In a recession, ambitious, proactive people don’t just sit around and wait for a return to economic prosperity.  Even if they aren’t employed already or can’t find work along their usual lines, they’ll turn to some entirely different pursuit instead—responding to all the hype being circulated about working for yourself by choosing from among the multitude of support mechanisms and project, franchise, work-from-home or consulting options available.  While some may be forced into it by circumstances, others will welcome the self-employment alternative as an avenue to change their career path – something they may have wanted to do for a while.  And the most inventive ones may go on to even greater career success by launching novel innovations into the marketplace.  In the past such enterprising spirits have been responsible for many of what have become today’s mainstream products and services.

Witness that in the first half of 2009 alone, at least 36,000 Canadians became newly self-employed.  Similar trends are also evident in Western Europe and the U.S.A (although to a lesser degree with Americans because of their lack of health care benefits among other factors.)  Also attesting to the growth in self-employment is the escalating number of Internet sites and business communities for selling wares and services online and networking Web sites enabling freelancers to form business partnerships with each other (for example, a graphic designer can find a writer to help complete an advertising project.)

In a past article (see “Eight Steps to Prepare You for the Retirement Brain Drain”) PrintLink already observed that, generally speaking, printing companies have been faced with a noticeable shortfall of employable people in the 40-to-55 age group.  Perhaps this trend occurred in former times when early retirements, departure incentives, and cost-cutting layoffs reduced the ranks of people in middle-management-level positions.  But now in the current economic downturn it has become even more likely that continuing layoffs will decimate this missing cohort still further, making it extra challenging now & into the more distant future for printing companies to fulfill their succession plans with competent and appropriately mature replacements when their senior executives retire.