Jobs Can Turn Into a Career
In the past, many of my students have informed me that they want to start their own business so that they can be their own boss. I advise them to work for someone first and learn about a business to see if it would be a good fit for them, to learn about the daily needs of a business, and how to manage employees prior to them starting on a new venture. Most people who start their own business do so to set themselves up for the long term. For instance, if a person opened up a restaurant, he would want the place to be opened long-term. There is so much money, time, and effort put into the business in the beginning years that it would be horrific to see the business close. He needs the money not just to keep the restaurant going, but also to support his family and home. Being an entrepreneur is a big career move that should not be taken lightly.
An entrepreneur is "an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures. The word derives from the French "entre" (to enter) and "prendre" (to take), and in a general sense applies to any person starting a new project or trying a new opportunity." 4 Entrepreneurs need to know or have a good product that will satisfy a selected target market. A target market is a group of selected people that a product is marketed towards in hopes that they will purchase the product.
Abercrombie and Fitch, Co. (A&F) is a very popular brand whose target market consists of 18 through 22 year old males and females. The focus is on providing trendy clothing and fragrances that are appealing to this age range. Many of my high school students have worn A&F clothing or Hollister, Co. clothing which is owned by A&F. The entrepreneurs, David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, who began this upscale sporting goods company in 1892, would be surprised to see the drastic change the company has gone through. Over time, the company made significant changes in leadership roles and its desire for change to appeal to a different market. Looking at a popular product that students are interested in is a great way to plan a discussion around the biography of the entrepreneurs who started the company. This will spark interest in the topic.
My students will be able to discover the qualities that will help entrepreneurs become successful. Some of these qualities are determination, struggle, motivation, and persistence. It is certainly not an easy path, but one that can be empowering. Entrepreneurs are focused on the product that is being produced and the consumer that they have in mind. It is about showing the customer that this product is better than someone else's or is a new creation. Entrepreneurs do not have to be inventors of new products, but can be. They are self-motivators with a can-do attitude. They must be a good leader, trainer, and communicator of the expectations for employees. They must also uphold the mission statement which makes the purpose of the business clear to the employees and customers.
Entrepreneurs must have a vision of the future and be able to maintain good relationships. They need to think about the long term progress of the product by keeping up with trends. Realizing the need for growth begins with new challenges. A more exciting web site or a Facebook advertisement may make the product more marketable by getting the word out. Networking is a key element in business. According to Merriam-Webster, networking is, "the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business." 5 It allows entrepreneurs to acquire and build new relationships by spreading the word on their product. Word of mouth can go a long way as it is a free way of marketing an idea and if an individual likes the product that person becomes an unpaid spokesperson. While attending conferences, entrepreneurs may meet others from additional markets for their products. They may also have a source that can make the product for less, allowing the entrepreneurs to make a larger profit.
By learning about entrepreneurs and their biographies, my students will be able to generate ideas for their own businesses. My students will see that owning a business is a lot of work but the benefits can be very rewarding. The product provided to customers will make opening a business worthwhile.
I believe that my students may have some background knowledge regarding the difference between a job and a career however, they may still be confused between the two just as the average person tends to be.
I found the best definition for a job at AmosWEB which is: "Specific employment activities associated with a production process that are usually undertaken by a single worker." 6 For example, someone might have the job of serving food, teaching economics or repairing cars. The word "job" is the primary designation applied to a worker when hired by an employer. A job creates a person's biography as it shows growth over a given time period. Usually one job leads to another one with greater responsibilities.
A job can also be described as performing a task for a period of time. We commonly see a job as a beginning point. A task is performed to earn either an hourly or a salaried wage. A job could turn in to a career. A cashier at a fast food restaurant may take on more responsibilities and show a genuine interest in learning more about the company. She may climb up the ladder by being a cook, head cook, assistant manager, manager, and perhaps open her own franchise one day. In this case, her job as cashier was a starting point in her career as an owner of a franchise. Her early interest in the fast food industry at sixteen led her to be an owner at age forty-five. She learned about the operations by the various jobs that she held and saved up enough money to be able to run a restaurant on her own. Her motivation and drive to perform her best at each position, providing good customer service, made for her a relationship-builder and a leader in her field.
