Ever since you were a kid playing “shop” with your buddies, you’ve dreamed of having your own small business, but as an adult, the idea remains unformed. You left the shop idea behind when you turned 13, and now you’re wondering what fields could give you good returns if you were to embark on your own business venture. The first step is to look at what you already can do that others might pay you to do, and if that leaves you with a rather dismal list of business ideas, then upskilling is the answer.
While skills are a great start, experience is what tells you what moves to make as you proceed in your chosen field. A successful career as an employee is one of the best starting points for embarking on your own business venture. Which directions should you consider?
Specialist Engineering Careers
The more you specialize in a niche for which there is great demand, the more easily you’ll be able to build up the experience (and kudos) you need to win clients should you proceed to business ownership. And although businesses always face competition, the fewer competitors you face, the better your chances of success.
Civil engineering is a broad area in which specialized experts are in high demand. For example, structural engineering jobs, while not exactly two-a-penny, are available to those ready to learn and grow in an interesting and exciting niche. It will certainly take a few years between graduation and reaching a place where you could be considered as an expert in your field, but the effort will be well worth it.
Unless you settle down and decide to leave the business side to others while you focus on your passion, your skill and experience will stand you in good stead should you decide to start your own structural engineering company one day.
Information Technology Careers
While becoming the next Bill Gates is a tall order, the world of information technology, the hardware and software that drives it, and the advances that carry it forward, provides a world of opportunity.
But what do people out there really need? And how can you work to fulfil those needs? Spotting your gap in the market will require an inside perspective. Will you be the one to spearhead the next big advance in the way we live and work? Your IT career could give you the answers you’re looking for. To give you a better advantage in this field. choose an IT field that takes you into the realm of the cutting-edge. For example, machine learning, and the software engineering that makes it possible, is among the big trends of the present day. Pioneers are often the people who find themselves heading the world’s most successful start-ups.
Looking for something solid and steady? If your IT skills often lead to you acting as a consultant, then IT consulting could be the break you’re looking for.
Online Services
From distanced learning to social media marketing and e-commerce platforms, online services are huge. 2020 has taught us the advantages of doing things remotely, and top performers of the year include Amazon and Netflix. Meanwhile, platforms that facilitate remote work are gaining popularity – even in traditional brick-and-mortar workplaces. While competing with these giants as a small business or start-up will be hard to do, offering services that support online lifestyles could give you the edge you need to succeed.
Once again, finding the inspiration you need to create a truly unique offering that will have people beating a path to your door will require insider knowledge as well as technical skill. A career that puts you at the coalface could give you the unique perspective you’re looking for.
Health, Wellness, and Fitness
A combination of factors including our realization that we face longer lifespans, and media and government programs addressing health and nutrition, have led to greater awareness of the importance of healthy diet and fitness. Most of us are aware that modern lifestyles are lacking in terms of wellness opportunities, and a lot of us are looking for solutions.
It’s a tricky direction to take. There’s a lot of competition, regulatory requirements are often stringent, and a lot of other businesses are jumping on the bandwagon, but there’s still room for someone with a unique approach. Personal trainers are taking their businesses online becoming superstars in the process, dieticians are publishing books and selling health programs, and those in search of inner peace are following suit.
Could you be the next big name in wellness? If you have the knowledge, the experience, and the passion, it might just be possible. At the least, you can use your wellness knowhow to start a successful small business, but people will ask for your credentials, so qualifications and experience are a must.
Wield the Spanner
These days, there seems to be a lot of people thinking, and a shortage of doers to make those thoughts real. An awesome new car design, for example, still needs to be manufactured. The automotive engineering field has become so large and diverse that even the biggest automakers are outsourcing. And once the car has been made, someone still needs to do the necessary work to repair and maintain it.
Practical skills across a wide range of fields could lead to a successful small business idea. Whether it’s understanding the software that drives items that were once purely mechanical in nature, or being able to fix the mechanical components themselves, the world needs practical people with technical skills.
To remain relevant for a while, choose an area that’s on the rise, be it wearable medical devices or drones for structural inspections, and understand how to make and maintain it. Look for improvements and innovations as they could be the seed that grows into small business success.
Career First: New Business to Follow
Just thinking you know what people want might not be enough if you don’t have inside knowledge. If you’d like a unique or ambitious idea for a small business, being an expert in your field will help you to look for gaps that you can capitalize on with your own small business as unsatisfied demand and unaddressed needs give you a solid client base. These in-demand careers could give you the inside edge and the inspiration you need to get started on your road to success.
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