Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

My husband is a firefighter for Miami Dade, Florida and since he has so much time off he really wants to start up his own company. Now I have my own, but he`s really not at all that interested in it.  Please be aware that our firefighters down in Miami are different than many others even in cities in Florida.  Our firefighters fight fire as well as respond to medical calls. They are all EMT certified and most are paramedics. So, he is certified in various areas. Brainstorming is obviously very effective so if anyone has ideas, throw them at me. 

Thanks.

HI,

I think the first question your husband needs to ask himself is "What do I like to do?"  He can get a great start at figuring out what type of business he wants to start just by making a list of the things he enjoys doing.  At worst nothing comes from the list but at least this way he has taken the step towrds figuring out what it is he wants to do.

Thanks

Thanks.  I agree with both of you that he should write down what he likes.  I appreciate the feedback. My husband and I will do some brainstorming and get back to you on what we decided.

Hi Bianca

Perhaps your husband would like to write about his experiences as a firefighter.

There is a great site called writhing-up where you can write online about anything you like. It`s free to be a member.

If interested you can see links via my profile web page or my blog.

Regards Michael Clayton (rexiedexie)

Hi Bianca,

Another thing that your husband can consider when he is brainstorming for ideas is if he likes what he does `generally` but is just looking for more a more substantial vertical move, financial freedom, wants to make his own schedule or just has that entrepreneurial bug, maybe he can think of problems `service and training related` where he thinks `better practices` could have been established and then create a such company to address those practices. Additionally since he is cross trained and you said it is specific to Miami, maybe he could 1099 himself and pursue state or fed government contracts to train students at neighboring community colleges, other firehouse people just starting out, retirees wanting to get back into the workforce and/or Office of Health and Human Services. Living in a state where the summers can be wicked with hurricanes and tropical storms and such perhaps he could train a team of people that specifically is like `the Florida Disaster & Rescue Team`. He could train and cross train emergency personnel that would be `mentally` prepared and dispatched to help government agencies and hospitals in times of crisis (albeit the weather, fires, what have you). He could also build or team with someone in the mental health profession for people having to deal with shock (loss of family, loss of home etc).

I am sure that given his level of training and certification he has strong relationships already in his field that could get him going in the right direction and if he could `duplicate` himself people would definitely appreciate him for that as well. 

Anyway, I am not too familiar with your industry so that is the best advice I can offer. Hope it generates some more ideas for you.

Best,

Shonika

Shonika your advice was really great.  We are definitely trying to do it because he`s got the bug, he has soo much free time that he wants to remain busy too.  We have made a list of different areas where he can approach colleges, the community etc. with his ideas and push them forward.  We`ll see where it leads us.  thanks.