7 Steps of Career Transition

August 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Whether you are just graduating college or are experiencing a mid-life career challenge and rethinking what kind of work you want to do, it is critical to do some self examination. What do you really want to do or be?  What are your natural talents, abilities, and skills?  How do you get energized, and what challenges you in a positive way?  Gaining self-knowledge; determining your priorities and identifying your values are important factors in choosing a career direction and are the first steps to a successful career transition.

Here are two possible scenarios to consider:

Scenario A;  Career Transition to a New Job

  1. Explore your wants and needs for career fulfillment by identifying your particular requirements (How much income must you have?  Where and when are you willing and able to work?  What are your top 3 things you must have in your next job in order to be happy?)
  2. Identify potential employment opportunities
  3. Research potential employers to determine corporate or organization culture, management style, mission and vision.
  4. Update and revise your resume to maximize getting interviews
  5. Build your network through informational interviewing, attending events related to your profession, joining professional associations, and using social media.
  6. Enhance your interviewing skills – practice how you will answer difficult questions
  7. Navigate job offers, negotiate your salary/benefits

Scenario B;  Career Transition into Self Employment

  1. Explore your wants and needs for career fulfillment by identifying your particular requirements (How much income must you have?  Where and when are you willing and able to work?  What are your top 3 things you must have in your next job in order to be happy?)
  2. Analyze ways of working to determine the best fit for you.  For example: be employed part time while building your business, or writing your book or going to school, etc., or jumping full time into starting a business.
  3. Conduct market research to be sure that your business idea is realistic.
  4. Launch your business and determine your niche.  What is the scope of your service or product line?  Who benefits from what you are putting out into the marketplace?
  5. Develop your marketing strategy for your business including your brand.
  6. Build your network:  create cross referrals with colleagues who serve the same customer demographic, utilize social media, blogging and article writing to establish your expertise.
  7. Navigate project offers, draft proposals to meet customers’ needs, determine pricing and distribution channels for your product or service.

In either scenario A or B you start in the same place: exploring YOUR wants and needs for career fulfillment.

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.  Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.”  -Henry David Thoreau

Filed Under Career Transition, Featured, Starting a Business Tagged With career, employment, fulfillment, Starting a Business

Are You Thinking Like an Entrepreneur or Employee?

June 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment
Having a JOB and starting a business do not have to be mutually exclusive.  The tricky part of this isn’t even about how much time you spend on each endeavor, although it can be very challenging to do both. The tricky part is where you focus your attention and how you perceive your work world.


Let’s look at the differences between the hypothetical mindset of an employee vs an entrepreneur:



Employee                                                                                Entrepreneur

Regular paycheck                                                                Unlimited income potential

Orders                                                                                    Options

The office                                                                               World headquarters

Co-workers                                                                           Collaborators

Grumbling                                                                             Gratitude

Stagnation                                                                             Innovation

Servitude                                                                               Freedom

Pleasing others                                                                   Pleasing yourself

Routine                                                                                  Flexibility

Having a boss                                                                      Being the boss

Blend in                                                                                 Stand out

Complacent                                                                          Curious

Victim of circumstance                                                       Creator of own destiny

Feeling small                                                                        Feeling tall

Commiserate                                                                        Brainstorm

The toughest one for most is the first, the money issue.  We live in a culture that trains us from childhood to follow the rules, work hard, know the right answers and teachers will reward you with good grades. These lessons groom us for the employee mentality.  Be at work on time, work hard, maybe you can get a good “grade” resulting in the reward of a raise. By virtue of our jobs, we live around set schedules of when to sleep, eat, go to work, take a break, go home and take vacations.  It is a very structured life.  Step out of the job world and you are suddenly free of the schedules, the structure, the expectations of employers and co-workers.  The very ambiguity sends some would be entrepreneurs back to the perceived security of the J-O-B.  With the recent trend of downsizing, furloughing, and layoffs, there is no longer security in having a job. (Was there ever?)

