The Unemployed Life

Uncertainty is the New Black

My friend Elmira Baysali has a job. She earns a living. And she’s sometimes more nervous than I am about the economy. That’s because, as mentioned, she has a job.

Last year was a banner year for her employer, non-profit group Endeavor, which helps entrepreneurs in emerging markets. The Omidyar Network gave a $10 million matching grant, and the annual fund-raising gala produced $2.2 million. The organization planned for staff expansion and new programs. “But we weren’t able to because the reality of the economy set in,” says Elmira, who is vice president of policy and outreach. On the personal side, “I saw friends lose their jobs, travel budgets cut. I thought, what if they decided they didn’t need a communications and policy person?”

There were no layoffs at Endeavor, but cutbacks can make anyone queasy. Fund-raising has been drying up for many, many non-profits; and across industries, the economy has thrown many people’s livelihoods out the window.

“It incentivized me,” she says. “I said to myself that I had to do something so that if I lost my job, I could do something. I’d be okay.”

Lots of laid-off workers have embraced their predicaments and tried new ventures, put new projects together—we’ve profiled some of them in our Lemonade Makers series. But Elmira didn’t wait to lose her job to get entrepreneurial. Going forward, stories like Elmira’s will become commonplace, as employed people discover that the way to succeed in a sea of uncertainty is to build their own businesses, even when gainfully employed.

The way to succeed in a sea of uncertainty is to build your own business, even when gainfully employed.

First, she launched a program that had been put on hold at Endeavor, one to teach journalists in emerging markets about entrepreneurship. She went out and launched it on her own, separate from Endeavor (but with Endeavor’s affiliation). She raised money from several sources, including the Open Society and Dell. In three months’ time, she had pulled it together.

“Now they want to institutionalize it,” she says. “They want to do it every year.” And Elmira’s position is more secure, too. She proved that despite the downturn, the funding market was there, money could still be had. She also helped bear out the “entrepreneurial ecosystem” the organization says it is always trying to foster around those they fund.

But if for some reason Endeavor goes away tomorrow, Elmira’s still in a good spot. Not only has she proved to herself that she can raise money and launch programs on her own, she’s also got a side project moving on the fast track: a book.

“I thought about doing it last year, and I put a proposal together. But after the crisis hit, it became a very serious effort,” she says.

The book might be considered a sort of marketing piece for Elmira and her career. It chronicles her experiences looking for capitalist answers to end poverty, from her days in the State Department working overseas to her time with entrepreneurs around the world, in her role for Endeavor.

I didn’t ask Elmira what her secret was because it was plain: She was scared. You may be, too – heck, who isn’t? So here are a few tips for going entrepreneurial now, while your boss is still direct depositing into your account:

• Keep good projects going. Elmira’s isn’t the only workplace situation where funding has been cut for some really great ideas. Find ways to keep them going, either by seeking new sources of funding for them (could they generate revenue, for instance) or ways to do them for no money at all (donated goods and services?). Make sure to loop in your employer, of course, because there’s a fine, important line between “entrepreneur” and “renegade.”
• Put side projects into action. Always wanted to write that book, start that company, develop that product? Do it now, while you’ve got some help with overhead and perhaps a little more nerve.
• Spread the word. “Networking” may sound contrived and hackneyed, and the point is not simply to “network,” anyway, but to promote yourself. Make sure the right people know what you’re up to, whatever method works best for you – networking events, one-on-one meetings, social networks, etc.

Being entrepreneurial in one’s career is not a new idea, but it is going to be more of the norm going forward. Share your own stories of how you’re regaining control of your career and your work.

Tags: careers