I’m of the opinion that many working stiffs day dream of someday working for themselves, but just don’t know how to fund even the smallest new venture. It’s a real concern, especially in this economy when banks are being tightfisted when it comes to lending.

Yesterday a reader named JT asked if I could offer some ideas about funding a small business. He wrote:

I’d start my own company, but with the recession and economic meltdown, I lost everything and my credit took a tremendous hit (face it, it just plain sucks). I cannot qualify for any loans to help get started and my family is in no position to help in that respect. Eve, maybe you could write about alternative sources of funding for someone who wants to start their own small company.

There are indeed sources that aren’t the regular lending cast of characters, and I’ve written about one good alternative, micro-lending, in the past. It may be a good option to check out for people like JT. (more…)

Lately, becoming an entrepreneur is sold as something that’s easier than going to the bathroom.

There are endless stories about moms bringing in millions after creating a new baby product that makes everyone’s life better. Or the kid in grammar school who can retire on the cash she’s bringing in from her lemonade stand.

This makes it seem like it’s a sure thing for so many people desperate to find work and whose employment prospects aren’t looking that great.

Just today, the National Association for Business Economics survey reported that most employers weren’t planning on hiring anytime soon.

Well, entrepreneurship could be an option in the crummy job market, but it’s definitely not for most people. (more…)

The debate going on in New York city about whether a Muslim mosque should be built near Ground Zero is getting ugly. Even Sarah Palin is getting in on the act.

Yesterday Palin commented about the Mosque on Facebook calling the planned Muslim mosque and community center:

An Intolerable Mistake on Hallowed Ground.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who’s defending the building of the mosque, called for religious tolerance yesterday.

No matter where you stand on the mosque, any time there is this much vitriolic dialogue against one group on a national stage one thing is inevitable. A backlash in the place people spend most of their time. This fury can not mode well for Muslims in the workplace, a group that has seen discrimination rise since Sept. 11, 2001. (more…)

Key points:

GREEN
Initial discussion is heavily weighted toward retrofitting homes, and major retailers such as Home Depot, whose CEO is at the table now, are being seen by the administration as key players. If federal dollars go to encourage home owners to install solar panels, for example, then construction-related companies will benefit and the thinking is they will have to hire workers. These jobs could hit the economy quickly.

Manufacturers of green products or green components want incentives to keep jobs in America. Construction firms don’t want to continue to jump through bureaucratic hoops and permitting delays to have to install green systems, and businesses and investors want any federal dollars for green projects to come quickly so no business is waiting months to be reimbursed.

Investors asking for tax credit for utilities to get in on the energy efficiency game, not just tax credits to consumers.

Obama just walked in with a reality check: “We have fiscal constraints that are tough.”

The president is looking for support from businesses to get his green agenda moving.

“There’s going to be an energy debate in the country,” he said. “A divergent group, particularly those not the usual subjects, like business and industry, just making a very strong stance so the American people understand it’s not a job killer.” But green investments will create jobs, he maintained.

What he heard from the green discussion group:

“How can we make sure shovel ready actually means shovel ready,” he said about the many delays that have plagued infrastructure improvements to date. “And how we leverage the private sector to boost our infrastructure spending.”

“We also heard terrific ideas about how weatherization and energy efficieny promises immediate impact on the on the ground, spur enormous amounts of business opportunities for the clean sector.”

Would you want a man serving you dinner when you’re out at a fancy restaurant?

The owners of a high-end group of steakhouses thought you wouldn’t, and they were barring men from such duties since 1938 in the name of tradition. (more…)

I was reading Twitter tweets this morning and I came across one that directed me to a story about the “Ten Characteristics of Great Companies” by a venture capital investor in Hoboken, N.J., named Fred Wilson. It was a solid list of virtues that make for solid companies, everything from “constantly innovating” to “having a global mindset.”

But there was one key point missing — treat your workers well.

I don’t think that’s a lot to ask, and it is surely a big part of what makes a company great.

I’m thinking about this today because I just got a disturbing study by labor market experts in academia called “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers” on how poorly some firms treat their workers, so my radar antenna was up this morning.

What they uncovered is alarming:

· Minimum wage: 1 in 4 workers (26%) was paid below the minimum wage in a given work week;
· Overtime pay: 76% of those who worked overtime were not paid the required time and a half;
· Meal breaks: More than two-thirds (69%) did not get meal breaks they were entitled to;
· Off-the-clock work: 70% did not get any pay at all for work performed outside their regular shift;
· Tipped pay: Nearly 1/3 (30%) of tipped workers were not paid the tipped worker minimum wage;
· Pay documentation: 57% of workers did not receive mandatory pay stubs;
· Employer retaliation: 43% experienced illegal retaliation following complaints;
· Workers’ compensation: Only 6% of injured workers received coverage for medical expenses;
· Exempt workers: 89% of “in-home” child care workers earned less than the minimum wage

“This report exposes a world of work in which the core protections that many Americans take for granted are failing significant numbers of workers,” said Nik Theodore, Director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois-Chicago and a co-author of the report. “The sheer breadth of the problem suggests the country’s work laws are simply not adequate for the 21st century, and that the laws we do have are not being adequately enforced.”

