Do you think you have what it takes to go freelance?

Or do you dream of owning the small business of your dreams?

Have you ever wondered if there isn’t an entrepreneurial bone or two in your body?

Well, here is a list of seven tests that you can take to help you see your strengths and weaknesses.   The last three tests are non-traditional and more motivated to show you your passions, calling, and interests.  The first four are more geared towards traditional career advice as they will show you what you should be good at doing.  Even though I am all for non-traditional career coaching, there can still be insight to be gained by understanding the traditional and how it probably can and will shape your entrepreneurial endeavors as well.

What Are These 7 Tests?

The tests are:

• Myers-Briggs test
• Big Five Project
• Predictive Index
• Traitify
• Motivational DNA
• Find Your True Calling Assessment
• Left Brain/Right Brain

What is the Most Widely Understood Test?

Probably the most widely understood test is the Myers-Briggs test.  Researcher Katharine Briggs along with her daughter developed this personality test around Carl Jung’s theories on perception, judgments, teamwork, thinking/feeling, and intuition.  The test was designed to help individuals figure out what type of job or career they should pursue based on their personality traits.

Many of you have probably already taken this test at one point in your career.  I remember when I took this test years ago, it did come up with writer as one of the possible careers, which could have meant a journalist or technical writer.  Instead, I went solo and turned it into a freelance writing career.  It also mentioned career psychologist, which I attached my own passion to and became a think-outside-the-job box career coach.

There are few regular jobs that can’t be turned into either a business or an income stream or even a freelance gig at some level.  So, it wouldn’t hurt to still see what you might gravitate to as a career then brainstorm and come up with a few possible businesses/freelance gigs/income streams/passion profit centers to match it.

The only caution that I would have with the Myers-Briggs test is just because you should be able to do XYZ based on your personality, is your passion and calling somewhere in that career. That will be your question.  Also does the lifestyle attached to that career, still sound appealing?  Again, just having some insight here might be helpful, but not the tell-all.  After all, we at Powerfully Purposed For Success look just as equally at desires, dreams, and other factors.

Another factor is that Myers-Briggs is often used in academia or in personal coaching.  For this reason, it would be wise to know your score so as to select a coach for your business as well.  Based on your strengths, should you select a business coach, marketing coach or life coach or other type that will cater to your strengths or help with weaknesses.

What About the Big Five Project?

Secondly, there is the Big Five Project, which also measures degrees of mental health such as your degree of depression, anger, and anxiety.  It tries to also find the degree of your strengths as well as desired characteristics that employers like to see.  Even though your goal may be self-employment, it wouldn’t hurt to see how you might use this to attract or add employees or subcontractors to your business.  You could also better discipline yourself by surrounding yourself and your business with wise counsel or mentors who could point out when “personal problems” start showing up in your business model.

For as long as I have been coaching, I have come to the conclusion that most “business problems” are really personal problems in disguise.  This is especially true around pricing and not believing that you are worth much or should be charging a certain amount of money.

How Predictive Are You?

The third test is the Predictive Index or PI, which was meant to measure you in a business context.  You will be asked to select what business skills you believe are in demand and then how you think you measure up to those or how you really see yourself instead of how others may perceive you.  The test is usually by invitation only and the results are read back by an analyst.  Employers use them to see how manageable you should be or how team-oriented you should be.

It was designed in 1955 by PI Worldwide as a way to save companies lost revenue by constantly having to hire and replace certain positions.  It is no secret that companies lose money when the employee turnover rate remains high.

What Could Traitify Tell You?

The fourth test is Traitify which basically caters to the younger crowd as it uses pictures more to assess personality.  It will give you a title based on the top two results such as “Analyzer/Mentor”.  It was originally invented as a way to weed out potential bad dates and pair like personalities.

I can see where this one would probably be good for entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to join professional memberships or start meet-up or mastermind groups.

If you are going to be pursuing your own path here with your own business and are lucky enough to know your score, well just use it to recognize your own bad habits and how NOT to sabotage your own success.  “Stay out of your own way applies here.”

What Could Three Non-Traditional Career Tests Show You?

The fifth test is your Motivational DNA invented by success coach, Tamara Lowe.  You can buy or download the Kindle book and enjoy the test inside.  It will tell what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning and how to harness that.  What motivates one entrepreneur will usually not motivate another.

There is also the Finding Your True Calling assessment found in the book available by my own coach, Dr. Valerie Young.  It will show you what you were meant to be “when you grow up”, but more importantly, how do you want your life to look.  Excellent read.  It has nothing to do with your skills and education, but deals more with your passions, desires, dreams, and calling.

The final test is the Left Brain/Right Brain test to help you find out if you are more left brain (logical) or right brain (creative).  This will help you find those other kindred spirits to network with and also the opposite brainers to have in your cell phone’s contact list to give you the business piece you are missing.

So, there you have it.  All seven tests that you can take to better understand you.  I always liken those career tests to looking at the sky each day.  Some days it’s cloudy.  Some days it’s clear.  Some days there’s something unexpected showing up on the radar.

Bird, plan or UFO—you call it!  It’s your test.

This article may contain affiliate links, but that does not change the way I feel about the product.  I only use what I believe in.