When things get unstable in the workforce the unemployed tend to look towards self-employment as an alternative. However, the switch isn’t for the faint of heart. You have to feel a certain dedication to what you want to do before you can succeed with it. Alexia Parks for The Huffington Post recently touched on the subject with her own idea of what the government should do to help them get launched.
Currently, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) has set aside a few million for encouraging entrepreneurship under its Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME). This is a step in the right direction. Under this program, selected nonprofit organizations across the country are being funded to deliver business and personal development training programs to the microentrepreneur.
What is missing, in my mind, is the heat of a “grass fire.” Media and government support for the microentrepreneur should be sweeping across the land like a grass fire.
Statistics report that only one in five people find a job at a job fair. This means that for every job offered, there are four people left empty handed, who go home jobless and depressed. How many of those who are turned away might qualify for training and funding as a microentrepreneur? To fan the flames, there should be a one-stop-shop for micro entrepreneurs — like a MAC Shop — at every job fair.
Let’s focus on those who are turned away in overwhelming numbers. Let’s mentor those who choose the path of the entrepreneur, and find out what they really want to do with their life. The life of a microentrepreneur is not for the risk-adverse.
Are they ready to try something new? Are they physically and mentally up for the challenge of running their own business? If so, let them “opt in” to this program and “opt out” of the unemployment check. There’s the risk.
Enroll them in a training program that provides them with essential business skills, then offer a special reward as a “graduation” present.
Photo by RuTemple