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My Girlfriend Wants to Join the Fastlane - Need Job Ideas

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entrepreneur7

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Hey everyone, hoping to get some quick ideas and feedback for a situation I’m in.

Short Story Version: I’m guiding my girlfriend towards the fast lane approach to life and need ideas for jobs she can do remotely. Her computer skills are currently somewhat limited so I’m thinking sales would be a good starting point.

Long Story Version: I’ve had my own business for nearly a decade now and can work from wherever I want doing PPC/SEO consulting. My girlfriend was in the extremely slow lane when I met her but, partially thanks to my lighting a fire under her a$$, is now back in school to complete her degree and deeply interested in getting out of the restaurant service industry. We had a conversation the other night about how badly she wants out of it, so I had her write down her “why” so she can always refer to it in order to get motivation.

I’d like for her to be able to work remotely like myself and have thought about teaching her what I do, but for the sake of general sanity in our relationship I think it may be better for her to learn a different skill set and find something else to do that doesn’t require her presence in an office. The only thing that really comes to mind is some sort of sales position. This could help her exercise that muscle and gain a lifelong skill since we’re all selling something, including ourselves, at one point or another.

Anyone have any ideas? I’ve convinced her to hold off on summer school in order to focus her energy towards a new way of making money that can get her out of the service industry and allow her more freedom of time.
 
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Bigguns50

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There's a World of knowledge out there. She can learn whatever she wants online. I've bought several courses on Udemy. So there's importing and selling on Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, etc. Does she know the restaurant business well ? Probably opportunities to solve problems, or sell items. Just thinking off the cuff here.
 

Kung Fu Steve

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Here's a weird question: what does SHE want?
 
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Scot

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She's honestly not too sure, she's really looking to me to help guide her. I'm sure we could do some sort of exercise to find out what she's good at, interested in, etc.

Brutal honesty here.

If she needs someone else's help to pick a job she's never going to go Fastlane

Creating a business that separate time from money takes a lot of hard work, ingenuity and drive. If she can't even think of a job...
 
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G-Man

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Brutal honesty here.

If she needs someone else's help to pick a job she's never going to go Fastlane

Creating a business that separate time from money takes a lot of hard work, ingenuity and drive. If she can't even think of a job...

Been trying to think of a nice way to say the same thing.

I once had a girlfriend that I was always trying to help find a "new" career. She's still a bank teller. We dated 8 years ago.

Had a good friend that I was always trying help find a new job. He really smart, and still working at Best Buy.

I came to a realization: If you constantly have to help someone find work, the problem might be that they don't want to find it.

The trait can be deceptive, because it doesn't always show itself as sitting on one's a$$ leeching off friends, relatives and the government. It has a slightly less ugly cousin that gravitates towards whatever seems to be the path of least resistance.
 

entrepreneur7

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Been trying to think of a nice way to say the same thing.

I once had a girlfriend that I was always trying to help find a "new" career. She's still a bank teller. We dated 8 years ago.

Had a good friend that I was always trying help find a new job. He really smart, and still working at Best Buy.

I came to a realization: If you constantly have to help someone find work, the problem might be that they don't want to find it.

The trait can be deceptive, because it doesn't always show itself as sitting on one's a$$ leeching off friends, relatives and the government. It has a slightly less ugly cousin that gravitates towards whatever seems to be the path of least resistance.

I understand what you're saying and even agree, depending on the situation. Example, my sister is currently out of work and toyed with the idea of doing web design on her own. She has an instant source of potential referrals, myself, and someone to show her exactly how to start a business and keep it running, myself again...but I can already tell she doesn't have that mindset.

My girlfriend kicks a$$ once she puts her mind to something, I've just had to open her eyes to the possibilities. I never even broached the subject of doing something fastlane until she expressed interest in it on her own accord. Now it's just a matter of educating her on what that entails and find something for her to pursue. My first thought was find her a virtual job where she can learn a skill (sales, marketing, etc.) and then apply that to her own fastlane endeavor. I feel that may be more difficult than having her find something she's interested in that could potentially be lucrative, spend 30 days learning like crazy, then monetize it.
 
