More often than not, when we talk about paying for our tickets to far-off places, we’re talking about telecommuting or freelancing. It’s rare that we talk about building a full business that we can legitimately earn a full-time living with, no matter which nation we happen to be in this week. The idea of building a business, in a year or less, that will make at $50,000 or more, may seem out of reach.
But Chris Guillebeau, and the other empire-builders he interviewed for the Empire Building Kit, have done just that. Chris defines an empire as follows:
In this case I define an empire as a sustainable lifestyle business — a one-man or one-woman shop that earns at least $50,000 a year, usually oriented around something the owner/emperor is interested in. I talked to dog walkers, murder mystery party hosts, photographers, and all kinds of fun people to understand more about how they had built their business, and tried to deconstruct that process into its most essential lessons. The key is partly what it’s not: I don’t focus on big businesses or boring businesses. I’m interested in looking at the concept of “following your passion” in a way that actually works.
The Empire Building Kit offers case studies on all sorts of businesses (from offering coaching services to walking dogs) and interviews with all sorts of business owners. Through all that information, the kit guides you to the threads that will help you build a business of your own. Several of the interviews are with people who spend most of their time on the road — Chris even includes insights into his own Unconventional Guides business, which supports his traveling (Chris has visited 125 countries and plans to visit the other 67 before mid-2013).
An MBA in a Box
As I read, watched and listened to all the materials in the kit, I was struck by the fact that it’s essentially a short-form MBA — or it would be if an MBA really taught students how to start and operate a business. Even better, Chris has put it together in such a way that it will work for different learning styles. When asked why he chose to offer such a variety of formats, Chris said,
For a couple of reasons: one, because all of us learn differently. Some people love online video and some hate it. Some of us learn primarily by reading, and so on. I wanted to give people the choice and make it as accessible as possible. Then I threw in the 365-day email series — I’ve since heard from the folks at Aweber that it’s the longest follow-up series in history — to ensure retention and continual progress. Lastly, the project is called Empire Building Kit, so I knew it had to be big. An Empire Building Kit can’t just be an ebook, right?
This is the guide that I wish I had been able to read when I first started out to build my own business. I found details in every case study and interview that I can still use as I grow my business. I think Chris feels the same way:
The thing I enjoyed the most about creating it was talking to all of the case studies. They were quite diverse, but shared similar values in terms of recovering from mistakes, shifting tactics but rarely shifting strategy, and just simple persistence. I didn’t know a lot of people like them when I was getting started, and I’m sure I would have been much better off with their expertise.
I Recommend the Empire Building Kit
If you are looking for a way to get a business off the ground and get yourself on the road, this kit can get you there. You can purchase the kit at EmpireBuildingKit.com — but it’s only available today, for 24 hours. Tomorrow, Chris is leaving for Africa so that he’ll stay on track for that 2013 deadline.
