Your study of potential opportunities may result in your deciding that you would like to start your own business. If so, you will want to repeat some of the steps mentioned earlier from two perspectives. You will want to speak to people who are in that field, but you will also want to speak with other entrepreneurs who have recently set out on their own. One thing you may hear is that before you begin a new business it is helpful to "try it with training wheels"-work for someone else in that field so that you are confident that you have enough of an understanding of the business to make a go of it.
There are many resources to help you start your business ranging from government (Small Business Administration or local Industrial Development Agency), to banks and not-for-profits organizations such as SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). Touch base with them to get information that will put you in a better position to decide if this is the option you want to pursue.
At this point you have gathered enough information about all of your potential choices so that you can make an educated choice about your future. You know what your skills are, and you know which jobs require people with your skills. In addition to the information you have found in books or on the Web like O*NET and the Occupational Outlook Handbook, you have had the chance to hear it "straight from the horse's mouth." With this information, you should have a pretty good idea of which occupations would hold your interest.
Now is the time to go through with what Benjamin Franklin referred to as a T-square. In your binder, create a page for each option. In the left column, write all of the positives about pursuing that occupational goal. Some categories might include salary, opportunities for advancement, type of work, growth prospects for that field, work setting, etc. Now do the same thing for the negatives.
After you have completed a T-square for each position, spend some time evaluating them. Which occupations, on the whole, still seem the most appealing? Which ones have some appeal, but have equally weighty drawbacks (you would need to go back for additional training, etc.)?
| Pros | Cons |
| Opportunities for nearly unlimited income | No stable source of income |
| Chance to "be my own boss" | Limited direction from supervisors |
| Opportunities to travel | Travel a strain on family |
| Working with people all the time | Stress of needing to be "on" |
| Company car | Advancement means relocating |
| Good benefits | Excessive hours |
| Having a part in making people's lives better | Little security |
| No need for further formal education, just sales training |
Keep in mind that making a decision about one option does not necessarily rule out any of the other options for good. You might decide later in your career to make a change, and enter one of the other fields. Or, after an extended period with no success in reaching your current goal, you might decide to go back and pursue a different goal.
Not all goals are mutually exclusive. In fact, you may find that some goals allow for you to pursue different goals simultaneously. For example, you may choose to pursue two goals-retail management and human resources. In order to compete for jobs in human resources, you may need to return to school to pick up some courses in benefits, labor law, or even counseling. You could begin enrolling in the course work, and at the same time you could be applying and interviewing for positions in retail management. If you are offered a position in retail management, you may become enamored with the field, and the human resources goal may fade. The course work will not be wasted, however, because it will help you to be a better manager.
When possible, look for ways in which you can pursue several goals at once. This will allow you the flexibility to look at more opportunities. Obviously, the more opportunities that you are open to accepting, the more likely it is that you will be offered one.