A countless number of us feel trapped or confined within the job we currently have. It can be depressing, to dislike going to work every single day. If you’re itching to pursue something that you love and are passionate about, and your daydreams have turned into montages of you fulfilling these dreams…here are a few tips to create your dream job and turn your dream career into a reality.
Figure out what you want to do
The first step is, obviously, to pinpoint what your dream job actually is. A lot of us tend to think that we want to pursue a handful of different things, and it can be confusing and difficult to pick just one thing to pursue. Remember, you have the rest of your life and eventually, you’ll be able to juggle multiple different careers and business ventures at a time. So pick the one you love the very most, the one you are most passionate about, and focus on that one career path.
Make a business plan
Or, more fittingly, a loose business outline. Starting a business or pursuing your dream job, takes a lot of time. Take the time to determine what steps would be necessary for you to make your dream job a reality. Is this a new business venture you’d be doing alone. Is your dream job working at an existing institution? Working a different position at your current job? Pinpoint that specific goal, and then outline all of the necessary steps to get to that point. You won’t end up following that plan step by step, as nothing goes according to plan. But having a business plan to work off of will keep you productive and consistent.
Gather help
Even if you’re going to be doing this on your own, it’s important to at the very least gain support from your close friends and family. If you need assistance in the execution of your business plan, carefully choose who you want to help you. You usually want to avoid hiring your friends and family members as your employees, but can instead use them as emotional support as you begin your new business venture.
One more thing you’ll want some extra help with: fraud is one of the biggest concerns of a small business. Seemingly small indiscretions by your employees or associates can eat up your profit margins and hobble your business’ growth. This link has some great tips for preventing fraud.
Keep the end in mind
We often tend to want immediate results. We want to open our business tomorrow, receive our promotion this week, or want to see the fruits of our labors within a very short window of time. The reality is that any sort of business venture or goal is going to take a significant amount of time to accomplish. Don’t let yourself get discouraged, and instead, keep your end goal in mind. If it helps you, create smaller goals along the way so you feel like you really are progressing, instead of feeling stagnant.
Gain inspiration from others
You would never want to copy the work that someone else in your field has done, but it can be very beneficial to gain inspiration from someone else in your field that has accomplished things similar to the things that you want to accomplish. As long as you don’t copy, and you simply use their work to gain inspiration, you won’t run into any problems or complications. You can also reach out to this person and ask them if they’d be willing to let you talk to them about their career. Most people are more than willing to sit down and talk with you over a cup of coffee and answer your questions.
Know your market
No matter what your dream job may be, it’s important for you to know the value that you would provide to your potential market. If you have no idea who you’re presenting yourself to, or who you’re trying to get to buy your product, you won’t have any way to be successful. Don’t let yourself go into it blind; get to know your market and your target audience. What do you provide that they don’t already have access to? What makes you special and different and more worth their time and money? Interact with your audience as much as possible, in every step of the process. Before you begin your new position, as well as after. Your audience and market is always changing and evolving, and so should you.