Occupy Wall Street protests started on Wall Street, but it has since spread to business owners on streets all across America.
Matt Cheuvront, a 25-year-old entrepreneur based in Nashville, Tenn., was all too familiar with the frustrations the Occupy Wall Street protesters are expressing. After being laid off from an online marketing firm soon after graduating college, Cheuvront witnessed firsthand the difficulty of trying to secure a job in a tight market, with little experience.
He began freelancing and making good money on the side, when he began to consider starting up his own business. Over drinks one night with a friend, Sam Davidson, in summer of 2009, they decided to create Proof Branding. Today, the company has five additional employees that work on a contractual basis.
“One thing that separates those who are, and those who want to be, entrepreneurs is action,” he said. “I realized the leap into entrepreneurship wasn’t as terrifying as I thought it would be. You need to take calculated leaps of faith.”
You also have to be willing to make it work, no matter what, Cheuvront, a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, said. Consider your worst-case scenario, and how you can survive.
“It may be less than stellar for the long-term, like having to move home or taking a job at Best Buy to get the rent paid,” he said. “People usually think their worst-case scenario is much worse than it actually is.”