1) Find an industry that is missing something…has a hole that could be filled. It’s easiest to pick something that you already enjoy. To find these holes, pay attention to the complaints you have. For instance, if you’re forced to go to two different web sites for items that work together, there’s an ineffeciency. If you can’t buy a certain combiniation of items, there’s an ineffenciency.

2) Fill that hole. This is the part where you just have to do something. Anything. The hardest part is taking the first step. Buy a domain name. Build a simple website. etc… Buy some products.

3) Be efficient. I can’t hammer this enough. I’m brutally efficient. I spend a large chunk of my time making every part of the process easier and faster. If I can do it 20% better than a competitor, I can offer lower prices.

4) Continuous improvement. Never be satisfied with how well you’re doing. Someone could show up tomorrow and do it better. Add more products. Improve the checkout process. Add a newsletter. Promote promote promote.

Hope this helps!

I searched for job openings that excited me. Ones that made me think, “Wow, it would be so cool if I could do that.” I wrote the key hard and soft skills into a list.

I kept referring back to the list, to remind myself of where I wanted to go and the skills it would take to get there.

How I got there:

I put my key goals and thoughts in places where I would see them every day. I made sacrifices. I refused to give up.

The steps I took created opportunities. If they aligned with my goals, I took them. The opportunities were small at first, but I often said “yes” when no-one else would. My efforts helped me to cross paths with people who presented yet more opportunities.

Everything I did was with an eye toward increasing my market value, in line with my life values. The pool of people with my skill set became smaller and smaller. Eventually, I was presented opportunities to write books and teach others the skills I had developed.

What’s next:

I’m not yet where I want to be. I still gather “dream” job and life descriptions. I still have daily reminders of what’s important to me and the direction I want to head in.

I continually learn and practice the skills needed for my next steps. One of those is managing my money better, which is why I also read Ramit’s blog.

I’ve owned a few companies, and this is the first one that has really made money. I’m a firm believer in doing, having suffered through many years paralized because I didn’t have The Great Idea. So while I’m not expert, I do have some ideas on how to go about doing what I’ve done. But again, it’s more about how you do something versus what you do. I could go into a little more if Ramit wants, seeing as this is his site and I don’t want to step on any toes.

I went from lawyer, to consultant and am now looking out over the next five years of my life and am planning to phase out my corporate livlihood in favor of owning my own business and exploring other alternative income sources. My goal is to be untethered from an office by the time I have children (hopefully soon), while also being financially independent.

My only downfall is that while I am able to build savings and my 401(k) (12% of my salary), I am sitting on about $90k in school debt. So, the next five years is as much about debt reduction for me as financial independence.

If anyone is thinking of taking up university study… I strongly urge you to forgo loans… there is alot of grant money out there to take advantage of if you look hard enough.