Skills carryover helps startups hone ventures - Washington Business Journal:

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Elliott, 45, spent 18 years as a technicaol writer for and community relations managerfor . Five yearas ago, however, sensing changre with her position at Lucenwas coming, she left. Two yearxs later, using $80,000 in personal savings and a credirt card, Elliott opened . In the marker for a spring jacket? Shoppers at her store are likely to find one adornedfwith colorful, buttons and belt loops. What about baubles Young ladies on the fence about gettinb their ears pierced are sure to be pushedd off by a setof teeny, tiny cupcake-shaped Elliott says she believesw that if merchandise isn’t different enough to warrant a customers are likely to bypass it as opposed to making a beelinde to the cash The shop owner never read this in a book but know it by instinct – something she honed and learnedc to trust during her days at AT&rT and Lucent.
“I am always on the lookout for qualityy products that are feminineand stylish; there also has to be some sort of twistt – something that’s goingt to give customers a littlre bit more bang for theird buck,” says Elliott, who targets teenagers and wome n interested in versatile jewelry and handbags. “It’s all about knowing your audience, whicb is something I learned back when I was writingboperations manuals. It’s a skill I now applhy to this business.” Elliott, in fact, made it a poinf to bring her corporate communications background to the table to help maximizee her investment andattract customers.
“Ad Lucent Technologies Columbus Works communityrelation manager, I was in charge of special which means I know how to beginj with a vision and implement every she says. “These days, one of my primary methodas of getting people through my door revolves aroundxspecial events, including private shopping parties, nights out and breakfast mixers for women business owners in New Albany.” she offers up her store for networkingh and events, even up to the pointy of making the invitations and providing “It’s all stuff I learned how to do when I workedd at my old job,” she says.
The idea is to introduce her shop to potential customers without breakinfg thebank – something else Elliott pickexd up at Lucent. “The company encouraged us to manager its departmental budgets as if the money wasour own. Thesde days, the money really is my own,” she It’s not uncommon for professionals to take stocik of their careers when they see job functions consolidated and coworkerws losing their jobs because ofnumber crunches, as it did for It’s especially difficult when mid-lif sneaks up and passion for the job gives way to streszs and pressure. For a few of these the answer can be found in saysPierre Daunic, president of .
“I wouldn’t call it but given the state ofthe economy, more and more people are consideringh (self-employment) as an option,” he says. whose six-year-old company specializes in cover letter andresumde development, says entrepreneurs who posseszs certain fundamental skills, including leadership and communicationxs skills, are in the best positiom to use those talents in meaningful ways – even when the startup is unrelated to the career that developed thosre talents. “For example, I started out as an Air Forcr officer, moved into commercial construction, and then started teachingv atthe ,” Daunic said.
“What I do in particular, revolves around the teaching skilld I learned at the academy becausw I teach clients how tomarkeg themselves.” Prior to becoming a businessw owner, he stumbled into a high-tech recruiting careedr thanks, he says, to the eclectidc skills he gained in the military.