My Career Website

The Career Reaction/Summary Page

 

In an effort to be a thorough as possible, I have decided to answer the questions that are posted on the Career Web Project site one at a time. This is more for my benefit because I may decide to change these answers as my research and entrance into this business continues. I would just like to say that I have enjoyed doing this project immensely.

 

1.      Is this a career field you might wish to pursue? What is your degree of certainty in that regard? I am very excited about pursuing a career in this field. The more I learn about it the more excited I get. I am full of ideas for new projects and I want to explore each one.

2.      How might this career fit into your lifestyle? Or will it take over your life? This will be a major challenge of this type of career. People that I’ve spoken to who have management positions in this industry say they often work in excess of 10 hours a day, seven days a week. While this would be a drawback, I still have a strong desire to work in this business. I am fortunate enough to have a wife who is behind me 100 percent on this, but I will have to be careful not to overtax that support.

3.      Do you have a family or plan to have one? How will this career influence family life? My kid’s friends are going to love me! We don’t have a family as yet. Dealing with kids in our life will be an issue that we will have to work out when the time comes. My wife is studying to be a patent attorney, so we will both have busy careers. One advantage to being in self-employed is having flexibility. I want to be a great dad someday. I’m confident I will be able to balance the two.

4.      How secure do you feel in your job-seeking ability? Are you going for an occupation that “guarantees” steady employment, or are you willing to “make your way” in the job market? Since this is going to be a venture in self-employment, the job will be there. The challenge in this endeavor will be to acquire money for start-up costs. I’m currently working as a television producer at a local television station. I plan to start a small video production service company that will hopefully raise some money for the bigger project. A big challenge for me will be to find investors when the time comes for me to start this business. I’m currently trying to make myself more marketable by taking courses in Business Administration. I am also working on a comprehensive business plan for this venture.

5.      Is the training you plan to complete likely to lead to immediate employment? To more training? Both? I want to get started on this project as soon possible. As of this writing, I will be turning 30 years old in seven days. That may not sound old to you, but Walt Disney already had a major cartoon studio in operation by this time in his life. I understand the need for continued education, but I don’t want to spend time in school at the expense of my ultimate goal.

6.      Is employment in this field available locally, or will you have to move? Is that a bad thing for you, a good thing, or some of both? I see tremendous opportunity for themed entertainment in the Gainesville area. However I’m not from Gainesville, I grew up near Chattanooga, Tennesse in Dalton, Georgia. (Carpet Capitol of the World!) I would like to move closer to home. Also it is unlikely my wife will attend law school at the University of Florida. I hope that I’m successful enough to have multiple locations in various cities, but I would like to be based somewhere near the Atlanta area. I’m trying to build an empire here!

7.      Will this occupation challenge you to become more of the person you want to be? Will it require you to exercise aspects of your personality that you don’t like? I think this occupation will give me the opportunity to be the person I’ve always wanted to be. My desire is to be a creative leader. My dream is to lead a team of creative professionals in the effort to create environments that will excite the senses, educate, inform and inspire.

 

I know that starting and running a business like this will be tough. There will be many tasks that I won’t like as much as others. For example I’ve never been fond of doing paperwork. However I have to believe that a strong desire to accomplish your goals as well as an enduring vision of what you want in your business is enough to help you weather the tough stuff. The chance to create something truly unique and entertaining is too great an opportunity to pass up. I am a fountain of ideas, and I want to explore every one!

 

Gregory Starks