Part 1: Getting Started
Employment trends over the past 6 years have demonstrated an important new focus for people: you need to re-invent yourself often. Unfortunately, not many people will enjoy lifelong employment (with a defined set of skills) at one company as was the case in previous generations. Alvin Toffler said it best in 1970 when he predicted that people will need to be committed to learning, un-learning and re-learning. This means not being “married” to your college or vocational degree, but instead pursuing continuing education.
Paying for adult education is expensive. Once a person has a college degree, the opportunities to access government sponsored job retraining programs are limited. College degreed individuals can rarely tap training programs like ones for employees terminated from manufacturing or other “blue collar” jobs.
Once a person graduates from college, it is difficult to switch occupational focus and return for a new degree. For example job opportunities for teaching K-12: most potential candidates will need several courses in special education, refresher courses in specific course content and taking standardized tests to demonstrate proficiency in a subject area. For many, the price tag on new job preparation could run more than $10 thousand. The added insult is starting pay at less than $30 thousand per year, hardly enough to justify adding new debt.
Another factor is time. Most people already have significant debt and may be living with parents to pay loans at a faster rate. This may mean more than one full-time job or several part-time jobs to cobble together enough income to accelerate payment of the debt. It becomes difficult to spend the hours needed to attend classes and meet the obligations of coursework when so much time is dedicated to working.
The idea of becoming an entrepreneur is also daunting. If you are already short on funds because of debt, it is not likely you will get or want another loan to start a business. Logically, it is too big of a gamble to start a new venture with limited funds or deep debt.
There are some opportunities, such as freelance teaching or writing that will let you get started using your expertise and training on a limited budget. The Internet gives you potential to reach audiences with a minimum investment. Even if your web design experience is limited or non-existent, you can still build a web site with templates and pre-designed tools that give you a fresh start in your business. Hosting costs are also low enough to keep your new efforts affordable.
Your website is today’s new business card and résumé. You need to consider how your website will represent you and what will be the site’s focus. While it may be tempting to “make money” with advertising, it may compromise your image with potential clients.
Here’s an important note: don’t fall into the multi-level marketing (MLM) trap. There are many so-called opportunities that will entice you with the prospect of quickly making large sums of money. Most of these offers are scams (pyramid schemes) and the only person who earns the big bucks is the one selling you the entrance fee. If you have to pay to work for someone else and the only way you will make your money back is to lure new people to join as your “downline,” you need to stay away. As grandma would say: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
With respect to training, there are many sites that offer continuing education specific to your field of expertise. A search engine query will reveal hundreds of sites that you can research to get started. Once you have identified several that meet your needs, visit often or subscribe. And don’t forget about your local library; you’ll find many books on business, marketing and computer/software training that you can browse without buying.
You can also tap local colleges that offer small business courses or seminars and get good advice from organizations such as SCORE or the Small Business Administration. The real cost is time and you need to spend as much time as possible preparing for the next step. As the saying goes, failure to plan is a plan for failure.
Critical thinking involves the ability to write down abstract ideas so they can be reviewed and improved. That is the main reason why lending institutions want to see a business plan. If you cannot translate the mental picture of your idea(s) to a physical presence on paper, you need to keep thinking and learning. Colleges that offer small business programming can also help you formulate your business plan, usually at no cost.
Your business plan needs to include immediate, short-range and long-range objectives. If you can’t see your project three years from now and how your ideas will have matured, you are not ready so don’t invest. Over 9 out of 10 business ideas fail within two years, so having a plan that gets you through the most daunting early years is critical.
In Part 2 of this series, the personal make-up and dedication of good entrepreneurship will be discussed.
Tidbits
(1) From Kimberly Waltmire, a member of the USA Today 2006 All-USA Teacher Team, a recognition program for outstanding K-12 teachers:
“We often give children a blank piece of paper but we don’t give them the tools to write. Time and time again, their writing is dull and unimaginative and the kids are so stressed they can’t write. So I allow kids to experience things first and the writing comes last.”
(2) Employers don’t share company strategies is the conclusion from a study of strategy management professionals (“Making Strategy Execution a Competitive Advantage”). The study revealed that 95 percent of companies surveyed do not share their strategic plan with employees. That’s the bad news. The good news: when companies do have a strategic plan, 70 percent report they perform better than the competition. Only 20 percent of companies that do not have a strategic plan report out-performing their competition.
(3) We overlook stress and its physical impact on our bodies because of a slow rise in its intensity over time. The same can be said about inflation: it occurs slowly enough that it can be overlooked. (The exception is the dizzying rise of fuel costs, but that kind of jump in prices is usually not so evident.) Today, it costs $18,400 to buy goods and services (including healthcare, education, utilities and other necessities) that would have costs $10,000 in 1986. Has your income almost doubled over the same 20 years? Probably not; hence the result is the current explosion of credit card debt and the decrease in personal savings. In another 20 years, today’s $18,400 will cost about $30,000!
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC
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