What are non-technical skills?

I have an entrepreneurial spirit and a diverse set of skills, but no marketable idea. What should I do?

• I seem to have the opposite problem of alot of people (sort of) in that they have ideas but say they don't have the skills to make it happen. I have lots of ideas, but being realistic I don't think any of them are necessarily good enough to make a profitable business out of, though I do want to start something, or be a part of something. I have plenty of useful skills (as I'll explain below), I just don't know what to leverage them towards. I have a very analytical mind, and some aptitude tests I took 3 years ago pointed me towards three career choices: 1) Engineering, which I would love (I seem to have the mind of an engineer), but don't have the patience to go back to school for it at this point, nor the necessary math skills. 2) Database Management, which intrigued me but didn't compel me 3) Accounting, which I ended up going for because it was the quickest/easiest and I do like working with numbers. I'm almost 30, I've been to college 3 times, once for multimedia design, once for entertainment management and finally for accounting. I've learned the hard way that I can't do a creative job in a full time capacity (and I don't want to) because it burns me out, but I do like making use of my creativity/creative skills on the job. Jobs in the music industry are rarer and rarer, I'm not good enough at design by itself to work in the multimedia field except in an admin/finance capacity. I've worked for a few small and start up companies, as well as a couple of medium and large ones. I've determined that I'm best suited to (and would be most productive/happiest at) smaller companies with more diverse roles where you have to wear multiple hats and not "corporate" jobs where you have a narrowly defined role and that's all you do. Three years now into my career as a bookkeeper/accountant I've realized it's kind of one of those narrowly focused things, I don't have enough variety to my job. The company I was working for for the last 2.5 years went out of business recently and since I have been trying to figure out my next step. Currently, I produce and host a podcast, and do all the behind the scenes as well as front line stuff (maintain the website, update the feeds and even interact with the community and promote the show. I'm producer, engineer, editor, technical director, guest scheduler, interviewer, interview facilitator, creative/art director, project manager, product manager, promoter, community manager, social media correspondent). I kind of do everything because I have the necessary skills and the desire to do so. I basically conduct informational interviews, or do amateur journalistic pieces featuring a guest. I really enjoy it, but I've determined I don't want to interview people for a living. It's a great position for me for variety and for using a combination of technical and creative skills, but it doesn't pay anything. I'm not sure if I can leverage it towards a real job doing something similar, but it often feels like running a small business and I really enjoy it because of that. I am producing something tangible, productive and that is arguably of value to the citizens of the world. These, as I understand it, are the feelings associated with the highs of running one's own company (profits just being a cherry on top). I did start my own business once before - started a recording studio in my parents basement 6 years ago - but that didn't pan out because I didn't plan it out well enough (and again, turned out I didn't want to just record bands all the time). With that experience in mind, I don't want to start something new again unless I really think it can work. I may be ambitious and driven to be productive, but I'm also realistic. So, I need advice on one of the following 2 questions (or both): 1) What do you suggest I do with all the various skills and ambition I have but no marketable idea? alternatively: 2) How/Where do I find small start-ups (say <=30 employees) that are ideally in a creative field, who could use and would love a multi-talented creative/analytical guy like me to come in and juggle/manage stuff for them? (I should also add that I've never morally/ethically jived with the idea of sales/marketing/advertising, or basically selling anything I don't believe in. Some people can do it no problem, but I question their conscience. As a result, a list of advertising agencies a friend gave to me didn't really entice me because I know they have to work with companies/brands I don't support to pay the bills. The more local and ethical your suggestions are, the better :D ) For clarity, I will say I live in Southern Ontario (Canada).

• Answer:

  You're on linkedin, facebook, those places? (Includes some Ontario groups.) You're hobnobbing at local chambres of commerce? Forgive me if I insult your intelligence, an RSS feed from the Job Bank? (provides a source of leads that you can use to get to smaller new businesses)