Last November, when I posted on the remarkable longevity of Dick Bolles’ What Color is Your Parachute, I noted that a new electronic version of the book was being readied called eParachute.
That website is now live (sort of), and I have to say I’m disappointed. As it turns out, eParachute is actually the product of Capella, the online university. For $99, you can sign up for an “interactive online course” that Capella claims will “help you discover valuable insight regarding your personal interests and talents. It will help you learn how to use your unique abilities to design a personally rewarding career path, and will teach you the advanced job-hunting survival skills you need right now in today’s competitive job market.”
While it may be helpful for some to do this online, it appears to me it’s the same material as in the book—which you can find at the library for free.
Entrepreneurship vs. business owner
Back in September, I noted at the end of a post on purpose and entrepreneurship that I thought there was a difference between entrepreneurship and being a business owner. I promised to revisit the topic. Okay, so it took me a while.
I haven’t come across a better exploration of this idea than on Jun Loayza’s site, Become a Young Successful Entrepreneur. According to Loayza, “A successful entrepreneur builds systems and works on his company, while a business owner works in his company.”
More specifically, Loayza says:
- The entrepreneur works smarter; the small business owner works harder.
- The entrepreneur builds systems; the small business owner hires more people.
- The entrepreneur removes himself from the day-to-day tasks; the small business owner micromanages.
- The entrepreneur spends time hiring the right people; the small business owner feels that he’s the only one who can do the job the right way.
- The entrepreneur understands that TIME is the most valuable possession; the small business owner believes that MONEY is the most valuable possession.
I think you begin to see the implications of these two mindsets and which one is the preferable one. It applies not to just small business owners but to managers and solo practitioners. Having the right mindset makes all of the difference in the world!
I very much agree with Loayza’s statement about time being a valuable possession. Even in my budding solo PR practice, I’m seeing that time management is absolutely the most crucial skill I need to master. It is amazing how quickly a day can get away from me without having accomplished nearly as much as I wanted.
There are many, many time management resources out there—too many probably. Here are just two web articles—one from the Mayo Clinic, the other from Entrepreneur magazine—that you might find helpful.
Resources
When I started The Wayward Journey, I created a Resources page with the idea of listing helpful articles, books and links on life and career changes. I asked readers to post their favorites. Only trouble is, no one ever posted anything! So, what’s been your source for motivation, inspiration, career guidance, leadership or self-help? Don’t be bashful.
The Wayward Journey 
Dear Jay,
Your write-up about eParachute demonstrates an acute lack of understanding of the field of job search. Indeed, the online eParachute course is comparable to the material in Parachute – the book (BTW, I have about 15 copies collected over the years, used in my coaching practise. I am also a graduate of the Dick Bolles course).
The book describes a complete system. With a lot of perseverance, you can do the exercises and maybe find a job. But most do not without help. That is where eParachute comes in. The online course gets you do what you must do if you want to make Bolles’ system work. And it may lead to a further reading of the book. So your chances of finding a good job will be increased 100 fold.
It is rather like Dick’s website title JobHunters Bible. Like the Bible, it gives you everything you need to know. But most need some instruction and coaching to make it all work.
Congratulations to the eParachute and its team. Big things are coming, I am sure.
Don Smith
Don, thanks for your comments. Understand that my post was written a year ago, and at that time I wasn’t very impressed by what I saw on the eParachute website. It sounds like from what you say that it has improved. I can appreciate that a course encourages people to follow through on the exercises. If that is happening, then that’s a good thing. – Jay