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Repurpose Your Career | Career Pivot | Careers for the 2nd Half of Life | Career Change | Baby Boomer

Repurpose Your Career podcast brought to you by Career Pivot is a podcast for those of us in the 2nd half of life to come together to discuss how repurpose our careers for the 21st century.  Come listen to career experts give you proven strategies, listen to people like you tell their stories about how they repurposed their careers and finally get your questions answered.   Your host, Marc Miller, has made six career pivots over the last 30 years. He understands this is not about jumping out of the frying pan into a fire but rather to create a plan where you make clear actionable steps or pivots to a better future career. 
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Now displaying: July, 2018
Jul 30, 2018

For 30 years, Jeanne Yocum has been self-employed as a public relations consultant and ghostwriter. This Spring, Rowman and Littlefield published Jeanne’s first solo book, The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss. Jeanne previously authored two books: The New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies and Ban the Humorous Bazooka: [and Avoid the Roadblocks and Speed Bumps Along the Innovation Highway]. She has also ghostwritten books on open innovation, strategic partnerships, and leading fast-growth companies. A Pennsylvania native, Jeanne holds a BA in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University and a Masters in Journalism from Boston University. After spending most of her career in Greater Boston and in Western Massachusetts, she now lives in Durham, North Carolina. She credits her parents for fostering skills that have enabled her to succeed as her own boss. Her mother was a high school teacher who led her to love writing. Her father was self-employed and served as her example on how to succeed out there on your own.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:23] Marc welcomes you to Episode 89 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[1:52] Next week’s episode is planned to be the fourth episode of the four-part series “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” You’ll want to come back and hear the closing episode of Juan’s saga!

[2:04] This week, Marc has an interesting interview with Jeanne Yocum. Marc shares her biography.

[3:25] Marc welcomes Jeanne Yocum to the podcast. Marc says he relates to The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss. For three years, setting up CareerPivot, Marc was going through much of the mindset described in the book. He sometimes thinks he works for the worst boss ever.

[3:49] As her own boss, Jeanne indulged her own requests for days off, usually.

[4:15] Jeanne had been self-employed for 25 years when she started writing this book. In addition to her own experience, a significant number of her public relations and event planning clients were self-employed. She also worked with self-employed graphic designers.

[4:52] Jeanne didn’t find any books that addressed the nitty-gritty of running your business and the perplexing people problems you run into on a day-to-day basis. So she decided to write that book as a resource for others.

[6:01] When Marc first got started he hired a business coach who walked him through understanding the types of clients he wanted and those he didn’t and learning how to determine the difference quickly. Marc has come up with a business model where he asks for a lot of his money up front.

[6:33] Jeanne discusses the question of whether someone can succeed in self-employment. Everyone likes to think they could. Then they start asking about staying motivated. (Well, the mortgage comes due every month! How’s that?)

[7:16] There’s a mindset that you do need, including some specific characteristics. Some of them can be learned. You can be great with your product or service, but are you great with the people issues?

[8:04] When Marc got started, he was used to being an employee, not self-employed. It took him a long time to get the self-employment mindset.

[8:24] Persistence, decisiveness, risk tolerance, self-motivation, confidence, and optimism are the six characteristics Jeanne recommends you need before deciding to become self-employed.

[8:52] Most of us working for anybody else rely on someone above us to make final decisions. That is not the case for the self-employed.

[9:22] Marc’s problem as a self-employed person was in being his own biggest critic.

[9:37] Some people starting out lack persistence. It’s easy to get discouraged from people who are not interested or keep you dangling. Get used to rejection and get used to going after people who owe you money. Not everybody says yes and not everybody pays on time. Take assertiveness training.

[11:07] You have to be decisive. Put a strategy in place and give it a good, honest chance to succeed. You have to work toward something. Jeanne shares a client story. If you get queasy about being the decider, you need to give this serious thought. Self-employment may not be right for you.

[12:43] Marc runs into some people who can’t make decisions and others who make slap-dash decisions without thinking enough about them. Do the research but set a time-limit to how long you research before the decision.

[13:48] Marc asks how long to hold onto an idea before letting it die as unworkable. Don’t worry how much time you have invested in it. Investing more time won’t make it work. Marc notes his own flopped ideas before he started this podcast.

