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Psst - wanna work for yourself?

How to Succeed by Working for Yourself

44% of 2500 unemployed people said that they considered starting their own businesses.

Yet only about 4% actually did.

How many times have you thought about striking out on your own and working for yourself? What's held you back? Fear? Not sure you can do it? I can help.

This is NOT a "get rich quick" book, but rather a practical 250+ pages, 55,000+ word guide to working for yourself, especially as a consultant or other service based business. Covers everything you want to know about self-employment, from what to do about health insurance to how to best use a website.

The only true job security you can have today is from working for yourself. Only self employment can make you immune to down-sizing, layoffs and corporate restructuring.

Self employment is also the best path to personal happiness - controlling your own destiny, setting your own goals, working at your choice of times and at your level of effort - these are the things that will truly bring happiness.

Why should someone you may not even know determine if you get a paycheck next week? Why should the needs of a faceless corporation determine the happiness of you and your family?

Take control. You are the master of your life - don't let someone take that away from you!

I have over 30 years of experience working for myself, mostly as a self employed computer consultant. Note that this is not about "contracting", is not about finding venture capital or becoming the next Google. It's about how to work for yourself and be successful at it.


Now available in a Kindle version for just $2.99: Psst - wanna work for yourself? [Kindle Edition]

Don't have a Kindle? You can download a free Kindle Reader.

I sold hundreds of these books at $14.95, but times are tough and not everyone can afford that much now. Take advantage of low prices!

Buy Now or Buy Now


You may also be interested in The Hard Truth about Easy Money on the Internet or my Linux and Unix Troubleshooting E-Book.

Read Sample Pages here(requires PDF reader).

(See this special offer if you want to buy more than one of my E-Books)


This definitely is not just for computer consultants. I've owned a retail store and sold rare coins at hobby shows. I've sold industrial equipment and heat exchangers - whatever your business plan is, I can help.

Click "Add to Cart" button to buy and download complete "Psst - wanna work for yourself" book.

By the way, all the "experts" tell me that I need fancy graphics on this page - and that I can pad my page count with lots of pictures and charts. They also say I need lots of RED STUFF.

I don't think either of us needs more red stuff. As to padding page counts with silly filler, no I didn't do that either. No fluff!

There are no "secrets" here. No "magic formulas". The book isn't "packed with wealth building knowledge". You can read the table of contents below - it's just practical advice that came from decades of experience working for myself.

If you want somebody screaming "You need to buy this NOW" in flashing red headlines, you need to go elsewhere. Sorry - I don't like hard sells and I'm just not going to do it.

If you want to pay $20, $30 or more for a 20 page piece of fluff - and it only reached that many pages because the type is big and they threw in illustrations - go ahead. This is more than 250 pages of real information for just $4.99!

Why did I write this? Because I've been helping people start their businesses for years. All I usually ask is that we go to lunch - they pay for my food and I let them pick my brain. Here's your chance to "take me to lunch" - for just $4.99.



You'll learn the most common reasons for failure - and why failure rates are grossly overstated! You'll learn why worrying about health insurance is a silly thing to do. You'll understand why some large companies may be afraid to hire you - and what you can do about that!

Learn why your lawyer or accountant might not give you the best advice. Find out the advantages and disadvantages of having a home office. Learn the power of retainers and automatic discounts. Should you have employees? How do you set your rates? How can you best use the Internet? How can you raise your rates without upsetting customers?

Learn all this and much more from someone who has been doing it for decades.



Still not sure this book will help you? OK, I understand and of course I will refund your money if you are not happy. But what if you are happy enough - you got your money's worth - but you still have questions about working for yourself? Just send me email at the special address at the end of the book. Ask me anything about this and I will answer you for free. How's that for a bonus?

iPhone readers and others: This book is formatted for computer reading. I'm working on offering it in other formats, but for now, just buy this and then write to me telling me what you need and I will get it to you asap.

Review Copies: If you would like to review this e-book, just send me an email showing where you have done similar reviews and I'll be happy to send you a free copy.

Highly enjoyable reading! - Andrew

Regards & thanks for a great read. It's been over 3 years since I made the jump from the big corporation to self employed and it's really a pleasure to read someone else's experiences which have been very similar to my own. For me it's allowed me 3 wonderful years seeing my kids arrive into the world and I'm just very lucky that I work 50% of what I used to and the bills are still being easily paid! - Donal

The best part about your book, is it helps me realize I am not nuts and heading in the right direction - Steve

Very helpful and insightful - Eric

Thanks. Good read - Paul

Incredible resource and very complete - John

This book is definitely worth your time and considering the price, one of the best investiments you can make. Review by Jimmo at Linux Tutorial

Buy Now or Buy Now

As of October 2011, I'm using the proceeds from these books to fund Kiva loans.

Check Out the Table of Contents!

