Why a Recession is the Best Time to Start you Own Craft Business

Do your friends and family discourage you from starting your dream business “in this economy.”?  Is their reasoning that you’d be unwise to “leave the security of your job in a recession?”  I’d find that humorous if it weren’t so sad because,most likely, these naysayers have never been self employed and haven’t yet been victim to the mass layoffs of “valued employees”. In the present economy, the only secure job is the one YOU CREATE for yourself.

Yes, I do listen to the news. I know people are losing jobs and retailers are shutting their doors. And I also know that most of my self employed friends with small businesses are  reporting record breaking sales. Because when you’re self employed, you create your own economy. When something isn’t working , you can make changes quickly without the bureaucracy of a board of directors. On the corporate level, by the time reports are generated and changes approved, it is frequently too late. Too much has been lost. Not so in Read more

What Recession? eWomenNetwork survey says NOW is a great time to GROW your Small Business

In a recent edition of eWomen eMagazine, Sandra Yancey, CEO of eWomenNetwork says, “The fact is, for small business owners, nothing has really changed that much from what we normally encounter day-in and day-out. Entrepreneurs already know that in good or challenging times we have to expend lots of energy and invest the time to cultivate new relationships, network and transact deals. To survive and thrive, successful businesswomen are not allowing negative news to permeate their thinking,”

The February 2009 Women’s Economic Business study is based on an U.S. (85%) and Canadian (15%) representative sample of 3,964 women business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals of companies with fewer than 100 employees. This was an online survey that represents over 600 different business categories in North America. The survey was conducted from February 16 – 24, 2009 by eWomenNetwork, Inc., an organization recognized as one of the premier women’s business networks with more than 500,000 businesswomen connected to the network in 113 chapters across North America. The article states that when asked how businesswomen are feeling about the current economic situation, 72.5% replied that they are “charging ahead and keeping a positive outlook and 73.8% of the women surveyed felt this isa good time to grow their businesses. These are highly successful women who didn’t get where they are by being “Pollyanas.” This isn’t about denial. It IS about staying positive and focussed and flexible.

I’ve found the same attitude among my self-employed friends. Many are not just surviving but are thriving. Yes, in a time when people are losing their jobs and homes, small business owners are having to get more creative. I think of an economic downturn as a colander in which the complacent will slip through the holes and those who embrace change and re-align rise to the top.

Now, I’m not saying this is strictly a female entrepreneur attitude. I have met men in some of the hardest hit segments who are facing on the challenge head-on. While the construction of new homes is down, some ambitious contractors can do very well by marketing themselves as re-model experts, and while many realtors have thrown in the towel because they have to work so much harder to make a sale, those who are willing to do the work can connect with prospective buyers who weren’t willing to pay inflated prices and present them with a portfolio of “great deals” right now. Even with the mortgage industry in such a mess, a broker who’s willing to work harder can have a hay day with refinance now that rates are low. I believe in any small business, it comes down to observing the problems and finding creative solutions that people will pay you for. 

According to Sandra Yancey, ” Now is the time to re-tool, re-think, re-design and re-align your business.”

Start Own Business in THIS Economy?

Taking advantage of the lower interest rates, I  am refinancing my home.  Although  being self employed has never kept me from qualifying for mortgages, I am aware that in the current market, “stated income” is a thing of the past. Despite my excellent FICO score and significant equity, I held my breath after answering that I am an entrepreneur.  Rather than the self employment bias I expected, the young woman taking my phone application, on hearing what I do for a living was so enthusiastic. She started telling me how she always wanted to start her own business and her supportive husband kept telling her to go for it, but the time just never seemed right. She was afraid to give up the security of her job -particularly in this economy! I had to laugh. Can you imagine how hard it was for me not to remind her that her industry was the catalyst for the present economic problems and that she probably had the least secure job of all. I wanted so much to rescue this woman from her JOB and show her all the ways she could make a living doing what she loves, but,  keeping in mind the reason for our call, I brought her back to the topic of approving my “Fast Track” refi. 

After we hung up, I just couldn’t get this woman off my mind. I find it so sad that someone will stay in an unsatisfying job when the economy is good because they don’t want to give up the money, and when things are slow, they are afraid to start something new. 

The truth is, right now is the best time to begin taking the steps to financial freedom that having your own business provides. I hear all my corporate friends worrying about layoffs-but they say they don’t want to leave the “security” of a job. How can they feel “safe” in a position that could be eliminated anytime?  In all my years of self employment, it never occurred to me that I might be found to be ”redundant”. I never worried that if the economy slows down, I would have no income. On the contrary,  I had a boss who had my best interest in mind and whose goal was to keep me “employed.” As an entrepreneur, I have ridden a number of downturns in the economy and felt secure n the knowledge that I had control of my own income. I had the freedom to tailor the business and change with the times to keep myself and my family fed, clothed and sheltered regardless of the state of the economy. 

If you are thinking now is too risky a time to start your own business, consider the risk you are taking by putting your livelihood in someone else’s control. Now is actually the smartest time to be planning your escape. IT’s not frivolous -it’s practical to have your back up plan in place. Most successful businesses start small and many entrepreneurs begin building their business while they are still employed. If you start now, you will at least have a plan in place if you are found to be “superfluous”. Should your job prove to be one that weathers this economic downturn, you will still be ready with your dream plan when you choose to pursue your passion full time. Give yourself the gift of job security. Start thinking about what you love to do and who needs what it is you have to give.  The only truly secure job is the one you create and there is only one boss to whom you are #1. YOU!

“Recession Creates Openings”.

Admit it -you do this too. You know how regardless of which deliciously described menu item you order in a restaurant,  whatever the server sets in front of your dinner partner always looks more tempting? Well, I have this issue with reading material as well. I can be sitting on an airplane completely engrossed in my favorite publication and still,  someone across the aisle always pulls out a book, magazine, something that looks more interesting. I snoop, stretch my neck,  block the aisle, I just can’t help it. I have to read that article before they turn the page. So,the other day, a man at the next table in Starbucks was reading USA Today and I saw the headline, “Recession creates openings for upstarts”. I saw the words “layoffs” and “spending cuts” and then before I could read the rest, he turned the page. Of course, this got the cogs rolling and I started thinking about how so many big businesses are closing their doors and that this does open up opportunities for the smaller mom and pop operations who couldn’t compete when the big boxes were going strong. True, they don’t  have the buying power to compete price-wise, but if the big guys are pulling out, they don’t have competition. 

Frequently, the mega stores get into trouble because of rapid growth and an overextending of resources. This is the perfect opportunity for a small startup to build slowly and strategically, and this not only true for retail but a boutique service business in almost any sector can take advantage of this opportunity to jump in and gain market share.  It was hours after my coffee-neighbor left with his paper before I was able to search for the article, which gave me plenty of time to appreciate the uncharacteristically optimistic journalism.   How hopeful ,this headline  “Recessions Create Openings.”  When I finally got my hands on the newspaper,I couldn’t find the article in the business section. Tossing the sports section aside (yes, I’m one of those) I spotted the headline. The article was referring to Nascar teams cutting spending and I don’t really know, or honestly care,  how that would make openings for new Nascar teams. I don’t even understand what all the fuss is about Nascar. But what I do know is that snooping to read the paper over a strangers’ shoulder confirmed my belief that small business can not only survive but thrive in this tough economy, even if that wasn’t what the article was about.