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JAJT

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How dedicated is she?

Does she just want to get her toes wet or jump in whole hog?

There's some excellent "copy-paste" ideas out there (local Maid service business, or t-shirts, or private label amazon stuff, etc...) that would get her started. Or she could freelance (copywriting, for example) or she could get a slowlane job that teaches valuable skills (sales, marketing, etc...).

I mean, really it comes back to this for me:

Here's a weird question: what does SHE want?

If she doesn't know, it's her job to find out. Expose her to ideas. Test the waters. See what ideas her eyes light up at.

The fastlane is attractive even to those who aren't fit for it. Which is a real problem and something that should be acknowledged. It's easy to say "I want what you have" but really hard to say "I want to do all the things that you do to have all the things that you have". Wanting is easy. Doing is hard.
 

JWelch

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Have her take out a sheet of paper.
Write down 3 headings:
1.) What do I love?
2.) What do I hate?
3.) What bothers me?
Have her write out 10-15 things under each of them. Then have her go back through carefully and circle the top 3-5 that she really has a passion to do something about.
This is a good start to get her pointed in the right direction as to what area(s) she can look into considering solving problems.
 

entrepreneur7

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Wants to go fastlane/need to find a job, oxymoron?
Yes it is, I was aware of that when I posted it. I was able to start my business after spending a few years in the corporate world learning my industry and making my connections. Going from the sidewalk straight to the fastlane isn't the most viable option sometimes, so I was looking to see if there were any "jobs" that people could think of which could ultimately lead to the fastlane, as a stepping stone.

Great advice with your previous post.
 

Amon

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Been trying to think of a nice way to say the same thing.

I once had a girlfriend that I was always trying to help find a "new" career. She's still a bank teller. We dated 8 years ago.

Had a good friend that I was always trying help find a new job. He really smart, and still working at Best Buy.

I came to a realization: If you constantly have to help someone find work, the problem might be that they don't want to find it.

The trait can be deceptive, because it doesn't always show itself as sitting on one's a$$ leeching off friends, relatives and the government. It has a slightly less ugly cousin that gravitates towards whatever seems to be the path of least resistance.
I needed to read this.

I am currently dating a girl of 4 years that is extremely slowlane due to anxiety disorder, who was with me before I went fastlane myself.

I'm in a rut. I feel slowed down because I'm constantly having to come to a halt for her to catch up.

This post made me realize what needs to be done.

Evaluate your inner circle wisely friends.
 
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entrepreneur7

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Follow up. Just had another conversation with her about this. I think our plan for this summer (when she's out of school) is to spend the first 30 days learning what I do, the next 30 days procuring clients on her own (with my background in the industry being the main closer), then the final 30 days getting up to speed with her managing her own portfolio of clients. She seems interested enough in the online marketing industry but more importantly, she has that discomfort with her current position that will drive her forward. She really is a driven person and I keep checking with her throughout this process to make sure that whatever she does, she has to be interested in it. Not a "do what you love" BS kind of thing, but will it keep you interested, challenged and engaged throughout the process.

Best thing is, the type of clients I've grown out of are perfect for her and in abundance since there are tons of small businesses out there that need PPC/SEO help, but don't have a large budget or the time needed to manage it on their own. A handful of small clients for her by the end of the summer will make a HUGE difference in her life and mine as well.

So, to switch gears a bit, who else here has experience with working with their significant other in the same or similar business? I'm always hesitant at first to do that for various reasons, but I honestly believe she has some strengths that I lack, so it could be very mutually beneficial.
 
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MidwestLandlord

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Brutal honesty here.

If she needs someone else's help to pick a job she's never going to go Fastlane

Creating a business that separate time from money takes a lot of hard work, ingenuity and drive. If she can't even think of a job...

Yeah, there's a disconnect here between her words and her actions.

Always listen to people's actions, words mean very little.

@entrepreneur7 , do you think that maybe she is just trying to impress you?

