You Are Fifty And Unemployed. Bills Are Due. Is There A Solution
When I was in my thirties and even early forties I was a workaholic and my boss in
Washington media never failed to tell me I was a great problem solver and backed his words with raises which I much appreciated. I was certain this was going to be my life until I retired when I might be in my eighties or so. At age 42, I fell ill and was put on the side lines. My unemployment ran out soon thereafter and, though the illness disabled me, I did not receive disability until four more years.How did I live? It boiled down to being handed crumbs. I had to buy cars that friends were tradingin because of their fear of the car falling apart. I bought hand me down clothes from thrift shops and friends gave me some. I was taking care of a stray dog that I refused to give away. I finally had to take shelter in an abandoned warehouse in rural Mississippi that a friend kindly made available to me.
I rarely ate three meals a day, and the best of the meals were beans and rice. In retrospect I could have done better. I was a late bloomer to technology and the Internet, but I knew the principals of barter. I slowly learned the Internet and put my barter skills into effect. I traded
blogging, logos, cartoons, and everything else I was doing for other goods and services. It worked. Just barely but it worked. During that time, I built what I hoped to be my cartoon empire though I only had a few hundred black and white single panel offbeat cartoons. One day I received an email from a t-shirt manufacturer in San Diego who wanted to pay $10,000 for the rights to 18 cartoons and I felt I had arrived. My artist partner and I took the 10K, and rested a bit after two straight years of nonstop day and night work.
Today, if you have a computer and can blog and have Internet skills, you do not need money. Yes, you may have to scale down as I did but it can be done. I had previously lived in Foxhall in Washington, D.C and Beverly Hills in L.A so I learned humility in that steel warehouse with no power, no bath (I bathed in the sink), no air and heat, and very few friends.
If you can blog, and have other basic SEO skills, skills you can barter for food, clothing, and just about anything else if you set your mind to it. This should not be your lifestyle for the rest of your life. First of all, the economy will get better.one day. After all, it cant get much worse. People will be buying and selling again. Right now, it makes more sense for many small business-owners to barter. If you blog and can do article marketing, youve got something of great value. If you know how to make a keyword-rich backlink, youre blog is that much more valuable and Google-friendly. If you know which sites have a high PR (Page Ranking), again, youre even more ahead of the game. If you know how pertinent backlinks work on Twitter, theyll be seeking you out.
Three decades ago, it was considered somewhat of a joke if you told someone you worked from your home. Today, it is the norm. The workscape is changing and it is estimated that 35 million or more work from their living rooms than from a corporate office. That is more than work in corporate offices. So never be ashamed, if someone asks, that you have a living room office. That is, actually more of the American dream than putting on a suit, driving through rush hour, and sitting at an uncomfortable office chair and desk.
Be patient but be persistent. Cut back to the barebones when it comes to expenses. Of course do not deprive yourself of every single perk. Everyone needs to go out to eat once in awhile, see or rent a movie, etc. But many things are free. Take a walk in the park or a hike in the woods. Remember this is temporary. You are building the foundation to your business. During this time, there will be many who will show you how to make more money now. Stop and think it over real hard. Nine times out of ten they are asking you to help them build their brand, so they can stop their barebones living and go play a bit. They will not tell you that; they will be showing you a wonderful opportunity. For them!!
Stay on course no matter how big the challenge or obstacle. There may be tough days, weeks, or even months when you dont know how you are going to eat. Do not have too much pride to go to a soup kitchen. Many churches and synagogues will give you monies for emergency rent and/or utilities. All you have to do is show an eviction notice. There is always a solution, and again, remember these are temporary through the toughest of times but they are there for you. Some may have family members and friends who can help once in awhile. Again, dont let pride get in the way. You are on a mission so that you never, ever have to be in this situation again, and, if you work hard enough, smart enough, and put in enough hours, it is going to happen. You dont have to be any kind of guru, business wizard, or SEO genius. Simply a survivor. And most of us when you get right down to it.
Who am I to tell you I know from whence I speak? In my eleventh year of my cartoon venture, I had about 3500 color images. I was ranked number one on Google and fans were emailing me for autographed cartoons. Major charities were asking for them also for their signed auctions, as well as churches, schools etc. By 2008, I was ranked #1 on MSN. I now had about 100,000 gifts and collectibles bearing my cartoon images. All that is true today. I remain number one on both Google and MSN, and my stores continue to grow. I live in a nice apartment with my wonderful wife which overlooks the oldest National Park in America. We hike it often. We both love nature and wildlife. All those days on the cold concrete floor in a sleeping bag with my dog Thor were well worth it.
Would I recommend this method to a young person who asked me for advice? Im not sure. It really depends on the person and their ambition, ability to make sacrifices, and their focus (to stay on course) and not get derailed every time someone tried to derail you (and there are plenty of derailers out there). If that person is steadfast with a goal, I would tell them to do whatever it takes (within the law). I always recommend education first. It saves a lot of heartache and headaches, learning from others mistakes. But education alone will not build an entrepreneurial empire. Ask Bill Gates or Michael Dell.
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