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42
December 10 • 2009
career coach
How To Survive
A
After
Pauline lost
24 Pounds!
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL
re your numbers down
when you check them at
the end of every day? Are
your challenges so great
you cannot see the light at the end
of the tunnel? Are you out of work?
I am writing this column just
hours after the U.S. Department
of Labor announced the economy
shed 190,000 jobs in October and
the unemployment rate
reached a 26-year high of
10.2 percent.
So what are you to
do while waiting for the
economy to recover?
Put on that survival
cap. Take some advice
from Strategic Staffing
Solutions founder, presi-
dent and CEO Cynthia
Pasky, who started her
business "with one per-
son, a phone and a lot of
debt" during a downturn on the eve
of the Gulf War. Today, she is one of
Detroit's great success stories; her
IT staffing and consulting firm is still
going strong and growing interna-
tionally.
"You can believe the sky is falling
or figure out how to survive," Pasky
says often. "Don't ever put barriers
up or you will never see the path."
I've written about staying relevant,
avoiding the buggy whip industry
and maintaining a positive attitude
in these tough times. Now, let's
focus on doing what it takes to stay
in the game.
You can wait for the economy to
turn around (perhaps not until some
time next year) and possibly watch
your debt pile high or you can con-
sider starting anew. Is your back-
ground in commercial construction?
Consider residential maintenance.
Do you specialize in retail? Check
out online business opportunities.
Go to where the customer is.
There is a silver lining in this
month's labor report. Health care
companies added significant num-
bers of jobs to their payrolls and
the number of temporary workers
increased substantially — gains that
could indicate employers are begin-
ning to expand their businesses
again. Figure out how you can add
value through a new business in
one of these areas.
Look around and assess what
people need. Ask questions. What
are people buying? Where are they
cutting? You might be able to fulfill
an unmet need.
Be smart. Develop a business
plan. Seek professional advice from
a coach or a mentor and figure out
what you need. The Service Core of
Retired Executives is just one group
offering free advice in business
startups.
Next, make sure you
have adequate fund-
ing. One of the biggest
reasons that small busi-
nesses and startups
fail is that they are
under-funded — and
money is available.
The U.S. government
has expanded funding
opportunities through
the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act
of 2009, freeing up
government funds to assist start-
ing or growing small businesses.
Your personal banker might just
have someone on staff specializing
in loans from the Small Business
Administration. It just takes one call
to get your information.
Take advantage of the opportu-
nities that abound during a down
cycle. It is easy to find reasons to
not start anew, but focus on the
reasons to just do it:
• Rent is cheap (especially if you
start out of your home).
• Government funds are available
for startups and expansions. Some
grants may be available for minority
businesses.
• Workers are cheaper, and
perhaps more talented, in a down
economy.
• If you've been laid off and there
are no jobs, what else do you have
to do?
Whatever you do, don't give up.
Follow the lead of Pasky, who did
things the old-fashioned way. She
frequented establishments where
potential customers were regulars.
She did her homework, researching
them and brushing up on their skills,
interests and strengths. She made
cold calls. She never complained
and she never gave up. I
Robert Sher, CPA, is a certified executive
coach. He is former CFO for Schostak
Brothers & Company, Livonia. His e-mail
address is: info@bobshercom.