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Certainty vs. Exploration
Years ago, while teaching Professional Development at St. Philip’s College, I worked with two distinct types of students. For those with a defined career goal, my job was clear. We outlined the necessary steps, starting with getting a job within their chosen industry or in one that was closely related.
Working with students who were unsure of their career goals was a more difficult process. I used two exercises.
- “Losing time” I had my students list activities that, when they did them, they would look at the time and wonder where the last few hours had gone.
- “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Phrasing the question this way helped my students think back to their original dream, before family, friends, and teachers told them that their dream was unrealistic.
My follow-up question would be, “What was it about that activity, job, or career that interested you?” One student who wanted to be a ballerina realized she actually wanted to be on stage. At that point, we were able to come up with other careers that would give her that opportunity.
I did have one that totally flummoxed me. She wanted to be a boy. She was not suggesting a gender change. She simply envied her brothers’ outdoor freedom. She ended up deciding that working in the forest service was a good fit.
The Engine of Entrepreneurship
Owning a business is a marathon. There will be times when the process depletes all of your reserves – financially, physically, and emotionally. Passion, remembering why you wanted to do this in the first place, becomes the only thing that can get you through those difficult times.
If you are an “accidental entrepreneur,” you already have a passion. Your next step is to learn as much as you can about how to run a business. Do you need an MBA? Absolutely not. The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met have had little formal education. They have, however, sought out training that helps them start and grow their businesses. We are so fortunate in San Antonio to have tons of no-cost resources, especially https://launchsa.org/, where I work now, and https://sasbdc.org/, where I worked for 14 years.
Identifying Your “Blind Spots”
For those who are in their second act, look for what I call “blind spots,” those effortless tasks that we mistakenly assume everyone can do. Because these skills come naturally, we fail to see that they are both rare and valuable.
In all the jobs I’ve held over the years, coworkers constantly asked me for writing and editing help. Because good writing instruction had made the skill natural to me, it took decades to recognize it as one of my primary strengths.
Monetizing Talent in the Age of AI
What strengths do you have that you have overlooked? Once identified, plug them into an AI platform and ask, “How can I monetize (or build a business or career) out of my ability to ________?”
Next month, we’ll explore more ways to identify your blind spots and leverage those skills with AI.
As you may know, I retired from the UT San Antonio SBDC in November. Two days later, I started a contract position with Launch SA as a…you guessed it…business advisor. I miss the SBDC team, but I love the team I work with now.
Since I have some time available (four-day weekends), I thought I would start my newsletter up again. The feedback I received from that first email was overwhelmingly positive. Of those who voted, the two topics that were most popular were The “Second Act” Business Strategy and The Accidental Entrepreneur.
These overlap quite a bit so I think I’ll combine them.
I am definitely in my second act (or maybe third or fourth, I’ve lost count). If you are in the same situation, wanting to change careers or getting ready to retire and not sure what you want to do, let me offer some advice.
Before I retired, I uploaded the address of my LinkedIn page and my website to Gemini, my current favorite AI platform. My prompt was “I want to start a new career. Review https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystaldarby/ and https://crystaldarby.com/, and determine activities or jobs that would fit my skills.”
You can add sentences to that prompt to limit the choices, like “leave out anything having to do with ____” or “include anything that I can do remotely.”
If you need the business to be profitable, write an additional prompt similar to “Of these choices, which would have the lowest startup costs and which are more likely to be profitable?”
If you have a product or service that you have been doing as a hobby or on a very limited basis, you might want to use “I want to turn my love of _____ into a profitable business. How should I start?” If you have already started, “I am selling (example: my services as an educational consultant or handcrafted pottery). What should I do to make this into a profitable business?”
You may want to use additional AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc.) to see if more ideas pop up.
I explored various AI platforms to brainstorm overarching themes for this newsletter, selecting the best ideas and adapting titles to match my personal perspective. Interestingly, the concept for “The Accidental Entrepreneur” was something I hadn’t considered until it emerged from that process, and I think it’s a fantastic addition.
Now, I’d love to hear from you! Please let me know if you found this issue helpful or if you’ve had a chance to try any of these suggestions yourself.
This holiday provides a time for many of us to reflect on what makes us grateful. I join that chorus. I am so thankful for my family – my son, my daughter-in-law, my grandson – but also the family I have chosen – my friends.
My son is brilliant, gifted, creative yet pragmatic. He has grown into a considerate son, a devoted husband, and an exemplary father. He chose a sweet, kind, and beautiful woman as his wife and I am honored to have her as my daughter-in-law. Six years ago, she gave birth to, and raises with skill, my grandson, who has brought happiness and wonder back into my life. I could not ask for better family.
My two closest friends have been my friends since high school, and for an only child, those relationships are absolute treasures. When I was in the Girl Scouts, we learned a song, “make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other, gold.” These two are my “gold” friends. They have nursed me through so many difficult times in my life, but have also been there to celebrate the moments of triumph.
I am blessed to have people who have been in my life for dozens of years. They are too numerous to name here, but many are my friends on Facebook. We don’t see each other often, but I know they are only a call away when I need them. They make up an amazing support system for me and I thank you all for being a part of my life.
When I worked at the Texas Commission for the Blind 15 years ago, I worked with the most talented, brilliant group of people, and I have been able to stay in touch with many of those folks. I didn’t think I would ever have the opportunity to be a part of another team capable of that level of accomplishment. As a result, I am extremely thankful that I have found another professional team that has accepted me as a member. The San Antonio Small Business Development Center staff and so many of the people at the Institute of Economic Development (some of whom I’ve known for years and some I met 14 months ago when I started my job as a Business Advisor) are devoted to helping small businesses succeed. I am grateful for my job. I get to do what I love to do every day, and I am grateful to the small business owners who trust me enough to let me share in their dreams.
I am so thankful to be living in the most vibrant city in the country. My parents moved here in 1957. I was five and I thought I would be riding horses every day. (I have yet to ride one, but it’s on my list.) I have watched this city grow and blossom, and I’m extremely proud to be a part of it. I’m especially delighted to live in one of its amazing historical neighborhoods, an area that is filled with people from diverse backgrounds, not to mention the eclectic assortment of restaurants. I love being able to walk on the Riverwalk. I also love being walking distance from my job. I am thankful to my landlady and my neighbors for being a part of this new phase of my life. I adore my apartment and my simplified life. I love my windows that look out on the Tower of the Americas and Southtown.
I am grateful for the chance to reinvent myself. There are so many people in this world, even in this country, who never get that opportunity. I have seldom felt stuck. My parents gave me the foundation and provided the education that has allowed me to change careers, to obtain more education, to open myself up to new experiences. I have realized that if there are areas of my life that I am dissatisfied with, I have the ability to change and improve. That is part of the reason that I have lost 35 pounds over the last year and become much healthier (blood pressure is normal, cholesterol and sugar levels are much improved). I’m still a work in progress, but I know I’m on the right path.
I’ve lost family and friends (two this year) and am reminded of how precious every day is. I hope to have several decades ahead of me, and hope that I continue to celebrate the silver and the gold friends in my life. Thank you all for being part of my journey, and for letting me be a part of yours.
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