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If you learn web development skills to create great websites, you can just stop there - that's a business, one with relatively low overhead and requirements for bonafides. Additionally, people will start becoming much more interested in you as a job candidate because you'll have gained a valuable skill. They will not want to hire you as a top level senior executive, but if you're really good, they will give you enough money that you won't care. Problem is, learning to code is not a walk in the park.
Learning to code is not for everyone. However, you will find that the field of web development is very saturated (in terms of the number of people doing it). Try bidding on a project on Elance for web development and look at the number of proposals that are submitted for each job.
If you learn web development skills to create great websites, you can just stop there - that's a business, one with relatively low overhead and requirements for bonafides. Additionally, people will start becoming much more interested in you as a job candidate because you'll have gained a valuable skill. They will not want to hire you as a top level senior executive, but if you're really good, they will give you enough money that you won't care. Problem is, learning to code is not a walk in the park.
I might do that as well. I know HTML and CSS but find JavaScript really difficult. Not everyone has those skills, so it can help you stand out from the pack.
If you're struggling to find work, maybe learning a programming language is something to explore. Plus, it can be really fun.
I'm still entertaining the new business idea, and would like to hear some more thoughts.
Once I had a job sorting through resumes and picking out the good candidates - big red flag and not impressive at all for me was someone who claimed to have their own business. Obviously the business is unsuccessful if the person is applying for jobs, and if it only existed for a short time I wondered why they thought that was impressive at all on a resume. Just the opposite. Hi, I trashed my own business, can I come and work at yours? Not.
Once I had a job sorting through resumes and picking out the good candidates - big red flag and not impressive at all for me was someone who claimed to have their own business. Obviously the business is unsuccessful if the person is applying for jobs, and if it only existed for a short time I wondered why they thought that was impressive at all on a resume. Just the opposite. Hi, I trashed my own business, can I come and work at yours? Not.
A difference in our philosophies? I think starting your own business shows great initiative, shows you have a vision, are willing to think outside the box. It shows you are unafraid of failure. Wouldn't an executive recruiter think those traits would make a great executive?
Besides trying and failing is a lot better than not trying at all. If I failed my old business, I would hold my head up high, knowing 99% of the population was too chicken to even try.
If you learn web development skills to create great websites, you can just stop there - that's a business, one with relatively low overhead and requirements for bonafides. Additionally, people will start becoming much more interested in you as a job candidate because you'll have gained a valuable skill. They will not want to hire you as a top level senior executive, but if you're really good, they will give you enough money that you won't care. Problem is, learning to code is not a walk in the park.
I can write code that is completely clean. I can design awesome layouts and incorporate everything else required to bring a website to life. But even with these skills in-hand I would not want to try to slog it out as a solo web designer because the competition in crazy. I mean, if you want to make $500 per month and work your ass off, okay, but otherwise you'd be much better off working for a company with these skills.
The OP seems to imply that anyone who can't get a job can just be a sole-proprietor. Do you realize that being a business is several times more difficult than finding low paid work? I mean, come on, if it were that easy everyone would be doing it. And no employer will care if you were CEO of yourself if you didn't pull revenues equal to what you are requesting.
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Besides trying and failing is a lot better than not trying at all.
Without a solid business plan, it isn't. You can lose everything investing in a bad idea.
It usually takes a lot of money to start a business, unless you are super creative. Do you know how to complete business taxes? Do you want to pay someone to do them? Service type businesses will be the easiest to start with low overhead. I ran a piano teaching business that was lucrative, but only because I didn't understand the tax code very well at the time.
To OP, I admire people who try to go at it on their own; however, as most have told you, the business world doesn't think that just because you hung your own shingle and were master of your own domain that you'll be considered for an executive role in any company (large or small). You will be handling most questions about why you are closing your business and seeking employment elsewhere which will shine a light on how much you have or haven't accomplished.
If you think it's for you, then go ahead, but don't have the idea that it is little risk with huge potential reward. You'll be dedicating all your time setting up your business, filling your sales pipeline and then heaven forbid, delivering something while you continue to sell. You won't be drawing any money until you get customers and then you'll learn how much fun it is to get them to pay you in a timely manner. You'll be providing your own health insurance, not be eligible for unemployment if things don't work out and if you do business with corporations as opposed to individuals, you'll need some sort of insurance coverage to get that contract to cover you in case of an adverse event.
I did some thinking and believe I have found an excellent solution for anyone struggling with the job market. After struggling myself and wasting countless hours with no good prospects, I realized I had to find a different approach. It takes a lot of work to find a job, even a lower level job, and there's no guarantees you will like the job. You will probably earn a low salary as well, which makes it difficult in today's market.
My solution? Stop trying to get a a job. Start up your own company. Find something that there is an untapped market for that a lot of people would need (Auto-fill job application forms anyone?). Then dedicate your time, to creating that company, set up a web site, do marketing. Attend networking events to get referrals.
This way, you can call yourself a CEO, which is probably great for confidence. If your project fails, at least now you have Chief Executive Officer experience, and you can apply to senior executive roles in larger companies.
This could potentially save you decades of troubles and frustrations, while short-cutting your way to the top.
I see this as an option with little risks and enormous rewards. I absolutely see it far better as the frustrating alternative of applying to jobs.
I myself am prepared to do this. I want to know if anyone else agrees with me.
Regards,
SnowyDragon
I have been thinking along those lines myself. My region has never really recovered from the Great Recession and employers here can be incredibly choosey as a result. I'm older, and I've been looking for a job for a year with no luck. I've started thinking that if no one else will hire me, I'll just hire myself. I'm going to test the waters by creating a web site and putting ads in local papers, etc. My idea doesn't require a ton of money for start up costs and my business would just grow as I went along. I think it would work, and it certainly beats just sitting around waiting for a phone call to come in for an interview for a job that always seems to go to someone else.
Good luck to you, Mr. Brand New CEO! Hope it all works out.
In some ways, it's self defeating... if you have the skills to start your own company and get meaningful time in, you'd probably be proactive enough to seek and get work with a company anyways.
If you want to put starting your own business on your resume, obviously, you're not going to say "I was CEO of my own company, so that qualifies me to be the right hand man of your company". You translate skills that you got from that experience that someone 'working for the man' wouldn't have gotten.
Speaking of which, if you do work for yourself, you do need to cover a lot of things on your own now. Taxes are one thing, but licenses and other procedures are another. You can be a great chef, but if you run your own bakery selling cupcakes and other baked goods, you need to be able to do research on locations, purchase a location, pay the rent, pay the utilities, pay for materials, file business taxes, know the health codes associated with running a restaurant, get a license for said store, be able to provide your own advertising/marketing, at some point you may even need to hire help so you'll have to put on the hiring manager hat, etc. It is very rewarding if it works, but it's considerably more obstacles to get through now.
And please be very careful about using Kickstarter to start these business. That's hardly free $$.
March it down to your local bank and see if you can get it funded.
If they will fund it, Do No Take their money, but go find private investors who will put in equity capital to get you off the ground.
If they won't fund it, there's your answer: they think it is too risky and you should probably revise your thinking.
Starting a business is a HUGE responsibility. You need a HUGE chunk of capital, a HUGE skill set, and a VERY creative mind to pull all the pieces of product, finances, people and operations together. You have to be prepared to work at least 100 hours per week, tap every imaginable source of funding, tap every contact you have ever known, network like crazy, sell like crazy, have a GREAT product, be able to produce and deliver economically, and use your people skills in ways unimaginable.
And then, you will most likely fail. Sorry, that's simply the harsh reality.
And you think you need a job now? Wait till all of THAT is behind you and see how difficult the need for a job will be.
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