Four Hour Work Week

[rosshill]

Get the podcast from http://2007.sxsw.com/blogs/podcasts.php/2007/03/19/the_4_hour_workweek_secrets_of_doing_mor

Then checkout his blog and buy the book at http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/

It is a must-read, so READ IT!

[Brendan]

Thanks ross, thats great.. a must watch/read for any aspiring Entrepreneur!

[Brendan]

I finally got a chance to listen to the whole podcast this morning on the train, I do agree with a lot of the things he said, but I can only see it applying for an already established business, is this sort of lifestyle feasible for a startup?

[rosshill]

It applies to everything, but some more than others. Tim talks about how you can start living a better lifestyle if you are an employee, so I would think startups have a head start on that.

The key, as with anything, is probably to take a few lessons from it instead of thinking that the whole book will apply to you. Tim is a very extreme case as you will see if you read the book and see some of the stuff on his blog.

I don't want to work 4 hours, a few more is okay :) There is plenty I can learn from it though, particularly on how to automate systems and how to think about different ideas. ie you dont' need to be a millionaire to do what most people think you need that much cash to do, $60k will probably be fine for most of it in fact.

[Brendan]

you dont' need to be a millionaire to do what most people think you need that much cash to do, $60k will probably be fine for most of it in fact.

Lol.. what do you mean by that?

[rosshill]

There are so many fun and cool things you can do on a small budget. If you want to drive a Porche you can hire it instead of buying it - you might hire one for a weekend to drive somewhere instead of waiting until you are a millionaire to buy one.

If you want to go on holiday somewhere go to Thailand instead of the Maldives, much cheaper but you still get a beach.

If you want to learn to cook or fight or paint or fly or write or talk french make time for it in your schedule today. You're not THAT busy.

Stop making excuses and work out how much money and time you really need to do the stuff you want to do and work towards that target daily income.

[Slade]

Interesting podcast, I like the idea of the virtual architecture.. I wonder how many businesses can actually use that today.

I have heard of virtual assistants quite a lot lately, when I am busy enough to pass them off some work I think I might just have to :D

[HYVAssistant]

If you have a full time job and a business on the side (<<<--- or thinking of starting one), I have a video interview with a successful entrepreneur who has done it and I can provide you access to the interview for free (<<<--- I cannot place the link on the forum (<<<--- forum rules since I am a new member)).

In regards to finding the best sites/resources for outsourcing admin tasks to Virtual Assistants, you can either go the Do It Yourself (DIY) or the Done For You (DFY) route.

Going the DIY route:

1) Check out Virtual Assistant Forums such as VirtualAssistantForums.com and VaNetworking.com. VirtualAssistants from around the world hang out on sites like this to network and exchange ideas. You can go on there post your job request.

2) Check out Freelancing sites such as Odesk.com, Elance.com and the great thing about sites likes this is that you can get to review the feedback left for the providers and ratings on similar work that they have completed.

3) Make use of Job Boards like and if you are specifically looking to place ads for Philippine based Virtual Assistants, check out JobStreet.com.ph and BestJobs.ph. Just be ready for a flood of responses.

Going the DFY route:

1) Virtual Assistant Placement companies such as Zirtual.com and VirtualStaffFinder.com for a one time fee will help you find a VA who matches your requirements and can get the job done.

2) Virtual Assistant Services Providers are firms like ContemporaryVA.com. AskSunday.com and HireYourVirtualAssistant.com (full disclosure - this is my firm) who provide Entrepreneurs with a team of VirtualAssistants and also project managers to handle all you time consuming business tasks so that you can focus on what really matters in your business.

My final point is that even though you find a Virtual Assistant to help implement the work, you have to realize that you have to monitor and manage the process so that you get the outcome you want. It's never going to be totally hands off don't believe the hype! That said when you hire the right VA, or team of VAs they will make your experience pleasant!

[The King Game]

King uses virtual assistants regularly.

Happy to answer questions on quality, service and sourcing.

[jessicwill]

The 4-Hour Workweek is the compass for a new and revolutionary world.

[PhillipDyhrHobbs]

it's great that somebody has made a post about this, Have you guys checked out the 4 hour work week forum?
this Quite a lot of information there to.
by myself and trying to live something similar but right now because it's Christmas is a little bit hard,
is not so many people needing websites and such, I think they are holding on to their money for Christmas presents
but back in October and November I was down to 4 hours a day, which is quite fine and enjoyable

hopefully we can make this thread into a large discussion about 4 hour work week
and maybe we can all get together and discuss different ideas and things

think one of the best things about it is the
earning money in the higher paid country, living in the cheaper country, and paying staff in an even cheaper country

the why I'm trying to do this
I have many of my clients in Scandinavia
I am moving to New Zealand
and most staff are in the Philippines

sorry for the messy formatting, I hope you can read it

I'm using DragonDictate and it is much faster