By Shun McGhee, Guest Contributor
We have all read and heard about the stories of families struggling during this current economic downturn. With companies still downsizing and regional employment becoming increasingly turbulent it can be difficult to depend on traditional fixed sources of income as the sole method for earning money. In November, 2012 The New York Times reported the rate of unemployment as 7.9%, which translates to roughly 12 million people. To provide a bit of perspective, the US 2010 Census states the Asian community makes up 5.6% of the population or about 17 million people. Thus the amount of unemployed workers is equivalent to more than half of the amount of Asian Americans counted by the US Census. Upon realizing the gravity of these statistics, I began wondering about the best way to foster personal economic growth in today’s economy and my thoughts led me to entrepreneurship.
You might be thinking that in an economy where consumer spending is decreasing, who would even be able to afford my product? That’s a good question. In my college entrepreneurship class my instructor, Professor David Palmer, posed the question, “Why do we go into business?” Professor Palmer informed us we get into business to provide a service. That said, identify a passion or hobby you enjoy doing free of charge. Then, determine by performing the passion whether a service can be offered to customers. After that, figure out who would benefit from receiving your provided service. Finally, find a way to put your product in the path of the targeted consumer.
Perhaps you already have a full-time career doing what you love and you are looking to garner some supplemental income. You can choose to work in a currently flourishing industry. There are several industries on the rise during this economic downturn. A few examples of these are bankruptcy firms, business liquidators and financial planners. Each of these businesses is experiencing an increasing amount of demand.
You may need a little help discovering the appropriate career to begin expressing your entrepreneurial desires. A good tool to use is the Focus-2 survey. Focus-2 is designed to help users choose a career based on their personal and professional aspirations. At the end of the survey the user is offered a list of careers matching their skill set and interests as expressed in their responses. The most attractive careers results yielded by Focus-2 can be researched using the O*Net and Occupational Outlook Handbook databases. O*Net is maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides information regarding the education, skill and knowledge needed to perform in an array of industries. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is maintained by the Department of Labor. It provides similar information to the type found on O*Net. Both are reputable sites and can be useful in your search to gather relevant information on your career of interest.
In conclusion, do not let tough economic times dissuade you from engaging in an entrepreneurial endeavor that could spawn financial freedom and increase your wealth.
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