Second Week of Unemployment

What a gorgeous week to be unemployed, the weather has started to feel like summer and the sun was out every day. This doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Time really does seem to fly when you are off work, not quite the same as when you are on vacation though.

 As I come up to the end of my second week of unemployment it still doesn't feel right not going to work in the morning. On Monday I woke at the same time as my wife and jolted up realizing that I was going to be late. Then I thought about it for a second, "Wait, late for what?" It isn't all bad as I get up and get to work on my business ideas and continue the forward movement. More on that in a minute.

For anyone who is unemployed and receiving EI in Canada. Did you know that under the rules of a new project which is running until mid 2015 you can still work and get paid while receiving EI? You will get some deductions of course from the EI cheque but only $0.50 on the dollar. Essentially you can earn 1.5 times your weekly allowance before the deductions reach dollar for dollar. At this point any extra helps, so keep that in mind. 

I find the most important thing about building a business while being unemployed is to be sure that you're making a forward motion every day. There is always something that could be done, even if it's tweaking the content which has already been written for the website. It's a huge task to build a business up to the point where it is ready to launch. It's like the saying "When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" Just get started and keep the ball rolling and you will get there. Get a list going and try and cross one thing off each day. It will ease your mind knowing that progress is being made and you aren't just sitting around being a bum.

Have a look at yourself. Make a list of things you love or even like to do and things that you are good at. Read over the list, is there something on this list that someone would pay to have you do for them? Can you slightly modify the list so that someone would pay you for your services? This is the first step to starting a business that you will enjoy. Sometimes all it takes is this first step and you might never look back to your previous way of working ever again.

This week I have been writing website content, working on which products are people most interested in purchasing and how much will they pay. I want a product line that is simple yet effective and an image that is based around the information and education about the products. There is a lot of competition in my market, so I have focused a lot of my time on finding where I can fit and how I can capture my slice of the pie. In my case I am working on an information gap and an opportunity to capitalize a portion of the market. I like to think of it as not only finding my slice, but baking a new pie.  I also started putting together some sales projections, which are not the easiest considering I have never sold anything to this market before. Time for assumptions.

Im my free time I have been reading The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. A book I had purchased over a year ago but never made the time to read it. It has been great to not only assure me that I have been on the right track with research, but there are great points about really finding your target and realizing if there is even a market to sell to. Do this by speaking with the people who are in your direct network. Social media is a great way to get answers to questions you have and realize potential customers within it. The creation of Facebook has provided a huge network which is very easy for anyone to reach. That being said I would like to thank my friends and family for unknowingly helping me with my new business venture in the past two weeks.

For anyone who read my post last week the feeling of excitement is really starting to take over and the uncertainty and anxiety are beginning to take the back seat. I am at the point now where I want to get product on the shelves already and really see what this baby has got.

I am still working out a name for the company so stay tuned and I will let you know as soon as I can get it registered.

Brian

My First Week of Unemployment

It has been one full week since my layoff from work due to my contracted position being eliminated. Keep this in mind if you are unhappy at work being laid off is a good thing and allows you to collect EI while exploring new opportunities.

So I had always thought about starting a business on my own but never really invested the time to not only think about the potential, but to plan, evaluate and execute if one of my ideas actually had legs. I have had some time to think over the past week, and while having the free time was nice, I have also been having some mixed feelings/emotions. Some good and some not so good and they seem to rotate throughout each day.

Uncertainty, this comes about because I have never really made a transition like this without having another job lined up. This feeling of uncertainty comes and goes all the time I feel it is just something I will need to get used to for the time being.

Excitement,  I realize that I have an opportunity to work for myself and build my own schedule based around something that I have a passion for and an interest in. Going to school for business and marketing I have had the pleasure of seeing some friends of mine do the same and really enjoy it. I have always wondered if I would have the courage to take the plunge myself, and here I am finally seeing what I am capable of.

Anxiety, my third feeling is a learned pressure of the typical work day and a schedule that has been set in my mind from the grind of a 9-5 job over the years. I find myself walking my dog around 9am and playing with her in my yard when it hits me. "I should be doing work" or "What should I really be doing right now?" These feelings are like that feeling I would get on a Sunday afternoon when I was back in high school and had not completed my homework. It's an unsettling, anxious feeling.

These feelings are for the time being on an endless cycle and it is starting to get better as time passes. The excitement is beginning to take over and the more I speak with friends and family about what my plans. I know now after reassuring myself that I am putting in the time however, it just might not be between the hours of 9-5. I am thinking about my plans all day, even when I am sleeping. I sometimes wake up with new ideas and write them down in a book so I can keep track of what I am working on.  I will even have to consider this blog as putting in the time because once my business website is up and running it will be linked to allow the future users to see where it all started. The great thing is, this doesn't feel like work, I enjoy it, and that is how work should feel.

I finally have the time to fully dedicate myself to something that I believe in and it feels good.

I want to start my own business and work for myself. This is something I know I am capable of and I know I will succeed.

Check back from time to time as I will be sharing some of the ideas and plans that I have, and the progress I have made. At this point I need to finalize a few more things before I share everything with the digital world.

Thanks for your interest,
Brian