Twenty years from now!

Risk or, Safety!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

– Mark Twain

If I give you a choice to pick between something that is risky and something that is safe, which one would you pick?

Definitely, the safer option. Right?

But how do you know if the option you are picking is actually safe?

This kid was about to complete his 12th grade exams and was not sure about what to do with his career.

So his mom asked him to meet my friend. They were the next door neighbors to my friend.

My friend who is a well-read, knowledgeable educator who had retired early and was working on his own, was somebody people will reach out to for career guidance.

Coincidentally I too was there at my friend’s house and I became a party to the conversation.

As soon as my friend made his first suggestion, the mom jumped in.

“Doing something on your own is risky business. There’s no certainty, and the chances of failure are higher”, she said with a frowning look on her face.

She looked at the kid and continued. “Working a regular job is safe. I have seen so many people fail in business”.

She finished her sentence in a hurry and then turned towards me and my friend with a smile.

That was advice from a mother to her son who was about to finish his 12th grade!

Before we break down this advice, let me give you a short overview of their family background:

• The boy is the only child of his parents.
• The dad is a very successful Chartered Accountant whose single signature fetches him more than what a normal regular employee earns in a month
• The family owns three huge independent houses in a posh locality, all of which were rented out.
• Overall, a well-to-do family.

The career guidance conversation had actually veered towards entrepreneurship…

…it was as soon as the “entrepreneurship” discussion happened, that the mom jumped in with her advice.

Isn’t that something most parents tell their kids?

But is that sound advice?

Is a regular job safe?

As of May 2024, 84,600 people have already been laid off by 298 tech companies.

..and that is the “SAFE” advice we’re giving our kids.

I worked for 25 years, changed jobs thrice.

I too was laid off.

Why?

Because I spent 17 years in the company and the higher package was something they felt was too much.

..and bear in mind that this is a Fortune 50 company.

..and I was awarded one of the very few who are identified as a prospective top leadership material.

Yet, when the company had to save a few dollars, they didn’t think twice before letting me go.

After working for these 25 years, I found that the “RISKY” option is actually safer for me.

• I don’t let somebody else decide the future of my family and me.
• I work when I want to.
• I work from my choice of place.
• I get to spend more time with my family.

Yet, so many people even now prefer taking the SAFER route..

I am not against it and I am not anti-regular-jobs.

All I am saying is that, approaching it with the mindset that it is the safer option is foolishness.

Instead, start building something of your own while you are working – it could be a side-hustle, wealth creation using investments or, whatever you feel right.

But safeguard yourself.

And most importantly, give the right advice to your children!

Now the question is how do you do it?

It is simple.

You bet on yourself, you control the outcome, you succeed and make the bet count.

Remember, It’s about taking that first bold step, trusting your instincts and your potential.

And getting started.

Here’s how I did it:

Identified my passion:

The first step is in identifying what you are passionate about.

What is it that you like doing, which can be transformed into a side-hustle?

It could be anything – writing, editing, graphic designing, social media, video and so on..

Today there are a hundred things that can be turned into a side-hustle and can be used to make full time income.

If you are unsure as to what to do, just spend a few minutes on a site like that of Fiverr. Browse through to see what are the services people are offering in a particular topic that you might be interested in.

You could also browse through sites like Udemy to see what are the courses being offered.

All of those are potential ideas for starting a side hustle.

Mine was content creation, especially long form content. So I picked Podcasting and blogging. And then I learnt affiliate marketing to monetize it.

Invested in learning:

Once you have identified something that you are passionate about and which can be converted into a side-hustle you need to work on improving your knowledge and skills.

Being passionate necessarily need not mean that you will be an expert in it. You might have some knowledge but that knowledge might not necessarily be structured knowledge.

So you might want to build your knowledgebase and improve your skills.

I took a couple of courses, read a lot of books (because I loved reading) and, followed and listened to mentors who were experts in that field.

I worked on improving my knowledge.

But one very important thing that you need to keep in mind is – don’t wait until you are perfect to start. Start imperfect and keep improving. That’s the mantra.

Built an audience:

Any project that has the end goal of making money, needs audience who will eventually becomes customers and buy from you.

You can get this audience in two ways – organic and inorganic.

The inorganic way is what large businesses follow to acquire customers – spending money on ads, marketing and promotions.

If you have the budget, this is the best way to go.

Spend money, find customers and make more money that what you spent on acquiring them.

But if you don’t have the marketing budget like those large corporations, then the only way to go is inorganic.

People like me and YOU who are trying to get out of the 9-5, obviously won’t have that kind of money.

So, our choice is only one – inorganic method.

And how do you do that?

By being there at the places where you prospective customers hang out, keep bumping into them every now and then and show them your authority to an extent that they start following your, your advice and then buy your products and services.

In this era, that method is content creation.

Creating consistent, valuable content in various forms – podcasts, videos, blogs etc. and establishing yourself as an authority is how you get eyeballs.

I used my blog and my podcast to attract an audience.

Monetized strategically:

And finally it is all about monetizing your skill through the audience you have acquired.

You need to think through the route that you are going to take to monetize.

You could be doing consulting, offering freelance services, selling products and services or, doing affiliate marketing like me.

Yes, I chose affiliate marketing because that was what I liked.

I found that it fit into my scheme of things.

You might want to follow something that fits you.

And monetize!

That is it!

Conclusion:

Once again, I am not against regular jobs. Neither am I trying to scare you.

I am just trying to show you the need to safeguard yourself.

I know, not everybody is going to be an entrepreneur or, start a side hustle and make a life changing income from it. A lot of you reading this article might trash it in a few days and continue with what you are doing.

That is how it is supposed to be.

If everybody became a business owner, who will work for the businesses?

The only thing I am asking is – be realistic. And give your kids the right advice!

As we conclude, reflect on this: True safety lies in adaptability, diversification, and taking calculated risks. The world is changing rapidly, and so should our approach to career and financial security.

By embracing a broader view, we empower ourselves and our children to make informed decisions, blending the best of both safety and risk. So, next time you’re faced with a choice, ask yourself—what does safety really mean to you?

I put in about 18 hours every month to create this newsletter, starting from researching to writing and editing it.

So, If you enjoyed reading this Newsletter, I would sincerely appreciate it if you could recommend it to others. You can send them to https://theloudspeakeronline.com to subscribe to it for FREE!

What am I reading?

My book on affiliate marketing – “The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing”, was released a few weeks back.

You can currently find it on the local online store Pothi and on Amazon US.

I also released an ebook version of the book who prefer reading it in digital format.

If you are interested in learning more about Affiliate marketing, you can pick the ebook version now.

Indian customers get a parity discount of 60% on the book!

Check it out here!

If you would like to know more about all the books that I have read or, am reading, you can find all of them on my Amazon storefront.

Go ahead and check it out!

The Last week on the Podcast

The latest episode was the last one in the series that I did on “list building for podcasters”.

I will be doing a selected subscription based series where I will be discussing list building in more details with steps on how to set it up.

Keep an eye out on an email that I will be sending where you can express interest and get a discounted price for the course.

But for now, you can listen to the latest episode!

Episode – 145 : Email Marketing Strategies to boost listener engagement!

And if you have any questions, just drop me a note and I will respond to your questions.

That’s it for this week!

Do let me know your thoughts, feedback, and opinions about this newsletter.

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