I am a highly creative person who has spent the last ten years in medical sales. My current position as a trainer teaching people how to sell and negotiate barely satisfies my creative needs. I am constantly generating ideas about new: businesses, advertising concepts, and products. Specifically, these ideas include ad slicks, new distribution strategies, and internet business plans. The problem is that I do not know how to start moving in the direction that will take me to my ideal job. I would like to become a creative consultant for media companies or a company that allows me to think and come up with new ideas all day long. Can you give me any advice on a starting point? Thank you for your time.

-- John P. Carroll (Jaysoi@aol.com), September 23, 2000

Answers

A few years ago, I wanted to do some strategic planning consulting. A supermarket chain from the Northeast had purchased a small chain in the Southeast and was using it to strategic advantage in expanding its markets.

I began gathering information on the intruder. Using the financial planning skills that I wanted to sell, I developed scenarios for this company, and I began sending them, totally out of the blue, to the CEO of one of the local Southeastern chains. The first mailing was a financial analysis of the interloper sent in May. I followed this with three other mailings to the same person, each with a piece of new information. He called me to set up an appointment in September.

So my suggestion, based on experience, is to target a company and begin mailing your work directly to its CEO. Pick an idea that is relevant to his current needs or answers some strategic problem that you know he has. But be prepared to do a presentation within a couple of months if your stuff is really good.

-- Allen Wyatt (JWyatt8590@aol.com), October 09, 2000.

Living one's creativity can be quite a challenge! The obstacles might not be in the "next career move" but in attaining enough self- confidence to do it. My experience (as an ex-teacher and current self- employed designer/creative studio) is that it's all in the way you perceive yourself. This will allow others to perceive you in that way as well. Sometimes you can't plan the way there, but you can decide on where you want to go. Don't wait until you're in the right spot do do the right things- if you're truly creative you might want to be creative about your own life, make a distribution plan for your wonderful talents and write a business plan for your own career. If you want to see a Dutch English teacher's website check out www.impulsant.nl and let me know if I can help you in any way! (p.s. there's a lot of perfectionism and fear of failing and doubts involved in my process ;-) I ain't preachin')

-- Annedien Hoen (info@impulsant.nl), August 08, 2001.