Career Alternatives 5 Ideas for Starting Your Own Business - CareerAlley

Career Alternatives 5 Ideas for Starting Your Own Business - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Career Alternatives Are you tired of the 9 to 5 grind? Maybe your industry or the company you work for are headed for failure. Or maybe you are just tired of working for other people and want to manage your own destiny. Whatever your reasons for thinking about making a drastic change in your career, there are tons of career alternatives that you can consider. You may even be starting your own business. The best place to start is to focus on products and services that you know a lot about. There are many things to consider when starting your own business (which we will cover in a future post). First, you need to know what business you are going to start. If you dont really know where to start, then consider one of the following ideas: Online Discount Blogger Yes, this is a career. There are many websites that aggregate discounts, promo codes, and coupons. They help people save money on trips, products, services, online gambling as well as reviewing products and sites. What You Need You need to have really good Internet research skills and be able to develop relationships with sites that offer coupons in order to get affiliate income Education and Training Requirements While no degree is required, extensive experience in software engineering, programming or web-based design would be ideal. How to Get Started This is a fast-growing career and very competitive. The good news is that most of the growth is as a result of demand, mostly from aging Baby Boomers who looking to save money or those who are in entry-level jobs looking for deals. Great sales and marketing skills are key, but more importantly, your online network is the most important. Starting your own practice/business can be a bit challenging, but is not impossible. Hooking up with similar sites as a complementary business (such as with travel companies) is also a good business model. LASSO: Affiliate Link Manager for WordPress Price: 14-Day Trial Find new income opportunities, increase clicks, and measure what's making money by managing your links with LASSO. Sign Up for LASSO Today! We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Most importantly, find some aspect to specialize in and create a niche market. Required ReadingHow to Be a Blogger and Vlogger in 10 Easy Lessons: Learn how to create your own blog, vlog, or podcast and get it out in the blogosphere! (Super Skills) Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash Manufacturing Business Starting a manufacturing business can be challenging, but if you have a great idea you want to bring to market, then this may be your business. One really big challenge is making a business as efficient as possible if you want to be competitive and profitable. Keep in mind that the systems that are used to manufacture products are not always checked during the production phase. There are software platforms that can help to check on these systems, and manufacturing software will make it easier for you to note successes and flaws in the system (and correct them where necessary). What You Need Efficiency is a key component of the process. Plan out the entire process before you build it so that you can have the maximum efficiency in place from the start. A key component of being efficient is to log and track all expenses. Producing items costs money, and you need to be careful with your cost of production as well as the cost of your raw materials. Location is key and creating a plan before starting to build your manufacturing process. Leverage as many experienced individuals as you can learn from their mistakes. Education and Training Requirements No specific education is required. Of course, engineers have a great head start. More important is your understanding of the product you are creating (materials, refining, etc.), as well as the level of skills, required to manufacture (technology products versus furniture). How to Get Started As with real estate, location is key. The old starting from your garage would be ideal if practical (just make sure you dont run afoul of any local laws). Make a list of all of the materials and equipment you will need. If possible, rent equipment rather than buying from the start. Finally, you must have a plan, the most important part of which is a cash burn plan. You must fully understand how much real cash you will need over how many weeks/months to cover all expenditures (including your own) until your new business is cash flow positive. Setup bank lines of credit where possible. Required ReadingHow to Start a Manufacturing Business A Step by Step Guide to Starting a New Small Manufacturing Company Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash Business Planning Service Business planning is a form of consulting (see below), which is specifically focused on helping individuals and businesses to plan. Specifically, Business Planning services help individuals focus on the type of business they would you like to open, the types of activities will their business will be performing, the timing as to when do they plan to start their business, where their business be located, the type of business structure to be used and, last, but not least, what the business will be called. What You Need You need to be well versed in basic business models and all of the aspects required to start a business and run a business. This includes familiarity with finance, accounting, law, project management, and budgeting. Education and Training Requirements If you start your own practice, no specific degree is required. However, if you specialize in any one area such as human resource management, financial services or technology, having a degree in one of those areas certainly helps. Having an overall business degree will help as well. How to Get Started As with some of the other careers in this post, you must be good at marketing yourself, leveraging your networks. Join professional organizations such as the Association for Strategic Planning (www.strategyplus.org) there are some great resources here. Create an Internet presence for yourself by creating a website with a good logo. To help you with this, you can use this free logo maker from GraphicSprings. Then link up with some business partners who offer complementary other services RequiredReadingHow to Work for Yourself: 100 Ways to Make the Time, Energy and Priorities to Start a Business, Book or Blog Consulting Consultants leverage their knowledge and experience in a specific professional field to help clients in need of specific expertise. A consultant should be able to demonstrate and leverage experience and accomplishments. Consulting is very broad and can cover many areas of business. Consultants are sometimes hired to supplement staff at a company. Consultants are sometimes used in restructuring and strategy related activities at a new or existing business. What You Need You need excellent interpersonal skills, great marketing skills and the ability to summarize information for senior executives. Great presentation skills are also a plus. Education and Training Requirements Most consultants typically have a bachelors degree in a focused subject, such as technology, accounting or finance. Experience is a huge plus, as this is what most companies will look for when deciding whether or not to hire a consultant. Project management experience is also a skill set that is expected. How to Get Started If this sounds very similar to Business Planning, it is. Marketing yourself and leveraging your networks will determine much of your success. Join professional organizations such as the Institute of Management Consultants or Association of Management Consulting Firms. Create an Internet presence for yourself by creating a website. Link up with some business partners who offer complementary other services. Required ReadingGetting Started in Consulting Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash Personal Trainer So what is a personal trainer? A personal trainer is an individual who helps create a personalized fitness and training plan for clients based on their needs. They set up goals and provide regular feedback to their clients. What you need Having an interest in health and fitness is a given. There are many additional traits that are required to become a personal trainer. In addition to good interpersonal skills, you need to be able to both motivate and nurture your clients. It obviously helps if you lead are knowledgeable health and fitness and, while you dont need to look like a bodybuilder, being in good shape goes a long way to getting your clients to have faith in you. Education and Training Requirements Education is not as important as becoming certified as a Personal Trainer. To do this you need to find the right certification course for you. How and where you receive your certification will have a significant impact on your ability to get and retain clients. There are a number of recognized and respected certification programs (such as those offered by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America). How to Get Started Once youve got your certification, its time to get clients. Creating a plan regarding client acquisition is a great start. Word of mouth, friends, family, etc. If you are great with the gift of gab, the health club is one of the best places to do this (just be careful they dont toss you out!). Another great option is to start out working for a fitness club to learn the ropes, and then break off on your own and create that business! Required ReadingHow To Become A Personal Trainer Career Tip of the Day:Is Starting a Business Right for Me? Suggested Reading:Starting an Online Business For Dummies What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. 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