Most people see corporate down sizing as a bad thing. Even though I don't see layoffs as a good thing, I believe it will have a positive affect on the lives of many former corporate employees, the American economy and the home business market.
Most people see corporate down sizing as a bad thing. Even though I don't see layoffs as a good thing, I believe it will have a positive affect on the lives of many former corporate employees, the American economy and the home business market.
Let's look back at some recent American history. This country was originally built, by the small business owner - the work at home business owner. Think about it - in the early days, farmers and ranchers worked their business earning their lively hood from home. Shop keepers, hotel owners, saloon owners, black smiths - these were not corporate run businesses, but family owned businesses.
In the early 1900's there was a shift in American business. Through American ingenuity, visionaries found better and easier ways to complete work tasks. A great milestone was marked when Henry Ford created the production line to mass produce the automobile (It's ironic that Ford Motor recently announced a huge reduction in its work force). Suddenly employees were needed to work for these growing companies, and many left the family owned business to work for someone else. The industrial revolution was born.
Young people who watched their parents works long hours in the family business were attracted to the freedom working for someone else. They saw the earning potential and the personal growth opportunities provided by these growing companies. Young people started leaving home, and the family business with the dream of a brighter future. There was a transition from self employment to working for someone else.
As time passed companies started competing for employees, offering better pay and better benefit packages in order to acquire and retain the best employees. There was a time, not long ago, when you signed on with a corporation, if you worked hard, you would taken care of you for the rest of your working days. You could count on retiring with that company when it was time, with a retirement plan that would sustain you through your golden years.
Today, in the U.S things are changing again. Corporations are not as "employee friendly" as they once were. Corporate layoffs are happening at an alarming rate. Many companies are moving jobs overseas - jobs that just a few years ago were in high demand in the United States. Corporations are being mis-managed, leading them into bankruptcy. Retirement plans are being scaled back or eliminated all together. This has lead to dissatisfied employees who are now starting to wonder what their future holds. They are wondering if they will be employed a year, a few months, over even a few days from now.
Please understand, I am not criticizing corporate America. I'm not one of those people who think corporations are bad and evil. I believe they are accountable to stock holders whose may concern is the bottom line. If stock holders aren't receiving a profit, things have to change, costs have to be cut. The quickest and easiest way to cut costs is to get rid of employees, or move some jobs overseas.
Actually, I believe this U.S. corporate trend will be good for the U.S. and for individuals who once again want to work for themselves. I believe this country has lost some of it's entrepreneurial spirit and has lost some of its inventive creativity due to reliance of individuals on corporate jobs. As more creative individuals are forced out of corporate America and forced to find creative ways of feeding their families, I believe we will experience a technologic boom. We will recapture some of our entrepreneurial spirit.
I also believe it will create a boom for the home business industry. Many of those down sized corporate workers are not going to want to jump back into corporate America where they are at risk once again. Nor do I believe they will want to put in the long hours of a brick and mortar business.
I believe they will be looking to make their living from home, and most will be looking to take advantage of the internet to leverage their time and money in building their home business.
For those of you already working from home, I encourage you to reach out to this largely untapped market. Show them what you have, help them start the transition to a home business now, so they can leave corporate America on their terms.
