Create Your Personal Enterprise

In yesterday's post I wrote about the growing trend of corporations hiring more "permatemps" versus full-time employees. Over the next decade as corporations increasingly move further in this direction, greater numbers of people will be engaged in entrepreneurial pursuits -- by choice or circumstance.

It's time for you to shift your focus on how you view yourself and your employment. YOU are a personal enterprise. YOU are a business owner. The business you own is YOU!

YOU, Inc. is the most valuable enterprise that you could work for. Your product/service is the unique and innovative combination of your talents, knowledge, experience, education, skills, ideas, creativity, relationships, networks, etc. Now is the time for you to start managing your career like a business owner, not just a "permatemp" at the mercy of companies' quarterly earnings reports.

For some this equates to starting a business. For others this means approaching your job search (and performance) more entrepreneurially. Either way, it's time to reformulate your expectations about your participation in the workforce -- either as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur.

Many of you may be saying, "I have no idea how to create my YOU, Inc." Fortunately, I'm here to help you. I'm passionate about moving people to thrive professionally, purposefully, and profitably.

Contact me today for some ideas on how you can create your personal enterprise.

Thrive on Purpose,

Paul Wilson, Jr.

Dream again in 2010!... www.DreamBIGin3D.com

***For a limited time get $5 off my book... use discount code "DREAMBIG"***

You're a Business Owner Whether You Know It Or Not

Have you heard the term "permatemp"? It describes people who seem to be caught in a never-ending cycle of temp jobs, unable to secure full-time status. As you may have noticed, even as the economy recovers from this recession, companies are still not hiring full-time workers. Many are using this permatemp approach to keep people in limbo as temporary workers, while not having to pay them full-time salaries or benefits.

Businessweek.com posted an enlightening article recently, "We're All Business Owners Now", documenting companies’ shift from "relying on full-time employees to a contingent workforce of temps, freelancers, contractors, and part-timers. Not just in low-skill jobs or easily outsourced tasks, either."

Even as the economy "recovers", this trend is going to continue. So whether you're currently employed, unemployed, or underemployed, you have to decide if you want to be another victim of corporations' short-sighted, penny-pinching ways, where disposing of workers is even easier now than it used to be... or if you want to proactively position yourself as the owner of your "personal enterprise".

Don't wait to be a victim. You can use entrepreneurial strategies to find a more meaningful and profitable career path. I'll talk about this more in my next post.

Thrive on purpose,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

Dream again in 2010!... www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Also, check out this related video, "The Disposable Worker", focusing on the challenges of the unemployed being able to return to profitable, long-term full-time work...

Winning Ugly is Still Winning!

As we get closer to the end of this year, it's a good time to reflect on what this year was and what it could have been. You might be lamenting that it could have been better. On the flip side, you should be thankful that it could have been worse, but it wasn't.

The longer you're an entrepreneur the more you realize that entrepreneurship is a marathon. You have to be prepared to engage in opportunities that aren't guaranteed to succeed, endure challenges with confident perseverance, and excel beyond your competitors in the face of adversity. Although some people make it look easy, this race isn't easy and everyone isn't cut out for it.

In sports you sometimes hear that a team had an "ugly win". That basically means they played terribly, made a bunch of mistakes, and should have lost, but somehow were able to score more points than the other team to win the game. While they may not have liked how they played, they are still happy to get a win.

Business is a lot like that some years. Yeah, I know you might have made some mistakes this year, blown some opportunities, and even fallen flat on your face. It doesn't matter. If you made it to this point, you had an "ugly win". Hooray! Celebrate! Rejoice! Many people and businesses didn't make it this far. If you're still in business - or even if you're still alive - you have an opportunity to gain from your mistakes and mishaps, and grow personally and professionally to be better next year.

Remember, the race isn't won by the swift, sleek, or sexy. It's won by those who engage, endure, and excel.

If 2009 wasn't great for you, it doesn't matter. Make 2010 a year to remember!

Dream B.I.G.,

Paul Wilson, Jr.

Help someone Dream B.I.G. for Christmas!... www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Entrepreneurship Needs to be 'Plan A' for More People

In my last post, I wrote about the U.S. moving closer to an "entrepreneurial economy" as we go through this economic recovery. Interestingly, I read another interesting article today on USAToday.com that predicted 25% of the workforce could become temps as contract work grows (click here for article). Temp workers cost employers less, because they don't have to pay for benefits, such as health insurance.

