I was talking to a person who was in the midst of deciding what he wanted to do career wise as it seemed like he was ready to try the self employed route. Obviously this meant that he would need to think of a business idea as well as how to run it. He is an artist by trade and for some reason this reminded me of people who did simple things such as drawing quick portraits of people at various events where they make a living doing so.

He then commented about a person he saw that did just that and he couldn’t believe how much they were making as he felt the drawings were pretty low quality. I then commented how the person must be doing something right in terms of simply getting out there and doing something as sometimes you don’t exactly need to have the most complex plans before doing something.

In many cases if you simply get yourself out there it’s only a matter of time until you will grab a market share of sort I’d say. I would say most people starting out begin with nothing much other than their home office and themselves. Therefore the chances that your operation will be so complex where you need like a 200 page business plan and hundreds of resources are pretty slim. In that sense it is more about just getting out there and getting yourself known.

First off, happy Remembrance Day everyone. This post will be a response to the e-mail I got from Forbes about wanting some blogger input on an issue. The question asked was the following:

Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a jump in the unemployment rate to 10.2%. Some economists think we could be looking at 10.5% by early next year.

Given these grim forecasts, how do you counsel recent college graduates and others entering the job market for the first time in this employment climate? Is there any advice or strategies you find particularly useful?

In my personal opinion, these statistical data about the unemployment rate are viewed in a too one sided light. While I am not based in the US, from what I read a lot of those big companies that have been going under need to be restructured.

So imagine this. You are a company that was originally so careless where it seemed like you could care less about how many people you hired or how much money you paid everyone in bonuses. Example, it’s like you had five people to screw in a light bulb, two people to flip on the switch and then another person to see if the light is good.

Now for whatever reason your funds have dried up and you are on the verge of bankruptcy. So, you as a company now need to get down to business. You now have to layoff a lot of people to be more profitable and smarter in the way you do things to be more sustainable. Example, you now have one guy that can screw in a light bulb, flip the switch and be smart enough to see if it works well.

Because of decisions like that, your company starts to profit again and you are back in business. As you expand because of these profits, you gradually hire more people. Now when you look at your numbers, your profits are up. But if you look at your employee numbers it is very low compared to before. Now is that a bad thing?

From what I read, in the US the economy is up but when people look at the unemployment rate that seems to have gone up too. Is it truly that much of a surprise? Isn’t it necessary where that is just naturally what needs to happen for things to turn around?

Essentially, what I’m saying is that I personally don’t think the unemployment rate is like the ultimate factor in finding a job or developing ways to make a living. Nor should it cloud you in fear I’d say. If you can’t find a job, don’t blame things like the unemployment rate or use that as a cushion to justify not finding one. Look at yourself and what you have to offer. Under regular circumstances, there is no company in the world that I can think of that wouldn’t want to hire someone who can generate profits and results for a business. You have to sell yourself and your capabilities.

As well, for job seekers it should be viewed as a good opportunity in some ways. Like from a business perspective, five people that go out of business is in no way a ruling that a certain industry is dead or that now it is super hard to succeed in. You can view that more as an opportunity to establish yourself in a market that is revitalizing where it is out with the old and in with the new. For a new person wanting to find a job, in many ways this can mean that the companies are hungry to bring in new people who are current and more up to date as the old ways weren’t working for the others to go out of business.

I think for people entering the job market it is smarter to develop the attitude now that you need to be in charge of your own income and not just be dependent on one source. I know most people that go to school are trained to live a 9-5 lifestyle as that is supposed to mean financial security. As you can see from the news, there is no such thing as job security. If a company goes under then that means a loss of jobs.

Be a little entrepreneurial I’d say. By that I don’t mean go out and take a $100,000 loan and try to start a business. Example, if you are unemployed then see if you can find some freelance work to do. There are a ton of Internet sites to help you with this (Especially if you specialize working in a high tech and creative field). If you do find a comfortable full time job, take that as an opportunity to invest some of your funds in other things to make more money instead of buying materialistic items that you don’t really need.

There is always something to do especially at this day and age when it comes to work. Look at how many stay at home moms there are nowadays who make a living by writing for online communities. How about people that discovered stock or forex investments? Everyone is always in school when it comes to life. So, don’t think that just because you graduated with a certain degree or specialty that you can’t do other things as well. I have even seen people work at a full time job as well as working as a real estate agent on the side since it fits in with their schedule.

Bottom line, always be doing something and try to see the opportunity side of statistical data like these. Generally speaking, I really don’t see too much of a difference when it comes to getting a job or making a living. Basically, the people who are the most pro-active while taking advantage of the opportunities that are around them without allowing fear to dictate them are usually the ones that come out ahead. How is today any different from yesterday?

I bumped into a site today located at www.kickstarter.com which deals with people trying to raise funds for their projects and endeavors from people around the world. The concept was pretty interesting I thought where you as the pitcher would present your idea and how much money you think you would need to start your venture.

Then, people around the world can donate money within a certain time period. The interesting part is that you only get the money if you actually reach your requested amount of funds. Likewise, the donors would only be charged if it reaches that figure too. Kind of an interesting way to protect both the pitcher and the donor.

It seems like the main stipulation at this point is the site uses Amazon.com’s tool as the payment method and from what I read the funds will be restricted to people with US accounts only. At the same time, you need a personal invitation at this point to post up your own project. Sorry guys, I don’t have one myself to pass along. But, just thought this was interesting for anyone to keep on their radar if you are looking for funds for a project or business idea.

I saw a clip from the Larry King show that had a panel of money gurus on it and were addressing the fears of a recession in the US. Now apparently there is some kind of plan down there to give families say an extra $600 a year that is going to take place in hopes that people will spend it to reinvigorate the economy.

For the most part, they were cynical on how it is only $600 which won’t do much and that in terms of a recession they viewed this time as a great event if you’re an investor as it should be time to buy with prices being low. They then dived into how people have to change their way of thinking when it comes to money as generally if you are stuck with that workers mentality when it comes to money then not surprisingly times like these will be bad for you.

The general message is very true I thought as it does have a lot to do about mindset when it comes to money. The only thing I was a little bit iffy about was the notion that $600 can’t do much. Maybe I am just one of those Internet age people, but you can definitely do a lot with $600 if you really want to. Heck, with the Internet there are so many things you can do even with no money to try and generate an income.

Even thinking of it from a more traditional view, I even see things such as people say holding their own simple speed dating events which costs them very little to do while being able to generate a profit fairly quickly. Good old fashion entrepreneurial spirit mixed with passion and ambition I guess you can say.

I guess like with the $600, even with that it comes down to mindset as you shouldn’t limit yourself to only one type of thing that you can do. Example, if I was only thinking more traditional investments such as stocks and real estate then of course that figure sounds like nothing. Expand your way of thinking. This might sound strange, but another example would be to take that $600 and invest it in yourself to become more knowledgeable as a person. Your newly acquired knowledge can end up generating great returns for you.