Why not consider doing your own enterprise?  Use your skills and talents in a way that is not only personally satisfying but also fills a need in the marketplace?  One of the advantages is actually the ambiguity. When you don’t know what’s coming next, you are pushed to be creative, to stretch your imagination and to live outside your “comfort zone”.  If you try out an idea, a service or product and you don’t get the results you want you get to improvise, improve the design or create something different.  It’s wonderfully empowering to use your own skills, talents and abilities to turn an idea into a product or service that serves others and brings you income.  Not ready to leave the JOB?  That’s okay, you can always do a little business on the side and see where it grows!  Just remember to focus on thinking like an entrepreneur.

“You can do or be whatever you want in your own life.  Nothing can stop you, except your own fears.  Don’t blame anyone else…you have the power to make the decision.  Just do it.”            – Nola Diamantopoulos

“Victory always starts in the head.  It’s a state of mind.  It then spreads with such radiance and such affirmations that destiny can do nothing but obey.”  –Douchan Gersi

And one more thing, a nod to Barbara J. Winter who taught me the importance of thinking like an entrepreneur.  Putting two columns and comparing employee mindset to entrepreneur was her idea and I borrowed some of her definitions.   Check out her site:  joyfully jobless for support on the entrepreneurial journey.

Filed Under Featured, Starting a Business Tagged With Entrepreneurship, Starting a Business

Most Frequently Asked Q&A's on Starting a Consulting Business

June 24, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

As a part-time small business counselor at the UW-Madison SBDC, I am the voice of the WI Business Answerline a couple of days a week. Callers ask a variety of questions such as, “I’m opening a pet store and want to import tropical fish from Asia, do I need a permit?”, “I’d like to sell fireworks out of my garage, is that OK?”, and “do I have to collect sales tax on mowing yards this summer?”. The answers in order are; “yes”, “probably not but check with your local municipality and your homeowners insurance”, and “yes”.

With the number of professionals downsized out of corporate America lately, there has been a lot of interest in self employment as a consultant. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions:

Q. How can I get started as a consultant?

A. First, identify your area of expertise. Define what services you can provide a potential employer. What problems can you solve? If you are not already recognized as an expert in your field, here are some suggestions:
- Volunteer to do a presentation at a professional organization that is interested in your subject area. For instance, I gave a presentation today to an organized job search support group on “Small Business Startup.”
- Start a blog
- Submit articles to www.ezineartlicles.com – Write a letter to the editor when you see a topic in the paper on your area of expertise.
- Get networking! Create and carry business cards at all times – you never know who you may run into that could be a great connection to a project.
- Put up a website ASAP and get into social media: Linked In, Twitter, Facebook.

Q. What form of business structure is best as a consultant, sole proprietor or limited liability company?

A. In general, I suggest the LLC as it enables you to separate out your personal assets and liabilities from what is in your business. If things go south, you don’t want someone putting a lien on your car, your house, or any other personal property. To learn more about the requirements and how to file in your state, contact your local Small Business Development Center: http://sbdcnet.org/sbdc.php . If you are in Wisconsin, go to: www.wdfi.org to file the LLC (or Inc for that matter). It’ll cost you $130 and there is a $25 annual renewal fee. You will also need to contact the IRS and obtain the Federal Employer Identification Number which will become your tax ID for your business. There is no cost for the FEIN and you can get it quickly by calling 1-800 829-4933.

Q. What tax deductions can I take working from a home office?

A. For starters, you can deduct the space within your home designated as an office. There are two ways to do this, either by the room itself or by square footage. You can also deduct mileage from your home office to wherever you conduct business with a client; their office, a coffee shop, whatever. The same goes for entertainment expenses. If you meet a prospective client over lunch, keep your receipt. Nolo.com has an excellent article: “What are some tax deductions for the self employed?” tinyurl.com/lf869b

More Q and A coming soon!

Have a topic you’d like to see a Q&A on? Email Dee [at] deerelyea [dot] com

Filed Under Starting a Business Tagged With Starting a Business

Dreaming or Doing?

March 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Inside all of us are dreams unrealized and wishes looking for ways to become reality.  How do we move our brilliant inspirations into action?  The first step is to imagine what our ideal work life could be; the second step is to move toward  that vision.  You can daydream forever but to reach your goal of a fulfilling work life, action must be taken.  Sometimes we know what we need to do to move forward in the direction of our dreams but we just can’t seem to take that first step.  Why?  Maybe we become overwhelmed by the possibilities or by the challenges of making changes.  Or maybe we just need more information to decide which direction to take.  Then there is the insidious often underlying obstacle:  fear.

