"Everyone I work with, to one degree or another, considers a self-directed career," says Connecticut career management consultant Judith Koblentz. "How many of them pursue it? Perhaps one-fourth." Other consultants cite similar statistics.
There's the dream, and there's reality. You may have always wanted to open an antique store in an old New England town or trot the globe as a travel writer, but have commitments that would make such a move "impossible," or perhaps unwise. This often has to do with setting priorities, and if your career isn't number one, fine; no one said it had to be. This rakes out about half the field.
Those who are left need a little extra fire in the belly to make the change. They're ready to make, or at least risk, sacrifices in other parts of their lives in order to chase that dream.
Others go one step farther because they're motivated by external forces: They've lost a job and have to find something new, they're following a relocating spouse, they've plateaued in their jobs and can't bear another day at work, or they lay claim to another of a thousand different, good reasons.
Sometimes, more than one external force combines to prompt a change. "If the situation hadn't been impossible where I was working, I wouldn't have done this," says an independent management consultant in New England. "I'm very good at working for other people. But my company wasn't growing and didn't seem interested in moving aggressively to change that. I knew I could make it on my own and had a feeling I'd really enjoy making the effort."
The final step in the thought process cuts the group in half again: Can I really handle the change? This includes: Will my business plan work? Could I work effectively at home? Will I have credibility in my new role?
Many of the answers here depend on how big a jump is being made from a role in which you have experience. If your current work is solid and relevant to your prospective role, it's easier. But things become more challenging when, frankly, you haven't set the world on fire in your current role, or you seek to take a big step toward a role in which you have little direct experience.
In a close call, don't underestimate your ability to transfer skills and learn new ones if you're highly motivated. "Search firms pigeonhole people," complains Koblentz. "It's not about a job, it's about a person, finding a career that's an expression of who they are."
Selling Yourself Over and Over
While you may be batting 1.000 on Bill Radin's Big 3, can I presume you possess all 12 qualities cited by Gene Raudsepp? Hardly. In fact, I imagine someone could do rather well having serious amounts of even a handful of the 12 great traits. But identification with a clear majority of these characteristics is a very good start.
If I had to pick two you can't do without, I'd say #5 (self-confidence) and #8 (passion for your work). Competence is the price of admission to entrepreneurism, but those who compete successfully must also be comfortable selling themselves and promoting their products and services. Ideally, your enthusiasm is obvious and abundant at all times.
"Often, people have wonderful ideas but little idea how to market or promote," says Silvana Clark, author of Taming the Marketing Jungle (Bellingham, WA: Memory Makers, 1994). She cites a couple of examples of low-cost creativity: an owner of a boarding home for senior citizens leaves a brochure when she leaves a tip in a restaurant (it generates calls), and a dentist who organizes a children's poster contest during National Health Week.
This kind of extra effort in letting people know about your business is essential, but can't happen if you aren't comfortable making it part of your persona. If you're not sure how it'll feel to be pitching yourself, try role-playing with a friend. Make your friend the potential customer and explain how your product or service will meet certain needs. Your comfort level will be obvious, and can be improved with practice.
But Be Ever so Humble
As Gene Raudsepp said, self-confidence is not self-importance. In fact, I happen to believe the world is a little short on humility right now, at least in well-developed nations and, especially, America. Almost everybody's quite caught up in what will glorify them, directly or indirectly. That makes people with even a touch of humility unusual. There may even be a market for it!
That's what Michael Baer found. Michael was laid off as an ad sales executive for General Media in New York City, a humbling experience that left him sufficiently desperate for work that he began driving a cab. He later picked up some front desk work at a budget hotel that catered to international tourists.
There, guests often asked him how to get to the airport, and he'd say, I'll be back in the morning with my cab." "That's when it struck me to begin some sort of an airport shuttle business," he says. So he opened Baer's Shuttle Bus Plus, with two 15-passenger vans. That business led him to create custom tours for visitors to New York. "I like being of service. It makes me feel good," says Michael.
Aha! That kind of attitude is what made it possible for him to drive a cab and answer questions long enough to notice a real business opportunity. A little humility goes a long way, and can take you there. And it's not painful. Listen to Michael: "It makes me feel good!"
