Real Business has cherry-picked some of the best bits from an article on “How to turn unemployment into the good life” from Asylum.co.uk. Here’s how to turn unemployment into opportunity.Pick a recession-proof nicheErnie Zelinski has published a list of the Best Recession Jobs for wannabe entrepreneurs. Among the most lucrative are: debt collector, shoe repairman and bankruptcy lawyer. But there are whole industries guaranteed to weather a recession well. Careers in alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals and “erotic services” are practically fail-safe careers. As Trekkie Monster from the hit West End musical Avenue Q attests: “In volatile market, only stable investment is porn!”
Lean to speak optimist”In the Chinese language, ‘crisis’ and ‘opportunity’ are the same characters,” says Zelinski. “Substitute ‘opportunity’ for ‘problem’. When I got fired from my job over 28 years ago, it was very traumatic. But it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Orson Scott Card said that ‘unemployment is capitalism’s way of getting you to plant a garden’. Don’t freak out just because you got laid off or fired — sell the produce from your garden.”
Start a business and outsource everythingOnce you’ve exhausted your meagre savings to start a business, don’t waste valuable cash on employing full-time staff. Instead, find cheap contractors as far afield as the Ukraine and India to handle specific projects for minimum outlay. Zelinski recommends Elance.com; Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek,” puts his money on Indian service, Brickwork.
Pay less taxOnce you’ve left the corporate treadmill behind, your self-employed status provides a tax haven of sorts. “Your home office, travel expenses, even your book purchases, may qualify as tax deductions,” says Barbara Winter. “This is one of those invisible perks of self-employment, although it becomes more apparent at tax time.” Save every single receipt, think creatively about the products and services that are integral to your “job” – if you have to look presentable for client meetings, surely a haircut is tax-deductable? – and start saving.
To read the whole article, go to Asylum’s website.
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