Brainstorm a new career by hitchhiking on trends

By Andrea Kay

If you enjoy sniffing, sipping and talking about wine, what about turning your love of this "drink of the gods" into your next career? Or if getting healthy and fit is what gets your juices flowing, why not consider creating a career around niche health and fitness?

These are just two areas, based on trends, that are growing with no end in sight. And if 2005 is the year to explore what you enjoy doing and get paid for it, looking at trends is a place to get inspired.

The key is being creative with this data. Let's look at the wine trend. Consumption has been growing and is at an all-time high of 232 million cases of table wine consumed in the United States in 2003, according to the Wine Market Council.

But when it comes to a career, don't just think winery or retail stores. Look at the trend: Americans have developed a desire not only for wine, but for all things wine-related, according to Entrepreneur.com. Think about how you can create a business or be involved in one that's peripheral to wineries. People are getting into the market "from wine educators and wine game inventors to wine accessory manufacturers and builders who design cellars," says the article.

Here's an example of what evolved when one company looked around and noticed how many enthusiastic but under-informed wine lovers existed. The Traveling Vineyard became the home-based business arm of Geerlings & Wade, a marketer of wine and wine accessories, offering people the chance to host wine-tasting parties (they're like Tupperware parties for wine), says Springwise.com.

So, if you wanted to jump on the bandwagon, write down everything you can think of related to wine. Visit stores, read wine magazines and talk to wine experts at your local stores. What do you, as a wine connoisseur, want that doesn't exist? Then, based on your skills and interests and what consumers want, what could you do to meet that need?

On the health and fitness trend, "this is a hot niche in a country full of people increasingly looking to alternative medicine," says Entreprenuer.com. The more specific you can be in the service you offer, the better. Even better is if you can simplify the fitness experience. Curves is one example, offering 30-minute workouts to women. Other examples are health and fitness clubs targeting kids and families, and places that offer Pilates, yoga and tai chi.

Again, think about ancillary products or services related to this industry and your strongest skills. Could you see yourself consulting, educating, writing or managing something that has to do with health and fitness?

Another trend is in serving the senior market. There are businesses that offer nonmedical home care, for instance. This can include hourly or live-in care that provides meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation.

I know a woman who created a business that focuses solely on helping seniors deal with paperwork related to medical insurance. Other businesses prepare and deliver meals and teach computer skills to seniors.

If career change is on your mind for 2005, start by looking at what interests you. Next, define your strongest skills, then brainstorm about how you can feed off the trends and apply those skills to a new, fulfilling career.

Write to career consultant Andrea Kay at No. 133, 2692 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208; andrea@andreakay.com.