Written by Cheryl Antier (c) 2005, All International Rights Reserved.

 Although I usually recommend that my clients have some experience in the field or industry that they want to start a business in, I realize that it's not always going to be the case. Sometimes you may decide to start a business because you've got a strong interest in the field, or because it meets your personal business objectives.

Take Susan T., a recent client. Susan had been a stay-at-home mom, raising six children. When her youngest turned 14, she decided she wanted to start a part-time business that she could run from home.

Because she'd been a full-time mother (which trust me -- is a job and provides many types of work-experience), she had no recent outside-the-home work experience, and no real idea about what type of business she wanted to start. (Her degree, received before she'd gotten married, was in graphic design.)

 During our initial consultation, Susan filled out a couple of assessments.  The first one was to help her see where her innate strengths and talents were.  The second was to find out what kind of business she would be most successful at, based on her interests, her abilities, her personality type, and lifestyle.

We also discussed her reasons for wanting to start a business, how many hours a week she wanted to spend working, and what type of income she wanted from the business. (If you have the same questions, you can find some great tools at: http://www.upstartsuccess.com -- just click on the "Free Coaching Resources" page.)

During our next session, I helped Susan create a list of business objectives, based on the results of the assessments, and our two previous email coaching sessions.  From those sessions, we determined that Susan is:

• strongly analytical
• gets bored easily
• enjoys being able to create or design new projects
• prefers working with people one-on-one
• strongly interested in photography, computer design, genealogy and family history
• only wanted a part-time income
• needed a business that she didn't have to put in regular hours every day, because one of her priorities is to be home when her son gets home from school 

Susan and I brainstormed the types of businesses she might be interested running.  We came up with seven possibilities.  I gave her a list of resources she could use for preliminary research, to find out more about each industry, and get a better idea of which ones would best fit her guidelines.

During our next 3 email coaching sessions, Susan narrowed down the types of businesses that she was interested in, based on her business objectives.  When we spoke the next time, she had narrowed the field to three. (Videography, photography and creating documentaries).

Because she had no recent experience in any of these three fields, Susan's next assignment was to do more research, to help her decide which of the businesses would be best for her.  Three of the ten criteria she kept in mind were:

• Is there a market for this type of business in my area?
• Can I get enough experience, training or education in this field quickly and easily?
• Will this industry support another new business, and can I make the kind of money I want to make in it?

Over the next few sessions, we worked to solidify Susan's ideas and results from her research into a basic business concept. Based on our work together, Susan created a unique idea for her business, and was able to use combine three of her interests! The next step for Susan, before she starts writing her business plan, is become knowledgeable about her new business. 

If you want to start a new business, but, like Susan you don't have experience, training or education in that field, here are some steps you can take to succeed too:

1. First of all, ask yourself if you can really see yourself working in this field? Do you have the motivation and determination to start from scratch and do whatever you need to do to succeed?
2. Figure out what it is that YOU want. Why are you going into business for yourself? What are your goals? How much money do you need to make from your business? How much of a learning curve do you have -- in other words, how long is it going to take you to get up to speed, and be able to start making money? Can you -- and your business -- survive that long?
3. Take an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses. Where are you going to need help -- either by hiring an expert (an attorney or accountant, for example), taking on an employee, or learning to do things yourself?  Before you jump in with both feet, make sure you know what you're getting into, and have a plan in place to overcome any problems. My best advice is: don't quit your day job until you're making enough money from your business to replace it.
4. Visit your local library. Start reading everything you can about your chosen industry or field. If your business is going to solve a problem, how has it been solved in the past? What can you do differently? Better? Faster? Cheaper?
5. Take an adult education class. Check out your local high school, community college or online. Chances are, you'll find a class that will help you get the education or training you need to succeed.
6. Visit your local small business development center, chamber of commerce, and professional or trade associations. Talk to them about your business, the needs of your potential clients, etc.
7. Conduct basic market research. Is the market large enough to support another business (yours)? Who is your "ideal" client? Who are your competitors?
8. Look at who else is in your industry. Consider working part time in that industry to gain some experience. What about being an apprentice?
9. Talk to "experts" in your industry or trade. Get their advice, input and ideas. If you're honest and open (without giving away any trade secrets), most people will be happy to talk to you and give you advice.
10. If you want to be successful, be willing to put forth the time and effort that it's going to take for you to learn everything you can about your business. Expect to spend at least six months gaining the knowledge and skills necessary -- the payoff will be worth it!