[14:27] Don’t keep digging a hole that you’re in over your head. If you never make the decision, then you really have made a decision not to do something. You’re going to face risks day-to-day, through no fault of your own. If you just can’t tolerate risk, self-employment will make you unhappy.

[15:39] Jeanne started her business at the beginning of a recession and has survived two more. She was worried. She lost a major client. But somebody else came along.

[16:16] You’ll need self-motivation. When you’re self-employed, you have to have it within yourself to do what needs to be done.

[16:45]  Don’t fall for distractions. When business is down, it’s no time to paint a bedroom. Get back to your desk and do something to produce income.

[17:10] You have to build up your self-motivation. You have to want the business to succeed. Many businesses fail before the five-year mark, largely because the owner lacked self-motivation.

[17:35] Marc discusses the Birkman Assessment. One of the measurements is ‘change/insistence.’ Marc is very low ‘change.’ He has to separate himself from ‘devices’ because he is too easily distracted. He has taken Facebook off his phone. He moved his podcast setup into a closet to isolate himself.

[18:57] Jeanne addresses myths: ‘Life will be better without a boss.” Think of all the decisions the boss makes. You have to understand the accounting, especially about taxes.

[19:53] When you’re self-employed, you have multiple bosses — all your clients. Each of them wants to feel they are the most important person on your schedule that day and that you will jump when they call. Jeanne talks about clients trying to micromanage her.

[21:27] Don’t make the decision to be self-employed because you are unhappy with your current boss. You have to see if you have the self-employment mindset, a solid plan, a market who will buy from you, and the expectation of making a living off the price you can charge in that market. If you want to escape your boss, find a better boss.

[22:57] If you are running to something, not away from something, self-employment may be right for you.

[23:10] Will your work/life balance be so much better when you are self-employed? Eventually, that may be true. In the startup phase (the first couple of years), your work/life balance may be worse than when you work for someone else.

[23:33] Marc has not had a work/life balance for five years! If you want to run a lifestyle business, you may not build up much business. It takes time to create a business.

[25:13] You will go to early-morning networking breakfasts, after-hours meetings at the end of the day, and do all sorts of work running the business that you don’t get paid to do. You have to run your business. You will need accounting training, etc. You don’t get to do just what you love (providing your service or product).

[27:38] Marc makes two points: it’s very important to work on the business, not in it, and figure out what you are not good at or do not like to do and find other people to do that. Don’t think you can’t afford to hire. You can’t afford not to.

[28:17] Marc can do any of the tasks in his business. So he needs to learn how to outsource to people who will do it faster than he can, and for less money.

[29:02] Look at what your own time is worth writing business proposals rather than writing code for your website. Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow is the mantra of the self-employed.

[30:02] Marc asks how to deal with income and workflow fluctuations.

[30:08] Jeanne says, keep at it. If you have “just a little” work to do, don’t put it off to do your grocery shopping or mow the lawn. Do the paid work first, then spend the rest of the day bringing in new business. You can’t let up. Do chores outside of business hours. When things are down, don’t let that distract you. Keep it up.

[31:21] Another aspect of the self-employment mindset is optimism. When business slows down, you can get discouraged or you can open another door. If you just keep at it, your plate will get full again.

[32:04] When you have too much work, outsource new work to a known and trusted vendor. Or ask the client if they can wait until next month when you can devote time to them.

[33:27] Kay McManus of K-Kan says when you get started, the only qualification for a new client is a pulse. It’s hard to run away from a client with money but sometimes you have to trust your instinct. You don’t want to work with clients that take energy away from you. It takes a while to trust your instincts, Jeanne says. Meet them for lunch.

[34:48] If you have dollar signs in your eyes, you never learn to listen to your instincts. But you can’t afford not to do your best work for everybody. Word will spread. It helps if you have clients that are really great. If something is putting you off, just walk away.

[36:00] Jeanne’s last words — “Buy my book!” Jeanne also invites you to her blog, Succeeding in Small Business. Find yourself some friends who are self-employed, not necessarily a mentor (but get mentors, too), with whom you can commiserate. Having someone in the same situation to talk to will be a big help.

[37:55] Marc ties this into his online community where he asks people to get an accountability buddy.

[38:20] Jeanne says you can buy the book on Amazon and it is also available in a Kindle version. Barnes & Noble carries the book in many locations. Or check your independent bookstore. Also available in Audible format. Jeanne shares her contact information (see below).

