The Employment Unlevel Playing Field

Starting from Behind...

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate is somewhere's around 6%.  That's the US average.  State wise, it can be much higher.  I have quite a number of friends, who have careers or a viable trade that seem to have been looking for work for much longer.  The statistics don't cover those people who's unemployment has run out or just have given up looking.  I would say that at least 15% of the people I speak with are either underemployed, stopped looking and working day labor or have just given up completely.

I know others that have created a whole new class: the very hard to employ.  I have a number of friends who have had substance abuse problems, have cleaned up and now find themselves unemployable due to various reasons e.g. gaps in employment, ugly terminations, etc.  Many of my acquaintances  are felons.  Though they have paid their debt, the post-9/11 world is very unforgiving.  FBI record searches now go beyond the standard 7 years Now they are going back to age 18.  Most companies have boilerplate rules against felons no matter what type of crime. I have a good friend who is a casino slot technician and will never get back to his trade.  In the '70's, he was convicted of "felony unlawful use of a vehicle", did his probation, paid the fine and it was done.  He became a slot technician in Reno and worked in that field for years.  Post 9/11, his background checks started popping up this felony from '74 and he cannot get a gaming license.  He went as far as getting a lawyer, having the matter expunged and sealed and still comes up when he applies for a state gaming licence.  I has been 5 years and the FBI still hasn't cleared him off the books!  He finally gave up and took a job with Walmart.  True, it's a job but he barely gets by.

The one group I have the most empathy for are veterans.  They have served their country, given more than most of us can imagine (I've been there!).  They are often troubled by emotional and mental issues due to PTSD and come home to an America that is much different than it was.  Many military occupations don't translate to the civilian world well.  Some do make it work.  Many don't.  Alcohol and drug abuse tends to be the coping strategy.  Been there too!  Seems like there are more questions than there are answers.

This is not about shaking my fist at God complaining how unfair the world in right now.  The world has changed and the question is how do we adapt?  In the Marines one of the popular axioms in the infantry was Improvise, Adapt & Overcome.  An objective has to be taken, it never seems like there's enough manpower or support.  The Warrior Mindset is to study the tactical situation, find weakness and exploit them.  That has been my quantum shift: I have to step back and re-assess.  I have to chosen to take a different approach.  I cannot allow the job market dictate how I make income, I am going to find opportunity and capitalize on it!

Turning the Tables

I have mentioned in my previous posts about some of my physical issues impeding my ability to earn.  Telling your boss that I need a mid-afternoon nap doesn't go over well.  So I have had to get much more creative with my income streams.  My primary income streams are from Elite Drop Shippers  which we built the eBay store with,

and an Amazon Store.  Both are good money makers.  Something my wife and I discovered is that diversity is the key!  If one source slows down, there's another that will probably still be producing.  All the work we do now is from home.  She is on disability and I am really not up to a 'go to' job.  Working from home on your own computer seems to be the future for us. Also think that it can be a great opportunity for many of those who are having any type of problem finding work.  On line sales does have some drawbacks.  I does required some up front money.  Our Amazon store is part of their Fulfilment By Amazon system.  We create the listings, pack up the items we want to sell, ship them to Amazon.  Amazon warehouses them and when an order is sold; they pick, pack and ship.  A sweet set-up, but there are draw backs.  There are fees for everything and if you're not careful, you'll get fee'd to death!  Choosing items that are competitive on price point and carry a large margin (800% +), you can make money.  I made about $500 from going through my library and selling books.  Books tend to be a good money maker.

The biggest issue that appears with almost any "Work from Home" (WFH) system is an initial outlay of money to buy into a given system.  Not too many of us have 'spare' money.  Next is what is my return on investment?  Am I going to see money fairly fast?  Is there a monthly membership fee?  Do I have to continually 'buy up' for some other part of the system that has some kind of promise of more money?  This where making a list of questions and get solid  answers before you join.  If you keep getting boilerplate statements without any details: Caveat Emptor! I have found there seems to be a boat load of  'Get Rich Quick' schemes.  Many of them are just getting rich from selling the worthless program to the next unsuspecting dope.  Like the old 'Get paid to stuff envelopes' trap.  It's easy to search the program on line and see what others have said about it.  I found a lot of posts about WFH systems that are a scam.  This site Rip Off Reports is a great source.

Marketing systems that are basically a huge testimonial make me suspicious.  The all seem to littered with stock photos of happy people at their computers.  Reading how someone went from nothing to $10000 a day within a week is very hard to swallow.  I tend to follow "If it sounds too good to be true.........it most likely isn't!"

So what do you choose....

Some of the jobs I have found on line that do seem to be legit are:

• Data Entry 
• Answering Surveys
• Free Lance Writing
• Resume Writing

Data Entry and Surveys don't make a lot of money.  Freelance writing and resumes require a skill set not all of us have. I have tried a great deal of different WFH systems and the only one that has produced a reasonable return on investment is selling product.   You will have to accept some lag time from opening a store to seeing sales, but the faster you fill your store with products, the faster you will see sales.  The part I do like is the commute: bedroom-coffee pot-computer.  No bosses and my earnings are all my doing.  I do have a whole community on a Skype group to answer questions and keep me pointed in the right direction.

I am sure there are still many WFH business out there.  I have only scratched the surface.  If you have a viable WFH business system, I would love to hear about it.