It is always a pleasure to report success stories during this difficult economy. The following story is about someone who “turned lemons into lemonade” and then sold the drink for a profit.

Let me introduce you to a wonderful lady I met in 2009. Her name is Jamie Teasdale. She became unemployed in March of 2009, when the business she was working for, closed their doors. Rather then hiding in a dark closet, Jamie decided to explore her options. She investigated purchasing a franchise, but that requires a lot of capital.

She comes from a family of businesspeople who have started companies in the past so the idea of owning a business was not foreign to her. Jamie has enjoyed business strategies and activities, while serving customers and planning events in the past. A friend of her parents simply needed more time in the day to accomplish everything, so they hired Jamie. That first customer encouraged Jamie to consider starting a business helping others.

Ms. Teasdale currently owns JJT Solutions. She specializes in assisting Small Business, Event Management and Individuals. She opened her doors in June of 2009 and currently has numerous clients. Jamie has accomplished a wide variety of projects since starting her business. So far, her company has been successful because of her attitude. Jamie is not afraid to tackle complex tasks like a wedding or even running errands for a client who has run out of time. She has also filled in, when some of her business clients have needed a project managed.

Jamie has currently replaced about 75% of her former income. She has utilized the services of other individuals as temporary contract workers and may be hiring them as employees in 2010.

You will enjoy her pleasant demeanor and intelligent input regarding your project. So if you need some temporary assistance, call Jamie.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

All of us are struggling with the economy. Business is down, hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon are looking for work and bills are piling up… You may need some extra cash, especially if your spouse or significant other is one of those recent pink slip recipients.

Yahoo news published 7 Great Side Jobs for Extra Cash, written by Cherie Berkley with PayScale.com; but I felt we could expand on that list for those of us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

In the tradition of the great depression, setting up a doughnut and coffee snack cart and walking around downtown could generate some income. Not sure if the City of Portland would like it, but I bet so long as you keep moving, pushing a cart around the streets of downtown is no worse than setting up a long term trailer in a parking lot?

Personal assistant is a great opportunity for the not so busy house mom/dad. Running errands than busy people no longer have time to do has value. The same type of errands you would do for a busy home owner, you could offer to a busy small business owner.

Along the save vanes, a downtown courier is another opportunity. Picking up and delivering things for downtown business can not only put dollars in your pocket, but maybe open some networking doors.

What other ideas can the community come up with? Add your comments to this blog article and be sure to include a link to your website so visitors can see how creative you are!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
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