Take Your Career By The Horns (A Success Story)

From the Wall St Journal May 19, 2009

In
an economic  downturn like we are currently facing it requires those
that are searching for career opportunities to really take charge of
their situation and their career. For some it means doing contract
work, for others it means multiple part-time jobs, and for my friend
Joel Rivers it means saying so long to the corporate rat race, staking
his own claim and starting his own business.

Here is Joel's story of why he chose to work for himself and how it allowed him to ‘really' be him.

On
a Saturday morning, three days after my position was eliminated, I had
one of those experiences where that little voice inside told me what I
needed to do.  It said, "You need to start a business and start it
now!"  I'd had a successful consulting business for the eleven years
prior to my job, and so knew what it was like and really wanted to do
it. 

But
everywhere around me people were saying, "You've got to get a job.  You
can't trust this business thing.  There are too many risks and it might
be a year before you build up enough business to provide an income. "
 And so, I took a dual approach, networking for business contract work
to get me started and networking and advertising myself on the web for
a job similar to the one I'd had.  In other words, I didn't really
listen to the little voice, and my dual approach diluted my efforts on
both sides.

I
also found that I wasn't getting much response on the job-seeking
side.  Everyone told me I had a great resume with great experience-an
HR director for a national manufacturing company, a successful OD
consultant, a senior training and OD specialist for Vanderbilt and a
professor of industrial and organizational psychology for Purdue-Fort
Wayne.  I also had a Ph.D. in psychology. 

Eventually,
one recruiter asked, "Is the Ph.D. on your resume giving you any
problems?"  I had wondered about this being a red flag and, sure
enough, as I talked to others who would be honest with me, I confirmed
that it was.  And I knew from being an HR Director that I would have
red-flagged my resume, because of the Ph.D., the consulting experience
and the professor experience.   I would have thought here is a guy who
won't stay with us very long.

I
followed the recruiter's suggestion and began to downplay the
over-qualifications in my resume.  I think it produced a little more
response, but it's hard to hide who and what you really are.  Then I
began to think, "This is crazy.  Why downplay all the valuable
background and experience I worked so hard to get.  I should be doing
something that makes use of it and rewards me for it."

I
began to make the mental switch to more focus on the business side of
my strategy.  My previous business had focused primarily on strategic
planning facilitation and implementation, along with various training
and OD interventions related to my clients' needs.  The work seemed to
just flow to me, because of reputation, word of mouth, etc.  But knew
it would be different this time.  I would have to actively sell, and I
didn't see myself as good at that or experience at it.  I also knew I
would need a better-defined product/service niche instead of just
taking whatever work came to me that I could do.

About
this time, I got a call from a company called Profiles International
who is a major world-wide producer of assessment tools that are used
for talent management purposes (hiring, development, transfers,
promotions, succession planning, etc.).   They wanted me to go into
business as a strategic partner with them to sell and service their
products-because of my background as an HR director, consultant and
Ph.D. in psychology.  

This
felt good to me-finally, people who seemed to value who I really was! 
But my fear kept holding me back.  Profiles wanted me to visit them in
Texas for their annual convention and to learn more about them and what
they do.  At first, I turned them down because of all the unknowns
involved.   But that night I couldn't get it off my mind.  I said to
myself, "You dummy. When are going to stop letting your fears hold you
back."  I called Profiles back the next morning and told them I was
coming to visit.

Everything
I'd hoped for was confirmed in the quality of the product, the company
and the people.  And very importantly-they provided an excellent
approach for sales that I could learn and a well defined product and
service that I needed to go along with the others things I could do.

So,
I went for it.  I've started a business called Rivers Edge.  I
specialize in Business Strategy and Talent Management.  The two things
go together well.   I help companies increase profitability by figuring
out where to go with their business, how to get there and how to have
the right people in the right places doing the right things to make it
happen.   My challenges so far have mostly been in just restructuring
how I use my time to accomplish my goals.  Selling is different for me,
but I have found that I can learn it.  Another challenge has been in
developing my company image (logo, business card, brochures, website,
etc.) so that the business has a professional look, while at the same
time trying to be conservative in spending. But I am getting there.

I
am still in my first quarter of business and already beginning to have
sales and see a lot of need and potential for what I do.  Given today's
economic conditions, there has probably never been a bigger need for
business strategy and talent management.  I know I've made the right
decision.

My
advice to people in similar situations is to listen to the voice inside
you, know where your real value lies and make use of it.  If your
qualifications are really unique, consider a business possibility.  If
a business seems to be the right thing, make up your mind and get going
with it.  Define your unique product or service.  Get some solid
training on how to sell and how to operate your business.  And most of
all, don't let your fear hold you back.  It's all about faith. 
Remember that there is always a way to do whatever is the right thing
to do. 

I hope you enjoyed Joel's story as much as I did. If you would like to contact him you can email him at wjrivers@bellsouth.net.

Until next time, good hunting and good luck!