August 31st, 2011 → 6:38 pm @ marc
Think of your career like running a business. You are the CEO and as CEOs assess the business strengths, strategize, market their products and plan for the company’s future so should you be doing the same for your career.
Realize that your small business should be run by yourself and not others: this is vital in taking control of your career and seeing it as a small business that should not be handed over to someone else to run. If you hand over your career to someone else they will only use this leverage to their own advantage instead of yours. Take control and make sure you have a clear idea of where you want to take your ‘small business’ for yourself not others!
Discover your interests and strengths: you need to know and define who you are and what you can offer. Playing to your strengths will help you achieve your interests as there is an old saying ‘you do best what you best like to do’. So if numbers make you go crazy then an Accountant is where you ought to set up your small business, or if you have good persuasive strengths then Sales or Acting is for you, or if you have a good eye for shape, colour and size and can see the dimensions unfold and make something special then Graphic Design is for you.
Know your target market and their needs: the target market being your employer and their needs being how you can help solve their problems, with of course the cost of your expertise. Think of the situation as a problem solving one where you sell yourself in order to be of use to the ‘market’ and you need to decide how much this is worth to you not the other way around.
What is your added value? This is important to discover because you need to distinguish why your small business stands out from the others? What is it that you bring to the table? High quality? Low prices? Fantastic service? These are normally small things that set businesses apart from each other so think what your employer would want to buy from you. Your qualities need to stand out from the rest and be unique, remember to make sure that this is the message that you send out when going through the hiring phase.
Quality and satisfaction is always key for success: think about all the times that you have been disappointed as a customer when dealing with product service. You might not go back to that shop or you might very well tell others about your disappointment and boycott that company all together. This is the same for your career; if your employer is not happy with your ‘customer service’ or quality they too will go elsewhere and this probably will spread to your big boss and others in the same organization. Adopting a co-operative attitude, good quality of work, timely delivery of projects and having a good ethic towards your work will see people coming back for more. You certainly don’t want to go ‘out’ of businesses because of the wrong approach as the owner!
Know your industry: it is always important to be in the know of what is happening in your industry. Whether the industry is growing or becoming stagnant can benefit your ‘small business’ either way but only if you know how to use it to your advantage. Planning is always part of a CEOs job and relating this to the current market is just as important. If the market is slowing down try to find a niche which would prosper to your advantage and if the market is growing, try and target where it is at its fastest growth with what you have to offer.
Keep your skills at cutting edge: in today’s age it is always about what is new, better, higher quality and functionality. Keep yourself on the cutting edge with what is the latest skill, method or techniques used or latest strategies and tactics that companies are implementing. Always strive to be as good as you can be and push the envelope as there is always someone else just a few steps behind you waiting to pounce.
Don’t be stagnant but open to change: don’t get stuck in a rut and be open to change when the opportunity presents itself. As most business owners know if the business is failing there comes a time when you need to cut your losses and move on to something else. If your organization that you are working for is a sinking ship, no need to go down with it but rather jump overboard and find something better. If you need to update your skills due to technology taking over your industry then think about retraining yourself for a market that is growing and will need your type of expertise. Always have choices available for action especially when faced with redundancy or if companies are ‘downsizing’, you might not be the one to go but no-one is a complete safe bet.
Like any business there always needs a business plan in order to know where you want to go with the business and what you want to do with it. Bear this in mind with your career and manage it like a successful CEO that is always looking for that next level to take their company to.
