People are, no doubt, asking me to look into my crystal ball and determine what is going to make them the most amount of money...what will be successful. Yet, the answer runs much deeper than that kind of surface examination. It's deeper, if for no other reason, than what might work very successfully for one person or family, could be a disaster for another. Just last night, I was asked by a student, what I considered to be the best franchise to get into. He wasn't expecting the answer I gave; first I told him I wasn't much of a fan of franchises, and secondly that to suggest that this opportunity or that should be the one he gets into could be very mis-directing.
Instead, I wanted to point him (and you) to a different way to think about what kind of business to select. The beginning point for that is to look within first. Career counseling & development professionals (among my various hats, I'm one of those) know that happiness and success in ones career comes from tapping into one's strengths. Specifically, when a counselor looks at a career client, they assess the person's skills, interests, values, and personality. In other words, we look at what people are good at doing, what they enjoy, how they best like to work and so forth.
It's the same when you are investigating a business. You should consider what you are good at doing, what you enjoy, what you are empassioned about and so on.
Laurel Langemeier, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and speakers looks to skills as the best place to start a business. Her concept of the Cash Machine stems from looking at what people are good at doing and using that as a foundation for a business. By way of example, if one was a teacher, then running a tutoring business would be one logical choice. If a person was employed as computer programmer, then perhaps a web design business would be a good choice.
No doubt, that strategy is a good one, but it's not the one I follow. I tend to lean much more towards interests and passions as the best foundation for starting an entrepreneurial venture. My mentor, Robert Allen - a New York times multiple best seller (The One Minute Millionaire, Nothing Down, Creating Wealth) points clearly to interests and passions as the source of a business. This line of thinking acknowledges that you can be good at something, but hate it. On the other hand, if you are interested enough in something, you'll eventually get good at it!
Let me illustrate with a story - a real student-client of mine - and how she built her business.
Jenny came to a class I was teaching on starting a consulting business. Introducing herself and her entrepreneurial interests, Jenny stated that she wanted to start a "juvenile-justice consulting firm." Honestly, I quietly thought to myself, "What is that?" Jenny went on to describe how she had been in the field of juvenile justice since she was 18 years old, having been recruited by the local court system during her senior year in high school. It was the only job she had ever had.
However, you could see in her eyes that she hated the job. I honestly think I saw the color leave her face as she discussed her profession. But when she described it for the class, she was honest enough to say that she didn't like the work, but she wasn't sure what else she could do.
I had Jenny complete a series of questions I’ll give to you in a moment that I call a skills assessment. Jenny’s answers showed that she clearly had assets in an area outside of juvenile justice. Jenny's skills assessment results were not what you might describe as crystal clear - it took a little interpretation by all of the members of the class to help her discover the basis for her business.
Jenny listed among her answers that, in addition to juvenile-justice work, she had taken some history courses at the local college, had refinished furniture, and had traveled extensively. In addition she listed travel—especially going to bed-and-breakfast inns—as one of her favorite activities. She also listed that she liked to be around anything historical, and often visited museums and archaeological sites. She was an avid buyer of antiques and noted that she was good at refinishing furniture, although she had never been formally trained in that skill. Along those lines, she also felt that she was good at picking out antiques that looked attractive in people's homes. She placed at the top of her answer list serving others and being involved in the history field. She couldn't come up with anything more specific than those two.
As you can see, her results were a little hazy. However, there were some apparent themes. History, in some form, was in every category. Likewise, antiques showed up frequently. After getting a lot of feedback from other class members, she and I discussed her options in running a consulting practice somehow based on either history or antiques.
Eventually, she started a company that specializes in helping owners of historic property select furnishings, wall coverings, and floor coverings that are historically accurate. I guess you could call her an interior-design consultant for historic properties.
For her clients, she analyzes the period of the property, typically a home, and suggests furnishings that are appropriate to the period. In some cases, she has been hired to locate very specific pieces of furniture. On at least one occasion, a client paid for her to travel out of state in order to locate a piece of furniture she wanted.
In her first year, after working approximately 20 hours per week in this new business, she netted approximately $12,000. To some people, that might not seem like a great amount of money. To her, it represented nirvana and a change of lifestyle worth more than any money could buy. I remember her telling me, "I can't believe people pay me to play!" You see, sometimes profit comes in something other than cash. That's not to say that her business didn't grow over the years, but even if it hadn't she still would have been delighted with it.
So, what are the questions to ask yourself to help lead you to these kinds of insights? They are:
- What have you done in the past?
- What are you good at doing?
- What do you enjoy doing?
- What do you feel "called" or "compelled" to do with your life?
Sometimes the connections among the four questions are quite clear—they simply reveal themselves. In other cases, such as with Jenny, the connections are not as clear, and you have to real between the lines to connect the dots.
Using this battery of questions can be an exciting journey, but sometimes difficult. Share your results with a trusted friend or relative if you are having challenges finding the themes. You can always contact me to get some input - sometimes a neutral eye can see what you can not.
As always...enjoy the journey and process.
Bill Flood
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