Hey! Angela here for just a sec. I want to introduce you to my friend Sharon McMillan who has written a blog post just for my loyal readers here at Marketers Mojo. Sharon and I have met in person a few times and she’s a great lady with a knack mixing useful information with actionable solutions. Check out her post below:

Making It Happen

Sharon McMillan

The biggest news of the year in many households is the economy. The CBS program 60-Minutes just did a feature on the town of Wilmington, Ohio where 10,000 jobs were lost in the last year alone.  What happened in Wilmington is happening all over the country. But I think the news here isn’t so much about the economy but about the shift in thinking that is slowly happening among employees.

Jobs Do Not Equal Security

Ultimately all we can really count on is the ingenuity, the energy and the skill set each of us has or can develop. I’m talking about entrepreneurship and the ability to create our own income by serving the needs of even a fraction of the millions and millions of people who are part of the marketplace that the Internet connects us to so affordably and so efficiently.

“Some make it happen, some watch it happen, and some say “What happened?” – Unknown

As I watched that CBS program and listened to the good people of Wilmington discussing how they were so emotionally and financially devastated by the company layoffs in their town, I thought about all the people I know who purposefully left their jobs before the economy melt-down to start their own businesses.

The publisher of Marketers’ Mojo, my good friend Angela Wills is one of those people and I could list dozens of other  enterprising individuals that I know personally who made the careful decision to transition from full time employment to full time entrepreneurship in the last few years.

The Future Is Filled With Entrepreneurs

As we look at the rising unemployment rates today, I’d say those choosing to be an independent contractor or entrepreneur are pretty wise. Most governments are recognizing small business owners as the silver lining to our current economic crisis. Our future rests with the work at home moms, the whiz kids starting businesses in their parents’ basements and the millions of other small business owners who are managing companies that are actually growing in this economy.

These are people who made the conscious decision not to be caught saying to themselves “what happened?”  Deciding how we will support our families and our personal dreams are too important to leave entirely up to an employer who might at any time close shop or cut staff.

What’s equally important is how we live our lives. Are you enjoying the work you do? Life doesn’t have to be something that “happens to us.”  The opportunities that are available today through the Internet to explore running a business that reflects your priorities are numerous.

You owe it to yourself and to your family to explore your entrepreneurial interests. If you worked for any length of time, you’ve got skills that you can develop and put to use developing a business that the market needs. Or if you’ve never looked into the kind of work or business that reflects your true passions and interests, now is the time to do that.

What Opportunities Appeal To You?

There are many independent learning opportunities that you can access online – from well written ebooks to online conferences and self-directed online tutorials.

Make a commitment to yourself to “make it happen” in 2010 and realize your full entrepreneurial abilities and personal goals.

Sharon McMillan is the owner of Small Business Academy, an online resource for new and experienced entrepreneurs to learn everything from creating a business plan to starting a small service business.