What Would You Say?

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by CopyCub

Let's say that I literally had nothing. Say I had $478.22 to my name and I've been unemployed for the last 9 months. I had no real friends like the type that would let you crash at their house if you needed to. I'm without a car because I sold it to pay off some debt to keep me out of legal trouble.

Say my wife wanted me out of the house after the first of the year so her boyfriend can move in. Say most of my family has passed or in jail and that I'm only left with a second cousin in another state that I only talk to around the holiday's.

Say I've been looking a job with no success and Home Depot won't hire me because they think I'll split once I get another office job.

Say I've studied internet marketing and direct mail for a few years just never did anything with it. Say I've tried to get some offline clients but haven't seemed to land any yet.

Where would you start to pick up the pieces, start making money and get your life back together?

Hi Matt,

That's a pretty dire picture!

I think the first step is that the person in your scenario has to somehow take care of the basics... like food and shelter.

(I'll just say "you" from now on, rather than "the person in your scenario"... It's understood I just mean the general "you", not a specific person "you".)

That has to be the first step.

$478.22 - if you're extremely frugal - can take care of that for a little while.

You might even be able to get accommodation and/or food cheaper or even for free in return for doing some work. There are some businesses and organizations which will do this - you do some work, and get accommodation and/or food at a reduced cost or even free.

Once you've got a place to stay for a little while and some food to eat, then you need to take care of a regular income.

What you should do really depends on your skills, background, contacts, and so on. I don't think there is a "one size fits all answer" - since the best thing for me to do might be quite different from the best thing for you to do, because of our possible differences in personality, skills, knowledge, interests, people we know, etc.

I would sit down and make a big list of all the possible things I could feasibly do to make an income, with low risk, and relatively fast. (You don't have the "security" to try high risk things right now, I would say, with just $478.22 minus your food and accommodation costs to your name. And that $478.22 isn't going to last long, so you need the income relatively quickly.)

Take into account all your skills, past experience, your knowledge, any qualifications you have, the opportunities available to you where you are, any other resources you have, etc.

That list includes all the kinds of jobs you could do, along with other more "businessy" things. It's always possible to do multiple things - both work a job, and in your extra time, supplement your income from a (low risk) business activity.

You should also consider all your contacts, since contacts can often lead to jobs or to customers (either directly, or through their contacts). In addition, you should consider the pluses and minuses of traveling to the city where your second cousin lives, so you have someone to turn to for help if you need it (since you mentioned that in this scenario, you have a second cousin).

"No man (or woman) is an island" - and there is no shame in turning to people you know to help you get the work or business you need to get yourself back on your feet. In fact, it's probably the fastest way to succeed, since instead of one brain (i.e. your own) trying to solve your problem, you'll have multiple brains working on the problem, with all their knowledge, experience, and contacts too.

When I say you could do a "low risk" business activity, that generally means something you don't have to spend much money on. If you can sell something before you even pay for the product (e.g. selling based on a sample or even a brochure), or before you need to create it (such as selling a service), that's pretty good from a risk point of view.

That's what I would do... I would start with making that big list. Then, I'd consider the most likely to succeed options, and figure out the best ways to proceed along those lines.

By the way, making this list is not necessarily a fast process. You might be able to do the "first draft" in an hour or two. But you'll probably find over the next few days, new ideas will "pop" into your head out of nowhere, which you can then add to the list. Often these later ideas are among the best ones.

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" solution, in my personal opinion... The solution has to be tailored to fit each unique individual!

Best wishes,

Dien