My wife and I got married November 22, 2008. Three months prior to our wedding I decided to be ambitious and take on a part time job delivering pizzas to offset the nearing costs. In the 11 weeks, I was given only 3-5 hours a week to work and earned approximately $600. The effort was exhausting as I had a full time job as a Mechanical Engineer so I quit my part-time job 1 month before the wedding.
No kidding aside, the day I returned from my Honeymoon I was laid off from my full-time position. With a mortgage, massive student loans, and great debt from our wedding I was so stressed I could not sleep for a week. I filed for unemployment and constantly pursued a new job. I was told that I qualified for the maximum unemployment amount of $541 a week. Two weeks later I opened my first letter from the state expecting some financial assistance but instead read a letter of review.
Because I quit a job that could not even pay for one of my student loans after 11 weeks of work, the state deemed me unqualified for financial assistance. Though I worked 45 hours a week for my full time engineering position, the 3-5 hours a week delivering pizzas was to deny my financial security.
I immediately appealed and waited for weeks. Finally, after 6 weeks of high anxiety I received a letter. This letter told me that they were behind and a decision would not be available for a few more weeks. Now being 8 weeks into a job search I received not one call-back; I began to panic.
No one was hiring, and the state was doing nothing to help me. On my own, I decided to start a business. My wife was supportive but we were so broke I had to start something that would require no capital investment. I looked on Craigslist and found a talented web designer who was looking for work. We agreed on a business model that if I brought in clients, did all the finances, that he would support me by creating the product. Industrious Online (www.IndustriousOnline.com) was born.
In the three months Industrious Online has been around, it now has 4 full-time employees not including myself. Our sales are growing rapidly as we offer a great product at less than half the price of our local competition.
In these poor economic times, do not rely on the government or someone else to give you a handout. There is so much "red tape" involved you may not find out you have been denied assistance until it is too late. Stay ambitious, stay smart, and work hard. Even in the worst recession since the Great Depression can small businesses find great success.
Please visit my companies website www.IndustriousOnline.com, and show it to anyone you may know in need of our services. Thank you.
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