Learning A Trade Pays Off

One thing that holds a lot of people back from going into business is a lack of confidence in their own value as a potential businessperson. They look at the world of entrepreneurial endeavour and think of how great it would be to be their own boss, decide the rules and the hours, and make money for themselves. All looks rosy until the question arises of what they are actually going to do. Regrettably, people on getting to this point are liable to think “Well, what can I do that no-one else can offer?”, come up against a brick wall and shelve the plan altogether. Firstly, there are very few unique businesses in the world, and those that are, are so niche that they probably do not make much money.

The better question to ask yourself when planning business success is “what do people need?”. You may also ask yourself what people want, but the former question is more important. People will always pay for what they need, but sometimes they have to lay aside what they want for reasons of economy. Depending of course on how busy you want to be and how much you want or are able to commit to the business initially, you can decide for yourself whether you want to serve a need or satisfy a want. One way or the other, this raises the question – “am I equipped to do what people need?”. If you do not feel that you are, this need not be the end of your entrepreneurial venture.

It has been proven time and again that people will pay for someone to do something they cannot do for themselves. It may be something really rather straightforward in real terms, but there may be many factors preventing them from doing the job themselves. Maybe they are impaired in terms of mobility or a certain motor function. Maybe they are extremely busy. Maybe they feel that the job would be better done by someone with the knowledge of how to do it.

This is where learning a trade really pays off. If you have ever considered learning a trade, there is really no better time. And if you never have, then why not consider it? Remember, there are many of us who work for a company or a boss because we don’t feel that we can drive things forward ourselves due to a lack in some part of the process. But why limit yourself? You can learn a trade, and the knowledge will end up paying for itself.

There are countless trades that we can go into. Maybe you’ve always fancied learning to become a plumber. By doing this, you can find yourself very much in demand from the get-go. People will always need plumbers, handymen, decorators and all kinds of other tradesmen. The benefits to you from doing a course in a trade that you find interesting will stay with you for some time – and could be the key to a goldmine that will just keep on giving.

First Published: July 4, 2009 EntrepreneurJourney.com