In the News
Ask Michele: Career Change?
Orange County Register
10.11.2004
By Michele Himmelberg
Q. My husband is in his early 50s, and our children are grown. His printing company was sold, and the new owners have no concept of how to run it. He has been waiting for five years for things to change, but he’s also considering a new direction. Sell the farm and buy a business? Go back to school for a new career? Any suggestions?
A. It sounds as if your husband’s patience has just about run out. If he is willing to make a change, there are several avenues, including the ones you mention. A career coach would start with this question: What is your passion?
If you can imagine and describe your ideal job, you can begin to identify how your skills might match up with the requirements for that new franchise or start-up venture. It takes a huge amount of courage to make this kind of change, and you must plan carefully, but the results can be rewarding and even profitable.
One reason many people hesitate to make a significant change later in life is financial security. There’s always risk in trying something new. And yet if you don’t take some chances, you may be risking even more.
One way to ease the transition is to hang onto what you’re doing now and start your new gig at the same time. It requires an immense time commitment and can cause stress in your relationships, but with your children grown this might be a good period to give it a try.
Richard Kee and Dayna Olton were in a similar situation a few years ago. They had been running a commercial photography company for some time and came up with a new idea they wanted to develop. Instead of dropping one endeavor to start another, they kept their regular business going and slowly began adding new clients.
Their idea is called SuiteCaptures (www.suitecap tures.com ), and their clients include the Angels, Mighty Ducks and Staples Center. They visit private suites at sports arenas and stadiums and offer to photograph guests. If the suite owner or guests want a photo, it’s shot by a professional, framed as ordered, and delivered promptly. Packages run from $19 to $45.
“I was in a suite from time to time, and I saw how important it was to take care of the guests in those boxes,” Kee said. “I thought, ‘How could we take advantage of our photography background and combine that with a graphic piece and then personalize it for the guests?’ ... The people who want it really love it. They get the photos in a week, and then they have a reason to get back to their customer with a reminder of the visit.” It worked first at Angel Stadium, and they expanded to other venues in Southern California, Philadelphia and Houston. Now, SuiteCaptures generates about 85 percent of their revenue, and the partners hope it eventually becomes 100 percent.
Here are a few of their tips for making a transition:
Be courageous: You have to be willing to take initiative and act on a good idea. “We had so much confidence in our service that we made it as easy as possible for the venues to take us on. We invited them to take a trial run. We knew if they saw the service, they’d like it, and in every case that has happened,” Kee said.
Emphasize service: If you’re asking somebody to try something different, make sure you overdeliver. If you tell them it will be done in 10 days, make sure they get it in seven. And always let them know how much you appreciate their business. Find a good partner: Make sure your partner has as much or more enthusiasm as you do. In a service business, you both must have excellent people skills. You can hire someone to do the technical part, but the company leaders must know how to interact with customers.
Rely on a mentor: Tap somebody who has the wisdom to guide you. “We wanted to go out and grow like crazy,” Kee said. “But Fred Claire (a former Dodger executive), kept our enthusiasm reined in. It was better to build slowly.”
Don’t burn bridges: You never know when a past client, colleague or boss might help you make a connection. Kindle those relationships and respond when they ask for help. “They’ll be more likely to return your call when you need it,” Olton said.
If your husband chooses to stay with something related to the printing industry, he needs to meet other people in the field who could help him connect with a better owner. He could find new allies or partners through local chambers of commerce, friends, professional associations or by using some of the new online networking tools.
Q. I will graduate next May, and I’m worried about the job market. My friends who graduated last spring wish they would have gotten better grades to impress recruiters. My degree will not be from a big-name school. Will this hurt me?
A. No one thing gets you a job, and no one thing should eliminate you from consideration, according to Brad Karsh, a former recruiter who now runs his own career-services company at www.jobbound.com .
The perfect candidate would have earned top grades at an elite school, demonstrated leadership in activities and completed at least one interesting internship related to their field. But few of those candidates exist.
“Finding that combination is tough to do,” Karsh said. “If I look at a résumé and the person went to a mediocre school, has no ("A") grades, and the next thing on the list is ‘Waiter at Chili’s,’ then I stop reading. If the next thing had been president of a school club, I would have wanted to know more.
“But most times I can look at a résumé and tell within five seconds if the candidate is worth looking at. I give them three strikes. If they have three bad things on the (resume), they’re done.”
Based on Karsh’s advice, you need to ace your classes this year, get elected officer of a club, and serve as a volunteer in your job field. One of those experiences should give you a great tale you can use to sell yourself as an ideal candidate.
