Avoiding Potholes in the Journey
Each season, the PBS program RoadTrip Nation features several college students who drive a green RV across the United States. The students visit successful people in different fields and listen to their stories of how they achieved their dreams and goals despite obstacles.

RoadTrip Nation helps students grappling with the issue of what career to choose. The program's website has an excellent array of informational interviews; including entrepreneurs. But it is clear from viewing several episodes that the concept of meeting and talking to people won't necessarily provide the answers that some students are seeking.

Later, during one of the stops, the students visited a woodworking shop where Johnson eagerly asks to craft an item. There is a reasonable probability that Johnson has the aptitude structural visualization, and mechanical, and creative ability, but she doesn't seem to be aware that these skills should be examined. Instead, her focus is broadcasting, a field in which she worked before being selected for the program.

A person with strong structural visualization skills needs to work in a field with tangible ideas in order to feel comfortable and excel in their activities. On the other hand, working in an occupation that's focused on less tangible concepts would not be as satisfying, and would tend to create restlessness, which Johnson exhibited after the program ended.
 
Lesson: Talking to people is a good way to gather ideas for a potential startup, but it's only one way. Gathering information using this method may not translate into usable ideas, especially if one isn't an auditory learner.

References
http://roadtripnation.com/watch/watch_episode.php?x=2676&s=10

http://www.jocrf.org/

Do's and Don'ts
Business or executive coaching is a popular solution for many aspiring entrepreneurs looking to improve their skills. However, it doesn't work for everyone.

Learning about the myths in the industry, and which people are considered poor candidates for coaching, can help create a good list of do's and don'ts before hiring a consultant.

References

The realities of executive coaching. (2009, January). See p. 4-5 . Retrieved from
http://www.instituteofcoaching.org/images/pdfs/hbr-report-executive-coaching.pdf

Myths about executive coaching.
Retrieved from http://www.leadershipconsulting.com/myths-about-executive-coaching-2.htm

The very real dangers of executive coaching. (2006). Harvard Business Review
Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2002/06/the-very-real-dangers-of-executive-coaching/ar/1

An Overlooked Market
Santa Cruz, California engineer Glenn Johnson spent several hundred dollars and countless hours before surprising his sister with a gift that would allow her to do what many other people take for granted: read. Johnson's sister has cerebral palsy and couldn't handle the buttons on a traditional Kindle. But now thanks to a determined brother the problem has been solved.

Lesson: Although the American with Disabilities act was passed in 1990, and they're almost 50 million people in the United States with disabilities, many popular services and products in the marketplace are not accessible to the disabled. This problem presents a lot of doable ideas for social businesses.


References
http://hackedgadgets.com/category/electronic-hacks/page/2/
Blog entry: January 7, 2012

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/index

http://www.infouse.com/disabilitydata/disability/1_1.php

Using Unemployment Benefits
Last year, President Obama included a provision in his American Jobs Act that would allow the long-term unemployed to keep their benefits and start a business. Finding Your Niche documents that a few states had this policy in place years ago, but now plans are to make the option available in every state.


Reference

http://www.microbiz.org/?s=jobs+act+for+the+unemployed

Many Niches
Whether it's marketing comedy sketches via podcasts, manufacturing or retailing gag gifts, or writing novelty humor books, the industry has countless niches. For instance, some comedians use their standup skills beyond the world of entertainment.

Consider Australian funnyman, Dave Flanagan, conducts Standup with Confidence workshops for groups of long-term unemployed in need of a boost of self-esteem. The program is offered through Australia's Service to Youth Council & the employment agency. Flanagan's program has won acclaim.

In the United States, Michael Pritchard, a former juvenile probation officer and California probation officer of the year, also won the San Francisco International Standup Comedy Competition in 1980. Pritchard went to Hollywood then eventually decided to develop videos for high school, elementary, and middle school students on the issues that impact their everyday lives. He believes that failure to address the issues that wound is at the cause of violence in our society. Pritchard speaks at colleges, schools, and conferences on a nationwide basis, using his talent for sound effects and impersonations to provoke laughter and initiate candid discussion and a message of hope.

The Unexpected
Like many aspiring entrepreneurs, Rich Devos & Jay Van Andel started a number of  businesses before finding their niche as the founders of Amway. Their first venture was in the aviation industry. The World War II veterans opened a flying school in Michigan, but after hiring instructors and signing up customers, they discovered there was a slight problem: the newly constructed airport had no runway, unless you counted the large mud puddles where the landing strip was supposed to be located. And contractors hadn't yet built their small office which was to be located nearby.

Lesson: Suppliers or service providers may not meet expected deadlines, so always have a backup plan.

Reference
Conn. C.P. (1978). The Possible Dream. P. 6.

Potholes
Traveling salesman, Ray Albert Kroc, started the McDonald's empire after buying the name and concept from the McDonald brothers in the 1950s, but turning a profit proved to be a challenge, despite the popularity of the hamburgers.

Although Kroc sold 200 franchises within five years, and the unit's were grossing $37 million annually, his share after business expenses and licensing fees to the McDonald's was so small he had to earn money for his living expenses by selling milkshake mixers to restaurants.

Kroc had entered into a contract with the McDonald's that severely restricted how much he could charge for the hamburger franchises. Kroc eventually took on a partner with money savvy who found a way to restructure the business despite the original agreement. However, Kroc spent millions of dollars to buy his way out of the agreement with the McDonalds.

Lesson: A bad contract and a lack of business skill can ruin even a solid business idea.

Boas, M & Chain, S. (1976). Big Mac: the Unauthorized Story of McDonald's. P. 24.

Sweet & Sour Notes
The debut in 1999 of Napster, the file sharing website, proved disastrous for many in the music publishing business, says Peer Music executive, Kathy Spanberger, "I call it the crash."

Widespread use of file sharing websites caused record sales to drop and companies began firing workers and instituting hiring freezes. Ten years later, the whole industry is still undergoing a change in response. Before Napster debuted, artists and songwriters could get substantial advances for their work, but not today. "Many songwriters can't get deals... or [have] left the business," says Spanberger.

In the industry's heyday, releasing a debut song by a group like Nsync might sell 2.5million records, but today you would be lucky to sell 100,000 copies, according to an ABC news report.

Music publishers earn their profits in many ways. For instance, they grant licenses for the right to produce their compositions on CD, DVD, etc., a source of revenue that significantly dried up. Furthermore, film companies cut their budgets for music on films another revenue stream.

But some publishers have stayed in business despite challenging times by buying music catalogues from other companies and focusing on licensing their music for the TV industry and commercials.

Lesson: New ideas and technology will always change the nature of an industry in some shape or form. Sometimes the changes are severe, but companies that survive are those that can problem solve creatively and defensively.

Learning by Doing
The reality program The Apprentice has been on the air for seven years, but the concept is centuries old. Apprenticeship was an accepted method of learning a skill. For instance, Leonardo da Vinci apprenticed out at age 14 to a famous artist.

An aspiring entrepreneur might consider the idea to learn about an industry through personal observation and on-the-job training. There are many established apprenticeship programs, but independently finding a veteran business owner willing to teach an assistant is an idea worth serious consideration.

References
http://www.doleta.gov/oa/apprentices.cfm
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/The-benefits.aspx