Well, that is a fact.  And did you know that based on US Department of Labor Statistics, 153,804,000 people were in the labor force in February 2009, nearly 1,301,000 more than were in the labor force in February 2008.  Yet, there are 4,445,000 fewer people employed since February 2008.  Last year at this time the employment rate was 94.8%.  16 countries in the European Union report a January 2009 employment rate of 91.8% and for 27 EU countries the January 2009 employment rate was 92.4%.

Why twist the emphasis on these statistics?  Well, quite frankly, I am getting tired of all the negative economic news.  As an executive coach, business consultant, and business advisor I really yearn for more positive news.  As a matter of fact, so does my financial advisor.

These employed people need those unemployed people to start working again.  Perhaps the greatest opportunity in a generation is available for unemployed persons to look at the abilities they have to create a new business.  How can this happen?

Let’s face it.  There is a ton of talent available to develop new business.  Who does not know a personal story about a member of their family, a close friend, a co-worker?  How can we harness the capabilities of all this talent? 

How about a career entrepreneur center? I was discussing this opportunity with my associate, Elizabeth Harris Moritz.  After some great discussion we decided our two companies, The Executive Suite. and Rutherford Advisors, Inc. will develop a division – Careers by Your Design which will work with unemployed professionals who want start a new business.

We know from experience that it takes expertise to run a business. Our program will match qualified unemployed professionals through career assessments, will help them develop their business plan, help them to access commercial funding for their new venture, find a roof to put on their business incubator, and provide executive coaching to help get them off the ground.  We will be looking for professionals with expertise in the major functional areas of a business.  We will introduce and suggest match ups to those professionals best able to start up the new business.

We will be developing career workshops in the next two months to address these opportunities and changes.  We expect that with our assistance and that of others that the realignment occurring in the economy can benefit those who want to leverage the changes that are occurring with daily frequency.

Traditional reporting will look at industries in demand, in decline, or dead-on-arrival.  I hope during this new period of realignment economists will suspend judgment to determine how much “value” we will be able to place on a new, knowledge-based business model.  There is an opportunity for a paradigm shift in business, if only we can nurture it along to ensure its success.  If Google did it, why can’t we?

If you know of someone who wants to make sure that the cup is more than one-half full, please have them contact me for a discussion on this exciting new opportunity.  If you have some comments on how to make this concept work better - please let me know.  Thanks.