Be Your Own Boss

In these tough economic times, if you've been laid off, or if you're worried about being laid off, you've been thinking, "what next?" And you may have thought about being your own boss...owning your own business. Most of us have at one time or another. There are more than 27 million small businesses in this country and the current economic climate may present an unprecedented opportunity to start your own business. Now, with loosened requirements to get a small business loan just announced this week by the Obama Administration, it may be easier than you think to become your own boss.

Karla Duncan's passion is helping kids with special needs. She's a speech therapist by day, but when she gets home, she works on her own business, Head2Toe Publications. Karla develops, markets and sells products used by therapists to help children. "There's a lot of great companies out there that help children with special needs and provide great educational materials but theres not a company out there that's focusing on their developmental ages," says Duncan. And that's why she started her company. It's only been a year since karla launched her business, and already she has a product on the market, being sold predominantly through her own company website. But Karla had some help. She won a $20,000 women's entrepreneurship grant from Yahoo!. She says while that was a big help, the best part of the award was the assistance of established business people, like Carolyn Kepcher, former star of "The Apprentice". Karla often calls on Kepcher's expertise. Kepcher says anyone interested in starting their own business needs a mentor, "That's where you really need a go to place for tools and resources to help you along in the process." Karla adds, "Surround yourself. There are plenty of groups out there for women and men to help new business owners, I even joined a class at my church for entrepreneurs." The Small Business Administration has all kinds of resources available, from help coming up with a detailed business plan to assistance with loans.

Karla says, "You have to understand who you're targeting and what your mission is as a company and stay on that same path." Avoiding common pitfalls like ineffective marketing or skimping on legal advice is key. A third of all small businesses fail within two years and more than half don't make it to four years. But an economic downturn may not be a disadvantage at all. In fact this may actually be a good time to go out on your own. The US unemployment rate 8.1% in February. Alabama's jobless rate just reached a 21 year high with more than 167-thousand Alabamians out of work. That means a huge pool of talented workers are looking for jobs. And many people who have dreamed of starting their own business may be forced into taking the leap after losing their job.
Kepcher says, "I see it across the board, across the country, globally. So I think entrepreneurship right now, small businesses, are without a doubt on the rise." In fact, the department of labor predicts the number one employer in the country by 2010 will be self employment.

If you're looking for a business idea, carolyn kepcher suggests trying to capitalize on the current economic situation and look for businesses that will be in demand and could even grow in a down economy, like for example a resume writing service. Karla says if you're doing something you're passionate about and you're willing to work very hard, you can succeed. "That's the one thing I would tell people, never stop trying. "