Layoffs Turn Jobless Workers Into Job Creators

Layoffs are the worst nightmare for most employees; for software developer Stephen Chen, getting laid off turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For months, he had toyed with the idea of starting a shoe company that fashioned sandals from recycled tires after seeing it done during visit to the Philippines. But his business, GreenSoul Shoes, may have never come to fruition if the hedge fund company he worked for hadn't let him go. "The time was right," Chen said. That is a feeling shared by many unemployed workers who, rather than scour the market for another job, are creating their own jobs by starting businesses.

According to this report from ABC News, these new entrepreneurs are inspired to find solutions, not just to their own unemployment, but also to problems that plague the economy that undermined them. That's exactly what motivated Craig Cadarette of Alcoa, Tenn. After getting his pink slip from the ALCOA aluminum plant, he used his severance to start his business, All American Real-Estate Clean-Out & Services Inc., which cleans out foreclosed homes so they can be put back on the market. He hopes to grow the business enough to hire a few of his former coworkers who also got laid off from the plant. Now that's inspiring! Check out the article to read more about the ingenuity and optimism of these unlikely entrepreneurs.