Finding a decent-paying job you enjoy in today’s market can be tough. You’ve likely heard countless stories from friends and relatives about how professional-level jobs aren’t widely available in their field. Perhaps you’ve even found yourself in such a position.
Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to consider entrepreneurship. The internet allows us to make connections and to broadcast our knowledge widely. This type of advantage may be just what you need to begin a career geared toward your current experience or interest. Whether it’s life experience, academic knowledge or a previous career path, it is possible to leverage that knowledge to develop the position of your dreams. Follow these five tips to create a job based on your personal knowledge.
1. Develop a Plan
First, take some time to brainstorm ideas around the kind of business or position you’d like to create. This doesn’t have to be a large corporate endeavor.
Solo service providers, consultants or product creators can make a decent living with minimal startup costs. Think about what you’re good at or what you’re passionate about, and then list ideas of how you can turn that skill or knowledge into a paying position.
People like Anne Welsh, a business professional who has turned her personal experience with the health condition sickle cell anemia into a career as an author, speaker and consultant, are finding ways to make a living from their personal experience.
2. Determine a Need
Not every idea will be a marketable one.
However, you may be surprised to find that a population exists who is in need of your particular brand of knowledge. Do your research to determine the need for your plan. Go online and look for competitors to determine if others are successful.
Then consider whether the market can benefit from another such business. Perhaps you can find an angle to improve upon the competition. Join forums or online groups to interact with others about the practicality of your idea.
As an entrepreneur you may have tons of ideas, you need to focus on those that don’t need much startup capital and are immediately profitable. Not just a $1 profit, but a decent amount so that you can maintain a sustainable operation. A best practice is to pursue concepts that you could cover startup costs with pre-sales.
You may need to work a part-time traditional gig while you develop your dream job, and that’s okay. Just know, that with patience and persistence, you truly can create a job based on your personal knowledge.
3. Become an Expert
No matter what your level of education or experience with a subject, there is always something new to be learned. Follow those in-the-know. Read everything you can about the subject. Follow forum and online discussion to discover your potential market’s biggest concerns. Stay up-to-date on the latest information.
4. Spread Your Knowledge
Don’t forget to participate in those forums. Answer questions in order to begin to position yourself as someone with answers. Start a blog to share advice. Promote your posts on social media. While it will take time, this is an effective way to expand your network and to begin making beneficial connections. Always offer encouragement and assistance, rather than simply looking for opportunities from others.
Dr. Joyce Knudsen, Ph.D., founder of The ImageMaker Inc. Communication Group has close close to 1 million followers on Twitter, and she has a lot expertise in spreading knowledge through social media. Because social media is cluttered with ads, people find authenticity to be a breath of fresh air.
In her research, Dr. Joyce has found that approximately 85% of people don’t have self-esteem. Without self-esteem, one cannot self-actualize, which is critical for success in your personal and professional life. Success begets success so people are drawn to un-canned authenticity on social media.
What you send out in social media, truly comes back to you. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest a crop where nothing was planted”, says Dr. Joyce. She loves watching people soar so much that she often includes #PayingItForward in her tweets. One of her passions is to empower women, which is the topic of her upcoming, eleventh book called Refusing to Quit: Women over Sixty.
5. Sell Yourself
The keys to successful are efficient prospection and effective lead generation. In Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline, Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, Inc. states that entrepreneurs need to do to go knock on doors and call people to start sales conversations to fill their sales pipeline.
Be sure to advertise your services or products on your blog or create a website to do so. Another route, if you’ve decided to create physical products such as art or jewelry, is to find an online marketplace like Etsy to sell your wares. Now isn’t the time to be bashful. Put yourself out there, without being pushy, as many ways as possible in order to get your new position off to a promising start.