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Economic Downturn Can Give Birth to Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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by Teena Rose

 

Economic turmoil brings out entrepreneurial drive, showing job-seekers that when one road ends (job search), there's always another road to be taken (business startup).

 

New businesses surface from the most unlikely yet inspiring sources too. For example, in the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930s, a group of Seattle housewives developed a "just-add-water" baking mix that is still popular today, more than 75 years later. (You may have used it yourself -- it's known as Krust-eze.) In fact, a number of businesses that are still operating today were founded during the 1930s.

 

A report from the Kaufmann Foundation (an organization that tracks entrepreneurial activity) has shown a significant increase in the number of entrepreneurs over the past two years or so, particularly among older people and Latinos. What might surprise you is a great many of these new entrepreneurs appear to be laid-off workers from construction and engineering trades who are now offering their skills directly to the public.

 

Correspondingly, individual Web designers in the U.S. also offer services directly to the public, as corporate businesses become increasingly "globalized" through this new economy and look for lower-paid workers in countries such as India and Romania.

 

Whether or not you should hang out your own shingle under current economic conditions depends a great deal upon your particular skill set and your financial situation. Start out by looking around you.

• Where are the customers lined up?
• What are people talking about?
• Which web sites or business types are getting tons of hits?

 

Answer these questions, and go after a business that sparks your interest. Passion typically drives success -- and with success, you can ultimately say goodbye to hiring managers for good too.

 

Review our main feature: Turn Unemployment into Self-Employment: 5 Tips on How to Start.

 

See also our no-cost Entrepreneur & Business Start-Up Tools and Resources.

 

 

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.

 

This article is part of Job Action Day.

 

 

Teena Rose is a personal branding expert, LinkedIn profile author, and executive resume writer with Resume to Referral. With an estimated 70 percent of her client base made up of repeat and referral clients, it's no surprise that she's one of the most highly endorsed resume writers/career coaches on LinkedIn. Professionals use her service because of the bottom-line returns she produces; i.e. more job interviews, shorter job-search, and higher starting salaries. She's a valuable expert contributor to Quintessential Careers as well. Teena's authored several books, including Designing a Cover Letter to "Wow" Hiring Personnel (2nd edition); How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book (2nd edition); and Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales. You can reach Teena at admin(at)resumetoreferral.com or (937) 325-2149.

 

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

 

 

 

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