Barbara Winter, author of the bestselling book, Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love,  is also a business owner, itinerant teacher, and self-employment advocate who found her own right livelihood after overcoming her early notions that work was meant to be  drudgery. Be sure to check out her Winning Ways newsletter publication and various Teleclasses and Workshops at www.JoyfullyJobless.com or www.BarbaraWinter.com 

How did you get to where you are now?

When I was growing up in a small farming community in southern Minnesota, I was the kid who was always saying to my friends and younger sisters, “Let’s make something and sell it!” This entrepreneurial spirit continued throughout high school despite the lack of encouragement from my family, teachers or school counselors.

Putting all thought of self-employment aside, I became a high school English teacher. That was followed by brief careers as an employment counselor and interior decorator. While feeling frustrated and discouraged, I came across a book called Supergirls: The Autobiography of an Outrageous Business. It became my handbook.

Gathering my courage, I started her first homebased business before there was even a name for this work-at-home phenomenon. Drawing on my growing passion for personal growth and development, I created a pioneering program for women called The Successful Woman. Those early ideas morphed into entrepreneurial seminars, including Making a Living Without a Job and Establish Yourself as an Expert. Those programs became wildly popular with adult education centers around the country.

In 1986, I began publishing Winning Ways, a newsletter now in its 21st year, to share inspiration and information with small business owners. I'm also the author of Making a Living Without a Job (Bantam) and Jumpstart Your Entrepreneurial Spirit (Sogno Bella). In addition, my articles have appeared in numerous magazines, newsletters and online.

Besides my passion for the joyfully jobless life, travel and reading, my latest project is discovering the joy of creative grandparenting. My dream is to become the muse to entrepreneurs throughout the world.