Costco Connection - January 2007

The making of a dream

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Brian Kurth, founder and president of VocationVacations.

By Stephanie E. Ponder

IN AN IDEAL WORLD, what would your job be? Winemaker? Photographer? Sports announcer? The next question is, If [fill in the blank] is your dream job, why aren’t you pursuing it?

Brian Kurth has found a way to eliminate excuses while providing a safety net for people who want to explore a new career. He is the founder and president of VocationVacations, a business that lets people test-drive their dream job—as a vacation—without giving up the security of their current job.

You can don a mascot’s costume and put together a theme night while learning what it takes to be general manager of a baseball team. Perform background checks and learn about surveillance techniques while researching what it takes to be a private investigator. Take a jewelry-making hobby to the next level by learning about the art and business aspects of being a jeweler.

VocationVacations does this by pairing the curious with a mentor in one of more than 50 occupations. The two work one-on-one over the course of up to three days, allowing the “vocationer” to see what being a wardrobe stylist, brew master or choreographer really entails.

Dream weavers

Kurth, 40, had the idea for VocationVacations while he was stuck in traffic on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway. Having worked in corporate America as director of product management for more than a decade, he realized he needed to pursue his own dreams.

“I was Dilbert working for the phone company,” Kurth tells The Connection. “I felt my life was very beige. No one wanted to hear what I did; it wasn’t interesting.”

After quitting his job and traveling in the United States for six months, he moved to Oregon, where he worked in a vineyard. He started VocationVacations as a hobby business in January 2004. In March he left the vineyard. He still is the company’s lone full-time employee; five part-timers complete the staff.

When he started the business three years ago, Kurth, a Costco member, found mentors to share their experience and expertise by “throwing myself at them.” The group has grown from a handful of people around Portland, Oregon, to nearly 300 mentors in 34 states.

In fact, mentors often come to him looking to work with VocationVacations. To be accepted they must have at least five years’ experience and be employed full-time. “I need to know that they think, ‘I want to do this. I love what I do and want to share it with others,’” he says.

Kurth says mentors typically approach him because they want to share their vocational passion with others who might feel stuck, they get media exposure for their products and services, and they get paid a mentoring fee.

It wasn’t until Kurth realized that some vocationers weren’t just “vocationing” for fun and were actually looking to change careers that he identified

BRIAN KURTH started VocationVacations as a way to let people test-drive a dream job. Here’s what you should know before test-driving yours.

Age: While baby boomers and generation Xers make up most of his clients, Kurth says he’s seen an increase in the number of col-lege-age clients. The minimum age for a VocationVacation is 18. If alcohol is involved, the age requirement rises to 21.

Costs: The average cost is $700 for two days with a mentor, two phone calls from a career coach and a VocationVacations journal. While prices range from $349 for one day up to $1,999 for three days, Kurth stresses that 95 percent of VocationVacations cost less than $999.

Selection: Areas such as culinary arts, animals, entertainment and sports are the most popular choices.

A complete list of VocationVacations, along with all you need to know to explore your dream job, is available at www.vocationvacations.com.

a missing link. For individuals taking a VocationVacation as more than just an extension of a hobby, the experience includes two phone conversations with a career coach. The first conversation is designed to get people thinking about what they’d change about their current jobs, what an ideal workday would be like and what they’re hoping to learn. The career coach digs a little deeper in the second conversation to identify, for example, what three changes vocationers are ready to make to move themselves forward. “All we offer is to test-drive one’s dream job,” says Kurth. “We are not the Holy Grail or cure-all, but we’re a great kick in the you-know-where to help people move forward in their personal and professional due diligence.”