$Million Idea... Now What?
J.T. O'Donnell
Founder & CEO, Work It DAILY | Board of Directors, McCoy | Career & Professional Development | Job Search | HR & Recruiting | Employer Branding | Recruitment Marketing | Talent Management | Executive Coaching
I read this article about two sisters who took what they thought was a crazy idea one day back in college, and years later, turned it into a multi-million dollar business. What is remarkable about this story is it proves once again anyone can have the next million dollar idea.
People + Problem = Success
These sister readily admit they didn't come from an entrepreneurial household. In fact, they both went the "traditional" route in their careers after college. But one day, they decided to take their idea and see what they could do with it. And that, my friends, is where you and they differ.
FACT: Million Dollar Ideas Aren't Daydreamed into Reality!
Every day, I run into job seekers who tell me their heart isn't in their job search. Then, with a wistful look upon their faces, they say, "I have this business idea I dream of launching, BUT..." and then they give me a bunch of reasons why they won't even try to start the business. Daydreams don't make million dollar ideas come to life - people do! Yet, the majority of those daydreamers will never know if their idea could have worked. Why? People mistakenly believe it's easier to not pursue a million dollar idea then to try it and risk being seen as failure. What a shame! Now, here's a solution...
Your Next Step - Start a Hobby Career
Instead of fearing failure by trying to make your million dollar idea a success, why don't you set a more realistic goal for yourself and launch it as a "hobby career" instead? I am a huge fan of job seekers starting a hobby career while in job search mode.
Why?
A hobby career is something you can't fail at. It's just a small business venture you opt to pursue as a way to take a break from the job search.
(Note: In the job search program I teach, I don't believe job seeking is a full-time job and that people should be doing it eight hours a day. So, in my world, job seekers have time to pursue hobby careers.)
Hobby careers are something you do to teach yourself how to create an income out of something you enjoy doing. You don't have grand expectations of making millions of dollars, nor do you put pressure on yourself to do so. Instead, you work at your own pace to determine a simple way to monetize your hobby. Once you do, you move on from there to see how far you can take it.
Bonus: Hobby Careers Teach Give You a New Perspective on Job Search
One of the positive side effects of starting a hobby career is you learn about business - and that helps you think about your job search in a new way. Most job seekers don't understand they are actually a business-of-one who must market themselves to get hired. They also don't understand how to identify and proactively market themselves to the audience they want to hire them. So, when you launch a hobby career and start to see who is buying what you are selling, you also are reminded of what you should be doing in your traditional job search.
Millions of Excuses Don't Make Millions of $$$
I hope this article inspires you to quit making excuses as to why your crazy idea isn't worth pursuing. Make it your hobby career so you can stop putting pressure on yourself and start enjoying the idea of entrepreurship. The sooner you begin experimenting with ways to make your idea fly, the better!
If you want to read more of what I've written, check out my articles on Inc.com.
P.S. - First time reading my posts? Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Not only do I write for Linkedin, but I'm also founder of a popular career advice site,CAREEREALISM,and currently run the career coaching program,CareerHMO. I hope you'll check them both out!
If you enjoyed reading this article, you may also like:
CAREEREALISM’s Founder, J.T. O’Donnell is a nationally syndicated career expert and workplace consultant who helps American workers of all ages find greater professional satisfaction. Her book, CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career, outlines her highly successful career-coaching methodology. Purchase her e-book of CAREEREALISM for only $9.95 by clicking here !
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Supply Chain, Operations and Strategy Consultant
8 年JT, good one. Dallas has some interesting female inventors and business women. My favorite story is of the Topsy Tail, which you may remember from early 1990s infomercials. She was an IBM sales rep, quit her job, made a SIMPLE plastic injection molded hoop, wrote the Glamour Guide and then sold it via TV etc. and it made over 100 million dollars in the first few years (this is 25 years ago). And on that note, our latest company is hopefully going to be a huge winner also! www.jobacus.com
Kitchen Manager
9 年Very inspiring!!
Happy, Healthy, Data dude, Software Licensor
11 年Studies show yapping about something gives the same chemical fulfillment as doing it. Might want to intentionally not yap about it unless you are: *looking for feedback that you will genuinely consider *making a personal statement of accountability *celebrate milestone breakthroughs
Happy, Healthy, Data dude, Software Licensor
11 年Good stuff JT, I really enjoy your posts and personally relate to this in hobby to full time career transitions.
LACPA Certified Public Accountant - ???? ?????? ????? - Auditor
11 年thanks for sharing us these precious ideas