This isn’t just about low-wage earners folks. During this economic downturn, employers have been squeezing employees at all levels hard and that has led to, among other things, illegal furloughs, and many of you working off the clock. And who takes lunch anymore?

The findings in this study — that included interviews with nearly 4,500 workers in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles — just expose in ugly detail how bad things have gotten. It’s a condemnation of the labor laws and enforcement in this country, and a hopefully a wake-up call for a governmental system that has let so many workers down in the last two decades.

But it’s also a condemnation of what we all have come to expect from so-called great companies.

Every conversation should include a discussion of how employees in offices or factories or hotels should and should not be treated. Employees are not just superfluous “resources”. (My husband always talks about he hates the phrase “human resources” and I’m starting to get his point.)

“These problems are not limited to underground employers or a single group of vulnerable workers – rather, these violations are occurring at large and small businesses alike, in industries that are at the very core of urban U.S. economies. In fact, we found that it’s where you work, not who you are, that is the main determinant of these violations of employment laws,” said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, also a co-author.

Clearly, not all employers screw workers in this way, and the authors of the study point that out. But, added co-author Ruth Milkman, a professor of Sociology at UCLA, “systematic business strategies are in play when you see violations on this magnitude, which involve explicit decisions made by employers.”

Illegal and stupid decisions, no? It’s amazing to me that with all this talk about “great” — “Great Companies”, “Good to Great“, “What Really Makes A Great Entrepreneur?” — we haven’t really figured out what that means yet.

Suddenly lots of workers want to do something with meaning.

Is this a temporary loss of reality?

I’ve been interviewing many individuals lately who have decided Corporate America has screwed them so badly that it’s time for them to do something for themselves, for their communities, for the good of human kind. Not for the good of Corporate kind.

Climbing the ladder of success, many say, was an empty dream, proven empty by the unceremonious way many have been treated — layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, 401Ks decimated.

What did it all mean? The constant cry for bigger, faster, cheaper?

The phenomenon I’ve been chronicling is something I’m calling the “Slow Career” movement. I’m piggybacking on the so called “Slow Food” movement, brought on by the crappy food we’ve all been putting into our bodies thanks to fast and processed food. Lots of people are thinking locally grown, healthy food is a better alternative for our health.

The Slow Career movement is seen as a better alternative for your career health. Better to do what you love, something that has a positive impact on those around us, than slave away for “The Man” all your life with little to show for it.

One woman quit a long time, lucrative IT career to start a doggy daycare. Another guy said goodbye to 70-plus hour weeks in the corporate world to start a website for adoptive parents with alternative lifestyles. Yet another laid off financial services worker decided to become a nurse.

Just got this comment today from Suzanne M. McKoy, who is a benefits manager for a major wine store chain on the East Coast and has been laid off starting in June:

I will go back to school – and take as many classes as I can, as quickly as I can to get my teaching degree. I’ve always had a passion for teaching elementary school but always followed the money and opportunities in the corporate world – what a huge mistake. I’m miserable and tired of the politics and backbiting.

I’ll be sharing more of your stories in my blog in the weeks ahead, but I thought I would launch this Slow Career series with the key question — Will it last?

The economy is in the dumps, people are getting laid off or fear they’ll be laid of, and the promise of big jobs with big pay checks is dwindling for so many. It makes sense that people would be pushed to the brink right now and decide they’re sick of it all.

That kind of mentality helps people try new things, embark on their dreams, say “what the hell, I’m going for it.”

But what if things turn around as suddenly as they tanked? What if the promise of power and money were again a seemingly attainable goal? Will this Slow Career movement become like so many other movements, a distant memory?

Patty Comeford, a head hunter and CEO of business coaching firm You’re Never Stuck, has seen trends come and go in the work world over the past two decades. She equates the Slow Career movement to what we saw after 9 11.

“I’ve seen many of these cycles but I do see this impacting people on a deeper level,” she explains.

Time will tell how deep this goes. But for now, it’s a great thing to see people reassessing what they want out of their work lives.

Are you blindly running through your career, or have you begun to move SLOW enough to smell the roses?

There’s a reason Michael Sarver, a mediocre singer, lasted as long as he did on American Idol. People love his story.

There is nothing more inspiring than a guy who one day is doing a dirty and dangerous job, and the next is following his dream — to be a singer.

If you guys don’t watch American Idol, let me tell you about Sarver.

He’s a big, thick-necked guy who was born in Sulphur, LA. He lives with his wife Tiffany with their two kids in Jaspur, TX, where he works as a roughneck.

