Recession-proof strategy 5: Build

- When recessions come, options disappear but when you build something new, options reappear. If you build a business, you won't need to dig into your current job, hide in school or run to a new place or profession because you create your own opportunities. There are lots of good reasons to start a business. It forces you to get better at many different things like marketing, sales, organization and project management. That will make you a more insightful businessperson and a more seasoned professional. Just don't invest money you don't have. That way even if the business fails, you'll come out of a business venture smarter, savvier and stronger than before. Starting a business also means being paid what you're worth because let's face it, the only person who will pay you want you're worth is you. Everyone else will pay you less because otherwise they wouldn't be making a profit off of having you as an employee and when it comes to recessions, believe it or not, a recession can be the best time to start a business. Many successful companies were founded in a downturn, GE, IBM, GM, Disney, Tuile's Cookies, Burger King, Microsoft, CNN and even Apple. Very few people want to build a business when the economy is rocking and bonuses are at record levels. I started my business in my kitchen in 2009. The economy was still recovering from the Great Recession. I knew that bonuses would be low, so this was a good time to start a business. It all comes down to the idea of opportunity cost. In a nutshell, that means that you have to give up something to get something else. If you start a serious business, you really can't hold down a full-time job somewhere else. When the economy is bad, your opportunity costs for starting a business are low. You might not be giving up much in terms of other lost opportunities if you start a business during a recession. If you're out of work, you're not sacrificing a great job to start a business. If your job stinks because all your colleagues left and you got stuck with their extra workload, you're not sacrificing much if you quit that job and start a business. In consulting, when things were getting tough, I knew some consultants who were working 16 hours day on client development project but they were bringing in zero billable hours. What you are giving up by leaving then? Nothing. On top of that, starting your business means hiring staff during a recession, there gonna be lots of qualified people looking for work and they'll be usually willing to work for less. To start a successful business, first you need to figure out what your value proposition is. Value proposition is consultant speak for what you bring to the table. It's the thing that makes you and your business special, the thing that you can provide to your customers that they can't get elsewhere. So, can you start a low capital business that has low startup costs, one that you can get off the ground without spending too much money? You might wanna be the next Steve Jobs but even he started in his garage with a couple of screwdrivers. Of course, it's also important to keep in mind that starting a business is hard and it might not work out but one of the best times to give it a try is during a recession.