Entrepreneurship may sound like a dream to some, especially if you’ve been on the job hunt for several months with no luck landing a new job. But it’s important to first determine if entrepreneurship is the right direction for you before attempting to launch a new business venture in this economy.
Are you on the fence? Ask yourself the following questions to gauge whether you should consider being an entrepreneur or stick with your current career:
1. Do I have a great idea for a product or service? Obviously, to be a business owner, you first have to have something to sell. Do you know what you’re great at? Where your product would fit into the current market? How about who your competitors would be? There are a lot of factors to launching a new product or service to take into account before jumping in with both feet.
2. What is my tolerance for taking risks? Taking on entrepreneurship involves many risks: quitting your current job, putting your money into a new business, hiring employees, etc. Is your tolerance high enough to make it through these stressful situations?
3. Can I take on multiple roles? Being a business owner means you are responsible for payroll, human resources, marketing, etc.—all aspects that are normally delegated throughout a large organization can fall on your shoulders.
4. Am I passionate about my industry, product, and/or service? You’ve heard that passion in your career is essential to success—and that’s even more critical when you’re launching a new product or service. “As the business owner, you’re also chief salesperson for your company,” said Colleen DeBaise author of The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, in an article on WSJ. “Your enthusiasm for your product or service—whether it’s hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation—is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors.” You’ll probably find yourself doubting whether or not it was the right choice when no one is interested in buying from you, but if you have the passion and the drive to make it happen, you’ll surely be able to navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
5. Am I willing to put in the necessary time to make my business successful? Many people think being your own boss means working less hours, but any entrepreneur will tell you that’s simply not true. Most startup founders end up spending more time working than they did at a 9-to-5 job.
6. Am I willing to commit to continuous learning? Being a business owner means you need to be open to learning more about managing, leadership and your industry. Most entrepreneurs have their own favorite resources for information (mine’s Inc. Magazine!) that they turn to in order to continue their personal and professional growth.
7. Am I resilient?“Experts have found that the ability to overcome failure is a key indicator of whether a small business owner will be successful,” said Emma Johnson in a Forbes article. Look at how you cope with difficult situations in your life. Do you bounce back, or wallow in disappointment? You’re bound to face challenges and failures when starting your own business, but how you deal with those will determine your future success as an entrepreneur.
8. Do I realize I can’t make everyone happy?“There will always be critics,” said Richie Frost in an article on Under30CEO. “There will always be SOMEONE who is upset with what you’re doing or what you believe in. Take this quote by Herbert Swope, ‘I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: which is: Try to please everybody.’”9. Am I prepared to take responsibility for any success or failure that might result from this new business venture? Your business might completely flop. Or it might be bigger than you imagined. Either way, you have to be prepared for the unexpected—and be able to handle the responsibility that entails.
Do you have any tips about becoming an entrepreneur? How about any success or failure stories to share with individuals who may be interested in entrepreneurship?
Heather R. Huhman, founder & president of Come Recommended, is passionate about helping students and recent college graduates pursue their dream careers.Read more » articles by this approved career expert | Click here » if you’re a career expertPhoto credit: Shutterstock
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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