Turn Your Career Setback Into A New Business

It happens to everyone, but this time, it happened to you. Something went very wrong at work, and the blame landed on you. Now, you’re facing a serious setback to your career.

Should you work harder and show everyone that you’re good enough for that job? Maybe, but many people are taking a career setback and turning it into an opportunity to start a new business venture. Before you start offering a product or service, it helps to know why now is a great time.

Why This Is The Perfect Opportunity

When facing a career setback, you can find yourself obsessing on details like why it happened. There’s nothing wrong with examining how the setback happened, but as the Harvard Business Review explains, you should instead reframe this setback as an opportunity. This means thinking hard about who you are and what you’d like to do. Make money is always in there, but what would you prefer to do?

But a perfect opportunity isn’t the same thing as an easy one. No matter what kind of venture you’re considering, you need to follow the Small Business Association’s steps for a new business. These include:

• Writing a business plan.
• Conducting marketing research.
• Deciding what type of business structure would be best.
• Register your business and get an Employer
• Identification Number (EIN).

Turning Hobbies Into Businesses

As you consider starting your own business, you’re probably running through all the products and services you could offer. Before picking anything, you should look at the hobbies you enjoy. These are great ways to de-stress, but since you’re passionate about them, they also make great business opportunities.

Entrepreneur.com describes three approaches to finding what to offer:

• What do you know? You likely know plenty about a hobby.
• What do others do that’s successful? Look at businesses in your hobby and emulate what they do to win customers.
• What problem can you solve? Finding a gap in the market related to a hobby can be perfect for you.

Remember that the key to any new business is passion. If you’re not passionate about your product or service, you are at a higher risk of giving up when things turn tough.

Other Ideas For New Entrepreneurs

Some people prefer to keep their hobbies as relaxing and not something to turn into a job. Here are some other business ideas that can be great when turning a setback into an opportunity:

• Accountant if you’re good at numbers and finance.
• Help others create their own small businesses.
• Everyone can clean, but not everyone starts their own cleaning business.
• If you’re into technology, consider a home IT or computer repair business.
• Writers can look into freelancing as both content creators and editors.

One simple but effective idea is to become a professional dog walker or dog sitter. As Rover.com shows, there is high demand for canine help, and you can become a dog walker or sitter with almost no financial investment. If you are good with dogs, it’s the perfect fit: you can spend some time outdoors with puppies while getting paid for it.

Take This Opportunity

Becoming an entrepreneur is never an easy thing. You can expect to have some long nights, stress, and worries as you build a small business from the ground up. However, facing a career setback gives you the perfect excuse to take that leap. Look at your hobbies for business ideas, be sure to complete the right paperwork, and you’ll be your own boss before you know it.