Take Your List of Ingredients and Make a Recipe

I love this post from the ever-insightful Pamela Slim of Escape of Cubicle Nation fame because I get asked all the time how to do a self-assessment exercise that results in a clear direction in which to take your career.  Says Pam:

I spend a lot of of my time working with people who are trying to figure out what to do for a living.  I usually start by sending them on an internal expedition, examining the nuances, thoughts and feelings of their body, mind and spirit for clues about what interests them.  They carry around notebooks in which they furiously scribble insights, create vision boards, bookmark websites like crazy, make spreadsheets and stuff files with pictures and magazine clippings.  Then they get back in touch with me, feeling a bit perplexed and overwhelmed, sharing a summary list which looks something like this:

My interests: old rugs, Pittsburgh Steelers, organic farming, my family, writing code, speaking Russian, salsa dancing, old episodes of Friends, small business marketing, photography.

They say “I sure love all these things, but how in the world can I make a business out of them?”  To which I reply:  You are ingredients in search of a recipe.  Or perhaps many recipes.  A common misconception about the process of entrepreneurship is that you have to fit all your interests into one neatly tied up and integrated business which will allow you to express all of your passions.  Instead, I like to think of skills and interests as ingredients to use selectively in different business models, depending on the opportunities and market.

So you could say: “I think I want to use salsa dancing as the main staple for my next venture.  I will round out the flavor with a bit of coding, by creating a killer website that hosts great instructional videos for novice dancers, and will sprinkle in a little bit of photography so I can take stunning photos of professional dancers to use in their promotional materials.”

OR...

“I would love to spend some time in Pittsburgh so I can catch all the Steeler home games live. I think I will focus on organic farming in the northeast, using a few cups of marketing to help local farmers expand their offerings in the slow winter season.  I hear that there are some amazing rug dealers in the area, so when not doing small business marketing, I will try to find some great pieces and sell them on eBay.”

Looking at your interests this way, you can see that you don’t have to use all the ingredients at once, in the same measure, in the same recipe.  All you need to do is to continually refine your list of ingredients, and combine them in ways that interest you and taste great.

Wonderful and more importantly – clear and useable – advice!

Comments

[Dan Erwin]

Listing and defining your interests is a necessity, but there also needs to be a list of skills. I've found that people usually miss a number of their skills, at least they don't think of them in terms of business opportunities. For example, the issue of my family. Are you effective at organizing, planning, managing, relationship bulding? Those skills can readily translate into business competencies--once you switch context. Digging into interests can often enable you to come up with skill sets that are significantly transferable into a business. It can also give you insight into what will be difficult for you, or even what you don't like.

[Jef Nance]

hi, great post Alexandra... combining purpose, passion, and interests.

If more followed your advice, there'd be fewer living for the weekend and loathing the week!

-jef

www.deceptionsecrets.com

[Alexandra Levit]

@Jef: Thanks, and I love your niche. DeceptionSecrets.com is an intriguing URL and I wasn't disappointed when I got there.

@Dan E: GREAT addition to take this metaphor even further!

[eveisk]

Listing and defining your interests is a necessity, but there also needs to be a list of skills. I've found that people usually miss a number of their skills, at least they don't think of them in terms of business opportunities. For example, the issue of my family. Are you effective at organizing, planning, managing, relationship bulding? Those skills can readily translate into business competencies--once you switch context. Digging into interests can often enable you to come up with skill sets that are significantly transferable into a business. It can also give you insight into what will be difficult for you, or even what you don't like.

[Alexandra Levit]

@Eveisk: Dan E said the same thing. Seems like I need a follow up post, huh?

[Alex]

I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

[Alexandra Levit]

@Alex: Thanks so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to write, and great name, of course!

[Nick]

It's really a good posting. I like it. It's pretty much impressive to me. i think others will agree with me.

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