My tips for entrepreneurs parenting young children was the perfect preview for this week's podcast, my no holds barred conversation with Carrie Wilkerson.
Carrie is the author of The Barefoot Executive. She has a husband and four children, ages 16, 14, 7 and 4, so she knows a thing or two about entrepreneurial parenting. Carrie is a fountain of insight for everyone, parent or not, who uses entrepreneurship to pave the way to financial freedom. She's outspoken, honest, and you will love having this podcast as part of your Success Library.
To listen to my 30-minute interview with Carrie, and to put her insights to work in your business now, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the play arrow. If you don't feel like listening right now, here is a high level summary of what Carrie and I discussed, with time stamps in case you want to scroll forward.
- Refuse to be helpless (4:56). Carrie refuses to ask a question without first trying to find the answer herself. (Can you say “Google”?) Like me, she has no patience for people who need to be spoon fed. To be successful, you have to stop being spoiled and teach yourself to be an independent learner. Teach yourself to be an independent learner. Carrie says too many people want their education chewed up and spit out for them. If this describes you, well, you won't get very far. You've got to refuse to be helpless and empower yourself. Nothing less will do.
- Own a business of some kind, period (9:17). Especially in this uncertain economy, everyone should have at least a part-time income-producing venture of their own. Carrie doesn't encourage everyone to toss all caution to the wind, quit their full-time gig, and open a pizza shop, but she does feel strongly that everyone needs to own something of their own to avoid becoming the person that is 2 payments away from foreclosure or a pink slip away from financial ruin. If you could make your car payment every month with your side hustle, why not do that? You can take steps to bail your own self out!
- Get passionate about your mortgage(13:23) Carrie asks, When did we become such a spoiled, entitled nation that we think we have to love what we do for work? She says, “Don't love what you do. Love why you do it.” Be passionate about not being in debt. Be passionate about being with your children instead of in rush hour traffic. Be passionate about your spouse not having to carry the entire financial household burden on his or her shoulders. Don't get suck in “the passion pit.”
There's a whole lot more to this 30-minute show, and you won't want to miss a second of it. For example, you'll enjoy the part where Carrie answers questions from listener Melissa Rivera, the single mom and CEO behind IBN member Naturally Good Soaps (15:52).
And don't miss the part at the beginning (1:40) where Carrie shares the model she used to create her first six-figure business. It's a cool business idea for you.
About Carrie Wilkerson
Carrie is wife and mom of four who is juggling life, just like you, along with the demands of family, health, community, and more. After finding herself over six figures in debt, overweight, and overwhelmed, Carrie took matters into her own hands, and with zero capital, started a business. Visit Carrie's website, and follow her on Twitter.
How to Listen to the Show
This post contains my paraphrases of the information Carrie shared. To hear it from the horse's mouth yourself, listen to the entire 30-minute show using one of these options:
- Download it on iTunes. (It usually takes a day or two for iTunes to feed the show there.)
- Click on the arrow at the bottom of this post to listen now!
- Because I have not had a chance to load all of my shows to this blog, you can listen to hundreds of interviews from 2005 to 2010, each one as relevant today as it was when I recorded it, at my Indie Business Radio site.
Be sure to download the show to your Success Library so you can enjoy it for years to come!
Question: What are you passionate about — doing something you love, or financial freedom?
