Here are some ideas: (Your ideas are also welcome to supplement the following list)
Temporary Placements and Part-time Jobs
It is the best time to find some freelancing work since you know that full-time jobs might not be coming your way easily this year.
Read some tips at: Alternatives to a Permanent Full Time Job
Career in Sales
Some of the jobs that might pay off your bills and also give you the recently lost self-worth might be in the life-insurance and other financial products. The positive aspects of such jobs are that the company hiring you provides you complete training, benefits and options to work part-time or full time. You could explore job possibilities at the reputed insurance giants as New York Life and MetLife or explore those in your local area.
Your Hobbies Your Passion Your New Business
People may not have lots of money to spend on new clothes or eat out at a restaurant, but when it comes to spending on their kids skills development, education and even recreation or for that matter in just keeping them busy; they would be willing to spare a few bucks by cutting on other non-essential expenses. Now what that means towards generating an income for you depends on your current skills and experience.
No not necessarily your professional skills but your non-academic may come to use if you are passionate enough. Explore the possibilities of a home based business and it can very well be taken to a multi-million dollar business with proper planning and insight. Alright, here we are not talking about multi-million dollars flowing in anyone’s pocket right now but having a long-term vision pays off eventually. There is an interesting article you might enjoy reading on CNN Money titled: 6 companies born during downturns.
Some ideas here:
Do you play the piano well, or the guitar, or know a special dance form, or good at tutoring – Maths, Science etc., do you know a language that people in your area might be interested in learning, or how about cooking, sewing, or soccer – are you good at it?
The point is first know what you are best at and what you love doing? If you can teach something interesting or in demand – you have a home business up and running at the same time.
Think about how can you turn your passion/hobby into a new home based business?
Always remember the three “P”s that can help you succeed: Passion, Perspective, Persistence, Plan and Patience.
- “Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion”
- There has never been a short cut to success – be persistent.
- Always have a broader perspective on your idea and where you want to go; expand your outlook and find out how viable or in demand are your ideas.
- Plan your actions; plan your day; prepare a plan on revenue generation. “If you fail to plan you plan to fail”.
- “He that can have Patience, can have what he will”
For more information on how to set up a home business covering all legal issues check out these websites (some are country specific, you might want to first check on what support your government provides in setting up a small or home-based business):
- US Small Business Administration (SBA)
- Entrepreneur.com
- A good list of websites which offer valuable business advice is here “15 Websites To Sharpen Your Business Skills“
Have a Well kept House and a Good Location? Why not Start a Bed n’ Breakfast
Of course this is a big job too; one of your best bets is to start with reading something like “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running a Bed and Breakfast”, you might get an idea if it is a viable solution and whether this is what you want to do.
Online Cash
There is money in internet business and other web based jobs if you have the skills to harness this exciting frontier. People make money blogging, filling surveys, selling stuff or running an eBay business, selling your own products or someone else’s online etc. and can diversify quickly into multiple stream of income. But howsoever exciting and easy it may sound, you still have to put in a lot of time and effort and also the income that you generate might not be enough to sustain your financial needs. But again if you have spousal help and expertise towards technical knowhow then this could be a good target of so called ‘passive’ income, but again, do not assume that the return would be instant or you shall see good profits in 3-6 months. Read and research before spending a lot of time on any one particular income generation stream.
Get Ready to Explore the New Industries
The job market condition is deplorable and very few companies are hiring nationwide. What does it mean to you? Some new industries are thriving in the current economic downturn and perhaps more federal funds may be diverted to the ‘clean tech’ or ‘green jobs’ try out the new industries and see how you can reapply your skills in these industries. Also this could be a good time to start honing your skills towards the new jobs of the future.
Network to Explore Possibilities
Often new ideas come to us when we discuss with other like-minded or sometimes even completely opposite-minded people. It is not the time to hole yourself in the house and double your stress level, make sure that you step out, meet with friends and find other opportunities to network with others, for example career seminars and job fairs in your city and other workshops that the employment agencies are coming up with.
And another piece of advice – be ready to recreate and diversify and, if possible relocate where the jobs are.
What has been your experience, would appreciate if you can also pitch in some ideas to supplement the following list, please add your ideas and suggestions to the comments below.