Generally speaking, two types of would be career counseling clients in approach me about starting a business in Connecticut.
(1) Those who know that they want to run their own business but have not committed to a specific idea. They usually have a few ideas bouncing around in their heads. But, they haven’t decided which, if any, is best.
In this case, my career counseling clients need options analysis. We systematically and objectively examine each idea and, thereby, flesh out the challenges and opportunities of each option. I lend my expertise on small business, particularly in Connecticut, and expertise as an entrepreneur to give real world analysis as to which idea seems best.
While we both know that quitting is not an option at the moment, usually optimism abounds because it is only a matter of time before the client finds the right idea and then figures out how to make it happen. Thereafter, such career counseling clients who have entrepreneurial mindsets will likely go for it and our work will be related to entrepreneurial coaching.
My work here is not necessarily life-shifting. I am usually acting as an accelerant. I get someone who has the fire to act sooner than they otherwise would.
(2) Those who have a distinct entrepreneurial idea but cannot bring themselves to move forward.
The second type of career counseling client who is pondering quitting a job to start a business has an idea. But, the person usually does not have an entrepreneurial mindset.
Usually, these clients have developed expertise in their current industries and have identified niches that they believe they can serve. They are confident that their ideas are good ones. They likely have read books and articles on entrepreneurship. But, ultimately, they confess that they simply don’t know how they would bring their ideas to fruition.
They lack a nuts and bolts plan. They feel incompetent until I assure them that they are experiencing one of the most common aspects of entrepreneurship: not knowing what to do on a day-to-day basis. If the client has been cultured in the world of jobs then she has known what to do each day since she’s been employed. The day-to-day work of the entrepreneur is a blank piece of paper until the entrepreneur creates her work day.
Our work together involves creating monthly, weekly, and daily plans. Then, she can start to see what she will do each day and how her idea can come to fruition.
Upon doing so, many of our career counseling clients are energized and make the entrepreneurial leap.