Evaluate Your Skills for Your Best Business Match
© Priscilla Y. Huff

Before you embark on a home-based or small business venture, you need to conduct a personal assessment to help decide if you possess the entrepreneurial traits, skills, and drive necessary to start and manage a successful home business. In your self-evaluation, take note of your weaknesses as well as your abilities. Why? Because, you will be better able to choose a business matching your strengths and potential customers' demands while beginning to look for ways to deal with your shortcomings like delegating those duties you prefer not to handle.

Here are some considerations you will want to include in your self-evaluation:

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ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAITS - Do You Have These Characteristics?   

      Risk-Takers - Entrepreneurs are generally non-conformists with courage to try something that they (or others) have never tried before.
      Self-Motivators - Entrepreneurs are self-driven to take the steps necessary to achieve their personal and business goals. They have that "fire-in-the-belly" determination and high energy to put in the hours they need to succeed.
      Unafraid of Failure - Statistics show that it may take as many as three attempts to start a business before one succeeds.  Failure in itself is not bad and entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes and persist until they succeed.
      Ask Questions - Entrepreneurs are not afraid to ask the questions until they find the necessary answers. They never stop learning!

ASSESSING YOUR STRENGTHS - Make a list of the following to determine your interests and skills you have acquired to narrow your business choice(s).
     Jobs - List all the jobs—full- and part-time—you have held and beside each describe the following:
(1)  Education/Training acquired.
(2)  Achievements accomplished.
(3)  Skills Acquired from on-the-job experiences.
(4)  What you liked (and disliked) about the job.
     Volunteer Positions - Past and Present - Write down each position and similar descriptions of what you garnered from these experiences.  Just because you were not paid, does not mean you did not accomplish something.
     Military Service Positions - Relate any such experience, training, and education you have had to civilian occupations.
     Hobbies - What starts out as a hobby for some, often turns into a full-time business. In "following your passion," you can combine both a love of what you do and the knowledge gained into a winning profit-making venture.
     Interests - Write down what interests you and investigate what skills and training you might need to start a business in those areas.  Brainstorm for several related ideas and research their possibilities.
            A realistic self-assessment can help you decide if you have the qualifications for starting a home or small business.  If you need additional skills or education for your "dream" business, decide if it is feasible for you to enroll in courses, or work or volunteer to gain on-the-job experience.  An added benefit to working or volunteering in the industry related to your business idea is that you will have an opportunity to see if you (1) if you will like the type of work and (2) provide you the opportunities for making contacts and learn practical tips that you can apply to ensure your business will succeed.

*Select a business that will "fit" your work (if you start part-time) and family schedules.

Because each person and enterprise is unique, taking the time to honestly evaluate what you can (or cannot) contribute to an entrepreneurial idea will help determine what business will realistically work for you and your potential customers—and hopefully lead to a long-term, successful business.

Resources:
Finding Your Perfect Work by Paul & Sarah Edwards
Which Business? Help in Selecting Your New Venture by Nancy Drescher. 1997, Oasis Press. 
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Priscilla Y. Huff, is the author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3^rd ed., and The Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Launching a Home-Based Business. She also sells start-up information (resources and articles) for over 100 home-small business ideas. Contact her at BestBiz4Me@earthlink.net for more information plus answers to home-business questions.
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