Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Business Brainstorm Mini-Series: From Passion to Profit: Choosing the Perfect Business for Your Second Act
Episode - #153
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: Welcome to the Business Brainstorm Mini-Series here on the podcast,

If you are just joining us, I suggest you head back to episode 1 52,

which is all about planning your exit strategy from your nine to five job

today we are tackling how you can decide what type of business is best for you. We'll also have two more special episodes after this and

this mini series is all leading into my free business brainstorm mini bootcamp. Happening July 30th through August 1st. I am so excited. It's going to be fantastic. As we dive into everything that you need to think about when starting a business. Sign up now @secondactsuccess.co/brainstorm.

You will join me for two, one hour online workshops and a live Q and a session where I will answer all of your business startup questions. Plus you will receive a free business startup checklist to help you plan your next move as well. It's all [00:01:00] over at secondactsuccess.co/brainstorm.

Now it's onto the episode.

You are leaving a nine to five that may not fit your lifestyle completely.

So you want to build a business that is really going to be aligned with your personal goals and your family needs.

Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second act success career podcast. I am your host, Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer turned business owner, career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

Hey there, my friend, welcome to Second Act Success. I am your host career transition, coach Shannon Russell. Today, we're about to tackle one of the most exciting, yet challenging [00:02:00] questions that I have received from clients

And students in my programs who are aspiring entrepreneurs, the question is, how do you figure out what kind of business you want to start? That is the question, because so often you know that where you are in your job is not right. You know, you want to leave, but you have no idea what it is you want to do. I just give you props for knowing that you want to start a business, that you want to create something of your own, because just knowing that just having that insight brings you to the head of the pack, because there are so many people who know they're unhappy and they just don't know what they want to do.

Do they want to switch to another career? Do they want to go back to school?

Do they want to stay home completely? Did they want to retire early? I don't know. There's just so many different options. So the fact that you know that you want to leave your job and start a business,

I can help you with that.

How do you figure out what kind of business you want to start? There's so many ideas out there, especially in the online [00:03:00] space. The options are really endless. So it's very overwhelming, especially when you're just open to anything. And when you're open to anything, you're researching everything and it really does begin to create a lot of overwhelm.

But if you know, 100% you are ready to transition from your nine to five. Into being a business owner, then this episode is really going to hit home for you.

It is designed just for you.

Okay.

Choosing the right business that you want to move into is really crucial. It's crucial for your success personally. And in you creating a successful business, you want to be satisfied. You want to know that what you're pivoting into is something that is truly going to fulfill you and let you up.

And something that you can really utilize all of your past experience and your past skills into you want to take everything from your past and throw it into this business that you're creating, or at least all of the good stuff, all of the stuff that [00:04:00] you've enjoyed.

All of those skills that you want to continue to foster in your life as an entrepreneur.

So the first thing we're going to tackle is how to find the business that really aligns with you. You want your business to align with your passions, with your skills? And for what you think you can handle. I talk a lot about non-negotiables here in the show and about wanting to make sure that all of your non-negotiables are being met.

When you transition to a second act, you don't want to leave a job that has you working 24 7. To just start a business where you're working 24 7. Right. You want to make sure that your non-negotiables are met. So if your non-negotiable is, I need to be finished by 4:00 PM every day, because I have to be able to take my kids to an afterschool activity. Or that is when I have an exercise class I want to be at, or maybe you have to go take care of a parent

or you just want that to be your end of your Workday. So now you know that the business you [00:05:00] want to create has to have that flexibility, That is your non-negotiable. You want to build a business where it's okay to shut down your laptop and move on. You don't want to create a business necessarily. That is open until midnight, right?

You don't want to open, say a restaurant where you open at 9:00 AM and you close at midnight that wouldn't be meeting your non-negotiables.

We're talking about you focusing on your experience, your passions, your skills,

and what you can create from all of that, that will light you up.

Remember that building a business is your next act. That is what you will be doing for the foreseeable future. When you leave your corporate job or you leave your nine to five. it's not just about making money. Of course. That's what business is. Do they make money for you and create a lifestyle? But when you're thinking about the business that you want to start, you don't want to think just about the money because money is not necessarily guaranteed right off the bat.

[00:06:00] And unless you build your business correctly. It's not guaranteed at all. And if you don't have passion in what you're creating, that money might not come. So don't focus on the money that the business can make necessarily think about how you can create this fulfilling, sustainable career that you are excited about.