Psst wanna work for yourself? 11

Dreams of self employment 13

Reality 14

Freedom and happiness 17

Details, details 19

Get your own ball 19

Failure 20

Micro Business 21

The Lone Wolf 21

The Joy of Self Employment 25

The Pain of Self Employment 27

My story 31

Nice work if you can get it 35

The time is right 39

Websites and Broadband 41

Health Care 43

Contracting vs. self employment 47

Attitudes toward self employment 49

Self Discipline for the Self-Employed 51

Autodidacts and Self Employment 53

Accidental Entrepreneurs 57

Are we happy? 59

Happiness is more than money 59

Money is not Success 61

It's not luck 63

Cake and ice cream 65

What's your ideal life? 67

Flexibility 69

The secrets of success 71

Arrogance or confidence? 72

What if you aren't all that confident? 73

Oh, you are hot stuff, aren't you? 76

It's not for everyone 76

Communication Skills 77

But your skills aren't enough 78

Image 79

The fake "consultant" 80

Part time 81

Take this job and shove it 81

They'll miss you when you are gone 82

Raising money for your business 87

Licenses and what-not 89

Costs of starting up a business 91

Choosing a name for your business 93

Business Cards 97

Sole proprietor or Corporation? 99

Partnerships 103

Networking 105

Home office? 107

Accounting 111

Taxes 113

Reporting Income 115

Separate Bank Account? 117

Setting hourly rates 119

Scheduling time loosely 122

Charging for travel? 123

Minimum billing 123

Raising your rates 125

Employees 127

Employee Classification 129

Outsourcing and sub-contracting 133

Coaches and Mentors 137

Gigs, the long and the short of it 139

Small things 143

Email and websites 143

Phone and fax 143

Know your limitations 144

Some projects are too big for you to handle 144

Be happy 145

Don't hate what you do 146

Failure is possible 146

Remember that you have to get paid 147

Who said anything about selling? 149

Opportunities really are everywhere 151

Eyes wide open 151

Look for the itch 152

Know your customer 154

Overselling 155

Don't make assumptions 156

Friends and family members 157

Low end clients 158








Prospecting 161

Sales Calls for Tech folk 163

Customer Service 165

An old customer is better than a new customer 166

Don't be cheap with your business 169

You sounded annoyed 173

Don't make it hard for your customers 175

Where can you get the boxes? 179

Firing Customers 181

The customer who buys too much 181

All your eggs 182

The customer who sucks your soul dry 184

Too much of a stretch 184

Ignore the "potential dance" 185

No spec work 186

Pro-bono is good for whom? 186

Time and billing 187

Tracking time 187

Billing 188

Bill Early, Bill Often 190

Your Invoices Should Look Professional 191

Follow Up 192

Emailing Invoices 193

Retainers 195

Prepaid hours 198

Combine prepaid hours with retainers 199

Email and Phone Support 201

Are you afraid of your competitors? 205

Customer Relations 207

Small Business Advertising Advice 209

You have to ask 209

You have to sell 210

Saving money isn't the goal 210

Stand out from the crowd 211

Let the pros help 212

Trade Shows 212

Websites 213

Podcasting 213

The "R" Word 214

Fluctuating income 217

Life is not Fair 219

If it's really bad right now 220

Tired and stressed 223

Getting more done 227

Reading speed 228

Exercise 229

Perfection takes time 229

Too many important things 230

Systems 234

Keeping sharp 237

Embracing the unfamiliar 238

Sick Days 241

Coasting 243

Disaster Plans 245

Backups 246

Websites for the self employed 249

Creating a website 249

The Brochure Site 250

The store front 250

The Article site 251

Copycats 252

The Ideal Site 252

Niche Websites 252

E-Commerce Web Sites 255

Your site or sites 256

Selling your Products 256

Building Community 257

E-books for business promotion 259

Grow or die? 263

What's your business worth to you? 265

You don't have to own the world 267

Selling out 269

Internet Links 273



250+ pages, 55,000+ words! Just $4.99!
Buy Now or Buy Now

See this special offer if you want to buy more than one of my E-Books.

Have a website? Want to resell this book and make some money?

E-junkie Shopping Cart and Digital Delivery

Join our Affiliate Program!

(You will be sent an email for each sale originating from your website. Each month's earnings will be paid via PayPal within 15 days of month end.)





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Sun Jul 12 19:02:55 2009:   TonyLawrence

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Great related post by The Deep Frar: http://tinyurl.com/m4zxra



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My Psst - wanna work for yourself will show you how to get real security and happiness from working for yourself!

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Psst - Wanna Work For Yourself - 271 pages, $4.99
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Put my experience to work for you.

I've been working for myself for more than 30 years. Learn how to find true happiness and real security working for yourself!

Learn the most common reasons for failure and why failure rates are grossly overstated!

Learn how can you raise your rates without upsetting customers!

Learn how to get more done and avoid stress.

Why you don't need to panic over the cost of health insurance!


Psst - Wanna Work For Yourself - 271 pages, $4.99
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