That tells me more people need to be thinking proactively about entrepreneurial work options. No matter what you call them, temp workers, contractors, or free lancers, they are entrepreneurial by nature. Some people take on these roles by choice. However, there are many who reluctantly find themselves in these positions through unwilling or unexpected circumstances. And often they are unprepared for this reality.

Just because the economy recovers doesn't mean it will function the same as it did before. I'm a firm believer that now and in the future entrepreneurship needs to be considered as Plan A - not just Plan B - for those who want to control their professional destiny.

What do you think? Do you believe that as the economy recovers more people will have to settle for contract work versus full-time employment? Let me hear your thoughts...

Dream B.I.G.,

Paul Wilson, Jr.

Help someone dream B.I.G. for Christmas!... www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Entrepreneurial Pockets of Inspiration in Economic Uncertainty

As we have just come up for air from the super-sales-driven Thanksgiving weekend, it's very easy to see the desperate wishes of companies that this holiday season will help to turn around their financial trajectory. They cling to the hope that although companies keep shedding jobs, people will ignore that and keep plunking down cash and credit, which will keep the big behemoths afloat.

This current period of economic uncertainty underlies the fact that "necessity is the mother of invention." In recent history, there has been no other time - or opportunity - that has presented a greater necessity for innovation and inspiration than right now. That's why it's great to see entrepreneurs who take this to heart and are able to thrive while others are just struggling to survive.

Entrepreneur.com has an article, "The Entrepreneur Economy", which highlights how smaller entrepreneurial companies have been able to successfully respond to the morphing economy with new ideas and innovation, while their much larger counterparts are struggling. Here's an excerpt:

"We don't have to do things the same way. We can take the economy in hand and drive our own destinies. And a movement that has been slowly building in the business world is finally taking hold: We're seeing the beginnings of the entrepreneurial economy, a system built on nimble, low-overhead, oftentimes small companies with fluid workforces, rather than the massive conglomerates that have upheld the economy for decades."

As our economy tugs and pulls to get back on solid footing, it will cause significant changes in what we call the "workforce". Whether by choice or circumstance, people will have to become more entrepreneurial. You don't have to become a victim of change. You can lead change - entrepreneurially.

Dream B.I.G.,

Paul Wilson, Jr.

Transform your dream from an idea into reality... www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Paul Wilson Jr Featured on The Success Center

I'm very excited to be featured for a second time on the website Rod Kirby's Success Center, a great resource for current and aspiring entrepreneurs. The blog I wrote was entitled, "Building B.I.G. Entrepreneurial Dreams." Here's an excerpt...

"I believe there are many people who will not reach their full life potential working as an employee for someone else. Their capacity to thrive is limited by people and environments that are not geared to help them maximize their talents and abilities. Those are the people I want to empower to make a successful transition from employee to entrepreneur.

At the core of a true entrepreneur is an unbridled dreamer. Entrepreneurial dreamers and thinkers are always concocting new concepts, shaping fresh ideas, considering new possibilities, and asking “why not?” Without an active imagination, entrepreneurs cease to produce creative solutions that are transacted into valuable assets, i.e. revenue-generating products and services." Click here for the full article.

If you are interested in building your B.I.G. entrepreneurial dreams, you can start by attending the Dream B.I.G. in 3D Live Experience this Saturday, November 21st. Based on content from my book, this interactive, high-energy seminar will provide timely inspiration and practical instruction to empower you to “Live in 3D!” by equipping you to:

1. Discover Your Dream
2. Develop Your Dream
3. Drive To Your Dream

With your dream investment of only $39, you will receive a free copy of my book Dream B.I.G. in 3D, free breakfast and lunch, access to a special panel of B.I.G. dreamers, and much more!

For more details, please visit http://dreambigin3dlive.eventbrite.com

If you are currently an employee or an entrepreneur, don’t fear the unknown path of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Don’t be afraid to transition your life to something that may be unfamiliar, yet more fulfilling. The time is now to dream B.I.G., live B.I.G., and own a B.I.G. business!

Your Dream Coach,
Paul Wilson