Books lose money – at least most of them do anyway. According to Publishers Weekly, the average US non-fiction book now sells less than 250 copies per year and less than 3,000 copies over its lifetime. And even these numbers are skewed by the big sellers, with most books not even getting close to the 250 copies a year average. In fact, an analysis by the Codex Group revealed that of 1,000 business books published in 2009 only 62 sold more than 5,000 copies.
Not so “Never Work Again”, the second book by author and entrepreneur Erlend Bakke, which has roared out of the gate selling over 10,000 copies in its first three months. Selling double the lifetime average of most books in just three months is impressive stuff, so what is it about Never Work Again that’s making it buck the book sales trend?
“It seems to have caught people’s imagination,” explains author Erlend. “A lot of people are disillusioned by the daily grind of 9 to 5 plus many hours of overtime. They’re looking around and thinking that there must be more to life. And now more and more people are waking up to the idea that, thanks to the internet, they can take control of their lives in a way that just wasn’t possible before. It’s a very exciting time!”
And this is where Never Work Again comes in. Amongst other things, book is about lifestyle design and shows how you can take advantage of new online business models to dramatically cut the number of hours you work.
“Opportunities exist today that just didn’t exist even a few years ago,” says Erlend. “It’s now possible to build a HYPERLINK “http://www.amazon.com/Never-Work-Again-Less-Freedom-ebook/dp/B00F0OOE7Q/”virtual business team using the best talent for the job regardless of where they live in the world. And you can coordinate your business from anywhere with an internet connection using online tools that are either free or very cheap.”
Erlend is someone who walks his talk. At only 31, and having started his first business at 26, Erlend is the CEO of three companies employing twenty staff. Yet despite this he only works an average of five hours a week! This is possible because of what Erlend describes as “ethical outsourcing.”
Ethical outsourcing involves going online to find the best talent available for a particular role in exchange for a fair wage – irrespective of where they are based in the world. Both sides benefit and it works to keep service costs down in the West, while bringing much needed currency and skills to other parts of the world. That said, it’s not only places like India and the Philippines that provide outsource workers. Due to the flexibility of this kind of online collaboration, teams evolve that are truly international with Erlend working with people from Norway (his home country), the UK, the US, the Philippines and many other countries.
It’s this skill of being able to go online and put together and coordinate international teams that has made it possible for Erlend to live his “jet set” lifestyle, splitting his time between London, Oslo, the US and the Philippines (where one of his companies is based). Despite his age and the fact that he works just five hours a week the young entrepreneur is already financially free. Just as importantly though, explains Erlend, is the “time freedom” he has created for himself. It’s this combination of financial freedom and time freedom that allows him to “follow his passions” and, as he puts it, to “live the life of my dreams.”
This seductive combination of financial freedom and time freedom goes a long way towards explaining the success of Never Work Again. The book is designed as a “how to” manual in which Erlend shares the secrets and the philosophies of his own success in a step-by-step way that readers can duplicate. It also includes a number of tried and tested online “business blueprints” that can either be copied or used for inspiration. No wonder it’s flying off the shelves.
Never Work Again is available from all good bookshops including Amazon where it is available both in hardcopy and on Kindle. HYPERLINK “http://www.amazon.com/Never-Work-Again-Less-Freedom-ebook/dp/B00F0OOE7Q/”Click here to visit Never Work Again’s Amazon page.