I met a person the other day who recently got laid from his work due to the business closing down and as a result he went with the self employment route. While he had the skills to do the work, his biggest barrier is his language as he couldn’t exactly speak English in a fluid and confident manner.
It was kind of interesting as despite his work, not even referrals could keep him afloat and as a result he moved into a community within an area that speaks his native tongue as he felt that was the only way to survive in getting business. He did indeed get more business that way.
Currently, he still doesn’t get enough to make a comfortable living and again he is planning to move into another area purely for business reasons. That’s kind of an interesting approach. In a situation like this I think it would be better to find people to work with. Example, if he is the one that is good in building things then finding someone that’s good at selling would be a good match.