Hey you, sitting there on your computer with that blank stare… Are you looking on Monster.com again? Still unemployed? Feeling sorry for yourself right about now, too, huh?

Well STOP IT! I mean it. Right this instant, right now, cut it out. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and think about what you CAN do. You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!” Well, what’s stopping you?

So many people who are out of work are afraid to “work for themselves”. Why? What have you got to lose when you already have nothing? For many businesses these days, it takes very little capital to start. I speak from experience. I started JobShouts.com along with my partner, Michael Quale, back in January of this year. I was laid off from 2 jobs in 2008 and Michael found himself out of work with a back injury. We could have floundered but we chose not to. We’re still barely scraping by but we are building something. Something extraordinary that we hope will lead us to our fortune; or at the very least, help us pay the bills.  While we are doing this, we’re also tapping into our expertise to help bring in money. I started helping folks to re-write their resumes. I tapped into the knowledge I have that job seekers need: how to get a hiring manager to notice their resume. Some weeks I have lots of work, some weeks I have none. One thing is for sure though, I’m not sitting idle and I’m keeping my skills sharp. Sure it might not be enough to support myself on (yet?) but business is picking up through referrals so ya never know.

Meanwhile, Michael has acquired a mountain of knowledge in SEO practices and has proven his skills time and time again.  Not only with JobShouts, but with local merchants too. He’s now doing SEO consulting work and it’s building momentum also. Both of us have also bartered with customers for items we need/want, so we’re exchanging services with other local merchants helping to keep their businesses and families going strong.

The biggest benefit of all (to me) is that I am only accountable to myself for my time. If my children are sick, I am home with them. If there’s a special school function, I am there. If I want to take a whole day off and lie in the sun, I do. My point is, it’s my life and my time and I can decide best how to spend it. Maybe you feel that way too….

So what can you do? Ask yourself, “What special skill do I have? What do I like to do with my time and how can I turn that into income?” It might be a creative outlet like sewing, beading or scrapbooking. It might be that you’re a software developer who just never took the leap and tried to build his own app. Do you like dogs? How about dogwalking for your neighbors? It can be anything. Just try!

You don’t have to be wealthy to take a chance. If you’re already earning nothing, you can’t earn any less.