The oil roughneck or floorman is a member of the oil drilling crew.

The oil roughneck carry out a variety of general laboring duties and operate equipment to assist in the drilling and servicing of oil and gas wells. The oil roughnecks are employed by drilling and well servicing contractors and by petroleum producing companies.
Oil roughneck work conditions

The oil roughneck usually work long hours in all weather conditions on extended roster systems, usually as member of a drilling crew. The oil roughneck usually performs semiskilled and unskilled manual labor that requires continual hard work in difficult conditions for many hours.

Not only is it difficult work, but it’s dangerous, among the most dangerous jobs to have.

So suddenly this roughneck, Sarver, is on the stage of one of the most popular shows ever following his dream.

It’s the great American story. You can do anything you put your mind to.

That’s been the theme of many of the stories I’ve been writing lately for MSNBC.com as part of a team effort to chronicle how Americans are reinventing themselves in this economy.

My piece this week is on how some laid off workers are turning to franchising as a career option, and other pieces looked at the different generations, Boomers and Gen X.

One of the themes that I keep coming across in my reporting is that the individuals who do reinvent themselves had that moment when they had to get off their butts and go for it.

If you want to embark on a new career, or follow a life long dream, getting off your butt is key. Look at the Roughneck turned Crooner.

I know what you’re thinking. American Idol isn’t real life.

But folks, one day Sarver woke up and got enough nerve to head over to Phoenix, AZ, to try out for the show.

How much guts do you think that took? The whole world would be watching as he succeeded or failed.

No matter what happens when you embark on a new career journey, it probably won’t be that high pressure, right?

What are you afraid of?

So there I was sitting with two happy couples for a taping of the the Donny Deutsch show, “The Big Idea”, on CNBC that airs tonight.

I mention that these couples are happy because it’s surprising that they are.

Why? They’re not only married, they are also business partners. I know what you’re thinking - because everyone thinks this – how the hell are they able to be partners in love and in business?

Well, these entrepreneurs are the oddballs. And I said that on the show. (Yes, I’ll be on the show tonight; that is, if the editors don’t cut me out. Which is possible, so don’t be disappointed if you stay up until 10 p.m.. EST and CareerDiva isn’t there.)

I was on the show to offer my counter view to their success.

Maybe some of you couples out are considering going into business with your spouse because the economy is tough right now and you may end up on the corporate trash heap. But think long and hard folks before you share your bed and your company with one person.

Here are the five things that can go wrong:
1. Marriage and business both go belly up. You could end up losing your marriage and business because many marriages just can’t take major financial upheaval, which is what happens when starting any business.
2. Kiss romance goodbye. Many couples say they get sick of being together day in and day out. Even the most lovie-dovie couples need some time alone in order to keep the passion burning.
3. Dining room becomes the boardroom. The lines between homelife and worklife are blurred. There is no way around it, you’re going to be bringing your company woes home with you and vice versa. Right now, when I’m bitching too much about my business, my husband slaps me around and reminds me I need a personal life. Who will be there to slap you around if your partner is also bitching about the same company?
4. “I can’t believe you said that.” Talk about hurt feelings! Try telling your spouse they screwed up, or made a wrong business decision.
5. Battle of the sexes. If you never resolved the who’s-the-boss issue at home get ready for all out war at work. One of the reasons my mom and dad couldn’t make a go of running a business together was because my father saw himself as the king of his household, and that translated into him being the king of the business, even when my mom had good ideas because she really was the one who understood the retail business they started. Now my mother’s advice is always, “never with your husband.”

If you watch the show tonight you’ll hear some of how the couples that made a go at partnership made it work. They were the two cutest couples, totally friends, lovers and great business partners. Cricket and Brian Allen, the owners of Bot, a fortified water business. And Sandra and Kym Yancey, owners of eWomen Network, a national networking website.

But again, these are the oddballs.

Here’s a good example of why Cricket and Brian are successful at melding love and company:

I was in the Green room waiting to go on the show, and just before we went into the studio Cricket turned to Brian and said, “did you eat your sandwich?” He turned to her with a genuine smile on his face and yes, “yes, I did.” He was so grateful his wife was thinking of him.

OK, if I did that to my husband, this would be his response: “I’m not Cheiron.” Cheiron is my six-year-old son.

Do you see my point? If not, I will explain it to you. When two partners work together to make a business grow they have to say mean things, critical things to each other often. They can’t take things personally and they have to look at the criticism or advice as constructive and for the good of the business.

Most couples get emotional with each other. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just reality.

You have to leave you emotions and the constant business talk at the company door, don’t take it to work and don’t replay it at home.

Can you do that with your spouse? When’s the last time you guys had an argument? What was it about? Imagine now that you were really angry at your spouse but when the alarm went off in the morning you had to head to an office or factory together and focus on working together in harmony all day.

If this doesn’t worry you, go ahead. Start a mom and pop. I dare you.