You know that pesky inner critic that pipes in and says stuff like;  “you can’t do that because…” or “that’s a stupid idea” or “you don’t have what it takes”?  That is fear talking.  Inertia kicks in and we damp down our yearnings and convince ourselves that we are okay staying with the familiar, safe, and standard pattern of working.  (Not that it is any of those things given our current economic climate).  What if instead, we listened to the voice of our hearts, our brilliant ideas, our yearnings, and put real action into creating the career of our dreams doing work we are passionate about?

What is one thing you can do today to support your vision of an ideal work situation?  Is it starting your own business?  Working in a non-profit?  Being an independent consultant?  Working part time and writing a book? Owning a bed and breakfast?  Being a travel photographer?  The opportunities are endless.  Just taking action in the direction of your vision can kick you out of inertia, help you overcome your resistance, and silence your inner critic (for a while anyway).  It may be two steps forward, one step back for a time but once you get some momentum going, as Dr. Seuss said; “Oh the places you’ll go!”

Filed Under Finding Your Passion, Starting a Business Tagged With Entrepreneurship, Passions, self-actualization, Starting a Business

Enterprising Ideas 2

February 24, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Are you considering a business venture and need an infusion of creative ideas? Looking for some innovation?  You might want to get together some people and have a brainstorming session.   Writer Seth Godin and his team did exactly that and came up with over 999 enterprising ideas.  Here are a few I liked:

  • Disposable mittens made from biodegradable materials in vending machines I love the idea of disposables that are environmentally friendly.  Think of all the kids playing outside, losing mittens to thrown snowballs, or on tree limbs not to mention leaving them on school buses. With a mitten machine they’d be cheaper to replace and biodegradable in the snow.  Imagine the market opportunity in places with long winters.
  • Feng Shui online: Feng Shui has been gaining popularity for years, particularly with creative and healing arts facilities.  Imagine being able to upload your floor plan and other details and get input on how to layout your space and color your walls?  I know of an accounting firm in MN that said having their offices feng shui-ed increased their profit margin!  Do you know where your wealth corner is?
  • Herbal Flavored Gum: This one in my personal favorite! I suspect there are some currently on the market but what about adding ingredients containing health producing properties?  Along with the gum, introduce an alternative medicine or homeopathic online service that diagnoses your ailment and gives you the proper corresponding alternative treatment.

To view the entire list of interesting and sometimes wacky business ideas go to: http://www.sixmonthmba.com/2009/02/999ideas.html “Hamster Burial Kits and 998 Other Business Ideas”

I’d love to hear your ideas!  Please share them with readers in your comments below. No idea is too small or too outrageous.  Just remember the fortune made with patenting Silly Putty!

Dee

Filed Under Starting a Business Tagged With creativity, Starting a Business

Enterprising Ideas

February 9, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

I taught a class last week “First Steps to Starting a Business” at the Job Center.  You know, where everyone who has been “downsized” goes to file their unemployment claims.  The class was packed with both blue and white collar workers seeking an alternative to job hunting in a dismal labor market.  What many of them failed to bring with them was an idea of what kind of busness they could initiate.  I overviewed the contents in my last blog entry and then suggested they do some research.  Yep–market research on the web.

There are some terrific sites out there to help you get the gray matter moving.  One I frequently suggest is www.springwise.com .   They have 8000 or so spotters who “scan the globe looking for smart new business ideas delivering instant inspiration to entrepreneurial minds”.  What is so great about this is that many of the ideas that have been put into action are from Europe and Asia.  (Meaning that maybe no one stateside has thought of it yet). For instance, I recall a story of a clever enterprise using coin operated/card powered stationary bikes to charge cell phones at music festivals in England.  The attendees waited in line, cash/card in hand to jump on the bikes getting some exercise and the ability to text their buddies at the same time.  After the concert the guys simply packed up the bikes and moved on to the next venue. Brilliant!

Need some ideas?  Check out Springwise.  And if you find some other interesting sites, please post them in comments to share ‘em.

Dee

Filed Under Starting a Business Tagged With creativity, Entrepreneurship, Ideas, Starting a Business