{"id":2655,"date":"2022-04-28T07:10:26","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T07:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeroniche.com\/?p=2655"},"modified":"2023-04-04T20:49:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T20:49:00","slug":"lifestyle-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeroniche.com\/lifestyle-entrepreneur\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur and How to Be One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A lifestyle entrepreneur is someone who uses lifestyle design to create a business that supports their work and personal life goals. Working and living on one's own terms is a key concept in the lifestyle entrepreneur\u2019s playbook, where the accumulation of wealth is a means to an end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, not having to sacrifice personal goals for work and having the freedom to manage one's own time are tenets of the lifestyle entrepreneur's belief system. Practitioners focus on building a business around their life, not the other way around. Personal growth is important and experiences take precedence over financial gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lifestyle Design Journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you like to travel but your work or business keeps you from taking short trips more than once or twice a year. One solution is to design a life where you can make money and travel. It\u2019s not easy but many people with the simple goal of traveling more have done it. When you\u2019re not tied to a particular location because of your business, it\u2019s easier to make travel part of your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you want more time with your children. By finding a way to generate income while working from home, you can enjoy your kids and pay the bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle businesses are typically designed to create revenue or income that supports the owners and employees. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are typically not looking to grow their company as fast as possible or make an exit (unless it delivers life-changing returns)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They might not send rockets to the moon like Elon Musk. Luxury sports cars might still be out of reach for even the most successful entrepreneurs. But that\u2019s not the point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle entrepreneurs often have an \u201cexperiences before things\u201d mentality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Money is a tool, not the end goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owners of entrepreneurial ventures want to live life on their terms. Maybe they want to travel more, read more books<\/a>, or learn an instrument. They might be interested in charity work and want more free time to work with charitable causes. Others build businesses to generate a second income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Money is a tool, not the end goal. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle Business vs Startup Grind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contrast the lifestyle business concept with that of a typical startup business, where the \u201cgrowth at any cost\u201d mentality runs deep (thanks to a Mr Zuckerberg and his far-reaching advice) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Differences between the two business \u2018models\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle Business<\/strong><\/th>Startup<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Build a business until it reaches a point where further growth adds managerial headaches, risk, and stress. The goal is the automation of procedures so that the business owner can focus on what matters<\/td>Growth at all costs (not all startups follow this path, of course, but it's common)<\/td><\/tr>
In many cases, lifestyle entrepreneurs fly under the radar so as not to attract attention. Drawing attention to your lightweight, low startup cost, dropshipping business only invites competition<\/td>Profit is not important – investors pay for the running of the business<\/td><\/tr>
Their mission is to provide for themselves and their families financially and to extract themselves from the corporate treadmill. Saving the world is optional<\/td>Employees, especially employees are encouraged (forced) to spend most of their waking, and sometimes sleeping lives, working on the startup.<\/td><\/tr>
Businesses are generally 100% online (but not always) and can function without the owner\u2019s constant attention.<\/td>Startup owners, in contrast with lifestyle business owners, shout from the rooftops about their company. Attention-seeking is part of the growth phase.<\/td><\/tr>
Run the business as long as it supports the desired lifestyle<\/td>Exit after an IPO<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Important Steps for starting a lifestyle business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Define Your Goals and Values<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you want to achieve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel, freedom, stable income, more meaningful life, ability to be an entrepreneur, excitement. Whatever it is, you need to define it so that you know what you\u2019re doing this for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Define your audience or avatar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a profitable target audience. Don\u2019t try to sell fancy products to minimalists. Or expensive non-essential products to students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t try to sell fancy products to minimalists!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

