Finding the business that's right for you: Be flexible

NEW YORK -- Kelly Newsome is one diverse woman: attorney, birthing assistant, yoga instructor and consultant to non-profit organizations. Next up: launching a stationery business.

Newsome, like dozens of others this month, crammed into an entrepreneur workshop here hoping to glean ideas — and energy — from the speakers and other attendees.

She was further along than others, some of whom introduced themselves to speakers by noting that they had too many and too varied ideas, or ideas that never seemed like the right fit.

Entrepreneurial ambiguity is common, says Escape from Cubicle Nation author Pamela Slim, who co-hosted the forum with Jonathan Fields, author of Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love.

The duo counseled the budding entrepreneurs not to panic if their ideas weren't fully realized, but to instead do some soul-searching. Would-be business owners need to think beyond the types of jobs they want to do, their financial investments and their potential customer bases. They also need to consider the broader lifestyle they want, Slim says.

She asked those in the room to visualize their ideal place to live, how many hours a day they plan to toil and what type of work setting suits them. The answers were incredibly varied, from one woman who wanted to work just two to three hours a day to others who were willing to invest much more time.

Once you determine that, the next step is to pair those personal preferences with a viable business model, Slim says.

Such entrepreneur-focused workshops, as well as programs such as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's FastTrac classes, can help folks further hone those plans. The Kauffman Foundation is a foundation devoted to entrepreneurship.

There is also a multitude of resources that offer one-on-one help, such as the entrepreneur-training organization Score and the Small Business Development Centers that are dotted across the country.

Those looking for less formal — but just as valuable — education can learn from the school of life.