Mhm. We're going to explore different ways, different strategies to help you identify the best business ideas for you. First we want to start with that self-assessment piece. That's the first step to understand what you're really passionate about and what you want to do next. think about what you love doing in your free time.

Think about what are your favorite parts about your current career or past careers? Maybe there was something else that you studied back in college. Maybe there is a passion or a hobby that you do on the side. That really brings you a lot of joy. Is there a business that can be stemmed around any of those things? The more connected you feel to the [00:07:00] business you're building, the more dedicated you will be to it. And the more you'll want to work. And then you'll realize that work doesn't feel like work because you love what you're doing. You love what you're creating with your own two hands. '

For me, it was about a year after I left my career in television and I had taken a nine to five job. I had gone back to graduate school. I was doing all the things and nothing felt right. I was not passionate about any of it. And when I realized I had my epiphany, that I wanted to be my own boss, I wanted to build something of my own.

I started diving into what that would be. And I had another light bulb moment when I looked over at my three-year-old, who is building with Legos. And I realized that that was the only time I could venture into the other room to do the dishes or make dinner. He was so enthralled in what he was doing. That it really inspired me. And I started thinking maybe there's something to this. Because when I did venture into graduate school, I was going for a master's in [00:08:00] education. I thought for a hot minute that I wanted to be a teacher.

And so I was thinking about that and the education I had gotten through that master's program. And looking at my son building. And it had me thinking about stem, education, science, technology, engineering, and math. And I started doing research on it and I said, you know what? If I were to open my own stem education center for kids. I could have all of these fun Legos in different building materials and the kids can come and they can build, and I can teach classes.

I can bring my kids with me. And the more I started thinking about it, the more excited I got, the more down the rabbit hole, I went on the internet researching and thinking about how I could do this and what it would look like and picking out the toys and. Then I stumbled upon a franchise called snap ology, which I now own. But snap ology was already established. And they were franchising their businesses all over the country. [00:09:00]

Now we're international. It's been over eight years since I've owned my snap ology franchise. But my point being is that I felt that excitement, there was something in it that I said, oh my gosh, I can take all of my past experience as a producer in television, taking an idea and creating it into an actual television show.

I can use that experience to take my idea and. Build a stem education business. Using my education for my masters. My kids that are right here in front of me and build a business around it. And that was a light bulb moment that I needed. And I feel like you need to look for that kind of light bulb moment in your life. If you're still working your nine to five job, that is completely fine. I start doing the research start thinking about what you really love from your past and from your present. And how that can warp into a business of your own. And you can think about online businesses, you can think about in-person [00:10:00] brick and mortar businesses, storefronts. My point is there's so many options out there.

Now I created a brick and mortar store front stem center for my snap ology business. Then years later when I decided to become a career transition coach and help other women. Make these transitions in their lives. I formed an online business. . So there's in-person businesses online businesses, but both of my businesses. Incorporate everything that I love. And how I want to be of service to other people and make other people have happier lives and fulfilling careers. And it really all came together really organically.

Once I allowed myself to be open to the possibilities. I want you to really identify your passions, how you can start a business with dedication in a way that, you know, you're going to love everything that you are working towards. And that end goal is going to seem so attainable.

If you're not [00:11:00] finding any passions or ideas for businesses in the current work that you do or your past industries that you've worked in, then start thinking about what you like to do outside of work. Maybe it's things that you like to do with your family.

Maybe it's hobbies, maybe it's reading or cooking or fitness or technology, whatever it might be. Trust me. No passion is too small or too nice down. There's truly a market for everything. Especially in the online space. So think about what lights you up and I guarantee you, there is a business you can build around that thing.

I have clients who have built businesses around mindfulness education, cooking. Organizing virtual assistant work. Nursing.

Teaching music lessons.

Working as a travel agent, there are really so many ideas on how you can build a business around what it is that you love, and this will make your business 10 times more successful. Trust [00:12:00] me.

As you're writing down your different skills, your passions, these different ideas. Try and see if there's any correlations or intersections, that is where the best business ideas can be found, because maybe you can take your love of. Writing, and you can also take your love of teaching and maybe you can build a business about teaching people, how to write creative stories or creative essays or novels. Or maybe you're really good at organizing and you've planned events in the past. And you're thinking about, okay, I've liked that. But the idea of that was always on such a big scale. I want to organize things for people on a smaller scale. And maybe you just start organizing people's homes or their closets. These are just examples to show you that there are really ideas everywhere.

Okay.

