Ever heard of Johnny Staccato?
Until a couple months ago, I’d never heard of him either.
Staccato was the title character of a short-lived TV series back in the late 1950s that starred John Cassavetes. You can now find all 27 episodes on DVD.
Johnny was way beyond cool, man. He chain-smoked cigarettes, wore baggy black suits, and played piano in a Greenwich Village jazz club alongside hepcats like Red Norvo, Johnny Williams, and Barney Kessel.
On top of that, he was a private eye.
Every week, Johnny’d be playing a set at Waldo’s when a leggy blonde, or a beatnik poet, or maybe an old girlfriend would walk in. And sure enough, they’d come to Johnny with a big problem.
He would spend the next half-hour solving it.
Johnny Staccato operated a model business.
He’d find a problem. He’d provide a solution. Then he’d collect his fee.
And in-between, Johnny would still enjoy his smoky, jazzy lifestyle.
Perfect.
Come to think of it, that’s the business formula I’ve always recommended…
Spot a problem, solve a problem, then bill ’em.
The form your business takes — offline service, online coaching, info-product creation, whatever — is up to you.
Just like Johnny Staccato, you’ll run into inevitable problems when you work for yourself.
http://www.wallyconger.com/fearlessfreelancing
But you probably won’t get shot or clobbered over the head, which is what happened to Johnny a lot of the time.
Check out the old Johnny Staccato TV series if you get a chance. You might pick up some pointers.
“Sometimes dreamy music can help a man. Music can be like a shower — clean, you know.” — Johnny Staccato