[40:52] Check back next week, when Marc will air the fourth and final part of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Careerpivot.com/Juan

The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, by Jeanne Yocum

Birkman Assessment

Kay McManus / Kay-Kan.com

Succeeding in Small Business — Jeanne Yocum blog

The Self-Employment Survival Guide on Facebook

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. In a few weeks, Marc will start recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-89 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast. Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Jul 23, 2018

In Part 3 of this series, Marc covers the second feedback session with Juan for his personality assessment.

Key Takeaways:

[1:40] Marc welcomes you to Episode 88 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast (the intro of which he is recording inside his closet in Ajijic) and invites you to share this podcast with others. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[2:31] Next week’s episode is an interesting interview with Jeanne Yocum. Jeanne has been self-employed as a public relations consultant and ghostwriter for over 30 years. This Spring, Jeanne published her first solo book, The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss. This book really resonated with Marc.

[2:58] This week is the third episode of the four-part series “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Juan is in his mid-fifties, a former school teacher, technology trainer and educator, adjunct professor, and multipotentialite. Juan is figuring out what is next.
[3:19] If you have not listened to the first two parts of this series, please stop now and listen to Episode 83 and Episode 84 before listening to this third part. You will find all the reports for the series to download at Careerpivot.com/Juan. Marc added more reports for this Episode 88.

[4:00] Marc has already gotten feedback from a number of people about how this series resonates with them.

[4:09] Marc introduces Juan. This episode is the second feedback session for Juan.

[4:17] Juan reports on his homework from the first feedback session. Juan recalls the stress of leaving a union teaching position to going to a freelance situation, and what that meant to him. The security and convenience of benefits are alluring but Juan felt unchallenged and stagnant in a protected job.

[6:01] Juan learned a lot about his personality and natural predispositions in the first feedback session. He says the Birkman Assessment was on the spot. Juan wants to be high-challenged. He was happy doing freelancing. He enjoyed traveling a lot.

[7:37] Marc introduces the Preferred Work Styles (PWS) report. This covers Juan’s natural management style, how he fits into the corporate work environment, social adaptability and social responsibilities, and how Juan makes decisions.

[8:40] Juan is a global conceptual thinker.

[9:03] Juan’s knowledge specialist rank is 7/10. This is common for Marc’s clientele. Juan reads the knowledge specialist description. Juan leads by example.

[9:59] Juan ranks 3/10 in directive management. Juan reads the description. Juan doesn’t lead by telling.

[11:00] Juan ranks 2/10 in delegative management. Juan is not interested in a VP or CIO position.

[12:37] In the PWS document, Juan’s work motivation is ranked at 2/10. He needs to see value in his work to get motivated. Just having work is not motivation enough.

[13:59] Marc shares an example of someone who goes crazy with assignments given without explaining their purpose. Marc and Juan apply the rating to Juan’s experience in the public school system. Juan needs work he believes in.

[15:57] Juans ranks 4/10 in corporate adaptability. Juan reads the description for the level of commitment to the organization. Someone with a score of 3 or lower does not participate in organizational politics. Juan was proud to work for the organizations where he was given a lot of freedom and flexibility.

[1718] Juan identifies more with the good managers he has had than with the corporations where they worked.

[18:55] Juan ranks 7/10 in self-development. Juan reads the description. A rank of 7 shows he learns a job best in a structured onboarding process. Being left on his own is uncomfortable for him.

[21:26] Juan ranks 6/10 in social adaptability. This is about his opinions of other people in general, relating to trust. A low-trust individual would make a good policeman. A high-trust individual tends to get burned. Marc always recommends, in a new job situation, regardless of your trust ranking, to find ways to let people earn your trust.

[23:36] Juan ranks 5/10 in social responsibility. He is right in the middle. Juan reads the description. A rank of five and above shows a willingness to go along with the rules and conform to social expectations. Juan was a good corporate citizen. Juan, as a Latin-American, has bucked the traditional cultural trend to marry and have a family.

[28:00] Juan ranks 5/10 in public contact and 6/10 in detail. Juan reads the public contact and detail descriptions. Being in the middle of both areas means Juan doesn’t want to be around people all the time, but some time is good.

[29:45] Juan ranks 7/10 global and 4/10 linear. Juan reads the global and linear descriptions. Juan follows a relational and holistic approach to solve problems. Low-middle linear means Juan is not mostly logical but uses intuition as well. He thinks big. By contrast, Marc is a 10 linear. For Marc, everything is a process.

