It is the worst of times and it is the best of times.
By objective and realistic economic indicators, the US economy never recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, and is now standing on the precipice of another crisis due to the government repeating the same mistakes and kicking the can down the road.
Despite the often rosy government economic statistics (that discount large and important factors), the outlook for the modern economy is not good, as indicators of economic slowdown and another financial crisis are everywhere.
For many, the hectic pace of the 9 to 5 working in a corporate job has become a drudgery and they long to pursue their dreams and fully develop their God-given potential through a life of entrepreneurship.
The internet and other modern technologies have made the dream of launching a business and becoming a successful entrepreneur a more accessible reality for millions of Americans. The faltering economy mired in sub-par performance since 2008 has made considering such a path a necessity for many who would never have done so before. When you’re unemployed and businesses are not hiring full time employees, you have to start looking at all the options, even those outside your comfort zone.
Even if you continue a job search until you find good part time or full time employment, you should seriously consider starting a home based business while you do that, because there’s no better time to start than now.
If the labor market remains abysmal, starting now will allow you to build momentum with a new income source, and even if you find a job in the short term, having an already-started home business gives you a ready-made option you can turn to if you become unemployed again in the future.
It’s much easier to ramp up an existing part-time business to generate additional income than it is to wait until you exhaust all other options before starting.
And for all the young people who are facing the worst labor market in a century (unemployment amongst recent college graduates is at or above 50%), now is certainly the best time to start building skills and a business while you have low expenses and don’t have a family to provide for.
So let’s look at a few key areas to get started planning your path to entrepreneurship. You need to consider the following to determine the best course of action for you to pursue:
- How will you acquire business skills?
- How will you acquire experience?
- How will you start your first venture?
Acquiring Business Skills
There are a wide variety of ways to acquire the skills you need to run a business. It’s important, however, to understand the difference between knowledge acquisition and experience acquisition. While knowledge can be gained through experience, experience is not usually gained just through knowledge acquisition. So while it’s important to look for the best sources of learning to help you build your understanding of business, your judgment will be honed through experience gained by doing, which I’ll cover a bit later.
Read the rest of this post on the AME Program blog.
Learn More in this Exclusive Webinar Training
Learn from my journey to entrepreneurship in a special webinar training session on this topic. You will learn:
- How to determine what kinds of businesses to focus on
- How to develop your business skills
- How to evaluate business opportunities
- Different models for home-based businesses
- How you can involve your children in your business
- The top lessons from my personal experience
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Presenter Jason Matyas is a husband, father of seven, lifelong gardener, Air Force veteran, and visionary entrepreneur with a wide-ranging background. He is a marketing strategist and business consultant, and has been Founder or Co-Founder of six startups. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Beyond Off Grid, a documentary film and media project designed to inspire and equip people to live a life less dependent upon the modern economy.