Whew! What a Week in Washington! How will YOU Weather the Storm?

We're getting ready to bail out Wall Street. Wow. The words "crisis" and "not since the Great Depression" and "imminent collapse" worry us, even terrify us. Are our jobs safe? Our retirement funds?

And all the talk about us...the American workforce...as the strongest, most productive, and most resilient in the world.

Yeah, butter us up. Just before you cut our medical benefits, our retirement benefits, our hours, or send our jobs overseas and leave us to fend for ourselves.

Now, more than ever, the idea of a home-based business provides an alternative.

A recent Fortune magazine cover story stated: "Forget the paycheck; your W-2 days are over. It's a 1099 world now."

A recent Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans prefer to be their own bosses. They realize they want more control over their time. They are less willing to work the extended hours their jobs require while their children grow up without them. And they simply don't trust that their loyalty will result in a secure retirement.

Experts, like Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad; Oprah's financial guru, David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire and Smart Women Finish First; Stephen Covey, author of the legendary book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; and the persistent billionaire Donald Trump all agree that direct sales in the form of network marketing offers a practical and accessible way for anyone who chooses to start their own business or earn extra income. Trump says, in the book he wrote with Kiyosaki, Why We Want You to Be Rich, "Network marketing has proven itself to be viable and rewarding source of income, and the challenges could be just right for you."

Women in traditional jobs still earn on average less than men for the same work. Astounding. But the Direct Selling Association reports that in direct selling 79.9% are women who have the exact opportunity as men to create an income that supports their dreams for themselves and for their families.

Direct selling is also a business that doesn't require you to have umpteen college degrees to create a successful business. Nearly one-fourth have a high school diploma or less, and 32% have some college or trade school. But college graduates, about 35%, choose direct sales over more traditional jobs. Maybe because there aren't any. And 8% have post-graduate degrees. (Maybe, like me, they've been in jobs, and now they're choosing another, more life-pleasing route.)

The news is scary. It affects our future as a country and creates a debt, already outrageously, unnecessarily high, that will extend beyond our lifetimes.

But we are the most productive, strongest, and resilient workforce in the world. And, even more important, we are creative, persistent, and determined.

We are the entrepreneurs that can and will rebuild the financial security of America...one family at a time.

What Do IBM, Ford, AOL, Gap, Blockbuster, and Sears Have in Common?

According to the latest financial news, all of these companies (and a few more big names) are in a bit of a mess. And all will need to restructure, file for bankruptcy protection, or send jobs overseas in order to remain in business.

Whatever they do, it will mean layoffs. Lots of layoffs. The article I read suggested 10,000 or more per company.

Last month's unemployment figures were the highest in several years.

Layoffs are already at about 500,000 per month.

Now, some of you may have the kind of jobs that remain no matter what the economic news. I used to think that as a public school teacher, I was pretty safe. After all, people are still having kids and those kids need an education. Most go to public schools. But last Spring, hundreds of teachers in my one little corner of the country did not have their contracts renewed for this school year. It's not that the schools don't need teachers, it just means that school systems can't afford to hire them. Class sizes increase, services are cut...you know the drill.

Funny thing is that for the past two decades, schools have suffered a teacher shortage.

Okay, but you're not a teacher, and I'm ranting a bit.

Fortunately, we've had a lot of big box stores open in this same little corner of the country. (We have the same stores just a few miles away, but that's, apparently, too far.) So some of those laid off teachers may have found work there...although they would have had to compete with thousands of others and take a significant pay cut to a just-above-minimum hourly rate.

Rah.

What is your w-2 job? Do you feel secure?

Or do you think it might be time to be a bit pro-active. Maybe it's time you seriously looked at creating your own financial security.

There are lots of great ways to make money from home...leave the commute and stay with your family. You need to do your research, and you need to look carefully at your qualifications.

Better now, however, then when you have no choice.

Judy