[30:37] Juan ranks 8/10 conceptual and 3/10 concrete. Juan reads the descriptions. Conceptual utilizes abstract information, experience, intuition, and knowledge to find fresh solutions. Concrete uses analysis and facts to solve problems. Juan prefers to use intuition and experience before facts.

[31:24] In combinations of problem-solving, Juan is a conceptual global thinker. Juan reads the description. Juan is a strategic thinker and is comfortable with ambiguity. He is open to new ideas and will consider all facets of an issue before taking action. His approach is more intuitive than fact-based.

[32:10] The priority of a conceptual global thinker is to make sure a problem has been fully identified and defined. Then they move to take action to solve the problem. Juan sees this as 100% on-target.

[32:41] Marc gives Juan some homework to use this as a framework to consider how he solves problems and find three problems he solved at work and three problems he solved in his personal life and report back to Marc how he did it. Marc wants Juan to be able to see a pattern and explain it.

[33:07] Marc is a linear concrete thinker. A linear concrete thinker and a conceptual global thinker can either complement each other or “kill” one another. They think very differently. Marc asks Juan to observe how his own brain works. If he can explain that in a job interview the hiring manager will have a better idea if Juan will fit in.

[34:03] One of the big problems a hiring manager has is thinking everyone thinks like them. We are all different.

[34:48] The Birkman Map Summary shows what Juan likes to do. “You may like to innovate or create, plan how to do things, consider the future, create new approaches, and look at things theoretically.”

[35:21] Juan self-describes as “You prefer to be enthusiastic and flexible, assertive and competitive, logical and objective, energetic, direct, and open.”

[35:43] In the next feedback session, Marc will discuss in detail with Juan his stress report and how he wants to be treated. In short, Juan wants people to show they appreciate him, are interested in his feelings, as well as logic, give him time for complex decisions, give him time alone or with one or two others, and not overschedule him.

[36:18] Marc observes that Juan wants to be around a small number of people he likes and who like him. He doesn’t want to be rushed on decisions. He wants some alone time and wants to manage his own schedule.

[36:39] Marc points out that how Juan behaves and how he wants to be treated are very different. Juan is a closet introvert. He has learned to behave differently because he is expected to.

[37:06] Last, are Juan’s primary stress behaviors. Marc gives Juan an assignment to cut them out and place them where he will see them frequently. If he catches them early, he can change the behavior. Juan’s stress behaviors are withdrawing, fatigue, indecisiveness, pessimism, over-sensitivity to criticism.

[37:49] Juan recognizes withdrawing as a career pattern after completing an assignment or being laid off. He also recognizes fatigue in the office, and indecisiveness while a freelancer.

[38:48] Marc gives Juan a homework assignment to translate 8-15 of the usual behavior phrases into ‘Juan-talk,’ figure out his problem-solving style, and fill out a career reflection worksheet about the times he was the happiest with his boss, his team, and when he felt valued, with the right level of activity.

[40:16] When Juan understands what are the best conditions for him, and what are the worst conditions, he can run to the good stuff, instead of running from the bad stuff. Marc just wants Juan to make sure he doesn’t go back to a bad circumstance. If he stays a freelancer he has fewer constraints; if he goes to teaching he has security.

[41:26] Marc talks about relapsing and uses himself as an example. He went back to something — a tech startup — that was familiar. It wasn’t healthy for him.

[42:05] Juan tells how grateful he is for Marc’s insight and helping him find the right course.

[42:33] Marc describes why Juan, being a multipotentialite, has bounced around in his career. He thought with enough education he would be recession-proof. He wanted to do something different every few years. In his mid-fifties, with no clear direction, the goal is to steer to a path of success.

[44:38] Check back next week, when Marc will interview Jeanne Yocum.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, by Jeanne Yocum

Careerpivot.com/Juan

CareerPivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-84 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 2”

Birkman Assessment

Reports used in the Feedback Session with Juan Doe

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He will start recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-88 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Jul 16, 2018

Marc revisits his interview with career pivoter Mike O’Krent. Mike O’Krent, Founder of LifeStories Alive, LLC, specializes in making personal history videos for families that value their heritage. They create family heirlooms in video — digitally mastered records of life stories with personal accounts, photos, and mementos of family history. Marc has known Mike for 10-plus years, and it has been fascinating, watching him grow his very unique business. Marc and Mike discuss what Mike did in the first half of life, why he quit without a plan, the life-changing experience of interviewing Holocaust, or Shoah, survivors, and, the nudge from a business coach that set him on the second half of life.

