. The $100 Startup: How to Build a Real Business with Almost No Money

   How to start a real business with $100 or less. The philosophy behind the bestselling book, the core principles, common myths, and how to take the first step.

3. The Case for the $100 Business

   I’m working on this concept for a longer project, but for now, here’s the basic principle: Just as you don’t need someone else’s permission to be happy , you also don’t n

4. The Money Tree: Finding the Fortune in Your Own Backyard

   Greetings, friends and readers! Big news today: I wrote a new book! It’s called THE MONEY TREE, and it comes out April 7th. 💰🌳⁠ I’m very excited to share this sneak peek of my first *ful

5. Side Hustle School

   Side Hustle School is a daily podcast about real people earning real money on the side of their day jobs. 3,400+ episodes, every one a different story, from saddles for pet chickens to a side hustle that hires 13 people.

6. Business, Blogging, and Broken Windows

   This is the follow-up to last week’s article on Product Launches. The series deals with the business side of blogging and social media – a topic that some

7. “If they hadn’t been pushed, they never would have made the leap”

   I read an interesting article in USA Today recently, which profiled seven people who unexpectedly lost their job, then turned around to create a situation

8. Jim Collins and $100 Million Dollars

   Originally posted March 15, 2010 — I’m a fan of Jim Collins’ work, especially the modern day classic Good to Great.

9. How to Conduct Your Own Business Audit

   Originally posted July 29, 2010. — Last week I headed out for the Sunday morning long run, and my legs decided not to cooperate.

10. Starting Over

    The question comes up a lot: “If you were starting over with this project, what would you do differently?” In my case, I probably wouldn’t put the domain on

11. How to Get Paid for What You Love

    I’m no consultant, but from time to time (as in, several times a day) people ask for my opinion about building some kind of online business.

12. The Starving Artist Solves the Problem

    Paul was an artist, painting in several mediums and styles. He lived in a Northwestern city known for its love of the arts, if not always its ambition.

13. Redefining Risk: On Disasters, Pre-Mortems, and Making Ideas Happen

    I recently had the chance to participate in the 99% Conference, a gathering of creative professionals produced by Behance.

14. Just Because It Works … Doesn’t Mean It Works

    After I wrote that the first WDS operated at a net loss—financially speaking, not in terms of anything that matters—I was immediately pitched by a number of

15. How to Make Money on the Internet

    When it comes to working online and making money on the internet, most discussions tend to look at specific tactics. How do you set up a mailing list?

16. The One-Page Career Cheat Sheet

    Originally posted March 8, 2012 — Are you happy in your job? This fun resource—a one-page, “career cheat sheet”—from Sarah K.

17. Thelonious Monk and the Search for Value

    A long time ago, I was a jazz musician. I listened to Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans.

18. Fame vs. Community: The Small Army Model

    Originally posted on June 11, 2012. — I don’t often discuss news articles or reblog things from elsewhere, but I loved a recent article on an independent

19. The Six-Step Plan to Establish a New Income

    Most people want at least one of these things: a) more freedom b) more money Whether you want to quit your job as soon as possible or just establish an

20. Starting a Business While Working a Full-Time Job

    For every self-employed person, there are a lot more people who would like to be. But many of these people already have jobs, and everyone is busy.

21. The Audience Is Listening (Hopefully)

    “People used to expect companies to take care of them,” he said. “Now you’re in charge of your own destiny, for better or worse.” -From a recent article

22. A Challenging Question

    In talking with Chris Brogan for his new podcast recently, he said something I’ve been thinking of ever since.

23. A Tale of 9 Startups

    Jon was inspired by a blog post that told him to quit his job and start a business.

24. Leading a Horse to Water

    There’s an old story about a salesperson who was disappointed in losing an important sale. He talked with the boss about why it didn’t work out.

25. Changing the Default

    Most productivity advice doesn’t help me. I work on a lot of projects at once. I read and reply to email throughout the day. I say yes more than I say no.

