Lesson 2: Knowing Yourself Is An Important First Step
Knowing Yourself Is An Important First Step
Getting started on the path to self-employment can be difficult, especially when it feels like so much is riding on your decision. By taking the important step to think about what you like and what comes easily to you, you can pinpoint business ideas to help you focus your energies.
Figure out your natural talents
Use this worksheet to compile a list of:
- Things you like to do
- Things you are good at
- Things you want to avoid
- Things you would need to work harder at
As you compile your lists, be honest and let your passion flow. This isn’t the time to worry about being practical. That will come later. Have fun looking for the options that work for you. Once you’ve pinpointed five or six options, share them with trusted family and friends. Get their input. Let them be part of your process.
Putting the Results to Work
Once you have completed the worksheet, you will have a wealth of crucial information. Here are some tips on how to put that information to work:
Look at your likes and the things that you are good at.
Knowing what you enjoy doing can help you determine the right kind of self‐employment fit for you. For example: If you love gardening, would you like working part-time for a florist or starting a small landscaping business? If people tell you that your cookies and cakes are wonderful and you love to bake, should you consider selling them?
Look at your dislikes and the things you need to work harder on.
Working for yourself can allow you to avoid what you don’t like or what you’re not good at. For example: If you hate to drive or have trouble following maps, would you be happy with work that required you to be on the road a lot? If you are allergic to animals, would a dog-walking business make sense to you?
Putting it all together.
Based on your likes, dislikes, things you’re good at, and things you need to work on, identify five self‐employment opportunities that might be a match for you. For example: If you enjoy travel and one of your strengths is working with people, you might want to look into becoming a travel agent or a tour guide. If you enjoy writing and have good computer skills, you could explore technical writing, freelance editing, or business writing.
Analyzing Your Answers
The value of this exercise is not so much in each answer, but in how all of your answers are related. That’s where you want to take a long, hard look.
Here are a few examples of how you might use your answers to narrow down your ideas for self‐employment:
- If the idea that excites you the most is the most expensive, do you have the resources to make it happen? Can you find funding? Is it something you will have to postpone and do something else until you do have the funds to get started?
- If you are a very family-oriented person but your favorite idea means you’ll have to spend a lot of time on the road or away from home, is it really the right idea for you, or should you go to a “Plan B”?
- If one of your less favorite ideas is fast and inexpensive to act on, are you interested enough and passionate enough to go for that one?
As you narrow down your ideas, you should have a realistic sense of where to put your resources, time, and energy as you embark on self‐employment.
Your end result should be your BIG IDEA for your self‐employment venture.
What’s the Big Idea?
Now it’s time to put pen to paper and sketch out your idea. Use this BIG IDEA worksheet to help you capture your idea, describe its key benefits, and add depth to help you build and improve upon your ideas as you move forward.
Completing the worksheet is useful for both capturing the general thoughts of the idea and describing its key benefits. Using this tool can add richness and depth that will help you to build and improve upon your idea as you move forward.