 

Marc thinks you’ll find Mike’s story quite fascinating; Marc got emotional listening to it again. Listen in to get inspiration for your own career pivot.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:49] Marc welcomes you to Episode 87 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with others. The larger the audience he can reach, the more people he can help. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[2:23] Marc’s original plan was to share Part 3 of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” But he is delaying that for a week. Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of Episode 7, Marc’s interview with Mike O’Krent.

[2:39] Marc introduces the episode. If you hear any thumping, Marc is in Mexico, and there is construction going on around the area. You can hear about Marc’s drive to Mexico in Episode 86.

[3:52] Marc and Mike start the interview.

[4:14] In the first half of life, Mike was in retail floor coverings, in his grandfather’s business in San Antonio, Texas. He started his own carpeting business in Austin in ’98, but sold it in ’04, without an idea what to do next.

[5:11] In the early days, Mike and his grandfather went to markets in Chicago and Dallas, where 200-plus carpet mills vied for their business. By the time Mike sold his business, there were three carpet mills left. The negotiation and the fun had gone.

[5:55] Mike gives an overview of what he does in his company, Life Stories Alive, LLC.

[6:38] In 1995, Mike was volunteering for the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, visiting schools and teaching about the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg was filming Schindler’s List, in Poland, and survivors were coming up and saying they have a story they want to tell.

[7:03] Spielberg wanted to preserve their stories. He started The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He set a goal of capturing 50,000 survivors’ stories, worldwide, and ended up with 52,000, in 39 languages.

[7:32] The foundation asked the Jewish Federation of San Antonio if they had someone to volunteer for training to interview local survivors. Mike jumped at the chance. He learned the process of interviewing people for their history. He interviewed survivors from ’96 to 2000 — it was one of the most fascinating experiences of his life.

[8:43] So, Mike had the process, and he loved the interviews, but then they were over in 2000. When he sold his carpeting business, he went to Administaff and worked, until he realized the corporate world was not for him. He still had no plan.

[10:38] Through his wife, Mike found a good business coach, who gave him an exercise: make a list of everything you’ve done, that 1) you liked and 2) you thought you did well. Exclude activities that don’t meet both tests. The next week Mike read a list of 20-25 things to the coach.

[11:54] The coach picked up on Mike’s excitement over the Holocaust interviews and asked him to talk about it. When Mike finished, the coach asked, can you make a business doing something like that? The lightbulb went on, and Mike was on his way. He planned for the resources he would need to get started.

[13:22] Marc shares how body language is a clue to your passion. A coach sitting across from you can see better what interests you than you can when you talk to them because they see your excitement through your body language.

[14:01] Mike got his first client, Bill, through his wife. Bill was a bank officer with a strong corporate background. Mike did his video for free, as a test. When he saw it, Bill called his connections and said, “You need to do business with Mike,” and handed Mike the phone! That’s how he got his first clients.

[15:44] The technology has changed. Mike started with videotapes, then DVDs, now he can upload a life story to the cloud or use other delivery methods. No matter the technology, there has always been and there will always be a way to do a life story.

[16:44] Besides personal life stories, Mike has done documentaries for businesses and nonprofits. These stories pull in customers, or donations, with their emotional appeal. When you can see the faces and the expression, that pulls the heartstrings.

[18:31] Mike had thought to franchise his business. He refers back to the franchise-type model Steven Spielberg used to capture 52,000 stories all over the world. If only Mike could duplicate himself — he has all the other processes down!

[19:30] Mike feels very fulfilled by the individual interviews he does and keeping himself productive and busy.

[19:51] Mike does only the interviewing. Videography, lighting, and sound, are hired out to professionals who accompany him, so Mike can focus on listening intently to the interviewee with no distractions. The editing is also hired out to professionals.

[22:05] Marc wants solopreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to realize they don’t have to do it all. Let the experts make you look good.

[22:50] Mike has done alright with word of mouth but is now moving to a marketing professional.

[24:55] Marc recaps Mike’s experience, common to most second-half-of-life pivoters. There was an idea to do something but no action was taken. After a period of years, there was a trigger get started. Finally, there came the realization that things do not turn out exactly as planned and there is a need for nimbleness to meet market needs.

