How to Find a Job: When There Are No Jobs (Book 1) a Necessary Job Search and Career Planning Guide for Today's Job Market (Find a Job Series) (14 page)

One of the greatest advantages of owning your own business is having the freedom to solve those inevitable problems in the manner you choose. The word risk enters the minds of most people thinking of starting their own business. Everyone, including this author, has their own degree of risk tolerance. Too many people ignore their intuition as it relates to risk tolerance and later regret it. Always be aware and listen to your intuition, but most importantly learn to understand and trust what it is telling you. 

A short story regarding my first business will sum up my thoughts regarding the assumption of risk associated with any business. At the tender age of nine, I started raising rabbits in my backyard for fun and profit. The Easter Bunny had been good to me one year and left a few of her offspring at our house as an Easter present. It was a great business allowing me to make a decent amount of money that I needed for skiing and an occasional candy bar and can of pop. All was going well with my small business until one day something tragic and shocking occurred. I realize now that problems can happen in nearly all businesses, often with unexpected results.

What I remember of the following tragedy has forever been instilled in my mind. I had recently sold two fluffy white, pink-eyed bunnies to my barber for $2.50 apiece. I was sitting in his barber chair for a haircut, and as he began to cut my hair I asked him, “So Frank, how are the bunnies doing?” His response was, and I shall never forget it, “They were great!” I was in an acute state of shock and with a lump in my throat asked Frank, “What do you mean they were great?” “You know, me and the Mrs. ate them a few nights ago.” I was stunned and felt tears starting to run down my cheeks. My entire body seemed to go numb. I was unsure if I should start screaming or jump out of the barber chair and run home. Remember, I was only nine years old and had raised those bunnies from fur balls. I loved each and every one of those little guys, and had just learned that my barber and his wife had eaten them.

An unexpected tragedy had just struck my first small business. That terrible incident early in my business career served to teach me a good lesson.  It taught me that it is important to do thorough research and to be prepared for the inevitability of problems that may arise in any size business venture. The life of an entrepreneur includes risk. As Webster so eloquently put it, “An entrepreneur is one who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit.”

Start it, or You Will Never Succeed

The actual act of starting a business is by far the most difficult part of any new business venture. Once you have decided on the specific type of business, the next step is to start it.  The first step towards starting your business can be as simple as gathering information from several sources including other experts and business owners in the field, the Internet or your local library.

My advice regarding the start of any business is to begin the planning process as soon as you can confidently say, “I want to start and own this type of company and do this kind of work.” Once you have made the decision to own a specific type of business you now have complete freedom to make any choices you deem necessary regarding your business. Do not delay any further. Push yourself to begin the process of business planning. DO NOT DELAY, START IT NOW OR YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED!

Finances, What Finances?

T
he challenges you will face in securing financing for a business startup or career change may be a bigger stumbling block than some individuals are able to overcome. In my experience you can prevail over nearly all financing issues with proper research, planning and perseverance. It is important as you begin to seek financing that you remain focused on your goals and don’t panic. You may convince yourself that your business or career change will fail because you are having difficulty securing the money you need. If you succeed in convincing yourself that your goals cannot be accomplished due to financial constraints, your plans may never come to fruition. It is important to believe in yourself and be persistent in your pursuit of financing. Seek the doors that are open, not the ones that are closed.

To succeed you must disregard any negative responses you will inevitably encounter as they pertain to your requests for financing. You will undoubtedly receive far more negative responses than positive ones in your pursuit. Do not give up at this point in the process but rather persevere until you hear a positive response. The key to successfully securing financing or changing careers can be summed up in one word, “DESIRE.” You must be creative and very persistent in your pursuit of finances to fund your chosen business or career path. 

Consider your pursuit of money to finance your career and business interests time invested in yourself and an important step towards achieving balance in your life. 

Reflections

I
n August of 1984, I was called into my boss’s office at The Fisher Scientific Company and abruptly informed that due to an economic cutback, I would be losing my job. Later that day, still in shock over what had just occurred, I sat on a cold metal folding chair at my local unemployment office patiently waiting my turn amongst dozens of other seemingly distant minded souls. The thought that I had just lost my first job out of college was tough enough, but I owned a small house I had somehow managed to buy and wondered how I would be able to continue to pay the mortgage. My head jerked sharply upward as my name was finally called for an interview. I vividly recall the meeting that followed with an older gentleman, a career counselor employed by the state. After I endured a battery of questions, the old man said, “Son, push on no matter how disgusting!” I would never forget those simple, but sage words and knew that the older man understood what my feelings were at this difficult time in my life and probably had been there himself at some point in his career.

I have learned throughout my entire career that life is often very unpredictable and can directly affect one’s career path. At times it may seem difficult if not impossible to move beyond your present situation. It is important to remember that you are in control of your own destiny and can choose to adapt and learn from those experiences. You will always have options and the power to change your career plans when necessary to move forward with your life. Throughout your entire career you will encounter more challenges and inevitably more changes and disgusting things will occur, some you will have control over and some you will not. As your career progresses, many great things will also happen that will help to shape and affect your life and career in a positive manner.

The most that you can do throughout your career is to do your very best. You must never give up on yourself, but rather be persistent and take control of your life by properly planning and taking action towards achieving your chosen career goals. Remember what the wise gentleman said,
“Push on no matter how disgusting!”

About the Author

Paul Rega began his writing career in 1980 while attending Western Illinois University as a staff reporter for the Western Courier. Upon graduating with a degree in biology and journalism, he spent the next thirty years in business having started an executive search firm in 1984. His passion for writing stayed with him throughout his business life, and he started writing his first book in 1993. He published, How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs in December 2011. The book was an instant success, and hit #1 on Amazon's bestseller list for job hunting books in March 2012. He published 12 Steps to Freedom in August 2013 and Trail of 32, a true coming of age story in September 2013. Paul currently lives in a small town along the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he is writing his next book.

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Other Books by Paul Rega

Trail of 32:
http://ow.ly/rxyjd

12 Steps to Freedom:
http://ow.ly/rxyhQ