Small-town introvert. Big-time plans.

In May 2009 I contacted the local media outlets and podcaster Steve Spalding to promote Strange Little Band. To my delight, many of them were interested! Below are the interviews available online, as well as a list of upcoming ones.

Really Great Stories - A Strange Little Band by Steve Spalding

Interview with WVTF's Gene Morrano for "Studio Virginia" - air date TBA

Interview with The News Messenger's Hattie Francis - article print date TBA

For forty hours of each week I'm a web programmer. It's a good job, and I work with nice people. Yet there's a problem. I don't like what I do. The fact that I don't do a lick of programming in my spare time says volumes.

What do I do instead? I write screenplays and fiction, noodle around online, and occasionally create digital graphics. I loves me some Photoshop. :)

For a short time I considered freelancing as a technical writer or graphic artist. Either way, the thought scared the hell out of me. I imagined my introverted self on a hamster wheel of completing one job, scrambling to find another, and dealing with difficult clients. Plus, no health insurance. No stability. Yikes!

Fortunately there's another way. Actually, there are lots of "ways," and more than one for each person. My way is based partially on Chris Guillebeau's eBook Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself and Tim Ferriss's book The 4-Hour Workweek.

Here are the broad strokes of my plan for the next 4.5 years.

• Ditch as much debt as much as possible
  For me this means everything but the mortgage -- and I'll be chipping away at that, too.


• Create multiple sources of revenue
  In other words, start tiny businesses you'll enjoy running. The trick is finding stuff you like that people will pay for. Now that the Internet is mainstream there are more options than ever.
  
  My first tiny business is up and running: Strange Little Band. It's a serialized version of a story a friend and I co-wrote a few years ago. Revenue comes from a few ads at the top of the right column.
  
  I also sell stuff on eBay, but I hesitate to even call that a tiny business. It's a mere trickle, but every little bit helps!


• Create an emergency fund
  When you work for yourself you've got to be prepared for dry spells. How much is enough? I've read amounts from $1,000 to half of your current annual salary. I'm aiming for a figure closer to the lower end of the spectrum.


• Budget for health insurance
  It's another expense, so bite the bullet and go for it. There are more options for private health insurance than you'd think! I'll detail them here as I research them further.


• Transition to part-time work
  This may mean reducing hours at my current job (and giving up benefits), finding a part-time job elsewhere, or freelancing. We'll see.

My plan continues for another five years, but those details will have to wait for another day. :)