Struggling Job Market Boosts Entrepreneurship

ATLANTA, September 05, 2012

Thousands of Americans file first-time claims for unemployment benefits every week, while the high numbers of long-term unemployed are not even reflected in the statistics. With the unemployment rate remaining stubbornly stuck above eight percent, many of those seeking work are re-entering the working world not as salaried employees, but as self-employed entrepreneurs. "Hundreds of people launch home-based businesses every day, and thousands more want to, but don't know how to get started," said Karen Hammons, The Home Business Success Coach and author of Bringing Success Home: 19 Success Principles for Starting Your Home Business.

In both her new book, which provides principles for starting a home business, and her coaching program at HomeBusinessSuccessCoach.com, which helps members start the business of their choice, Hammons cuts through the information overload and specializes in detailed, step-by-step coaching for anyone starting a home business. She is not affiliated with any home business opportunities and does not endorse any companies. She cautions those who want to start a home business to be wary of the many get-rich-quick schemes and work-at-home scams, with their promises of working less and making more. From her own experience building an international, special-interest travel company from home, Hammons tells home business owners they should be prepared to work harder than they ever have before, reminding them that a home business is, first and foremost, a business that just happens to be based at home. "A home business, does, however, offer a lifestyle that will reward its owner for the hard work he or she invests in it," she said.

Hammons teaches a multi-prong strategy for success. "There are three key factors for achieving success in a home-based business in the shortest amount of time, and they all require someone to look inward," she said, recommending that people focus on their passion, experience, and skills to find the perfect venture. She added that even those who are choosing among legitimate business opportunities or home-based franchises, as opposed to starting a new business from scratch, should "apply these same three tests so that they are not selecting a business strictly on the promise of money."

Hammons offers several examples of how a person's skills or interests could grow into a home-based business. "Someone who is passionate about gardening could start a home business supplying and caring for plants in commercial offices and buildings, while a person with secretarial skills can become a home-based virtual assistant, and an experienced HVAC technician can launch a home-based business specializing in residential cleaning and repairs," she said.

After looking inside, Hammons teaches her members to then look outside, examining the ways people can translate that personal focus into a business that will fulfill an actual need for others. The third tip is to specialize in one area and then focus all efforts on this area. "This is the best way to stand out from the competition," she said. The example she provides is a home-based childcare service catering exclusively to nurses and healthcare professionals, who face a tremendous challenge in childcare with the various shifts they work.

The worst of the Great Recession may be behind us, but it will take years to return to pre-recession levels of employment. A home-based business may be the answer for large numbers of people whose careers were unexpectedly taken off track.

Karen Hammons, The Home Business Success Coach and author of Bringing Success Home: 19 Success Principles for Starting Your Home Business, coaches those who want to start a home business through the dynamic and step-by-step Home Business Success Coach program. As CEO of Atlanta-based Home Business Success Coach International, Inc., she is not affiliated with any home business opportunities or work-at-home jobs and does not endorse any companies. For more information, visit HomeBusinessSuccessCoach.com.