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What advice would you give to an aspiring business person?
I'm currently a sophomore. I'm in National Honors Society, Advocacy Club, and my school's newspaper. I am currently the social media manager for a coalition.
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6 answers
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Len’s Answer
JuaXin,
By far the most important thing for you is to be very self reflective and put a tremendous amount of thought into what you enjoy most. Sit down with a len and paper and write down the type of activities that make you feel energized. Things that you could do for hours on end where time just flies by. Then write down the types of activities you dread, the things you put off until you absolutely are forced to do. Now most jobs will have some of both but the key is to find a career where the great majority of success is within the activities you love. Don't believe that money is the driver, the people who excel in their careers and enjoy it are the ones that put in the most effort. Ask yourself are you most likely to put in effort when you love the activities? Of course! You will spend half of your awake life at work. Life is too short to spend that time doing something that you don't love. Hope this helps. :)
Len
By far the most important thing for you is to be very self reflective and put a tremendous amount of thought into what you enjoy most. Sit down with a len and paper and write down the type of activities that make you feel energized. Things that you could do for hours on end where time just flies by. Then write down the types of activities you dread, the things you put off until you absolutely are forced to do. Now most jobs will have some of both but the key is to find a career where the great majority of success is within the activities you love. Don't believe that money is the driver, the people who excel in their careers and enjoy it are the ones that put in the most effort. Ask yourself are you most likely to put in effort when you love the activities? Of course! You will spend half of your awake life at work. Life is too short to spend that time doing something that you don't love. Hope this helps. :)
Len
Updated
Omar’s Answer
The most important thing that you are always selling is yourself, regardless of what industry you are in. Be mindful of your accomplishments and have an elevator speech to describe you, your passions and objectives. Make sure you network and tailor your elevator speech to the audience at hand. I think many of the answers here are great and part of the formula but as the saying goes, “it’s not what you know, but who you know”, and that saying holds true.
Even if you are in a role and doing an excellent job, you have to market yourself and network to climb to the next advanced level. This means networking internally at the company.
Networking is a skill that is much needed and so little taught at schools. Do yourself a favor and read books, look up articles and learn how to best network. It will advance your career tenfold
Even if you are in a role and doing an excellent job, you have to market yourself and network to climb to the next advanced level. This means networking internally at the company.
Networking is a skill that is much needed and so little taught at schools. Do yourself a favor and read books, look up articles and learn how to best network. It will advance your career tenfold
Updated
Micheal’s Answer
Find your niche, competitive advantage if you will, something you offer or do better than others. Offer something better and more forward looking than your competitors.
Updated
Mark’s Answer
First rule of business: have a product or service that consumers feel they need. The rest is a mix of management, production, sourcing and HR. Granted, that is exceptionally high-level but knowing things at their basic level is good knowledge.
What you are offering is yourself: your knowledge, skills, experiences, attitude and, most importantly, time. These are things that no one else but you can offer. Things such as knowledge and skills, and even experiences, can be found in others and even then, some will have similar attitudes and experiences. Everyone will be offering their time. But NO ONE will bring that specific combination to the table the same way you will. THat is called 'competitive advantage'.
The question you must answer is "how do I want to provide this to the business world?". You mentioned you are the social media manager for a coalition. Start there. Is it the social media aspect that you most enjoy? Is it the vision of the coalition? Is it managing a team or process? Maybe it is all three? Figure out why you are doing this (social media, visionary work or mgt) and then branch out to imagine yourself doing something in a similar vein to that primary reason.
This would be the foundation for:
* The size/type of business:
*start a company,
*work for a local (mom & pop store),
*regional,
*national or
*global corporation,
* what type of business it is:
*do you want to pursue activism,
*a socially conscious-focused organization,
*a group who makes revolutionary products that are environmentally sound OR that positively impact an underserved group of people,
*a company that provides services that others need to meet their mission, or
*a group that create revolutionary products/services
* Your role in that business:
*owner
*management
*individual contributor
* what industry does it operate in:
*education
*healthcare
*human resources
*technology
*legal services
*customer service
*this list goes on and on
At its core, find the thing that excites you about what you will do with your future and map a gameplan out to achieve that vision. School counselors, local employment offices, career coaches, libraries: all of these have/contain/are excellent resources to assist you in developing and revising your plan. You just have to come up with your initial idea that makes you grab your pen and paper to start writing.
What you are offering is yourself: your knowledge, skills, experiences, attitude and, most importantly, time. These are things that no one else but you can offer. Things such as knowledge and skills, and even experiences, can be found in others and even then, some will have similar attitudes and experiences. Everyone will be offering their time. But NO ONE will bring that specific combination to the table the same way you will. THat is called 'competitive advantage'.
The question you must answer is "how do I want to provide this to the business world?". You mentioned you are the social media manager for a coalition. Start there. Is it the social media aspect that you most enjoy? Is it the vision of the coalition? Is it managing a team or process? Maybe it is all three? Figure out why you are doing this (social media, visionary work or mgt) and then branch out to imagine yourself doing something in a similar vein to that primary reason.
This would be the foundation for:
* The size/type of business:
*start a company,
*work for a local (mom & pop store),
*regional,
*national or
*global corporation,
* what type of business it is:
*do you want to pursue activism,
*a socially conscious-focused organization,
*a group who makes revolutionary products that are environmentally sound OR that positively impact an underserved group of people,
*a company that provides services that others need to meet their mission, or
*a group that create revolutionary products/services
* Your role in that business:
*owner
*management
*individual contributor
* what industry does it operate in:
*education
*healthcare
*human resources
*technology
*legal services
*customer service
*this list goes on and on
At its core, find the thing that excites you about what you will do with your future and map a gameplan out to achieve that vision. School counselors, local employment offices, career coaches, libraries: all of these have/contain/are excellent resources to assist you in developing and revising your plan. You just have to come up with your initial idea that makes you grab your pen and paper to start writing.
Katherine Avery
Run a music studio and teach private music lessons; teach college-level religion classes
222
Answers
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Always stick to your values, and do your job and run your business honestly. I promise if, for instance, you're not a drinker, that you never have to decide to attend happy hour anyway. The business world is full of people who get fooled over some amount of time into thinking they have to do certain things in order for their relationships and deals to go well or continue to go well, but I promise if you are always you, and you always serve and smile, that you would have enough business from people who you really want to do business with, without having to get involved with people who want to cut corners or hide things or look successful even if they're not really successful underneath.
Updated
Sovanda’s Answer
One suggestion is to confidently step forward and build connections. This might involve individuals in the same or related industries, local communities, or potential clients and customers. By doing so, you can acquire valuable insights and establish relationships that benefit all parties involved.