Your unemployed, so now what do you do? Keep looking for scare jobs or do you launch your own business? Continuing to look for a job that either doesn’t exist or that is being pursued by untold numbers of applicants feels like a hopeless situation. This is the new reality and a dilemma facing millions of people.

I have been in this situation. It feels awful and tears at your self-esteem. Why me and what did I do to deserve this fate? I’m fortunate that I’m a CPA and licensed to practice accounting and consulting. Still, it didn’t remove the hurt and the feeling of frustration.

I moved on but can still relate to people who are faced with the challenge of “what do I do and how do I do it.” From my vantage point, as an observer and an advisor, I don’t see the employment situation improving. The world is different and likely will never return to the good old days.

The good old days are gone so what are unemployed people to do? Well, they can keep looking for the same old job in the same old way or they can start doing things differently. Businesses have downsized and in other instances relocated. The reality is that the old job the way you knew it no longer exists.

If nothing is available regionally, you may be forced to relocate to areas that do have employment. Another option is to accept less. This is a problem since there are a lot of overqualified unemployed people looking for work. The bad news is overqualified people have been out of work for a long time. How do you respond to the question about “what have you been doing for the last year?”

I have some thoughts about possible steps that unemployed folks might explore. The first step is to brainstorm all the possible options. Some people will opt for more training. Others will decide to get training in areas where there may be a shortage of qualified help. Many people are considering a 2nd or a 3rd career. Ask yourself what do you know and what are you passionate about? You might be surprised to find out that answers to these questions could open up lots of new opportunities. Start thinking outside the lines and then begin drawing some new ones.

People struggle to deal with paradigms and get locked into old ways of thinking. The world is different and it’s going to stay that way. This means developing new strategies and going in different directions. While these steps might lead to different job opportunities, it might also lead to becoming an entrepreneur. Becoming your own boss isn’t such a bad thing. You’re the only one who can fire you.

This is how businesses get started. When you find yourself locked into a tough situation, sometimes the only way out is to take bold new steps and embrace the reality of change. Take a look at the possibilities. Set goals and create a plan. Figure out what you can do and might want to do. This planning process should include a budget so you can stretch your finances over as long a period as possible.

Creating a budget is essential when starting a business. Any business you launch is going to take time to generate adequate cash flow and profitability. Starting a business is a scary process. It also can be a lot of fun. Take time and really think through your business model. While it might seem like an impossible endeavor, realize that millions of people have done it, and so can you. It might be the most important thing you ever do in your life.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 11:18 am and is filed under Business Advice, Family Business and Succession, Retirement Planning, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.