[27:52] Marc’s last thoughts: Mike has taken a different path that most of us wouldn’t think would be very practical. But he has made it work.

[29:20] Check back next week for Part 3 of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Careerpivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”

Careerpivot.com/Episode-7 “Mike Made an Amazing Career Pivot…”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-86 “Marc Miller and His Wife are Expatriating to Mexico”

“How to Move Abroad and Take Your Job with You — Part IV”

Administaff (Now Insperity)

Careerpivot.com/Episode-6 “How to Prepare, Get Fit, and ... Shift ... with Kerry Hannon”

Don Osmond

Website: Life Stories Alive

Email: MOKrent@LifeStoriesAlive.com

Phone (512) 431-8166

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc has accepted five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. He is recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions, and most importantly, a community where you can seek help. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist for the next cohort at CareerPivot.com/Community.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-87 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

 

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Jul 9, 2018

Marc shares with the audience more about his upcoming move to Mexico and how the move is progressing.

Key Takeaways:

[1:29] Marc welcomes you to Episode 86 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with others. The more people he can reach, the more people he can help. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[2:05] Next week’s episode should be part three of a four-part series called “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” But it’s not recorded yet, so if it’s not ready, Marc will play an encore interview of one of his favorite career pivoters, Mike O’Krent.

[2:27] This week’s episode will be about driving to Mexico in the last week of June. You may hear a difference in the audio. Marc is recording in Mexico, in a house just outside of Ajijic. Listen for potential bird songs, barking dogs, or who knows what else?

[2:56] On June 20th Marc and his wife packed the car to prepare for leaving on the morning of the 21st. There wasn’t room to take the slow cooker or the blender. This was emotionally jarring for Mrs. Miller but just another problem to solve for Marc.

[3:44] Marc’s son works for the Navy; his daughter-in-law works for the Department of Defense. They warned Marc that this was a dangerous drive. Marc had hired a driver from Ajijic, so he was not worried. Around 11:00 a.m. they started driving to Laredo. Halfway there, Rex, the cat had a panic attack. Eventually, he curled up at Marc’s feet.

[5:05] They arrived in Laredo and had a room at the La Quinta on I-35. Marc confirmed with JP, their driver in Mexico, which bridge to take from Laredo across the border. There were five choices.

[5:57] Crossing the bridge, they pulled into the customs line to declare their cats. Nobody asked to see Marc’s documents. As they pulled away, they met with JP, and he took them to the immigration building. Marc would not have found it without a guide. One immigration building served all five bridges crossing from Laredo.

[7:05] Leaving the cats in the car, Marc and his wife started filling out immigration paperwork. There were multiple places to go to complete the process. There is a tax of 533 pesos to enter Mexico or about $25.00. Then they needed a Temporary Import Permit for the car. That was convoluted and they had to pay to copy their papers.

[8:23] From the time the Millers crossed the bridge to the time they were processed through was about one hour. They started driving to Matehuala, about the halfway point to Ajijic. Periodically, Marc would take a screenshot of Google Maps to text to his son, so he would not worry.

[8:58] The entire trip was taken over toll-roads. It happens that the State Department approves of the same route Marc took. Every expat they had met assured them of its safety. There were trucks and more trucks, mostly going to the U.S. When Marc had crossed the border, the lines coming North were much longer than those going South.

[10:01]  It was convoluted to cross the border. Marc would not have figured it out without help. About 30 miles in, you run into the formal immigration office. You can’t go through it if you missed going through immigration at the border. There is a lot of daily border crossing just for shopping that never gets more than a few miles from the border.

[10:52] Marc has not added up the tolls yet but estimates that in two days, the tolls exceeded $100. The roads were very good. There were cows and horses in the medians and side of the road. It’s free grazing. Don’t drive at night or you might hit a cow or horse.

[11:55] Central Mexico is gorgeous. It is high desert. As you climb the hills, you will get caught behind overloaded trucks going very slowly. They stayed at Las Palmas in Matehuala. Las Palmas is pet-friendly and it has a good restaurant.

[13:40] Saturday morning, they departed for Ajijic. About halfway there, they stopped at a rest stop. JP was listening to Mexico playing Korea in the World Cup Games. But, he turned the car off, left the air conditioner and the radio on at the rest stop. The battery died. JP flagged down someone to give them a jump. Everyone carries them in Mexico.