Dictionary.com describes a career as "1. an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework: He sought a career as a lawyer. 2. a person's progress or general course of action through life or through a phase of life, as in some profession or undertaking." 7 A career involves a series of jobs that are usually related. There should be a progression towards a goal, whether it is a partnership in a law firm, the president of a company, or principal of a school. Most career-oriented workers are motivated and are production-driven.
A career is long-term and usually something that an individual is passionate about, considering that she has worked so hard to gain the trust and confidence of others. As time has gone by there should be an increase in wages, bonuses, vacation-time, pension, stock options, and other benefits. A career makes up one's professional biography, as it describes a story in sequential order by describing the growth in one's profession, how someone achieved a higher position, and someone's own enrichment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 40% of students were working in 1980. Today, 80% of students are working 20-30 hours a week. 8 Most likely the jobs that the students have today are temporary. They probably will not be working for the same employer in five years. The working student is gaining the knowledge of how it feels to work, gaining experience for that next job, and is given a chance to fulfill a duty. This provides an opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes at a restaurant or how important it is to have the shelves stocked at the local supermarket.
Responsibility is the key to maintaining a job. Employees must be on time for a job. They must contact their employer if they are going to be late or if they cannot make it to work due to illness. A job can provide a chance to interact with the public by providing customer service. Many positions have students working directly with customers, either on the phone or at a fast food restaurant. They must act appropriately and be pleasant. An unsatisfied customer may mean a loss of future business which will certainly not please a boss.
Working students are able to learn time management. These workers need to figure out a balanced schedule that suits both the employer and school. The working students may have to miss out on playing a sport or cut back on their involvement with school activities due to work conflicts.
Young people learn about money management and opportunity cost when they earn money. Sacrifices must be made if they cannot afford everything that they want. They need to determine which item will provide them with the most satisfaction. Working students may want to save or use their money for a car, car insurance, or gas, while others may want to spend money on entertainment, cell phone, food, and fashion. Then, there are those who have to work to save money for college or to help out the family with the monthly bills.
Receiving a good education while in high school is the key factor in determining the next step. If high school students want to work and can manage a job at the same time, then they may do so. However, once grades start slipping or they cannot stay awake during the day, something needs to go which will be the job. In the long run, education will help them earn more money and further career choices.
Interviewing to Gain Knowledge
My students will be interviewing local entrepreneurs. Interviewing is where two or more people speak about a topic to gain additional information. In the case of biography, the biographer is trying to gain knowledge of the person's life by asking questions and allowing the person to tell stories about her background. The conversation may trigger memories. The interviewer should be prepared with some questions that he wants to ask but also should not be limited to those questions. Open-ended questions are good to use since they set up a story rather than a one-word answer. For example, when interviewing an entrepreneur, asking, "Tell me about how you got the idea about selling your product." may lead into a story instead of a yes or no answer. These questions should be used as a guide on the journey to exploring the interviewee.
An interviewer should have some general background knowledge on the entrepreneur located from print and online sources. Reviewing the business's web site or going physically to the business may give the biographer a broader picture of discovering the person and business. Speaking to friends or family members is helpful to gain knowledge as a way of revealing the true person. This will make more sense of those guiding questions and for the interviewer to understand where the person's point of view.
It is easier to find out about a person if he has written down information in a journal or diary as time passes. The accuracy of the facts of the stories may diminish as time passes if stories are not written down.
Treat the information that is gathered through oral histories as guidance, not as the ultimate source, because memories often fadeand facts get confused with other facts. Sometimes, however, the information that is obtained through oral interviews exists nowhere else and must be taken at face value. Of particular value are the stories, anecdotes, and family traditions, songs, and especially information associated with pictures, documents, and other records. 9
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