Building a Full-Time Life in a Part-Time World

The unemployment numbers released last week that reported an unemployment rate of 7.4% and the anemic creation of 162k jobs in July which was down from our 2013 average of 192k per month hid startling statistics of the new economy.

In 2013 77% of the jobs that have been created were part-time.  When you calculate the unemployment numbers with the number of Americans under-employed (working less than 35 hours a week) our unemployment rate is actually around 14.3% reports the New York Times.

This is the slowest recovery in the past 70 years.  Unemployment is rising, part-time jobs are becoming the norm, incomes are decreasing, and those with savings facing a “no-margin” investment era.  It is official, we have a new economy with new rules.  To win and have success in this new era we cannot play the game with the rules of the past.  This is not our grandparent’s economy.

This past week I wrote an article in FoxNews titled Jobs hunt getting you down -- how to build a full-time life in a part-time world.  I provide seven tips for those looking to have success in this new era.  An interesting aspect I was not able to elaborate on in this piece is the fact that due to the dire jobs situation in this country entrepreneurship is rapidly increasing.  From 2000-2007 it has been reported that at the top MBA programs in the country upwards of 50% sought jobs in the finance sector upon graduation.  After the crash of 2007 graduates at those same institutions have been rushing to become entrepreneurs with a growth rate that has tripled in the past three years.

Clearly they see the game has changed as well and are seeking the best opportunity available by taking matters into their own hands and creating their future by starting a company and becoming an entrepreneur.  The tips I provided in my article apply to both the person looking for a job or the entrepreneur looking to create a company and build value for themselves, their employees, and investors.

Success tip number one is “Plan Deliberately.”  Having a plan that is written down that you can execute against is critical to success.  It has been said if you don’t have a plan you are planning to fail.  As a starting point for all aspiring entrepreneurs and those in the job hunt I recommend taking a Career Direct assessment test and using this as a foundation in your career plan.  This tool can be expanded with your mentor or advisor and will help you make sure that you are on the right path based on your skills, likes, and values.  Nothing is worse than getting to the end of your journey to find out that you hate the location you have been striving to reach.

Finally, for those who are beginning or are already on their entrepreneurial journey and wish they had more formal business education and training I recommend looking at the Venture Academy video series by Wade Myers.  Wade is a Harvard MBA and Baker Scholar (graduated Top 5% of his class at Harvard) and has been a successful venture capitalist that started over 20 companies.  Wade had a goal of providing a Harvard MBA style education to the masses using a video based system and online resources.  His system uses Harvard cases studies and goes through all aspects of business acumen.  You can learn more of about this great program at Venture Academy -- Starting Up.

Taking action helps remove fear. The key to building a full-time life in this part-time world is to take the first step, take action, create a plan, define where you want to be at the end of the journey and start taking small steps today to get you there!

If you have questions about this article or these programs please contact me at RobertDickieIII or via e-mail at RobertDickieIII@gmail.com.