Choosing Your Business 4
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I’d like to start a business in a totally different field than the one I'm in now. How do I know what kinds of things I’d be best at doing?
Think about the things you like to do and are good at doing. Do you like to help people? Do you spend a lot of time at a hobby? Do you like to build or make things? Table 2. 1 should help you explore your interests and skills.
Consider, too, whether there is something you’ve always wanted to do that makes money but which you were discouraged from doing. For instance, in junior high school I wanted to be a writer. Well-meaning parents, teachers, and guidance counselors all suggested I would be better off pursuing some other career since writers tend not to make much money and because I was "so good in math and science." What they said seemed logical, so I started college as a chemistry major.
No one, including me, ever considered whether I really liked math or science. And, despite top grades in the subject, I really didn't like math. In fact, by the end of my first year in college I loathed math and changed my major to English. Shortly after graduating college I started working on—and writing for—a daily newspaper.
Is there a writer buried inside you? A photographer? An artist? A dancer? An actor? Or is there some other field you always wanted to pursue but never did? Do you have, or could you acquire, sufficient skills to turn your avocations into a part-time or even a full-time business?
There are a lot of businesses that sound interesting to me. How do I decide which is the right one?
Look for the business that comes closest to your interests and capabilities and that fits in with your long- and short-range financial goals. For each business you think you might want to start, ask yourself the questions below. Write your answers down on a piece of paper so you can more easily compare the relative benefits and drawbacks of one business over another.
- Do I really know much about this business?
- Do I have all the skills needed to start and run this business?
- Would I really enjoy doing whatever is necessary to sell this product or service?
- How much money do I need to make each week?
- How much money could this business make each week?
- How long would it take (realistically!) to start generating that much money?
- How much will it cost to start this business and run it until it starts producing income on a steady basis?
- Can I afford to put that much into the business?
- What money will I use to live on until the business starts making money?
- How fast do I need to generate money?
- Are there really enough people who want to buy this product or service? (See chapter 7, "Planning: Your Personal Road Map to Success")
- Do I know how to find customers?
- How many hours a week can I work now?
- How many hours a week will it take to do all the work (finding customers, producing or getting the product or service to them, billing them, doing the bookkeeping)?
- How big could the business grow?
- How big do I want it to grow?
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