What To Do When You Don’t Have a Job, In a Down Economy

Now that I am "unemployed" again, I feel a certain amount of fear and trepidation… what will I do with myself, now?  Of course, I wasn’t making any money before in my 100% commission position, so my earnings will probably go up in the short run.  However, the reason I was looking for better work in the first place (when I started with Marcus & Millichap earlier this summer) was to increase my long term income potential and provide more for my family.  That desire still exists.

The fact that there are constant, pervasive rumblings about the dire economy – job loss, stocks down, real estate down, etc. – certainly doesn’t add to the cheer or optimism surrounding a job search.  I’m sure many folks currently hunting for jobs can relate, especially as Christmas approaches!  Although my first choice would not be a formal 9-5 job, since I love the freedom entrepreneurial positions provide, nothing is off the table, as my immediate goal is to substantially boost my income.

In attempting to answer my own question of what to do with myself next, I am keeping my options open.

I have thought about seasonal work, I have started looking on job boards on the Internet like Monster.com, Craigslist.org, and various temporary placement agencies.  I have started putting out my networking feelers to see if anyone "knows someone" that needs help from a hard worker like me.  I am also considering freelance work and have looked at service providers at elance.com to see if they are earning anything that approaches a reasonable amount for the type of work I would enjoy doing.

Reducing Costs Isn’t the Same As Earning Money, But It Can Help!

While I’m searching, I tend to obsess a little bit about our family budget and how I can keep costs down. 

For example, there’s the issue of child care… we are currently paying $950/month for child care 4-days per week.  It’s hard to justify paying for day care when I’m arguably home "not doing anything."  Or at least, not earning enough to offset the cost of child care.

But, as we found out after Blake was born in May, it can be hard to get child care on short notice around here (it can take 3-6 months for a position to materialize at many infant day care programs) and it is probably worth "saving" his spot if I anticipate finding work again in the near future.

Here’s the current income creation plan:

1. Creating income to offset the cost of child care is my top priority, so anything I can do to earn extra money is game.  Up to a point… I have put a dollar value on my time so that I don’t wind up working at Burger King or devoting time to other menial work that will distract me from finding my passion.

   I will look for opportunities as an independent contractor where I can get hourly work or project work that will offer a high enough return to make it worthwhile.

2. I have also thought about being a residential real estate agent.  I don’t know if this is possible to do "part time" or without sacrificing all my nights and weekends when my husband and baby are home and I would like to be spending time with them.  I know I’m not a cold-calling machine now, so how would I go about building this line of work?  I love the real estate business, but I don’t love get-tough-or-die SELLING, if that makes sense.
3. Working on my blog is my second priority.    That’s US HERE!  I have heard from a number of people who have been able to turn their blog into a full time income-generating machine, so I’m going to be applying more focus to this site in the attempts of beginning to wring some money from it.  Don’t worry, dear reader, I don’t anticipate laying into the hot and heavy sales pitches.   We’ll keep it fun and useful.
4. My third priority – just because it’s a slow-moving beast – will be to explore the "formal job market" again.  Since I have been out of school, I don’t have a lot of formal work experience, and I don’t have a "field" per se that I will be focusing on.  I’d wanted to go into finance/banking earlier this summer, but with the massive layoffs and closures of banks and investment institutions across the country, I get the feeling that this is not the time to be trying to enter that field.
5. Last but not least, I am considering educational tracks that may help me improve my employability.  For example, my husband told me that he thought I could learn FLASH computer programming in about a month and that there was a guy at his office doing that full time and making 6-figures.  (Wow – is that for real?  Any thoughts on this one??)  Additionally, one of my business associates is working on completing her Certified Financial Planner education and testing.  She’s not sure what she’s going to do with it yet, but having designations and initials behind your name is always good.

Going After That Elusive Work-Life Balance

Overall, I feel really fortunate to be in a position where I am not going to SUFFER from being unemployed.  However, I want to put my talents for work to optimize my family’s income level AND life balance.

How have you, or people you know, handled being at this type of cross roads in the past?  This is new for me, I’ve never really been a full time corporate employee.  Is that the way to go?  Any books you recommend I read?

I would love to get your input!

Thank you – Emily

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