In my last
blog post I wrote about changing careers.
As scary and drastic as that can be, it can make comfortable sense, when
you find a unique niche and innovate. By
finding a unique niche and innovating into it, you can carry your, hard earned,
highest valued, skills and background with you, which can create a competitive edge
for you, that propels you way ahead of the new kids on the block.
This morning,
I ran across an example of an enterprise that takes advantage of the training,
experience and skill sets, already obtained by workers in a related industry and applies them in a new niche market. At the same time, this new niche opens a market
that had been completely missed by their hotel, and apartment complex first cousins. What that company is doing for themselves,
you can also do for yourself, when you are ready to retool and launch into a
new career. Here’s the company and what they do.
They are
called Value Place, and they are a cross between the traditional hotel and a
traditional apartment complex. Their
rooms and suites are rented weekly and monthly only. They have no pool, no dining room, etc. No extraordinary office hours are kept. In fact, their office hours are very limited. They are more short term rentals than an
apartment complex, and more long term and affordable than a hotel.
The beauty
of their concept is that they have none of the overhead of pools, club houses,
etc., and they can hire direct from the multifamily housing business to get seasoned,
well trained employees. That one tactic
enables Value Place to completely minimize the training period of new
employees, and therefore do more with less.
It takes fewer, seasoned, highly skilled, employees to operate this kind
of business than one where people must be trained from the ground up. And, every one of those seasoned employees
comes to the table with a few tricks up their sleeves for cutting cost, improving
efficiency, and ramping up customer service and satisfaction. Additionally, each one of them comes already
equipped and seasoned in wearing multiple hats in the operation.
Value Place
has five core values that all employees are expected to embrace and employ; Affordable,
Cleaner, Safer, Simple and Flexible. So
far, that formula appears to be dealing the company aces. If, or when, you decide to ramp up a new
career, you, as an individual, can put this same concept to work for yourself,
but there are a few things you need to do to prepare before you take the leap.
Skillset Assessment
First, you
will want to get an all new, up to date assessment of your current skillset. It is very likely that over the years you
have developed additional valuable skills, such as diplomacy, salesmanship,
problem solving, and others, that you may be overlooking in yourself.
Cataloged Knowledge Base
Secondly, catalog
and take into consideration how your knowledge base has expanded from years of training
and experience. That gained knowledge is a valuable asset.
Other Life Experience Assets
Thirdly,
recognize and make note of other skills, knowledge, and special expertise that
you have developed off the job, perhaps through a hobby, religious, or civic
organization activities. These
experiences, and often the mentoring that is given and received in these
situations, has the potential to contribute to your personal and professional
growth sometimes beyond professional training and formal education.
Build Your Contact Network Roll
Forth, take
a long look at who you have come to know and where they are involved. One tool that I enlist to help me see just
who I know and what arenas they operate in, is Linkedin.com. This social network for business networking,
can be a goldmine when utilized regularly. Even if you stay away from the internet
networks (which could be leaving a lot on the table), then at least start with
your phone or contact list and keep adding to it. Analyze your contacts and identify the field
they are in, the job they do, their outside interests, and who they can
introduce you to. You will be pleasantly
surprised at how many people you already know outside of your old career
culture.
Know Your Passion
Fifth and
finally, if you haven’t already, identify your passion. It’s been said that if you work at what you
love, then you never work a day. And I
know that to be true. Knowing where your
passion lies is a key to building a happy tomorrow for yourself, and
fundamental in being a success in your chosen new career. Perhaps I should say, know your passions
(plural) Often it is a through combining
multiple passions and interests, that the unique niche is born or at least
identified.
If you have,
with some diligence, completed steps one through five, then you will be ready to
look where no one else is looking, and to identify niche markets where your
particular credentials will fit perfectly.
Be creative! Out of the box
thinking is a necessity! What you are
looking to identify is something that either, doesn’t exist yet, or has never
been done exactly the way you will do it.
To paraphrase a bit, at this point, you should now be prepared to go boldly where no
one has gone before, utilizing the things that make you, uniquely you. That’s why, when your new career launch hits the ground,
you will have such a head start and advantage, that it will take years for
anyone to catch your dust. Who else do
you know that is exactly like you?
Exactly!
Have you
noticed the theme that runs through this process? It’s this, “Be you!” If you've been trying to be like everyone else, then stop! If you are like everyone else, you will do
what everyone else does, and get what everyone else gets. If you want something different, then be
something different; YOU! Be the unique
you that you have become!
By finding a
unique niche, for your unique skills, background, training, experience,
talents, and passion, and then pouring it all in, you are, after all, just
being you. To me, that doesn’t sound
like a bad formula for a career of success. And it just may be, not only the most successful way, but also the easiest way, to find and start that new career.
Surround yourself with people who love you, work that you
love, and a cause that you believe in.
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