Recently, I was scrolling through my LinkedIn account and noticed a connection of mine liked a post written by a recently unemployed copywriter named Joseph Bae. The copywriter said, “Unemployment is a beach cocktail on a Tuesday afternoon.”
You can’t help but keep reading after seeing an opening line like that.
Bae went on to say that while it’s not ideal to lose your job and that he misses his duties and team, he loves he is able to do so much right now. Being unemployed allows him to reconnect with friends and family, hear his own thoughts, and become curious about the world again.
“In confusing times, it’s much more productive (and fun) to focus on what makes me curious, happy, and grateful,” Bae wrote on LinkedIn.
The rising trend I’ve noticed in furloughed and unemployed individuals sharing their stories online is optimism. This trying time has given us the gift of valuable time that must be spent wisely. For many, that means embracing entrepreneurship and starting a small business or side hustle they are passionate about.
Here’s why even the most unprecedented time in your career is actually the perfect time to lean into entrepreneurship.
This is the chance to do what you love and find your purpose
In the “normal times” many individuals came up with excuses to avoid doing the things they enjoyed, like drawing or exercising regularly. You could blame commuting or running errands for making you too busy to take time to engage your creative side. You could say money was too tight to take an online class. You could even propose the argument that you shouldn’t pursue a passion project and focus on work instead because work paid while the dream didn’t.
The switch has completely flipped now. You have the time to reflect and focus on what you are passionate about.
Entrepreneurship allows you to become a student again
Use this time to do more than what you love. It’s time to find your purpose. Challenge yourself to get curious. Embrace a “student of life” mentality and get ready to learn — perhaps in a whole new field than you ever thought your career would pivot towards.
Learn more by enrolling in relevant online classes. Conduct research into aspects of your industry you’ll like to know more about. Speak to people who are entrepreneurs about how they got their start and seek out mentors. Network online to get your name out there and establish visibility for yourself.
Create a business plan outline for how you plan to move ahead with your budding idea. Once your idea starts to take legs and progress forward as a small business, you’ll need to incorporate the company and start filing for necessary trademarks.
Entrepreneurship helps form positive habits
The decision to become an entrepreneur is one that changes your life forever. Becoming an entrepreneur allows you to become the master of your own destiny. If you struggled to figure out where you wanted to be in the next five years or felt like you weren’t advancing in your career, picking up a creative side hustle and focusing on growing it into a business has the power to make all the difference.
Entrepreneurship, however, is still hard work. That will never change. Being an entrepreneur requires motivation, discipline, and grit. You have to put forth all of your energy and passion for everything you do. If you fall off the horse, you have to be ready and willing to keep getting back on. In this unprecedented time especially, there is no way you can expect to snap your fingers and easily coast towards your goals.
Part of succeeding as an entrepreneur means being able to create positive habits and kicking default poor habits to the curb. This will help you stay as motivated as possible and thrive moving forward. Forming positive habits and establishing habit systems is more effective than setting generic, vague goals. If your goal is to become a famous food blogger, the habits leading up to this must match the end goal. They should involve a system of regular practices, like coming up with unique recipes and learning how to professionally photograph meals.
Ultimately, good, positive habits compound in your life now and in the next five years. If you find that you spend this time lingering in bad habits, like watching reality TV or procrastinating on a side dream, you won’t be in a better place five years into the future. If you practice good habits now and continue to fill your life with positivity, you and your side endeavors will be defined by those habits. Change your habits, change your life, and ultimately, become the master of your own destiny.