26. Business Opportunities

    “Business opportunities are like buses. There’s always another one coming.” -Richard Branson The outside world is an interstate of business opportunity buses

27. The ATM Machine on Your Phone

    Like many of you, I enjoyed a recent article about an iPhone photographer who made $15,000 in one day by selling his Instagram prints for $150 each on his

28. Most People Want to Work On Their Own (and It’s Not Just a Dream)

    The lede on this NPR segment is about young people: 67% of Millennials (ages 18-34) who are currently employed want to work on their own.

29. Mistakes on the Road to Creative Freedom

    I’ve been self-employed for more than fifteen years, but it hasn’t always been easy. I once had the bright idea of selling a golf membership service for $1. (It was actually a very bad ide

30. Feeling Stuck? Try This

    If you’re involved in any kind of creative work, you and inertia are probably well acquainted.

31. Kind of a Big Deal

    In Austin yesterday I met Jodi, who was attending the panel I co-presented with Jonathan Fields.

32. How to Make Decisions

    I received a copy of the new book Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath , two brothers and co-authors responsible for the previous bestsellers Switch and Made to Stick . I’ve always enjoyed Chip and Da

33. The Moment You Knew

    I’ve spent much of the past four months interviewing unconventional entrepreneurs for my next book, and throughout the process I learned what kind of

34. Q&AA: When to Let Go of an Unsuccessful Project

    Over the next two weeks, I’ll be touring India and then traveling elsewhere in the world. While I’m away, we’ll be publishing a new series of Questions and Attempted Answers (Q&

35. Everyday Decisions: Getting Started with Working for Yourself

    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 th

36. Don’t Join the Popularity Contest: Make It Happen Yourself

    Many times a day, I hear from someone who asks for help promoting a cause. They have something they’re working on and want to share it with me—totally fine.

37. Behind the Scenes of the “Unconventional Guide to Publishing” Launch

    I woke up before 6am on Tuesday morning, eager for a big day. A product launch is always filled with lots of emotions, especially in the first few critical hours. What would happen? Dun dun dun…

38. How to Run a Business and Still Care for Your Family

    I met a guy who was a busy executive at a startup in Silicon Valley. His family, a wife and three young kids, lived several states away.

39. Creative Ways to Succeed in the Knowledge Economy

    Reading: How One Woman Makes $1 Million a Year on Etsy How to Make $225/hr Writing Poetry The Uber Driver Who Makes $250,000 a Year *** I enjoyed each of

40. Business Secrets from a Cambodian Tuk-Tuk

    In Phnom Penh, Cambodia I met Mr. Rhet, who held up a copy of my book to greet me at the arrivals area. Mr. Rhet, also known as Rhett or just Ret , is a professional tuk-tuk driver. The open-air taxis

41. To Succeed in the New, New Economy, Don’t Mail It In

    Ever since I wrote about The New, New Economy, I’ve been having lots of interesting conversations with people about it.

42. The Eight-Year Escape Plan: Interview with Tsilli Pines

    It’s a new month, and time for a new profile. My friend Tsilli Pines recently quit her job to go full-time with the side business she’s been building for the past three years. Yay! Congrat

43. Unconventional Business Ideas

    The AONC readership has expanded quite a bit recently, and I know that not everyone here cares about business. Even though I’ve made my living as an entrepreneur for more than 10 years, I’d like to le

44. “The Success I’m Having Now is What I Planned For Three Years Ago”

    The other day I met with a small business owner. Her business is going well, she recently had a successful product launch that brought in a lot of funds and

45. Catch Pokémon For Fun and Money: Lessons in Paying Attention

    File under: entrepreneurship is everywhere. And so are Pokémon hunters. No matter where you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen them—and maybe you are one

46. How I Really Got Started in Business

    When I was 20 years old and enrolled in a graduate school program that I didn’t finish, I took a third-shift job working at the FedEx package processing center in Memphis from 10pm-2am four days a wee

47. What Entrepreneurship Is and Isn’t

    I call myself a renegade entrepreneur because that’s what I’ve always thought of myself as: someone who creates opportunities and oversees projects, but in a different way than others working in tradi

48. Why I Became An Entrepreneur 20 Years Ago

    The best and most honest answer is that I wasn’t good at anything else. For better or worse, I learned that I was a terrible employee.