Now, once you have this list nailed down and you're looking at it and you're getting excited and all the fields. I want you to start doing a little bit of market research. This is where you can take your big list of ideas and really narrow it [00:13:00] down because the more you start learning about what a business utilizing these skills can look like, the more you can start seeing what the demand is out in the market for a business like this, for products like this or services like this. Now you can start seeing, are there other businesses that already exist?

How are those businesses doing? are there problems that customers or clients are really facing that your business can solve?

You can do amazing research nowadays, just using your keyboard on your computer. You can go look at Google trends.

You can send a survey to friends and family. You can even turn to social media and join different groups. There's groups on everything on Facebook and LinkedIn. So you can join these groups and do your research that way. See what kind of businesses people are starting. Or what kind of feedback you can get by asking questions? And putting in certain prompts in different groups to kind of gauge the interest in your ideas.

When I started looking [00:14:00] into my franchise business I reached out to other owners. I did my research and talking to them, finding out what they liked and didn't like about the business.

And really that helped inform me so much by these conversations. So if you are thinking about a certain business and you know, someone who has a similar business that you can ask the questions that are running around in your head, that's a great resource. You can also find a business. That's kind of similar to the one that you're thinking of creating, but it could be across the country. It can be somewhere else. And then you can reach out to the owner and say, I have this idea as I was Googling, I found your business and I love everything that you're doing.

I love to ask you a couple of questions. I'm not a competitor. I'm actually. In Florida and your in Washington state. So no competition, but I love to chat with you and pick your brain about how you built the business and how businesses going. People are happy to share, especially when they know that you're not trying [00:15:00] to steal their customers.

Okay.

By doing this market research, you're really validating your idea. You are coming up with potential business ideas and validating it by talking to potential customers by conducting surveys, reaching out to other business owners, doing your market research. You're learning about. Is this actually going to be a viable business?

Is this something that I want to do? As you learn about different businesses, you might learn about aspects of it that are not for you. , and that's a great thing to figure out at this stage. So get whatever feedback you can, whatever research you can get done out of the way and really take it to heart and sit with it and think. Is this how I want to spend my days for the next couple of years, however long you intend to have the business.

You want to really be confident with your decision and know that this is actually where your heart lies.

Okay.

Now it's time to talk about the financial aspect [00:16:00] of the business. You're considering this is everyone's least favorite part to discuss, but it's so, so important. You might be really passionate about this business. You might see that there's demand in your market. Everything on your list is pointing towards. Yes. But now let's consider the financial feasibility of the business. What are the startup costs? How big will your team need to be? How many products will you need to create or services will you need to get ready to offer? How much capital will you need to start?

Will you need to get alone? How long do you think it will take you to become profitable? You want to really ensure that you have a financial plan in place and do your research on that too. There are lots of tools you can get online that are financial planning documents, where you can plug in different information

and align it to your bank account. So you can really get a clear look of what you have, what you'll need and how long it will take you to get that investment [00:17:00] back and really start making full profit.

Mhm.

You also want to consider your lifestyle adjustment. Now you're leaving your nine to five job that you're probably pretty used to. It's probably part of a routine for you. And now you're going to be entering into entrepreneurship, which is really a wild race.

Are you going to want a business that you're allowed to work from anywhere? Or do you want to have a more location dependent set up? How many hours are you willing to work? Please note that you're going to have to work a lot more in the beginning, especially as you're getting established and marketing your business. And getting the word out there and just doing all of the administrative side of creating a business. And you might have to work and do a lot more jobs yourself before you can hire a team. start thinking about how this transition will affect your current lifestyle.

You want to make sure that is something that's feasible and that is still meeting your non-negotiables. At the end [00:18:00] of the day, you want this business to enhance your life. Not complicate it.

You are leaving a nine to five that may not fit your lifestyle completely.

So you want to build a business that is really going to be aligned with your personal goals and your family needs.

Mhm.

In the end, finding the right business idea involves understanding your passions, your skills, doing your research,

and considering all of the different aspects that can come into building a business. There are so many different factors involved. And doing the research is such a huge part to really plan it out. So take the time with this process, go back and listen to this episode again, if you need to, and really invest the effort now to ensure that you're choosing the right path, moving forward.

Okay. My friend, thank you again for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed the podcast and got some gems of wisdom to take with you into your day. Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss an episode of the show.

And I will be back with a new episode of the Second Act [00:19:00] Success Career Podcast. Next time,

I am wishing you all the best as you head into your second act, building a business you love. Talk soon.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is Second Act Success.