When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

By Victoria Falk

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in September of 2018 – the lowest it’s been since 1969. However, the same studies also show that fewer new jobs have been created. At a time when you have more highly skilled, well educated people are competing for a limited number of jobs, those people with limited education and limited resources, who may be re-entering society from incarceration, barely stand a chance at getting called for a job interview. Employers looking to fill skilled and semi-skilled jobs, pass over resumes that show a person’s limited education. Greater educational requirements are needed to perform the more difficult tasks associated with skilled and semi-skilled jobs.

In addition, many employers choose not to hire people with criminal records for fear they will be dishonest, commit a crime on the job, act out violently in the workplace, damage the company’s reputation, and cause them to lose business. Therefore, it’s hard for a person with limited resources, limited education, and/or a criminal record to get a job. Many eventually settle for low paying, menial labor jobs for the sake of being able to say they are gainfully employed. While others, angered and frustrated by limited job opportunities, return to a life of crime and get arrested again. Studies show that formerly incarcerated people who get a job paying higher than minimum wage, within 2 months of being released from jail, have a greater chance of avoiding a return to incarceration. But due to the fore-mentioned challenges to finding meaningful work, it often takes a long time
for these people to get hired.

Entrepreneurship gives an extra opportunity to those people who would normally be at a disadvantage due to their personal history. It is indeed possible for someone who may not have been able to land a job, for whatever reason, to learn a business system and achieve great success. An online travel business is a great option for someone who’s been counted out by society because it not only offers opportunities for increased income, but
the travel perks and benefits help to improve overall lifestyle. Unlike many people, an online travel business does not discriminate.

Small businesses are helping to boost the economy, with many people taking themselves out of the job market and choosing to become entrepreneurs. No longer do people who’ve been counted out by society have to beg for a job or lose their dignity by accepting jobs that are beneath their potential. It’s time to press the restart button and get a second chance at having a good life through entrepreneurship. Whether you choose to be a full-time entrepreneur, or plan to work part-time in a business while working a full-time job, entrepreneurship is the answer for more and more people today.

For more information on becoming a Certified Travel Agent and Destination Specialist and starting your travel business own business, visit www.nacc.nyc/travelagent. The Chamber also offers a Small Business Boot Camp. Details can be found at www.nacc.nyc

Victoria Falk is the Vice President of Public Relations for the African-American International Chamber of Commerce (AAICC) and award-winning CEO of Passionate Travel Inc.

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