Believe it or not, it’s never been a better time to reinvent yourself than it is now.
Sure, the job market looks bleak. Stories of downsizing nearly every day.
But you can learn new skills, often for Free.
John McCoy of John McCoy Writes tweeted a few weeks ago:
“Friday reminder: you can just learn a skill for free off the internet and start selling your services and people will pay you.
Nobody can stop you.”
Tips to learn new skills
Use LinkedIn Learning. You can often get it for free by using the library. Topeka/Shawnee County offer it for free. If you are veteran you can get LinkedIn Pro and LinkedIn Learning for Free.
Get some training and a certificate, either through Grow Google or take a class that guarantees you will pass the certificate at the end.
Start small, work for a small company (or the State), and then leverage that experience in a couple of years to significantly increase your salary. (Working in IT for a manufacturing company is how I started in IT).
Build your experience portfolio by freelancing on Upwork.
Facing Downsizing – Build Something for Yourself
In the second half of 2024, it seemed like downsizing was on the horizon (when you know, you know). Like Justin Welsh says: Build something for yourself.
I got tired of the fear and expanded Grow Nut Trees, growing and selling more trees than ever before. I started Thriving Food Forest Design (see details below) and had my first really big customer.
Build a side hustle in your spare time, using your current job to fund it. Then you can find out of you really like it. And you can fund your mistakes.
Listen on your fave Podcast app:
Grow Nut Trees is now taking orders for Spring shipping or local pickup.
NEW for this year are more types of chestnuts, including Qing Chinese hybrid chestnuts. Qing (pronounced “Ching”) is a Chinese chestnut Half-sib from a named tree that was open pollinated by other trees, including hybrids. The Qing tree is a heavy producer with sweet flavored extra large nuts. These seedlings were grown locally and are adapted to the Midwest.
Grow Fodder Trees! New this year are cuttings for fodder trees – mulberry and hybrid willow. These are fast growing and the leaves are edible as forage for animals (my horses love them – maybe a little too much). Plus the mulberries can feed chickens if planted near a chicken run. And they are good for chop and drop. Get your mulberry and willow cuttings from Grow Nut Trees.
Chestnuts, hazelnuts, elderberry, and comfrey that are adapted to the Midwest.
GrowNutTrees.com
Raised beds that I am building to test Perennial Kitchen Garden layouts:
Vego Garden Modular Metal Raised Bed (which I will make 5′ x 3.5′, 17″ tall).
I use this for a perennial kitchen garden – growing herbs to use daily in the kitchen. Just come along and pick what you need for tonight’s dinner.
Meadow Creature Broadfork is my favorite tool for starting new garden beds. I turn over the sod, add a layer of compost, then Milpa, and cover with woodchips.
If you like this content and the podcast, here is how you can support the podcast and my Thriving empire of side hustles:
- Shoot me a tip on Venmo or CashApp @ThrivingtheFuture.
- Go to the Stuff page on Thriving the Future site and buy something.
- OR – click on one of the Amazon links on the Stuff page and then buy your other stuff that you want. Anything you buy on Amazon for 24 hours will give Thriving the Future a credit (a Piece of the Action).
- Buy comfrey crowns or cuttings on Grow Nut Trees. More trees will be available in Sept.
- Go to my other site AllGardenAdvice.com – Gardening Ideas and Tips, and check out the articles and stuff.