7.03: Personality and Skills

Goals

What are your own personal goals for your education and career? Is there a particular type of job or career you want to have? Would a college education help you with that?

Funding

What financial resources do you have that could help you start a business? Do you have money of your own, or do you know people who would be willing to give or lend you money?

Background

What kind of family and cultural background do you come from, and how does that background affect your life? Where did your parents, grandparents, and ancestors live? What issues and beliefs were important to them?

Experience

What kinds of experiences have you had, in travel, jobs, community service, or other activities that have helped you learn about businesses, your community, or the world?

Abilities

What special abilities do you have that help make you different from other people?

Interests

What subjects would you like to learn more about? Are there classes in school that you especially enjoy, or are there other things you want to learn about that aren't normally taught in school?

Hobbies

What things do you like to do for fun? Are any of those hobbies something you might want to turn into a business?

Lifestyle

What type of lifestyle do you currently have, and what type of lifestyle do you want to have? What are your beliefs about the best way to live? What beliefs and values are important to you, and how do they affect the way you want to live your life?

Abilities

Your abilities are the things you are able to do. Some abilities are skills that you have created through learning and experience, and others are natural talents you are born with.

Funding

Your amount of financial resources is another factor that can help you determine the type of business that will work best for you. Many new entrepreneurs don't have a lot of financial resources, so they have to operate on a small budget and start with businesses that have low startup costs.

Background

Your background includes your culture, religion, race, ethnicity, and the values your parents used and choices they made as they raised you.

Experience

Your experience is the collection of things you have done. It includes things like places you have visited, skills you have developed, jobs you have had, and interactions you have had with people. Having experience in the area of your business is usually helpful and can give you an advantage as a business owner.

Hobbies

Your hobbies are the things you like to do for fun. Some people will share your hobbies, but others might not find those things fun at all.

Interests

Your interests are the subjects that you would like to learn more about.

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle is another thing that can give you an advantage and make you different from others. A lifestyle is a way of living that shows the beliefs and opinions of a person or group of people.

Goals

Your personal goals for your future in education and business are one of the things that make you unique. There may be other people that share some of your goals, but many people will have completely different goals.

1. Tomas enjoys kayaking and camping. 2. Reiko is good at creating fun, interesting drawings that tell a story. 3. Mehrnoosh has worked in her mother's garden since she was little. 4. Olivia doesn't have much startup money, but she is a very good writer who likes to cook. 5. Mitchell wants to promote a peaceful, calm, healthy, spiritual lifestyle. 6. Shantell loves plants and is interested in art and interior design. 7. Hakim is very organized and enjoys managing a lot of different tasks and details at once. 8. Booker speaks three different languages.

__8__ Foreign language teacher or tutor __7__ Event planner __2__ Children's book illustrator __4__ Online cooking blog or magazine __3__ Organic produce grower __6__ Flower arranging

1. Yolanda is outgoing and able to make friends quickly. 2. Sergey likes to play soccer in his free time. 3. Melanie cares about fitness and the outdoors, so she often participates in active outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking. 4. Binh has an uncle who is willing to give him startup money for his business. 5. Cheyenne is currently working as a junior dance teacher in a big studio, to learn what she will need to know when she opens her own studio someday. 6. Aditi decides she wants to go to college to become a dentist. 7. Scott's parents moved to the U.S. from Australia. 8. Armando's favorite subject in school is world history.

__8__ Interest __1__ Abilities __3__ Lifestyle __6__ Goals __4__ Funding __5__ Experience __2__ Hobbies __7__ Background