What do you plan to do after graduation? It’s the one question every single college student will prepare for in small talk with family, acquaintances and strangers.
For those who have determined a set career path, the inquisition is light and pleasurable, perhaps even boosting.
However, for students who are treading waters in a sea of vocations, answering this loaded question is a considerably daunting task. Career selection takes longer to accomplish for some people, for a variety of reasons.
By answering earnestly, one assumes the chances of coming off as a procrastinator. In reality, it is a decision that should be made only after careful consideration. But as time goes on, the pressure increases rapidly.
With an ever-evolving world in technology, medicine and finance, choosing a career is as risky as a hand in poker: once the cards are dealt — getting a degree and taking out student loans — it is up to the individual to make the best of their fate.
Rather than settling for a career based on average salary, stability or benefits, why not create one founded on passion? As Harvey MacKay famously wrote, “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Sounds like a long shot, but this concept is actually the fundamental basis for one of societies quickest growing fields: entrepreneurship. This field, contrary to popular belief, is not a practice reserved only for the business savvy or those with reasonable access to money.
As described by Robert Baron in his article “Opportunity Recognition as Pattern Recognition: How Entrepreneurs ‘Connect the Dots’ to Identify New Business Opportunities,” successful entrepreneurs mindfully convert to interdisciplinary thinking in order to find business opportunities in unique situations. With this type of perspective, in conjunction with determination, the possibilities are truly endless.
Such is the case with Bethenny Frankel, creator and owner of Skinnygirl Cocktails.
Starting off as a natural food chef and caterer, Frankel aspired to be like Martha Stewart. Early in her career, she experienced little prosperity for her efforts.
Then serendipity came into the equation. During the filming of a season in “The Real Housewives of New York City,” Frankel joined her fellow cast members on an evening outing to the bars.
She casually came up with the idea of ordering a low-calorie concoction of tequila, triple sec and limejuice from the bartender, calling it a “Skinnygirl Margarita.”
What once started as merely a playful suggestion instantly became a coined term. Women everywhere participated in the “Skinnygirl” craze, inspiring restaurants to jump on the health-conscious bandwagon.
Ultimately, this new trend created a shift in the culinary paradigm. Since going public in 2009, Frankel’s brand and cookbooks have become an international success.
When asked about her ambitions in an interview earlier this year with The New York Enterprise Report, Frankel said, “I just love giving people a pathway to being healthy and to being balanced. My job is to make health more digestible, more accessible.”
The road was not always easy, though, with roadblocks such as hefty IRS debt and business management kinks slowing progress.
In the end, it was observation, time and passion that carried her through. Attributing her own potential to the recognition of Stewarts’, Frankel said, “I could democratize health the way she had democratized style.”
That, she did. And so can you, in any endeavor you choose.
Reach the columnist at britni.adams@asu.edu
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