At the beginning of every new venture you should do as much information gathering as you can.
How can this be done? I suggest that you conduct interviews, volunteer, 'Night Out' type of events which are of lost cost to participate. Networking events can be happening right around the corner from you as well.
Talk to family members and friends. If you go to church, get involved & talk to other people who are there.
If you are interested in changing careers and you are not sure what you want to do then you can interview people in that sector and potentially volunteer to see if you would like working in that area. You would never purchase a car without driving it first so I suggest that you take a similar approach to a lot more in life.
Take your time and see what you can do. If you are interested in starting your own company talk to network with others who have just that. You can always ask others to pass your information along to others so you can connect with them.
Education and experience are very important but sometimes where you end in life has more to do with who you know. Have you ever had someone who has inspired you in life to make that change? Remember the 'why' you got inspired and 'why' you want to make this change in your life. Knowing and talking to people and letting them know what you are truly looking for can be great.
Word of mouth can be very powerful. You can end up going for coffee and end up gaining a lot more information then originally expected. The most random of experiences can be the best ones.
True, not everyone got where they are today professionally due to knowing someone else in their life but for some it is.
At the end of the day take the time to talk to people, see how they got to the point where they are now. They are professionals right so they can let you know everything not to do and give you ideas of things that you may never have thought of on your own.
Be proud of who you are and everything that you have done. It has brought you to the point where you are talking to others and seeing what does and doesn't work.
Not everything that you do or talk to will be beneficial but guess what you have nothing but time to figure it all out. Schedule the time just to do it just once and see what happens.
Don't let anything step in your way from trying it just once!
