Achieving Financial Independence in an Economic Downturn

What is the one thing that the majority of wealthy people have in common? No, it's not real estate although that is a must-have in any investment portfolio. Guess again. OK, it's business ownership. Yep, I said it. Start a business, if you want to attain financial independence or any level of wealth. The fact is, entrepreneurship is the path to the, Pursuit of Happiness, the American Dream.

The Big IDEA

I encourage you to follow your passion or define your purpose when coming up with your Big IDEA. The word IDEA is used here as an acronym which stands for Identify; Desire; Empower and Act. Identify your gifts; have a burning desire to succeed; Empower others; and act now. The first step is to identify your gift and turn it into a product or service. Have an unwavering commitment with a burning desire is the next step to bring your Big IDEA to life. The third step is to empower others by providing an innovative service that meets their needs. The final step is to act when inspired with an idea, "Just Do It" as Nike says.

To illustrate this point, let's imagine you are a 20-year human resources professional who loves your job, but always dreamed of being your own boss. You contemplate starting a HR Consultant Practice. Since you already have the necessary credentials to be considered an expert in this field you should begin by diligently researching the requirements for independent contractors - specifically a consulting practice. Next you would create consulting services that will benefit organizations in this industry. The key to bringing your idea to fruition is to take continuous action until your idea materializes. The Big IDEA, pun intended, is to invest in yourself and discover your inner passion.

Build Your Business

Since the economic downturn, I have constantly heard that the greatest number of millionaires were made during the Great Depression. While there is some truth to that statement there is another component the 'Millionaires of the Great Depression" had in common - innovation. To elaborate on innovation let's look at a mega giant that was created during that timeframe. Founded in 1923, The Walt Disney Company fostered a spirit of creativity and innovation with the creation of character animation. Walt Disney's innovative effects provided some relief and entertainment for sustaining the Great Depression. So if you have a creative and innovative business idea - build your business.

Although innovation is a must there are other reasons to start a business in a recession as explained in "Top Ten Reasons to Start a Business in a Recession" by Brad Sugars'. They are as follows:

1) Everything is cheaper; 2) You can hire more and better-qualified people; 3) People are looking to change suppliers; 4) Ownership equals tax incentives; 5) Family and friends don't want to (or can't) invest more money into the stock or real estate markets; 6) Suppliers are giving better credit; 7) You can get good PR by showing you are going against the trend; 8) You can buy everything you need at auction; 9) You can find great "low money" or "no money" down deals. By building your own business, you are setting yourself up to achieve financial independence.

Empower Your Community

African Americans are among the top spenders in the nation but when it comes to wealth accumulation, we are not. Why is that? Research shows we spend billions of dollars each year outside of our own communities, instead of empowering the communities we live in. As a result, better schools, restaurants, and stores are not in our communities. This leaves our communities economically poor and dis-empowered. What are we spending our billions on? The Selig Center survey shows that blacks spend more money on items that depreciate in value (i.e., telephone services, personal care items, children's apparel, footwear and major appliances) instead of investing in assets that increase net worth - our wealth. How do we change this? In my opinion change begins with shifting our buying habits in four main areas:

1) purchase more assets to create wealth; 2) invest your money in business ownership; 3) patronize black-owned businesses more often than not; and 4) reinvest in our communities through philanthropy that benefit underserved communities in the US.

By changing our buying habits we will begin to empower our communities with increased economic development thereby leveraging our buying power to benefit our communities.

Connect With Like-Minds

Business networking is when a group of like-minded business people gather to meet and help one another. This can occur face-to-face at conferences or online at social networking sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter. When networking keep in mind what you can do for someone, instead of thinking how someone can help you. Let's replace networking with the word connecting. Then the real focus is on sincerely and freely giving and sharing. Shifting your perspective to connecting with like-minds will help you create a large and powerful network that will be built on mutual respect and trust. It's about relationship building with other like-minded business people in your community and abroad. Connecting with other professionals provides you with an opportunity to share resources, knowledge, and information. The absolute best education I have ever received on the concept of networking was from George Fraser in his book, "Click: The Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships". In Click you will discover the Ten Truths for connecting with people. You are provided practical how-to resources from creating perfect relationships to crafting your dream team.

To achieve financial independence during an economic downturn: take your Big IDEA; build a business; empower your community; and connect with like-minds.