In these difficult economic times with the number of people out of work fast approaching 2.5m in the UK and 13.5m in the US, the competition for jobs is at an all-time high.  Job centres have queues out the doors, and HR managers have inboxes of applications the size of Snowdon!

So what are the alternatives for people wanting to get back to work?  Well, there are lots of other options available to the dedicated job hunter.  This article gives an overview of the top three alternatives compared to working for someone else.

Start You Own Business

Despite what people and the media say, now is actually a good time to start a business, as just with boom times that create seemingly limitless opportunities, so too does an economic downturn (recession).  In fact, economic downturns actually create fantastic opportunities.  In the words of James Khan, a true business person will look at what other people are doing and do the exact opposite!  This is certainly true if you take the housing market as an example – now is actually the best time to buy if you’ve got the finance.  There are some fantastic bargains out there that will yield significant long-term results.  The key is to look for opportunities that the economic situation creates, and quickly react to satisfy the need.

Overall Risk:       high

Pros:                      potentially high profit / truly your own boss

Cons:                     start up costs / finance maintenance / rate of return / risk of success

Franchise

Starting a franchise is a safer option compared to starting your own business – why?  Well, it’s all to do with being established, i.e. brand and processes.  The whole business model is defined, and proven right down to projected profit returns.  If you follow the business model to the letter then the chances of success are extremely high.  A good place to start is to buy a copy of ‘What Franchise’ and read up on other peoples’ experiences.  However, be aware that it’s not a 100% guarantee of success – it will be up to you to put the hard work and effort in.

Overall Risk:       medium

Pros:                      established brand / established processes / cheaper set-up costs

Cons:                     constrained by franchise rules / initial investment

Work From Home Opportunities (WFH)

There are lots of ‘work from home opportunities’ out there, however, I’m sure you’ll notice that not much information is given in their advertisements.  This is because the jobs are usually highly repetitive, or can be difficult to yield successful results.  However, there are some golden nugget opportunities if you look hard, so it’s always worth considering them – however, make sure you do your research, and try to find other real people that have been successful in the role.

Alternatively, you can also take control of the WFH route, and proactively advertise your skills – there are numerous freelance sites out there that people can post their skills / experience on.  Companies with a specific recruitment need scour these sites looking for suitable people.  A good example of a freelance job site is elance.com

Overall Risk:       low

Pros:                      no financial investment / flexible hours / potential return

Cons:                     tend to be repetitive tasks / no benefits (sick pay etc) / you’ll have to work hard!

We’ve just launched a new and exciting sales role opportunity at Wampit®.  Please visit our other blog announcing the job to find out more information.