If you enjoy sniffing, sipping and talking about wine, what about turning your love of this drink of the gods into your next career? Or if getting healthy and fit is what gets your juices flowing, why not consider creating a career around niche health and fitness?

These are just two areas, based on trends, that are growing with no end in sight. And if this is the year to explore what you enjoy doing and get paid for it, looking at trends is a place to get inspired.

The key is being creative with this data. Let's look at the wine trend. Consumption has been growing and is at an all-time record high of 232 million cases of table wine consumed in the U.S. in 2003, according to the Wine Market Council.

But when it comes to a career, don't just think winery or retail store. Look at the trend that Americans have developed not only a desire to drink wine, but a serious affection for all things wine-related, according to Entrepreneur.com. Think about how you can create a business or be involved in one that's peripheral to wineries. People are getting into the market "from wine educators and wine game inventors to wine accessory manufacturers and builders who design cellars," says the article.

Here's an example of what evolved when one company looked around and noticed how many enthusiastic but under-informed wine lovers existed. The Traveling Vineyard became the home-based business arm of Geerlings & Wade, a marketer of wine and wine accessories, offering people the chance to host wine-tasting parties (they're like Tupperware parties for wine) through the help of their Independent Personal Wine Consultants, says Springwise.com.

So if you wanted to jump on the bandwagon, write down everything you can think of related to wine. Visit stores, read wine magazines and talk to wine experts at your local stores. What do you, as a wine connoisseur, want that doesn't exist? Then based on your skills and interests and what consumers want, what could you do to meet that need?

On the health and fitness trend, "this is a hot niche in a country full of people increasingly looking to alternative medicine," says Entreprenuer.com. The more specific you can be in the service you offer the better. Even better is if you can simplify the fitness experience. Curves is one example, offering 30-minute workouts to women. Other examples are health and fitness clubs targeted at kids and families and places that offer Pilates, yoga and tai chi.

Again, think about ancillary products or services related to this industry and your strongest skills. Could you see yourself consulting, educating, writing or managing something that has to do with health and fitness?

Another trend is serving the senior market. There are businesses that offer non-medical home care, for instance. This can include hourly or live-in care that provides meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation.

I know a woman who created a business that focuses solely on helping seniors deal with paperwork related to medical insurance. Other businesses prepare and deliver meals and teach computer skills to seniors while another offers an online dating service.

If you're in this demographic or have senior family members, what do they need that no one offers?

If career change is on your mind, start by looking at what interests you. Next, define your strongest skills, then brainstorm about how you can feed off the trends and apply those skills to a new, fulfilling career.

© by Andrea Kay