A short note now, and more this week. I’ve been thinking about what I want to learn over the next six months of my business experiment, and where I want to get to in the next five years. The first six months have been an amazing start, pretty much as good a start as anyone could ask for. How else do I want to grow?

I’m curious about different ways of doing business. I’ve tried a few already, and if I can put together my notes, that might help other people get started. If I think of this stage as an iterative learning process to help me prepare for the next one, then it makes a lot of sense. I’m trying different things so that I can find a scalable way to create value that’s family-friendly. For example, I’ve tried consulting, contracting, and information products (very briefly – I’d like to dig into that some more). I’m also curious about delegation, automation, application development, subscriptions, plugins, support plans, and performance-based compensation. I don’t need to aim for 100% coverage – I’m not particularly keen on storefront businesses or real estate flipping, for example – but it would be interesting to sample different models and methods, and to connect with people who have gone deeper. So much to explore!

If I happen to come across ways that W- might also enjoy exploring, or save up enough to help with his own experiments, so much the better. That’s why I need to keep exploring instead of settling into the first obvious success. I’m fortunate that I have flexible clients who are willing to experiment right along with me, so I can build success on success and have the goodwill to deal with the occasional flop. :)

It’s like putting together a personal micro-MBA in lifestyle businesses. There are quite a few books and role models in this area now, so that’ll make it easier to learn a lot.

Exciting times!