Be an Entrepreneur - Do not suppress your career potential!

Over past 25 years of professional career, I have been interacting both with employees and entrepreneurs. Only this week while traveling from Lahore to Karachi, I was sitting with a young MBA who is working at a large FMCG company (www.engro.com) as an Assistant Brand Manager, a career job for the last nine years.

We started talking about career progress and role of employers. Generally speaking, a good employer with strong HR department provides a career map to its employee right at the beginning of their career. This young lad also had the same experience. He was happy that from research, he is moved to a more lively position that allows him to interact with a wider community and also involves substantial traveling. At this position, a small company maintained car and cell phone expense are also provided. Excellent deal, isn’t it?

My radical thought process started! No it is not a good deal, my thoughts pushed me further in the opposite direction………….

I am getting convinced that if an employer gives you a career map……. Your growth is almost pre-defined. Annual performance reviews and career meeting might help in couple of quick jumps on your salary scale, you are happy to visualize a decent career growth and position 10 years down the line without realizing that your mind has been locked to a certain path.

Okay, now compare working for others, with working for yourself as an entrepreneur. Looking at examples such as Richard Branson, Anita Roddick, Ray Kroc, Sir Alan Sugar etc, you will see that the freedom and the flexibility to progress for an entrepreneur is unimaginable!

Having said this, entrepreneurship is not a piece of cake like some may believe. This means no more 9-5 working, no more relaxed weekends. Because now you have different set of challenges, you are a manager, order taker, order filler, bookkeeper, shipping manager and customer service representative all in one, at least at the beginning of your entrepreneurial career.

But the pleasure is awesome! Now you are defining your own career path……….

Driving Traffic to your Blog

Generally, driving traffic to a blog is a major challenge for any blogger. There are several resouces availabel on the web. I however like the starters to consider social media as the first choice, its easy and quick. Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin particularly have great viral impact.

Following are some links that provide some useful information:

1. How to Increase Website Traffic
2. Seth Godin's Blog
3. Stumbleupon

Enjoy Blogging!

Stuck on your career ladder – Tools for Moving Ahead

I promised to write a follow-up blog to the one published in August last year
titled “Career Stagnation Syndrome”. I started that blog by asking:

Did you ever realize how challenging it is to continue upward on your career ladder?
I received several emails and comments on my facebook and linkedin posts suggesting that generally, people feel “they are stuck”).

In my view, YOU are the sole problem!

Ask yourself: Am I really putting in efforts that would build momentum for my career move? Think about it…. and run a reality check based on the following points:

Do I have the right qualifications, experience and exposure?
Is my current employer growing in business volumes and profits?
Is senior management supportive of my career development?
What is the competition like (are there any other potential candidates waiting for promotion)?

Write down your statements and now answer the following questions:

- Do I need to upgrade my qualifications?
- Do I need to look for another job in a sector and company that is growing?
- How do I show enthusiasm and express my desire for promotion to senior management?
- How can I beat the competition?

Your answers will help you make a strategic plan that will build momentum and the energy required to pull you out of the situation.

It’s like re-launching a brand when companies repackage the old stuff and find a new market for their products. My experience is that people stuck in their career get frustrated and generally complaints without realizing “how free they are to make a move!”.

It’s simple and doable; just remember three words:
Commitment – Passion - Action