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Occupy Wall Street is the current buzz in the business world, with the masses of laid off or unemployed flocking to Wall Street to protest big business and their practices. I guess with revolutions being all the rage around the world these days, the “occupiers” feel like they are contributing to change things for the better. However you and I know, in the world of present day capitalism, this very well be an attempt that falls on deaf ears due to the fact there is no unified goal or agenda. While the ideas behind this movement may be of sound intent, some are taking a different approach to changing America for the better.

Laid-off to Starting-up

A recent study has shown that nearly nine percent of individuals who have been laid off are, instead of protesting, creating jobs for themselves by starting small businesses. Countless entrepreneurs over the years would never have had the chance to start their own companies without first being laid off, and many will tell you that getting laid off gave them the freedom to start something of their own, and the push to take the risk to do something they enjoy and are passionate about. A startup out of Ellicott City, MD, GiftCardRescue, was started when their founder was laid off by Citigroup. He founded the company in his own home and a few short years later he is the owner of a multimillion dollar business. The point of all of this is, why waste your time trying to take something down, when you have been afforded the time and opportunity to build something great for yourself.

Making a Real Difference

It is a well known fact that the driving force behind the US economy is small business. Companies considered to be small businesses provide jobs for more than half of the country’s private workforce. This is a staggering fact. While big business may be a huge cause of unemployment in our nation, the greatest form of employment, and re-employment for that matter, will always be small business. These big businesses only exist and prosper because of the fact that everyone, I bet even the majority of these protestors, make it possible. Instead of shopping at Wal Mart, go local. Instead of banking with the big financial institutions, start a movement to get local lenders in your own community. If every person involved in these protests would put all of their effort into something productive, imagine how much change they could create for good; how much opportunity they could create. Every person has skills and passion to go along with them. Why not put them to good use and take these times as a blessing, and create something for yourself and your community. After all, this country was founded on the pursuit of opportunity. Opportunities are out there, waiting to be had. Let’s get started.

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About the author

Josh

Josh Patterson is a young entrepreneur out of Baltimore, MD, with expertise in the areas of internet marketing, search engine optimization, and social media. Josh is currently the Senior SEO Strategist at WebMechanix. Connect on Google Plus