Laid-Off? Be Your Own Boss

Interest in small business is booming as unemployment rises
By Paul Stinson,  Newser User
Posted Feb 1, 2009 2:00 PM CST
Laid-Off? Be Your Own Boss
Karen Mills, President Obama's small business administration chief, speaks in late 2008. The economic stimulus package could help small businesses by allowing greater leeway to expense purchases.    (AP Photo)

The pink slips are flowing, but that’s not halting thousands from using severance packages and savings to found their own businesses, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The new gigs often bear little resemblance to past ones—one Wall Street exec now walks dogs—and differ from the economy at large: Small businesses have been “more resilient” in creating new jobs, says one economist.

And if President Obama’s stimulus is passed, small businesses could find major purchases easier to expense. However, those who strike out on their own should prepare for lean beginnings, said one dot-com casualty. “I took no salary for the first six months to make sure the bills got paid. … I didn’t get up to my Lycos salary for 2 years.” (More unemployment stories.)

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