3 Business Opportunities that Guarantee Success During a Recession

When the economy is slumping as it is right now and job prospects begin to tighten, many potential workers begin to take lower-paying jobs or even jobs in other industries in order to provide for their families. Their decisions have little to do with pride and everything to do with surviving the storm that is a recession. Others try to hang on while cutting their spending to an absolute minimum and going the temporary employment route. But an alternative that many should begin to look more into is starting their own business.

It may sound crazy to try and start a business in a bad economy but given the alternatives how bad could becoming a business owner be? In fact, there are some businesses that you could start with minimal capital that are especially suited for a bad market that you do not need a high-rise office or massive marketing to get off the ground. These businesses are vital to surviving the recession for many Americans and would be a perfect opportunity for you.

Financial Adviser

Most people when they think of financial adviser their first thoughts are someone who helps people with their 401k, insurance and other critical financial decisions. However, there is a growing interest in what could be called a financial consultant. Now these people are rarely selling products. Their true benefit is in looking at a person's financial picture and reassessing it based on specific variables. In times of financial difficulty, it is usually as simple as getting a grasp on bills and helping people develop a plan for how to dig themselves out of a hole. There are no certifications or specializations when it comes to financial advising or financial consulting. What you want to do is have a firm grasp on paying bills, interest rates and the like. As you are not recommending someone change their current stockholdings, what you want to be is a sounding board for ideas as minute as whether paying off a credit card with a higher interest rate is a better idea than putting a few dollars into savings every month.

LifeCoach

A second job that is coming into popularity that you can do on the side to make income is become a life coach. Over the last decade, life coaches have increased in popularity. Business executives have had executive coaches/managers for some time. These individuals had simple roles involving looking at an executive's life and helping them chart a course to higher management. Life coaches have similar responsibilities as they look at a client's life and put it in order or help them eliminate unproductive aspects or non-essentials.

Bankruptcy Credit Counselor

For many people, bankruptcy will be a realistic remedy to their financial distress. While some will try to talk them out of the decision to file either Chapter 7 or 13 once they make the decision their bankruptcy attorney will compel them to go visit a bankruptcy credit counselor or other non-profit credit counseling agency to receive a two to four hour counseling course required by federal law before officially entering into the bankruptcy process. These credit counselors basically read from a script and provided little information most of us do not already know. Because so much of the class is federally mandated, these counselors do less counseling and more paper passing, transferring documents to filers and having them sign it after watching 15-minute videos.

These three businesses are not windfall businesses. They will not cover your retirement in two years. Most home businesses never do. What these will do is put between $500-$1,000 a month in your pocket and help you raise your standard of living and provide the financial crunch everyone else is feeling.

Isn't that enough?