The number of unemployed people age 45 and older has ballooned to 2.3 million. White-collar workers represent 46% of all people who were without work for 27 weeks or more in 2002, reports Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm. Many will never again find work at existing companies.
Out of such dreary statistics comes a new class of self-starter, the accidental entrepreneur–someone who never considered owning a business until there was no other option. These entrepreneurs are making tough choices for themselves and their families, living in reduced circumstances, doing without the corporate comforts and resources they once took for granted, sometimes succeeding, very often failing, invariably struggling. But at least they’re not waiting for the phone to ring.
Monday we asked our readers if they were ‘Accidental Entrepreneurs”, 64 per cent answered YES and 36 per cent said NO. Thanks to all for their participation.
Photo by flaivoloka.