I don't mean that she's lying to you or anything, I mean that is she possibly putting herself under pressure to "go fastlane" because she see's what you're doing and thinks (even unconsciously) that is your expectation of her?

I speak from experience here. I've had this happen. Almost destroyed my marriage (it may still destroy it)

My wife is very professionally driven, well educated, and very successful in her field. So there is a little bit of competitiveness from her, you know what I mean? (it started with comments to the effect of "I can't believe you make in a month what I make in a year!")

This fastlane gig can be very hard on our significant others because they sometimes feel like "less", no matter how successful they are.

Are you unintentionally pushing her somewhere she doesn't want to, or isn't capable of going?
 

Sanj Modha

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How is a job entry to the Fastlane? What am I missing?
 
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MidwestLandlord

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Yep. Mine is reading it now, combined with the MFCEO podcast and going through a rollercoaster of emotions, doubts, frustration.

The red pill is powerful.

She'll be ok.

My wife refused to read it, and was very hesitant that I bought a copy for each of my kids for their "required reading when they're older" pile of books I have going for them...

rut.jpg

Ah well...the fastlane's not for everybody.
 

Nik Krohn

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Wants to go fastlane/need to find a job, oxymoron?

I was gonna mention this. It seemed a bit backwards. Yes I understand that you usually need a job first to them move into fastlane (The same goes to you @entrepreneur7 with selling consulting... Does not break time from dollars).

If you are both on the same page about where you want to go, that is a wonderful start! Good Luck!!
 
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entrepreneur7

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Yeah, there's a disconnect here between her words and her actions.

Always listen to people's actions, words mean very little.

@entrepreneur7 , do you think that maybe she is just trying to impress you?

I don't mean that she's lying to you or anything, I mean that is she possibly putting herself under pressure to "go fastlane" because she see's what you're doing and thinks (even unconsciously) that is your expectation of her?

I speak from experience here. I've had this happen. Almost destroyed my marriage (it may still destroy it)

My wife is very professionally driven, well educated, and very successful in her field. So there is a little bit of competitiveness from her, you know what I mean? (it started with comments to the effect of "I can't believe you make in a month what I make in a year!")

This fastlane gig can be very hard on our significant others because they sometimes feel like "less", no matter how successful they are.

Are you unintentionally pushing her somewhere she doesn't want to, or isn't capable of going?
Interesting take on the situation, thank you.

Let's say she is trying to impress me. If that means she finds something she enjoys doing and can work remotely, then what's the harm in that?

As far as unintentionally pushing her somewhere, that's definitely not what I'm doing. I've never brought it up as far as an option for her until she expressed interest in it on her own accord.
 

entrepreneur7

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I was gonna mention this. It seemed a bit backwards. Yes I understand that you usually need a job first to them move into fastlane (The same goes to you @entrepreneur7 with selling consulting... Does not break time from dollars).

If you are both on the same page about where you want to go, that is a wonderful start! Good Luck!!
Thanks for the encouraging words! I totally agree I'm definitely not 100% in the fastlane as well, so I'll be taking this opportunity to re-read the book and reassess how I can take my business to the next level which doesn't require me to be in it every single day.
 
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entrepreneur7

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Update: My girlfriend just closed her first client today! I set up a goal calendar with her a month ago which included reaching out to 3 of her friends each day, letting them know what she's doing and spreading the word to her network as well as the networks of those people she reaches out to. She got a few leads and closed one of them today. A friend of ours that owns a roofing company has hired her for $1,750 up front and $750/month for PPC consulting. This would be considered a small client for myself but is a HUGE deal for her and her goal of getting out of the slow lane server industry.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Update: My girlfriend just closed her first client today! I set up a goal calendar with her a month ago which included reaching out to 3 of her friends each day, letting them know what she's doing and spreading the word to her network as well as the networks of those people she reaches out to. She got a few leads and closed one of them today. A friend of ours that owns a roofing company has hired her for $1,750 up front and $750/month for PPC consulting. This would be considered a small client for myself but is a HUGE deal for her and her goal of getting out of the slow lane server industry.

Nice! Let the addiction begin!
 

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