Playing to your strengths in business is sometimes easier said than done. Allow me to rephrase. Playing to your strengths in business is almost always easier said than done. This is mainly due to temptation. Be it the latest tech-stock, with its sky-rocketing price and a product that you can't begin to understand, even if you did go to MIT, or perhaps a fantastic new get-rich-quick scam your email scam screener accidently missed. I am not here to teach self-control when in comes to investing, important though it certainly is. Rather, I would like to address the importance of relying on the skills collected through the various life-experience we've all had. And of course I'll use myself, as well as others, for examples.
In the well known "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book, the author mentions how a period as a deck-hand aboard some sort of ship helped him gain valuable knowledge of the trade routes between the US and Asia, thus helping him when he established business ties between the two. I'm not going to propose becoming a deck-hand, but perhaps a brief look at personal experience could help you start a business in an area you already have some knowledge in.
Maybe your parents ran a grocery when you were growing up? Then you must know something about delivery trucks, refrigerated trucks, customer service, and, if you're like my grandfather, you're probably pretty good with numbers too. Experience should be a tool for your future. And all experience can, and should, be used for this purpose.
My dad is an Ivy League graduate with a P.H.D. He spent over a dozen years as a professor before deciding teaching was not for him. He kept bouncing around for the next few years, so uncertain of what he wanted to do that it hurt the family to even speak about jobs and business. My dad had always been a natural athlete, and had been playing tennis, swimming and working out at the gym almost every day since he was a young kid. He finally decided it was time to make something of it. In his late forties my dad joined a course for tennis coaches and began giving tennis lessons. A year later, he has several coaches working for him and owns several tennis facilities. Living the dreaming? No, I say it's more like living reality. Reality for my dad was tennis and sports, not teaching.
We all have these experiences or interests that can help us decide what sort of business we'd like to start, join, or at least learn more about. I believe these experiences or interests should be embraced and allowed to help you make your business-related decisions.