How do i become a financial analyst? What is a financial analyst?

How do I become a business analyst, after years running a small business.

• How do I become a business analyst, after years running a small business. I am in my early 30s, and have spent the last 5 years or so managing my own small B2B services business with a handful of employees and 40+ contractors. I'm selling up and seeking work within a larger company. In my last role, I most enjoyed optimising processes, designing workflows, data analysis (albeit on a very low volume sense). So perhaps business / process analysis might be a good fit. But I'm not sure how to get into this area. I am drawn to data / target orientated direct management styles. Empathy and people skills are not strong points. I'm not a salesman. I'd happily consider free internships. Is it worth applying for highly specific trainee junior business analyst roles? Do early 30s candidates get hired into such entry level positions? My gut feeling is, they don't. And I should aim for something (slightly higher) and try to pivot. Any suggestions on how to get my foot in the door would be great. I don't want to work freelance, i want to part of something bigger. One other thing, should I keep the ownership secret? Just list myself as the manager, I would be cautious of hiring someone who had never really working for someone else. thanks a million

• Answer:

  You could sorta be me, except that I *am* a salesman, among other things. Also, I kept a job with the company that bought my business, and have managed to do some of these kinds of projects within that framework. I don't see why you couldn't get internships at your age. Perhaps a better fit (and certainly less financially difficult) is to take a role in a larger company that does the kind of work you're interested in, perhaps at a more junior level than you "deserve," but with the understanding that they're looking for people who can advance. That's what my brother, who was my business partner, did, and it seemed to work for him. He actually left the business a few years before we sold out. He was in his early 40s at the time, so it's far from too late. I wouldn't keep the ownership secret. For one thing, it will lead to evasive situations and answers. For another, I disagree that it's a drawback. Don't see it as a negative: "I never really worked for someone else." See it as a positive: "I ran my own damn business!" To have done that and been able to sell it is not the same thing as having spent the last five years in some unemployed utopian haze. You managed people, you met payroll, and you satisfied customers. That's a hireable person.