3. Get a website (not just a social media account)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot of dodgy advice out there that goes something like this \u201cwebsites are dead, Instagram is where it\u2019s at\u201d. In a way, I\u2019m happy to see these people put all their eggs in one very unstable and volatile basket. Putting all of your resources into a platform like Instagram is potentially business suicide. Anything that Facebook owns (Facebook is the parent company of Instagram) is liable to see hundreds of algorithm changes, policy changes, and practices that downright punish creators from time to time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building your business on someone else\u2019s land might mean that you pay dearly for the privilege later on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You own the platform that your website lives on. You might not own the server but you can certainly move your intellectual property to another server. Try doing that with your Instagram account. Sure, you\u2019re at the mercy of Google\u2019s algorithm but as long as you follow proven methods for building a presence through content, you should still be here when the \u2018grams are long gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Market, market, market<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing is going to be key in this noisy world. You can make the best product in the world, but you\u2019re not Apple, so you need to get your message in front of your ideal audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cbuild it and they will come\u201d only works in Field of Dreams. This rarely works with online businesses. Word of mouth is great but it\u2019s just one form of marketing. With all of the different marketing channels at your fingertips these days, there\u2019s no excuse for not trying to maximize at least one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book How to be a capitalist without any capital<\/em><\/a>, Nathan Latka talks about copying proven business models. Don\u2019t try to create a new market unless you have a stack of cash to educate this market. Sell to people who already know what they want. Again, ignoring the model of \u201ccreate something that people don\u2019t know they need\u201d only works for Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Follow your passion, or don\u2019t!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many entrepreneurs believe that the only way to succeed is by being completely consumed by a love for the work you do. Don\u2019t get lulled into this trap that you might never dig yourself out of. Many more people have made businesses out of work they were not passionate about but grew to enjoy to some extent. What drives them is the desire to live on their terms. You don\u2019t need a passion for work<\/a>, you need a passion for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your passion is having the lifestyle you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Automate & Delegate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want more time, you\u2019ll need to automate. That\u2019s not just something for ecommerce owners or SaaS business owners. Freelancers, agencies, and many other \u201clabor-intensive business categories can be automated. It takes some work but it\u2019s something you should be thinking of right from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Zapier, Integromat, IFTTT, email automation tools, and other amazing automation tools can take out the boring, repetitive work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Outsourcing repetitive tasks to freelancers and overseas workers on sites like Freeeup<\/a>, Remoteco<\/a>, OnlineJobs.ph<\/a>, and Upwork<\/a> can be a great way for you to start focusing on what grows the business. Work on the business, not in it if you want this to be a lifestyle that fulfills you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popular lifestyle entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tim Ferriss<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many people, the man who started the journey of location independent business owners was Tim Ferriss<\/a>. Tim ran an online supplement company while traveling (and paying scant attention to his business) before anyone else was doing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim has since moved on to bigger things. He\u2019s not looking to start a niche company that gives him an income of $10,000 a month, but maximizing his personal time is still a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of Tim\u2019s seminal book The Four Hour Workweek puts him in the high-earner category. His brand is almost like a startup. He could walk away from it all, but he can\u2019t sell his brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Ogle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Ogle, the owner of Location Rebel, is another great example of someone who lives a no-fixed location life while running several businesses. Sean continues to start businesses that compliment his lifestyle. He likes golf so he started a successful golfing website<\/a>, one that no doubt earns him affiliate commissions and free golf club access. He likes cocktails. Guess what? Yes, a website about cocktail bars<\/a>. One with a twist (no pun intended) where the goal in to visit the top 100 bars in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat Flynn <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the original voices in the niche website movement. Pat started a blog about teaching people how to pass an architecture exam. He used content marketing & SEO to drive traffic to the website and he monetized the website by selling products that help people pass exams. The idea worked and he made enough money to support himself and his family.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat then started the Smart Passive Income blog<\/a> to teach others how to do the same. This website has surpassed his original project in terms of revenue and reach. He\u2019s now one of the personalities most people associate with niche websites, passive income, and making money online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Guillebeau <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An entrepreneur who built a business around travel, Chris Guillebeau quit his boring job to live his own life and travel to every country in the world before he was 35. Chris maintains the following philosophy: “You don\u2019t have to live your life the way other people expect\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 For Chris, travel comes first and foremost. His book The $100 Startup<\/em><\/a> is a good introduction to the world of side hustles<\/a> and money-making ideas that don\u2019t eat up your precious time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting & unique Lifestyle Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is my favorite part. I love looking at what people have done to build themselves projects that sustain them and give them the freedom to live the lives they want to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rules: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n