What Are You Good At? Whatever It Is, Diversify

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The title of this post should perhaps have been, what are you good at in real life? or What are your offline skills? or What do you know how to do? or What are your hobbies? You get the idea.
This post is not meant to teach anybody how to do anything in particular. The intended goal is to get you to think, and not just for a minute but for a long time, about what you already know how to do, what you love, what you have a passion for, what you do in your free time, what you’ve always wanted to do, etc. Today I was reading some very informative and interesting stuff over at IttyBiz, and something that Naomi said caught my attention. She was talking about this guy, probably fictional, who works in a town with one big giant employer who makes canned soup. So the guy gets laid off together with a couple of thousand other guys and gals, and all he had been doing for twelve years was chopping mushrooms. Naturally there is no one in the area remotely interested in hiring someone with his unique “skill set.” I put the phrase in quotes because there is no actual “set” since all he does is chop mushrooms. Then she imagines another scenario in which this same guy a few years back had decided to set up a couple of small online ventures on the side that have been steadily growing all this while. So when he loses his job he’s not panic stricken like all his colleagues, but rather thinks he will just throw himself full time into his online ventures and make them blossom into fully fledged revenue streams.


So, what are you good at? I’m not just talking to people who have lost their jobs and are looking for a way to reinvent themselves. I’m talking to people who may already have a job but are coming to the realization that in the current climate there is no such thing as “job security.” And we are not likely to go back to a time when there will be. Ever again. I honestly don’t think we can ever go back to a situation in which people can get a job and expect to keep it until retirement. So, what to do?
I’ll make an example of a cousin of mine, whom I’m very fond of, and has a skill that I think could come in quite handy. I haven’t asked his permission so I won’t use his name or anything, and this is just as an example. My cousin Brad (not his real name) has become an avid fisherman, but what makes him unique is that he has taught himself to make his own flies and invented some fancy flies of his own. I don’t know anything about fishing or fly fishing or making flies, but I do know this:

• It is meditative, considered a Zen activity by many;
• Well made and innovative flies are considered works of art and admired by other fishermen;
• Fishermen are always looking for new flies, and not everyone is willing or has the ability to make his own.

I don’t know about you, but I see an opportunity in this. Now, Brad has a job, and as far as secure jobs go, his is pretty secure. But it’s still a salaried job and it is not likely that he will accumulate a great deal of wealth in his current position. With not too much effort, he could set up a blog and post pictures of his flies, videos on how to make his flies, and eventually develop an email course, a video course, an ebook, on fly making that he could sell to his readers. And I just know that there would be takers.

This is just an idea, of course, but I think it’s a valid suggestion. I also think that it has marketing potential. So I’m putting it out there, Brad, you know who you are! Start a blog and show all those wannabe fly makers how it’s done.

All joking aside, I don’t want anyone to run out and throw themselves into a new blogging activity or online marketing scheme without having thought about it well and hard. The world is a big place, the internet is a big place, and no matter how bad things get there will always be people interested in buying things, learning how to make things, learning how to do things, and in just plain being entertained. Life+Web is a blog devoted to helping people take real life, offline skills and putting them online, in order to obtain exposure to a broader audience than they can command from, say, their garage. They say that retail is dead. Retail is not dead, not by any stretch of the imagination. It has merely moved… to the internet. In this day and age, aside from the odd restaurant and coffee shop, I don’t recommend that the average Joe attempt to open a retail store. But an online store… well anyone can do that. And if you choose your product or service or information wisely, you will find an audience and you will find customers.

In order to get the ball rolling, here is a list of things I’m good at:

1. Reading (huge money maker);
2. Writing;
3. Translating back and forth between English and Italian;
4. Teaching;
5. Talking to people and making them feel at ease;
6. Empathizing and connecting with others;
7. Managing a household with close to zero clutter;
8. Being my own contractor in a renovation;
9. Buying the house of my dreams in New York in 8 weeks (do not underestimate this skill);
10. Going to school — meaning I’m a good student.

Well, that’s a list of ten items. I’m sure I could come up with another ten things. What’s amazing is that what you are good at can be a tiny, weird thing that nobody has ever heard of, that can turn out to be wildly successful if you just let people know you are doing it. Give me some feedback, put your top ten list in the comments, and I’ll give you some advice of what to do with it.

Tagged as: Fishing, Fly fishing, Putting our skills online, Skills, Talents