Xigaware

Have you recently been laid off?

Have you found that the recession has really hurt your ability to find a new job to replace your old one?

Today’s Situation

If so, you have lots of company.  Since the beginning of the recession in December, 2007, more than 5.7 million jobs have been lost.  According to the Associated Press (AP), after the May 8th release of the April, 2009 unemployment numbers:

• 13.7 million individuals were unemployed in April, 2009, and that was the biggest number since 1948
• 539,000 jobs were lost in April alone
• 8.9% unemployment (the highest since September, 1983), but if workers who’ve been laid off and just given up or accepted part-time work, are included, that number jumps to 15.9% unemployment – the highest since 1994

If you’ve been out of work for more than a month, you may be feeling frustrated, or maybe even a little overwhelmed as you observe the pages of the calendar turn, with still no job on the horizon.  In addition to this immediate financial crisis, you’re probably concerned about the long term effects as well (e.g., college education for your kids, a comfortable retirement for you and your spouse).

There are essentially three options in this situation:

1. Freak out
2. Continue doing what you’ve always been doing (the same things that haven’t yet found you a new job), or
3. Try something different

Option 1:  Freak Out

The first option, panic, is entirely counter-productive, and should be avoided at all costs.  A little fear is an excellent motivator – it can help us get out of a dangerous situation by energizing us to either run or fight. Panic, however, overloads our system, resulting in fuzzy thinking, confusion, fatigue, and gets us nowhere.

Option 2:  Continue Doing What You’ve Been Doing

If doing what you have been doing had been successful for you, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now.  If you keep doing the same-old, same-old, you’re going to end up in the same place that you already are.

This economy has proved to be very challenging – good people I know have been unemployed for six months or more.  Despite doing all the “right things” (e.g, answering help wanted ads and sending out resumes), what have they got to show for all that effort?  Zero.

Not very many people are getting hired in this economy; many people are not even getting callbacks from their resumes.

Option 3:  Try Something Different

The third option – do something different – seems to be the only plausible solution.  With so many possibilities, how do you even know where to begin?

Why don’t you start an online business .

• Let this be the last time that anyone will ever lay you off, or outsource your job.
• Don’t continue to sell your soul to the company store.

Become your own boss!  Start a home based business!

A superb starting place for gleaning all the necessary knowledge about internet marketing that you’ll need is to sign up for the Online Success for Beginners classes.

Home-based businesses account for approximately 7 billion annually and provides many tax benefits, more control over your time, your work, and your income.  Using the Law of Large Numbers, like insurance companies do, you can minimize your income risks during this recession. They spread the risk of loss across thousands or millions of policyholders.

If you start an online business, you could be spreading your recessionary risks across millions of potential customers, multiple geographic regions, and even, multiple countries.   Thus, to increase your financial stability and security, do like the insurance companies do – apply the Law of Large Numbers to your personal financial situation.while building a life of your dreams

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If you love cooking and are a very social person then starting your own catering business could be piece of cake! Have you always wanted to get into the cooking / restaurant industry and be your own boss? You already possess the natural talent and skill to build your empire and supply your clients with some of the finest cuisine that the world has yet to taste. Add those great qualities to an upbeat attitude, relaxed personality and your business accumen then you are already in business.

Catering businesses all around the world are lucrative and they play a very important role in our society. Catering events can range from children’s birthday parties to fifty year anniversary parties. The prices change for each event, depending on the number of guests, the style of food, like a buffet for example, and many other factors, but if you pay attention to the bottom line, you stand to make some seriously good money.

You’ll need a business license, so will need to Google the details of how you would get a license in your home state. If you need extra help, you should consider contacting other small business owners in your area to get a little guidance. I can be sure they would be ready and willing to assist you.

Starting your own catering business from home will prove to be an extremely tedious, profitable and a rewarding move for yourself and your family. People working nine to five Monday through Friday will envy your gull and courage to take on such a venture with the way our economy is going as of right now.

They will all see that soon the economy will get better and going into business for you allows you the opportunity to employ others who too, are in need of a little assistance right now; it is a win-win situation for everyone. Remember this is a journey, that you want to make good money but also have fun in the process.

What is your budget? You definitely want to begin this venture with the mind-set of a true entrepreneur so you should have a realistic budget and utilize all of your financial resources to make this dream become your reality.

