Podcast 171: Kimberly Palmer, The Economy of You




The Consumerism Commentary Podcast show

Summary: I’m a reluctant entrepreneur, but I’ve learned to be less self-conscious about the fact that this is the designation society has given to me as someone who started his own business. While many people after, but also before, the recession have started side businesses to improve their financial security, for me, a hobby turned into a profitable and enjoyable way to spend my time. But entrepreneur was always a dirty word to me, even after I came to the realization that I was, in fact, an entrepreneur. The word hustle is now associated with side businesses, but a hustle is a con, a scam. These words have always had the connotation of being less than forthright in business, using deceptive practices to get a customer or mark to part with his or her hard-earned money. Entrepreneurship has a rich history in the United States, considering this is a country of immigrants, and every batch of latest immigrants has a hard time finding acceptance in traditional jobs, and language and cultural barriers often keep communities looking within for business. Self-employment as a result of side businesses is a growing trend, but not necessarily due to immigration. This is the focus of Kimberly Palmer’s new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life. Kimberly is the money editor and Alpha Consumer blogger for U.S. News & World Report, and I’ve had the great pleasure of working and speaking with her over the past few years. She joined me recently to discuss the theme of her latest book. Continue reading this article to listen to the audio or to find a link to download the audio for later. You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Visit Kimberly’s website at ByKimberlyPalmer.com. Luke: Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, I speak with Kimberly Palmer, the author of The Economy of Your. Luke: Welcome to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I’m Luke Landes, and my guest today is Kimberly Palmer, senior money editor and Alpha Consumer blogger at U.S. News & World Report. Kimberly’s new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life, hits stores in January. Kimberly, welcome back to the podcast. Kimberly: Hi, Luke, thank you for having me. Luke: Absolutely! It’s my pleasure. Let’s talk about entrepreneurship, a topic you focus on in your book. Entrepreneurship in the United States isn’t new; it’s always been a part of American society, especially for later immigrants for whom traditional jobs were not available for a variety of reasons. But lately there seems to be a surge of entrepreneurship across the board. Do you think that more people are starting their own businesses? Kimberly: I do, and I think your point is such an interesting one because you’re right. Historically, having a side gig, or moonlighting as it was traditionally called, was really something that was secretive and done by people on the edges of society. It was almost seen as something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. And now, I think what we’ve seen over the last decade or so is a real blossoming of side gigs. And it’s been brought into the mainstream, and it’s something to be celebrated. And that’s what I found when I looked back historically at how newspapers and magazines wrote about side gigs and side businesses over the twentieth century. It was written about usually in a negative way, people breaking the law by doing side gigs because they’re public officers and they shouldn’t be doing it ethically. And then over time, it’s been talked about in an increasingly positive light. So now what we’re seeing is that having a side gig or a side business is something really positive. It’s a way to build your career, especially when you’re first starting out or when you’re in your thirties or forties and you want to add more income to your life, and then as you approach retirement and you’re looking for a game plan [...]