Several months ago while contemplating the possibility of beginning a
small cottage business I could establish and run part-time, I began reading a
little book called The $100 Startup:
Reinventing the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New
Future by Chris Guillebeau. I didn’t
have a clear idea what I would like to “do” for this little business, so was
pretty open to options as long as it would not cost much (or anything) to start
up. The $100 Startup seemed like a
good place to start.
The author wrote this book because he was interested in a business
model that most of us may not think about as being “successful”; unconventional
but profitable businesses usually run by one person and started with very
little up-front investment. He was
particularly interested in the “follow your passion” model, but particularly
wanted to study those that translated into a successful business. He gathered and examined data on these types
of business, and The $100 Startup was the result of that research.
So, if I was going to start up a little venture doing what I love, what
would I want to do? What do I love to
do? What do I spend as much time as
possible doing? What do I stay up way
too late at night doing? What am I
passionate about?
Books.
Pretty simple. Create a business
in which I get paid to read all day long.
More than that, I’m one of those “picky” readers who gets distracted
and annoyed because she finds every little error in a book that she is
(supposedly) reading for pleasure. So,
proofreading seemed like a pretty good path for me.
But, I had no idea how to make a living as a proofreader.
Time for some research…
