The Voluntary Life

Latest Episodes:

57 Chris Guillebeau on "The $100 Startup" May 28, 2012

Show notes

This episode is a recording of a talk given by Chris Guillebeau about his new book The 100 Dollar Startup. The talk took place in Shoreditch, London on 25th May 2012 and Chris kindly gave permission for me to record it for this podcast. In the talk, Chris shares some of the stories of the many "solopreneurs" and small business owners that he interviewed for the book, all of whom are using creative self-employment to give themselves more freedom in life.

56 The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg May 21, 2012

Show notes

This episode discusses ideas from the book "The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age"by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. "In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government."

55 Entrepreneurship Part 9: Financing Your Startup May 18, 2012

Show notes

How will you finance your startup? This episode presents some thoughts on the issue of financing for entrepreneurs based on my own experience, including:

Why bootstrapping your business with revenue finance is the best way to fund your own startup, if you can do it
The benefit of having some personal savings and no major financial commitments, if you want to start a business
The role that loans can play in funding your venture and how taking out loans for business is a far better use of debt than taking out loans for consumption items
Why selling equity in your company (taking investment from VC or others) is ultimately a very expensive way to fund your venture
Why Business Development Grants are never "free money" and have serious drawbacks
The importance of looking long and hard at whether you really need the money to get going. You probably don't need nearly as much as you think

54 Entrepreneurship Part 8: Selling Your Business May 08, 2012

Show notes

Every entrepreneur will ultimately exit from their business, in one way or another. Unless you plan to just wind it down, one day you'll probably want to sell your company. In this podcast, Jake talks about his experience of selling a business and answers some key questions about the process, including:

Why sell your business?
How do you find a buyer?
When is the right time to sell?
How do you value your business?
What happens in the negotiation process?
How long does it take?
What happens after the sale?

53 Freedom From School: An Interview With Laurette Lynn Apr 30, 2012

Show notes

An interview with Laurette Lynn, author, speaker and host of the Unplugged Mom internet talk show. Laurette's work emphasizes the need for families to unplug from mainstream assumptions in learning and living, disconnect from the artificial process of life and discover the freedom and joy in learning and living more authentically. In the interview she talks about freedom from school for kids and families. Laurette explains the choice that she made not to send her kids to school "because they don't need it". She shares her thoughts on how you can raise your kids free from school too.

52 Entrepreneurship Part 7: Negotiation Apr 23, 2012

Show notes

This episode is about negotiation for entrepreneurs. Some basic practical tips are provided about negotiating, such as:

The benefits of writing everything down (even though it seems obvious)
Why it's better to be explicit about how you want do business, such as with a simple set of standard terms
Negotiating about all the terms and avoiding the pitfall of focussing narrowly on price

Some of the deeper principles underlying negotiation are also explained, such as:

The concept of your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) and how it determines the dynamic of the negotiation
The value of appealing to objective standards and avoiding a "contest of wills"
Why win-win negotiations are the only way to get any lasting agreement that will work
Why it makes sense to adopt the premise that you'll never be able to rely on enforcing legal contracts

The excellent book on negotiation recommended in the podcast is "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" by Fischer and Ury.

50 Financial Preparedness: An Interview With Medium Tex Apr 03, 2012

Show notes

This episode is an interview with Mike, one of the moderators and main contributors to the Permanent Portfolio discussion forum. Mike, or "Medium Tex" as he is known on the board, is an independent investor and co-author of an upcoming book on the permanent portfolio approach to investment. In the interview Mike explains a simple way of understanding all the different economic conditions we might face and how to be financially prepared for any of them as a private investor. You can get more information about the concept of the permanent portfolio in Harry Browne's book "Fail-Safe Investing", on the permanent portfolio forum.

49 Author Interview: Jeffrey Tucker on "It's A Jetsons World" Mar 26, 2012

Show notes

An interview with Jeffrey Tucker about his book "It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes" (available online for free). "It's a Jetsons World" is about how we are surrounded by miracles created in the private sector, particularly in the digital universe, and yet we don't appreciate them enough. Meanwhile, the public sector is systematically wrecking the physical world in sneaky and petty ways that really do matter. Jeffrey discusses these themes further in the interview, such as the global communication revolution that we are living through and it's amazing impact on all our lives. He also talks about the destructive role that the State is having during this time of great progress. "We are very fortunate to be living in a social, cultural and economic transition that makes the industrial revolution look like nothing by comparison. The amazing irony is that it is happening exactly at the same time when Leviathan, at least in the developed world, is on the march as never before". Jeffrey Tucker (from the interview) He discusses some of the ideas from the book in more detail, such as the negative impact of Intellectual Property law and the moral hazard that it creates, as IP corrupts the outlook of entrepreneurs. The interview is full of Jeffrey's brilliantly optimistic and positive outlook. "We shouldn't be afraid to read things that are utterly contrary to what think we believe, because it's only going to strengthen us. If we are fearless intellectuals, which we should all be- to the point where we are utterly fearless, then we shouldn't be afraid of any writer, any genre or any political point of view. It just makes us better thinkers." Jeffrey Tucker (from the interview) Show Notes: The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World The Ultimate Resource 2 Steve Jobs: "we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas"

48 Entrepreneurship Part 6: Getting Things Done Mar 19, 2012

Show notes

A podcast about freeing your mind to get things done. A big challenge with time management and productivity that I experienced was how to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed. How do you free your mind from the nagging thoughts of all the things that you need to do, so that you can get on with actually doing stuff? In this podcast I discuss my journey through trying many approaches to time management and the value that I found in David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) approach. Unlike traditional personal productivity systems, GTD helps you harnesses the creativity and intuitive power of your unconscious to work with you, rather than interrupt you. I outline what I think are the most helpful concepts in the GTD approach and how it might help you.

47 Investing In Friendships Mar 12, 2012

Show notes

When it comes to friendships, are you investing wisely?

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