I’m on vacation with my family down on the Gulf Coast of Florida sitting on our deck overlooking the ocean, sipping my first cup of coffee for the day and I crack open the St. Petersburg Times to see on the front page an entire column dedicated to how dissatisfied today’s workers are with their jobs.
More than 60% according to this study, up several percentage points from just a year earlier. Another astounding fact, more than 3/4 felt they would not be in their current job 1-year from now.
Either there’s allot of dreaming going on or I’ve been transplanted to a different world or timezone because job changes do not occur anywhere near that frequently.Â
Add to all of this the reasons behind most of the dissatisfaction and you start to get a feel for what people are missing in their lives.Â
Money is a factor, absolutely, but even more important was 1) Having a sense of fun and 2) making a difference in their jobs.
Having had my feet in both the corporate, big-business world and entrepreneurial world in many different market segments, here are my experiences – it seems they are backed by this study…
First, understand what you enjoy doing and what you are good at. My passions and talents are in expressing my thoughts through writing, in understanding the dynamics of a market very quickly, empathising with customers so I can quickly figure out what they want and why they want it.Â
Second, you MUST feel you are making a difference. It doesn’t have to be “change the world” kind of difference, simply making someone else happy, successful, removing pain or entertaining them will do the trick. If we had better managers in corporate businesses, this factor could easily be taken care of.
Third, there must be enjoyment in what you do. Yes, you need a sense of purpose, but also it must be fun.Â
For many people, choosing to market to their customers online is a great way to get started. You can try different businesses easily, with low risk and figure out what you like, what your market wants and what you are good at.Â
That should be how you start your online marketing career – not by following some get-rich-quick scheme or buying into someone else’s dream – find your own and you success will be your reward.
Jeff
