Recession Turns Many Laid Off Workers Into Entrepreneurs
Desperate for a job? How does CEO with a six-figure salary and flexible hours sound?
With fewer jobs available and more people feeling shut out of the labor market, many would-be 9-5ers chose to go out on their own.
Challenging economic times can encourage entrepreneurial capitalism, according to a recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. More than half, or 51%, of the companies on the Fortune 500 list this year began during a recession or bear market or both, according to the study.
And while it may be difficult to get off the ground, some start-ups are flourishing in the current economic climate.
Julie Trade became her own boss after her husband was laid off in 2007. With a background in marketing, the former stay-at-home mom, 40, launched her own marketing communications business from a spare bedroom in Scottsdale, Ariz., drafting advertising and press materials for her clients.
Since her husband struggled for nearly a year to find another full-time job and they had a young baby, “I figured the best solution was to work from home.”
Trade thought she could earn a little extra cash for the family while her husband searched for a new job. But as the recession worsened, her business began to take off.
“I thought I’d get a couple of clients to make ends meet while he was looking for work,” she said. “But what happened was my business kind of went crazy.”
Now Trade logs 40 hours a week, mostly between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. plus evenings and weekends, while her sons, ages 2 and 5, are asleep. “During the day I’m still a stay-at-home mom,” Trade said.
That’s a stay-at-home mom with a six-figure salary.
Trade estimates that she now makes twice what she did when she was working full-time before having children.
Image from Sourdough Communications
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