You do not have to have millions of on-hand dollars but it is important to know that many catering businesses can begin on as little as one thousand dollars or as much as eighty to ninety thousand dollars, this dollar amount will vary depending on the kitchen appliances you purchase as well as the cutlery, napkins, food and storage containers and many other factors including your staff.

Depending on your client, you may find that you do more onsite cooking than in your own kitchen or facility; so consider renting appliances and other tools to cut down on expenses on unnecessary equipment. You can definitely purchase supplies and kitchen equipment later on when you begin to bring in revenue and you are not still using your startup funds.

In the beginning, you may have to put out more money than you initially intended to but as long as it is a necessity then everything that you put into your business you will get out if later because any successful business will have fruits of the labor to show for in the end.

Who will you get to work for you? It is my belief that family can be an incredibly big help when beginning any business, especially one that they will directly benefit. Do not pick those relatives who want to get paid the big bucks from the start because you cannot afford to do so. Do not hire those people who cannot be managed or will not listen to you because of your role in the family.

This is your business and make sure the people you select respect and support your decisions. If you happen not to choose family members to assist you then keep your staff to a minimum because you do not have to hire a lot of people in order to run a successful catering company. Make sure you conduct interviews and discuss compensation and hours up front so there will not be any confusion or misunderstandings later. Be professional at all times because people are going to constantly be watching and waiting for you to fail or succeed; either way always bring your “A” game.

It helps if you had some type of formal culinary training but this is not a necessity when beginning your business. You might want to take a couple of weeks to train your staff and work out an organization plan. You’ll need to go over the food preparation and presentation, the table decorations and other details that both clients and guests appreciate at the event.

Remember your reputation will always be in question from the start of the event until it is over so make your first and last impression one worth acquiring your services again.

Who will be your clients? You need to be making money so think twice before you turn anyone away. You’ll want to make up some flyers and network with friends, relatives and former colleagues to let them know about your catering services.

As you can see, you already have everything that you need to start your catering business. It’s great to see you are ready to take the initiative, take charge of your life and go after what you want.

For more food related business ideas have a look on http://www.funcareers.com for more details on how to Start a Catering Business and where they list even more information on home businesses like Starting a Bed and Breakfast Business, even a Dog Bakery Business!

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So you’re going to to leave your job and start your own home business. Good for you! Risks are necessary if you want to see big returns. Unfortunately, risks are also, well, risky. You are essentially gambling on your ability to make your small business work. However, there are ways to make your start-up less of a gamble. In order to do that, you must have a well conceived plan and be ready to deal with the risk that you are about to take.

The first thing you need to do is reduce or eliminate your debts. If you have outstanding debts, you need to get that debts pared down as much as possible. Credit cards and the payments can be hard to manage even when you are working a regular job, much less while you are trying to get your business up and running. If you can pay off the cards, pay them off. That is the best way to take care of your high-interest debt.

However, if you cannot pay off your credit card bills, one excellent way of reducing your credit card debt is to take out a debt-consolidation loan. By combining your high-interest credit card payments into one low interest loan, you can ease a lot of your burden. There are many places that provide debt-consolidation loans including banks, credit unions, and debt-management companies.com. Of course, it is much easier to secure a loan while you are working, so you should probably do this well before you put in your two-weeks’ notice.

Another thing you have to consider is health insurance. In case you had not noticed, health insurance is very expensive. Having an employer pay those monthly fees is one of the good things about a regular job. But when you are out on your own, you will need to take care of health insurance on your own.

If you quit your job, you will usually be given the option of keeping your health insurance. This is good, because they will cover pre-existing conditions that would otherwise leave you paying both health insurance dues and your medical expenses. However, continuing health insurance coverage can also be very expensive and usually is only available for a certain period of time. Check out your options and have a clear plan for insurance in place before you leave your present job. Get several quotes from different companies and check the policies for their rules on coverage.

The third — and the most important — thing is to figure out just how you are going to pay for all this. Your business needs income if it is going to survive. So be ready. The best way to ensure you have an income is to have clients lined up ready to go. Get your name out there before you leave your current job. Start selling yourself and your business to prospective clients and see what happens. The best market research you can do is to market yourself and see what happens. Then, when you have some contracts signed, you will know that there is water in the pool before you dive in.

Leaving your job to start a small business is as exciting as it is stressful. But, with proper planning, you can make that move with confidence. By knowing what you will need and having it in place beforehand, you will be able to make that move with success already on the way.

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