[15:27] They arrived in Ajijic in the late afternoon. After settling in, they went shopping for a blender at WalMart and a slow cooker at a dollar store on the square in Ajijic. Since then, they have bought a WiFi extender, a cat tree, and other items they couldn’t fit in the car on the way down.

[16:28] Chapala is about a mile from Riberas del Pillas, the mostly expat community where Marc is staying. They are renting a one-bedroom 800 square foot house for $620 a month. They went to Chapala for market day. Marc bought one Kilo of strawberries for 25 pesos, or $1.25. Fresh whole chickens are inexpensive.

[17:30] See Marc’s blog post about the business aspects of working remotely in Mexico. The internet is not the best; he is in an AT&T dead spot between two towers. He is working through the problems.

[18:17] They are settled in. Marc recorded this episode on July 3rd. They have been in Ajijic a little over a week. The cats are settled in. They will stay for 12 weeks. They need a long-term rental for later this year.

[18:54] Marc explains why he hired a driver from Laredo to Ajijic. He has been in the wrong place at the wrong time in other countries more than once. He was in China for the SARS epidemic and also for the spy plane scandal in 2004. Other occasions made him glad to have local support. The level of stress was reduced greatly by a driver.

[19:53] JP proved to be good for conversation as well about things related to Mexico and the U.S. One topic was how the end of NAFTA caused a huge spike in Mexican gas prices at the pump. Marc noticed gas prices are about twice what he was paying in the U.S. High fructose corn syrup and American foods are causing an obesity epidemic.

[21:43] As more expats come to the North Shore of Lake Chapala, they drive prices up for housing and rental. Local Mexicans are being priced out. This is similar to what’s happening where Marc lives in Austin, Texas.

[22:07] Look for more on Marc’s move to Mexico in the coming weeks. Marc is getting feedback that people are enjoying hearing the processes of his move. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments for this podcast. Marc will do an episode on his move about once a month.

[24:19] Check back next week, when Marc will either air the third part of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” or the episode recorded with Mike O’Krent.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Careerpivot.com/Juan

Running a Business in Ajijic Mexico

Episode 007 with Mike O’Krent

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has accepted five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He is recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-86 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Jul 2, 2018

Marc shares with the audience how he got to where he is today as a coach, author, and podcast host. He gives case studies from some of his clients and suggestions for action.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:57] Marc welcomes you to Episode 85 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with others. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[1:34] Last week’s episode was part two of a four-part series called “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Marc will return to that series in a couple of weeks.

[1:45] Next week’s episode will cover Marc’s and his wife’s driving to Mexico the last week of June. It will be the next of a series about becoming an expat in Mexico and taking Career Pivot with him.

[1:57] This episode comes from when Denise King interviewed Marc during the “Escape the Corporate World Now” Summit.

[2:07] Denise, the host, welcomes the audience to “Escape the Corporate World Now Summit” and introduces her guest, Marc Miller. Marc gives his bio — he is a Baby Boomer, raised to be an employee of a company that would take care of him for 30-40 years. They ‘moved his cheese,’ and it didn’t happen.

[3:20] Marc graduated in the mid-to-late 70’s with an engineering degree and went to work for IBM. After 22 years of ‘wandering’ from area to area at IBM, they cut his pension plan. He left to work for a successful tech startup that was quickly acquired by Lucent.

[4:34] On July 11, 2002, Marc had a bicycling accident going downhill on a blind turn. He crashed head-first into a vehicle going uphill at about his speed. He broke or dislocated several bones but had no internal or brain injuries. In three days, he was on crutches. In 10 weeks, he was on a bike. In four months, he was flying to China, into the bird flu.

[5:43] Marc wondered why he was doing that. His first tech startup left him debt-free and mortgage-free, even after he had put his son through college. He was grateful that his accident gave him more time with his son. After four years at school, his son came back and listened to Marc.

[7:06] The year after his accident, Marc laid himself off and got his Math teaching certificate. Then he went to teach high school math. He devotes a chapter of his book to this experience. He wasn’t the best fit for the job and it wasn’t a good fit for him. Years of teaching adults had not prepared him for teaching high school.

