Hey guys, Nate here. I'm proud to announce that I'm now the Program Director of Scrawny To Brawny. From now on all of my blogs and articles will be posted on the brand-new Scrawny To Brawny Blog. So if you enjoyed what you read here, please go check it out. (It's awesome, if I say so myself.) I'm keeping the NGE website alive for resource reasons, but will no longer be actively updating it. The best way to get in touch with me is through leaving a comment on the Scrawny To Brawny blog or by posting on the S2B Facebook page. See you guys over at the new blog!
The Benefits of Running Your Life
A trip to San Diego for fun, surfing, beer, and the Perform Better Summit
I love going to fitness seminars for three reasons:
1. I get to travel to somewhere in the US I've never been (I've been to Stamford, San Diego, Little Rock, Los Angeles, and Washington DC in the past two years.)
2. I usually cover the event for T-Nation.com, meet new fitness gurus, write an article, and therefore get paid to learn.
3. I get hang out with friends and mentors I see only once per year or so. (I'll be knocking back drinks with Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Dos Remedios, John Berardi, Craig Weller, and others this time in San Diego.)
I booked the trip a couple of weeks ago and will be gone for 7 days. I have my Macbook, a copy of the Four Hour Work Week, a small carry-on bag, and specific notes for what I need to accomplish on this trip.
I also have peace of mind.
Why?
Because I own a business that enables me to travel on a whim, and because I'm building a business that will do the same with even LESS effort and hassle.
Let me break it down:
I train clients in a private studio , Monday - Friday, for about 5 hours per day. Everyone pays on a monthly schedule instead of a "per session" basis. I collected my checks a week ago and received full payment, even though I'm gone for an entire week.
I gave each client one free session (they'll make it up when I get back) and hooked them all up with a week-long, no-Nate training program that they can do on their own time.
I still got paid, and everyone's happy. Especially me.
Since I'm covering this event for T-Nation, I get to write off virtually all expenses. I also have five uninterrupted hours of Built for Show related work I can do on my flights that I haven't had the time or patience for this past week.
Owning a business is all about controlling it and not letting it control you. It's something I'm still learning and tweaking every day.
Could you do all of this stuff as an employee?
Maybe.
But it wouldn't be nearly as fun.
-Nate
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What kind of business do you own or want to own? How will you make it fill your needs and wants instead of the other way around?
If you're an employee, how do you make it work in your favor?
Let me know in the comments section below!
Comments for This Entry
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Good post! I hope to have that kind of freedom really soon.
I make custom watch straps for vintage watches, and I have a pretty good clientele. And, I don't need many tools so I can do it from anywhere, as long as I have my essentials with me.
I'm going to try and automate everything from orders to fulfillment. I'll let you know how it goes! -
Generally speaking, I make my own hours right now. I'm a guitar teacher, and it works similarly to your personal training. The students prepay for lessons, and I only do make ups if I miss at my fault--I don't deal with students who decide not to come to lessons or miss on short notice. I can also schedule gigs/weddings for whenever.
The only thing I'm still trying to get out of my life is the crap part time job. Hooray being a poor college student. I still have to work on weekends, but my time commitments are so minimal during the summer that I have a lot of free time to pursue a variety of other interests (like more time to train or research or practice) and explore some local attractions and outdoor recreation.
Ultimately, I'd like to own my own studio facility that works with other music teachers as independent contractors. They market themselves, collect all the moneys from their students and take care of their own tax work (being self employed, etc.); I provide a space for them to teach and maintain it for a rental fee based on time they spend teaching there each month (another popular method is charging a flat fee per lesson as student rent). I just got in touch with another guitarist in the midwest who does something similar and makes around 4k a month with out doing anything--just studio rent coming in and he has to pay the mortgage on the facility and maintain it (both not really a huge time commitment). Now imagine if I could pull off a few studios in a large metropolitan area that made a similar profit.....
-CD -
Freelancing has allowed me to wander all over the place if I want to, but my family usually keeps me at home (or at least in my favorite coffee shop down the street).
The only downside to self-employment and freelance is that when it all goes down and you hit a rough patch, you don't have a company to take the hit for you; it's just you and whatever you've saved to get you through a dry spell.
But, on the flipside, I guess you can't really get laid off by yourself if it stays bad for a while. ;)
Jeff -
San Diego is the best. I still love Montana too. I didn't know you make trips out here. Lets hang out next time you come.
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
George P. 11:52am Jun 10, 2008