That’s the kind of question I get from clients.

My friend and mentor, Barbara Winter, shares this story of Inspired Livelihood in action:

Last weekend when I headed to California to visit my family, I had a short list of things I wanted to do while there. One of those items was to visit Betty Belts, a small shop in Ventura which had recently bestowed one of their tote bags on my sister Margaret in a store contest. Although I didn’t need a belt, Margaret insisted I needed to see the store.

She was absolutely right. From the moment we entered this cozy shop, I knew we were in a special place. I learned that the store is named after a pioneering woman surfer who inspired other women to master the sport.

We began our visit by admiring the beautiful silver jewelry made by the group of artisans that stock the store. Owner/Designer Donna von Hoesslin was puttering about the place. Within a few minutes, I discovered that she was passionate about jewelry, the environment, surfing and Bali, Donna has found a way to integrate all these passions into her life.

She also proudly announced that her business had recently reached its seventh anniversary. The shop is a recent addition to the successful online business that Donna’s run for most of that time.

When I admired a bracelet she was wearing she told me the story of its inception. She and several members of Team Betty had gone to Bali, Donna challenged them to each come up with a new jewelry design, give it a name and choose a cause that would receive 15% of the profits from its sales. The bracelet she was wearing was called Compassion and the designer had been so moved by the huge number of stray dogs in Bali that her cause was a pet rescue mission there.

Jewelry wasn’t all that this shop had to offer, however. There are magnificent scarves imported from Bali, large framed photographs of surfers taken by Donna’s boyfriend, and her own signature beaded belts.

I’m quite sure that Margaret and I were both smiling when we walked back to my car.
“I just love meeting people who love what they do so much,” Margaret said. Of course, I agreed. All that passion is positively contagious when it’s put to such good use.

After I got home, I paid a visit to her gorgeous Web site where I read, “Donna von Hoesslin takes her inspiration from her love of the ocean and the beach lifestyle, combined with the influence of 17 years of living in Europe.

“She believes in giving back where she can and does so by supporting many causes, among which are environmental fundraisers, at-risk youth, women’s surfing (through athlete and event sponsorship), 1% For The Planet Membership, Coop America, and support for the mostly female artisans in Bali who make the products and much more.”

This lovely field trip reminds me that  people who practice inspired livelihood just keep spreading all that goodness around.

Barbara Winter shares ideas and inspiration with other creative entrepreneurs through her blog Buon Viaggio, her long-running print newsletter “Winning Ways” and “Joyfully Jobless” News ezine. In addition, Barbara conducts seminars and retreats across the country and internationally. Since it first appeared in 1993, her book “Making a Living Without a Job” has been a handbook for thousands of people. An updated edition hit the market in Sept, 2009 and was an instant best seller.

If you know you want to find more meaning in your livelihood doing what you love and making a difference in a few lives, your community or the world, April is the time to step up and get started.

Are you having trouble figuring out how doing what you love can improve lives and earn the income you need?

I had such a tremendous response to the March Idea Generating special that I’m extending the offer through April. I’ve bundled my “Idea Generating” sessions and you can now sign up for a package of 3 Private One-to-One Phone Sessions with me for $270. My single session rate is $185 an hour but because NOW is the TIME to TAKE ACTION, I’m opening up a limited number of session hours to a select few who are ready to Spring into Action.

you can purchase a
3 Session Package for $270 ( less than half the usual hourly rate.)

Find out More about these Idea Generator Sessions

STOP beating yourself up for not accomplishing what you planned to earlier this year. Forget those New Years resolutions. Winter is hibernation season in nature for a reason. But, NOW is time to SPRING into action!

Yes, I do listen to the news. I know people are losing jobs and retailers are shutting their doors. And I also know that most of my self employed friends with small businesses are  reporting record breaking sales. Because when you’re self employed, you create your own economy. When something isn’t working , you can make changes quickly without the bureaucracy of a board of directors. On the corporate level, by the time reports are generated and changes approved, it is frequently too late. Too much has been lost. Not so in small business. Results are evident almost immediately so adjustments and corrections are made quickly. . In your own business, it’s much easier to tweak things and keep the cash flowing.

Let’s say you work for a large company and they lose their bread and butter account. You were the brainchild behind the product, and while it was making everyone wealthy, you were a hero. You head up the department that handles that part of the business. The CEO calls a meeting of the board and after lengthy discussions on how this will affect the balance sheet, it is determined that they will cut out your division. They’re sorry, but they have to let you go.

Now, let’s take the self employment scenario. You are a jewelry designer and your line was picked up by a major retail chain. Rather than rent a large studio and hire employees to help you with production, you enlisted the help of some stay-at-home moms to help with the orders. They are paid by the piece and happy for the extra cash. It’s worked out beautifully. Now, that retailer has cut back on the volume they’re ordering and fortunately for you, there’s no lease or payroll to meet and rather than you losing your job, YOU get to choose how to restructure and who gets to stay on. You have the option of doing more of the work yourself and focusing on the numerous other markets for your business. It isn’t likely you’d have this option if you worked for someone else. .

If you are still employed,  Im not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow. But, don’t believe you are indispensable. And don’t lose sleep worrying about what you will do if (when) you lose your job , You’ll be in good shape if you START NOW to plan your safety net.

WHY is right now the best time to start a craft business?

Because if you begin now to build a part time business you’ll bring in extra money and build some savings incase you are laid off. And if you don’t become a “labor statistic tragedy’ you’ll have the option to leave your job eventually if you choose to be a full time entrepreneur.

Right now you have a huge pool of talent to pull from for any subcontract work for your cottage industry-and that IS absolutely the way to go. You can design your line and have people who are out of work help with the production while you continue your day job.

Suppliers are giving better deals right now on materials and lowering their minimums, so you will be able to purchase at prices that were previously reserved for large businesses.

If renting space for a studio, office or retail gallery is pat of the plan, commercial property owners are much more flexible on price and terms of lease because they have high vacancy rates.

Regardless of the economy, people are still buying gifts but they are more conscious than ever of choosing something special that they don’t see everywhere. Consumers are spending wisely and that means a gift or purchase for the home must have meaning .

People, particularly women, still love to shop and now more than ever,  they want it to be an experience. They crave items that make them feel better or connect them to humanity.  Consumers want to know that hands, rather than machines, have created the products they purchase.

While many of us have been conscious of purchasing domestic products, the general public is more aware now of the need to support American made.

So now that you see why a recession is the perfect time to start your craft business, what steps can you take now to begin building your own job security?    I’d love to hear your ideas and help you create a company that will always have a position for YOU?

You’ll be amazed how much less anxiety you’ll feel when you know that YOU are in control of your own financial security.