The Simple Dollar: Seven Things You Can Do Right Now (Without Any Capital) To Get Started On Chasing Your Dreams

Well, this is a largely helpful article, assuming you know what your passion is. If not, it's a little trickier, but Trent at the Simple Dollar accounts for passions you might not think count.

English: Podcast or podcasting icon
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Back in November of 2007, Trent gave us these seven steps, and I'm going to walk through them myself.

1. Set aside a block of time each day to work on it. This is something I need to do. I try to set aside time each day to work on this blog; I try to either do laundry or go to the gym [link] every weekday. I make time to eat. But carving aside time for my passion? Won't that let important things fall by the wayside in favor of "fun" things?

Trent suggests getting up early to do these things.  That won't be happening -- unless you decide sleep is my passion (it is not).

2. Figure out what you’re most passionate about. What would you happily hop out of bed at 4 AM to do? Well... pee and go back to sleep doesn't count. But for the sake of argument, let's say audio drama podcasts.

3. List every way that involving yourself in this passionate thing could lead to income. This is straight-up, no-wrong-answers brainstorming. So, let's see:

1. I could write and produce my own podcast, hoping it monetizes
2. I could design merch for podcasts I like, and sell it to them
3. I could audition for a role on one
4. I could see what kind of clerical work they need done
5. I could start a blog about my favorites and try to monetize it
6. I could start a podcast about podcasts and try to monetize it
7. I could organize a convention around audio drama podcasts

I bet there are other ideas, but these are just the ones that come to mind over the course of a few minutes.

4. Figure out what extra skills or material would be needed for each of these avenues. Going back to the above list:

1. I would need actors, equipment, and contracts. I know people with equipment, and Chris might be able to help me with contracts. I doubt it would make any money for a long time. I need to write more scripts.
2. I would need to improve my drawing and design skills a lot. I might also need either a drawing tablet or some expensive art supplies.
3. I would need a connection (most of the ones I follow are made up of very tight-knit groups) and access (many are recorded far away).
4. See #3
5. This would mostly just require a time commitment and a round with ProBlogger.com. Hmm.
6. I would need some of the resources of #1, but otherwise it's similar to #5.
7. I would need a lot of connections, probably a decent nest egg of money, and an extrovert's personality. And that's just to get started. I'm thinking no (but if anyone else wants to steal this idea, I'm in!)

5. By process of elimination, whittle things down to one choice – or a small handful of choices that easily complement each other. #5 is a clear winner.

6. Do some “dry runs” with the absolute minimum of financial expense and share them with friends who are willing to criticize. Yeah, I could do that. Just a matter of keeping on top of them and then writing about them. And then monetizing. Hmm.

7. Get started, promote what you do, and learn more. Well, what do you think? Should Is tart this blog? Would you read it?



Run  through the process yourself.  Maybe you'll find some new way to monetize your passion.

Related articles

• Pursuit
• The Simple Dollar: Turning Passion Into Income Via Youtube
• The Definitive Guide to Setting Up and Marketing a Podcast to Help Grow Your Blog
• Favorite Podcasts, Part 2