Office Workers Windows
Originally uploaded by kwsnyc

VOCALISE & USE YOUR DISCONTENT AS MOTIVATION

1. Practical Moaning: Acknowledge your discontent by vocalising your dissatisfaction & putting pen to paper. Say it to yourself, say it to your friends, write it down- fill pages with your angst, practical and otherwise. Examine and pin point what it is that you are unhappy about and from this you'll find your actionable points from which to formulate a plan to move out of your career rut and into a more aspirational place.

IDENTIFY YOUR 'BETTER OPTION'

2. Brainstorm it: make practical use of that awful office buzzword & 'brainstorm' your ideas. Write down your passions, your hobbies, all the things you could be doing that would make better use of your time and contribute in a greater way to the world.

If you already know where you'd rather be, you're one up. However, list making & brainstorming can still be a valuable tool for closer identifying the practicality of the goals you have but are currently unable to decipher how to monetize.

Turn to a blank page of your note book or pin up a fresh piece of butcher's paper on your wall & grab a marker. List down all the things you are good at or want to be good at, the things you are passionate about, your hobbies, the things you would do if money were no issue. Dream big but remember to identify your own ambition. Don't write "rock star" because you see others doing it and having a blast.

If you love to sew, write, make speeches or debate, cook, use social media, work out, party, travel; get it down on paper, the key is to identifying your 'better option' and then further brainstorming all the ways you could create a brand with a product or service that you can monetiz and there is a way to monetize just about anything you can dream of, some passions simply require a little more 'out of the box' thinking than others. This is the practical side of your brainstorming session and is essential in taking your plan from a pipe dream to reality. The work has only just begun, but in identifying how to create a product or service from your passion; you have just taken the first step towards bringing your ideal career into existence. High five!

Feel the Flexibility
Originally uploaded by HaMeD!caL

BECOME INSPIRED & INFORMED

3. Research: Google it, go to the library, trawl social networking sites, read encyclopaedias (or Wikipedia!), read industry specific magazines, speak to your friends or friends of friends who are making their way in the world on the back of their own ideas - find people already successfully making a go at that marvellous non working-for-the-man style job that you aspire to. Find a few key people that have 'made it' and use their story as a point from which to take inspiration and fuel your motivation. While you are researching the entrepreneurial rock stars who you aspire to get amongst, take time to examine their products & services. What do they offer? Why does it work? Look at case studies or do your own, email people & ask questions, read interviews other magazines or websites have conducted, look at sales figures and brand growth – get familiar with your potential industry neighbours & competition.

ENVISION YOUR BRAND
4. Find your point of difference: Use your knowledge of the industry, the products & services available and the angle of the existent brands to identify how the product or service you are going to offer will fill a niche in the market.

Identifying what it is about your brand that is unique and asking questions such as: What is it about my product that is different? Will this market position assist in my product/services success? What personal attributes can I bring to the fore front to assist in the building of my brand? Do I have room to expand & further develop my brand? Why should my brand succeed? What do I have to offer the market? How does the quality and concept of my product or service stand up against established & well known products/services already on offer in the market?

MAKE IT HAPPEN

5. Practical planning: Now that you have identified your 'better option' and examined how to make it work as a unique product/service in the existing market, it is time to get practical and look at the steps to take in working towards adequately monetizing your product/service and consequently being able to leave your desk job and spend your hours in your own entrepreneurial way.

Create a comprehensive business plan that encompasses what you require to create your product or develop your service and how to market your product/service. Consider how you will fund creation of the product and / or the formalisation of your skills to enable you to offer a service. Think too about the cost and requirements of marketing of the product/service. List down all the things you need to make your plan work, from that list create a practical time-lined plan on how you will make it happen.


Keep in mind: That you must be reasonable and make compromises; create a time lines so that you have points to work towards and so too that progress can be monitored; surround yourself with like minded creative & inspiring types; keep learning and stay abreast of what is happening in the market you are looking to enter; make sure your marketing does not let your product down; realise that you will almost certainly need to maintain a full time job to fund your new venture & pay the rent for the initial labour-of-love period / until things start to take off and during this time you will need to spend every non-office-bound waking hour [wired on caffeine &] dedicated to making things happen for yourself; stay focused on your timeline and ensure your passion remains in your product/service and that money is not & does not become your motivation; just do it, do it for free until it starts to pay & when it starts to pay, stay motivated & do not compromise on quality or allow passion to wane.


What's your dream career & what are you doing/going to do to make it happen?