There are five ways to re-enter the work force after a career break:
- Go back to your old job
- Find a different job with your previous employer
- Find a new job with a new employer
- Go back to school to launch a new career
- Start your own business
Mary Ghilani, Director of Career Services at Luzerne County Community College delves into each of these options in her book 10 Strategies for Reentering the Workforce. (See previous post on 4/16/11) I want to focus on the last one — starting your own business.
Isn’t this a terrible time to be doing that? I mean, we’re in a recession here! Not so, says Leah Yomtovian Roush with JumpStart Inc. in northeast Ohio, Joicelyn Nelson with the Women’s Business Center in Northern Virginia, and Manar Morales, who teaches entrepreneurship at Georgetown University. All three believe this is an excellent time to be an entrepreneur.
Why? Because there are a multitude of tools available today that make it possible for women to succeed. Topping the list is the internet, which makes it easy for women to research a business idea, assess the competition, and connect with others to find support, whether emotional or financial.
And there are organizations to which women can turn for help. To name a few: Astia, Golden Seeds, Women 2.0, Springboard Enterprises, JumpStart Inc., Score, and a network of nearly 100 Women’s Business Centers around the country. These organizations provide expert advice and support, training, and seed money.
More successful women-owned businesses means good things for the ailing economy.
“Research indicates that if women were to fully participate in high-growth entrepreneurship,” according to the Astia website, “we would see a significant and measurable benefit to the economy, innovation, and society.”
Which leads Morales to conclude, “It’s a necessary time for women to be out there and starting their own businesses.”
For advice and insight on entrepreneurship, listen to my conversation with Roush, Nelson, and Morales on Back in Force on BlogTalkRadio from 11/2/11.
–LeeAnn Dance
I'm a 48-year-old mother of four living in Great Falls, VA. I've been out of the workforce for nearly 13 years and am ready to get back in.