Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity and Entrepreneurship

Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job shares why and how your business doesn't have to be so risky. Episode 65: Starting Your Own Business Does Not Have To Be Risky by Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job (Online Business). Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, but spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and small business. When he and his wife had a child, they launched an online store to supplement their income, and quickly replaced Steve's wife's income stream through the new business. Steve blogs about it all at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com The original post is located here:  and

Kristin Wong shares some important tips that you should know about taxes as a freelancer. Episode 64: What You Should Know About Taxes as a Freelancer by Kristin Wong (Tax Season - Learn About Self Employment & the IRS). Kristin Wong of TheWildWong.com was laid off in 2013. She took on some freelancing gigs to earn extra cash while she searched for a new, full-time job and over time, her freelancing gigs increased. She started writing for sites that she loved reading and produced videos for new clients. Her side gigs began to bring in more income than any potential full-time jobs. She launched a blog all about frugal living and created The Wild Wong to share more about her career, her finances, and all the adventures in between. The original post is located here:  and

Kate Erickson of Entrepreneur on Fire shares how to know when it's time to move on or pivot with your business. Episode 63: How You Know It's Time to Move On or Pivot by Kate Erickson of Entrepreneur on Fire and the Kate's Take Podcast (Exiting). Kate Erickson joined John Lee Dumas and the EOFire team in April 2013 as the Content Creator. Since then, she's grown to consider herself the overall Implementer of all things at EOFire. Over the past several years at EOFire, she has uncovered new passions. Her most recent: helping entrepreneurs create freedom in their business and life through developing systems and processes that can help their business scale and grow. The original post is located here:  and

Nir Eyal discusses the research and science behind why we choose the products we purchase. Episode 62: Temptation by Nir Eyal (Work Life Balance). Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. The M.I.T. Technology Review dubbed Nir, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Nir founded two tech companies since 2003 and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of the bestselling book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today. Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies. Some of his past investments include: Eventbrite, Product Hunt, Pantry, Marco Polo, Presence Learning, 7 Cups, Pana, Symphony Commerce, Worklife (acquired by Cisco) and Refresh.io (acquired by LinkedIn). Nir attended The Stanford Graduate School of Business and Emory University. The original post is located here:  and !

Ryan Hoover analyzes Tinder and how it set fire to online dating--case study style. Episode 61: Laid to Paid: How Tinder Set Fire to Online Dating by Ryan Hoover (Case Study About Apps - OKCupid & Match Psychology). Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt, is a product guy with a passion for startups, product design, and personal growth. He also created Startup Edition, worked as an EIR at Tradecraft, and was the Director of Product at PlayHaven. He's a contributing writer to Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal. Additionally, he has written over 150 essays, many of which are featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, Pando, Fast Company, and The Next Web. The original post is located here:  and !

Miranda Marquit shares strategies to turn your passion and hobby into profit. Episode 60: Create Your Very Own Money-Making Small Business from a Hobby by Miranda Marquit with PT Money (Passion to Profit). PTMoney.com is about helping you make extra money, save more money, and spend your money wisely--all in an effort to help you fix your finances so you can build the life you want. It was started by Philip Taylor, a CPA, entrepreneur, and blogger who started the site in 2007. He also created FinCon, the popular conference for financial nerds. The original post is located here:  and !

2 posts from Derek Sivers: a creative business idea for you, and some wisdom about creativity in business. Episode 59: Big Catalog Equals Infinite Specialty Shops and Business is Creative by Derek Sivers (Business Ideas & Best Practices). Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek Sivers created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100M in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22M, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with over 5 million views of his talks. Since 2011 he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want” which shot to #1 on all of its Amazon categories. The original posts are located here: and !

Leo Babauta shares how both entrepreneurs and employees can easily simplify their workdays. Episode 058: 13 Small Things to Simplify Your Workday by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits (Efficiency & Productivity). Leo Babauta created Zen Habits, which is about finding simplicity and mindfulness in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. The original post is located here:  and !

Conrade Egusa, a guest author on IWT, shares exactly how to get press. This is Part 2 of 2. Episode 57: How to Get Press - Part 2 by Conrad Egusa with I Will Teach You to be Rich (How to Write Press Releases & Get Guest Ready). Instead of saying “no” to spending on everything, Ramit wants to use money to say YES. He knew there was a better way to live a rich life—if we could use psychology to focus on what actually works. Not just for personal finance, but all aspects of life: money, careers, relationships, business, fitness and more. Since then, he's been testing and sharing his findings with the world via I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He's also written a New York Times bestselling book, been profiled in a 6-page Fortune article and pictured next to Warren Buffett Forbes Magazine, and have been featured by a long list of media, including the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, NPR, Fox Business, PBS, CNBC and more. He also has tons of documented success stories—more than 20,000. The original post is located here:  and !

Conrade Egusa, a guest author on IWT, shares exactly how to get press. This is Part 1 of 2. Episode 56: How to Get Press - Part 1 by Conrad Egusa with I Will Teach You to be Rich (Social Media Marketing). Instead of saying “no” to spending on everything, Ramit wants to use money to say YES. He knew there was a better way to live a rich life—if we could use psychology to focus on what actually works. Not just for personal finance, but all aspects of life: money, careers, relationships, business, fitness and more. Since then, he's been testing and sharing his findings with the world via I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He's also written a New York Times bestselling book, been profiled in a 6-page Fortune article and pictured next to Warren Buffett Forbes Magazine, and have been featured by a long list of media, including the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, NPR, Fox Business, PBS, CNBC and more. He also has tons of documented success stories—more than 20,000. The original post is located here:  and !