Thinkin' of a Master Plan...

One reason to be thankful for the recession? I have had to get creative in thinking of business ideas, career opportunities, and how to bring in some cash. My part time photography business is still going successfully, but I am ready to expand my career.

I am very interested in the ad/branding/graphic design industry. After researching some ads on CraigsList and realizing that I don't have very much experience in that world, I decided to pursue an internship with a friend's company: guruuve.

Guruuve is owned and operated by two amazing, smart and creative women, Sharon Backurz and Jeannine Axelson. They were more than happy to have an extra hand at the office. When I contacted them, they were in the process of brainstorming ideas for their website, which is currently a glorified "under construction" site at this point. I came at just the right time, as they were looking for assistance with styling the front end of the site as well as someone to photograph all of their products. They are teaching me the basics of the Mac as well as instruction in InDesign. Luckily, I have tons of experience in Photoshop, so "indie" does not feel extremely foreign to me.

I am one of those people that is overflowing with ideas. I need to keep a notebook with me so that I can write them down when they come to me. Luckily, I had a notebook with me for my latest two ideas. I won't reveal them here, but I will say that one is an idea for a book that I plan to work on with my good friend, LV, and another is a business idea that my husband and I are inspired to work on. LV has another book idea that we are excited to collaborate on as well.

With so many people unemployed, it seems to me that this is a great opportunity for people to explore new careers through internships, volunteering, taking classes, etc. I know that can be tough to find the time when people's basic financial needs are not being met. Putting food on the table trumps pursuing your dreams, but I wonder how many people would benefit from taking this time as an opportunity to reflect and then act on where they would like to go.

Do we all feel like we are still searching for who we want to be when we grow up? Maybe now is the time to figure that out and go after it.