[7:56] Next, Marc moved to fund-raising for the Jewish Community Center in Austin. That was an interesting experience, but not for him. He relapsed into working for a tech startup. Logitech bought them and it “got really, really ugly, really, really fast.” He timed his resignation to get the optimal financial reward.

[9:15] That’s when Marc started Career Pivot, primarily because he had changed careers seven times, using a process for change. That process is a pivot, changing from position to position in incremental steps.

[9:57] You can either change a business skill or switch industries using the same skill. It doesn’t work well to try a new skill in a different industry. Marc gives a case study of a successful pivot done over years.

[11:58] When Marc came out of teaching and went back to a startup he was feeling lost. He watched his friends still at IBM and other companies who were being spat out in their early 50s, and they were totally lost. Marc joined the board of LaunchPad Job Club and wondered who was helping his generation.

[12:42] When Marc started at the startup LifeSize, the great recession of 2008 hit. He searched for career books or a career website for Baby Boomers. Marc found nothing. Marc hired a student intern to do some Boomer research. Boomers were expected to retire. State pensions are in debt. Most Boomers will not retire.

[14:21] Marc wants to work on his terms at something he loves. He launched the Career Pivot Brand in 2012 because nobody else was addressing this problem. Even still, a Google search today shows Career Pivot to be the only site focused on Boomer careers.

[15:58] For hundreds of years new technologies have replaced old technologies in a form of creative destruction. It used to talk 50 years, now it happens quickly. Think what the iPhone has done to cellular and what Amazon has done to retail.

[17:10] Marc has a creative destruction workshop he gives. He explains how to stay ahead of the creative destruction. Your growth will be funded by you. No one’s going to take care of you, anymore. You have to stay on top of things.

[19:59] In the corporate world we play roles. If we do it long enough, we believe the role. Marc explained how he behaves as an extrovert, because it pays, even though it exhausts him.

[21:13] Marc uses the Birkman Assessment for clients one-on-one, to poke them while assessing them. The assessment shows not only how you behave in an area, but how you want to be treated in that area.

[21:49] Marc describes case studies of structured anarchists. They love order, so long as it is their order. They are good at fixing stuff. Then they want to move on to something else.

[23:49] Marc continues explaining how the Birkman Assessment analyzes your worst and best times in your career. Then it covers your needs. The idea is to get you very self-aware about what you want.

[24:41] Our environment and who we work with are more important than what the job is. If it’s the right environment, it probably will be a job you want to do.

[26:26] Marc suggested to one client to go find a problem to solve. The problems he solves will lead him in the direction he wants to go. What drives you? What gets you up in the morning?

[27:37] Most Boomers need to find something they want to go do, with a financial element to it. There’s a balance between what you want to do, and what society will pay you for. Marc does not think anyone would pay him to be in a band.

[28:55] Quiet, by Susan Cain talks about restored niches. Some people need to exercise, some pick up a book to read, or write or draw something.

[3108] Marc opens how much the Birkman Assessment revealed about him. Marc is very, very low-change. Don’t interrupt him, and don’t get in the way of his schedule. Marc had to make some changes.

[31.59] Birkman’s category of “organizational focus” helped Marc to understand his personality compared to other people. Marc has a client he describes as a square peg because his scores are so different from others.

[32:58] Denise relates to not fitting in. Her mother was an artist, and her father was an investment banker. Denise sees that there was no combining those two roles in one job.

[33:54] Technology has created a lot of activities. For instance, recording a podcast. That was not widely available a decade ago. PCs, the internet, and telecommunication are easily affordable. Be open to new roles that were never available.

[35:12] Marc’s parting words: You need to keep an open mind. You need to know who you are. For those born in the 50s and 60s, there is a ton of data (based on life experiences). When have you been happy at work, and why? What didn’t you like to do, and why? Don’t repeat familiar experiences of the past. Run to a role, not away from it.

[36.06] Marc presents some free offers of content from CareerPivot.com.

[36:51] Marc says you can either walk off a cliff, let someone push you off the cliff, or best yet, plan the trip and wear a parachute. Plan your career.

[39:39] Check back next week, when Marc will air the episode recorded during their trip to Ajijic, Mexico.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Careerpivot.com/Juan

IBM

Lucent

Jewish Community Center of Austin

LaunchPad Job Club

LifeSize

iPhone

Amazon

The Birkman Assessment

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has four initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He is recruiting members for the fifth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.

CareerPivot.com/Episode-85 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

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