My Unemployment Benefits Story About Starting A Business

Could exploring how you can become self employed be one of the more viable solutions to end your long term unemployment?

I think so, and it may be our government is beginning to come around too.



The 2012 unemployment extension includes the availability of 35 million dollars total to encourage states to adopt a self employment assistance program.

The option has been around for years, but very few states have seen this as being useful.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm not a fan of collecting unemployment benefits long term.

If a job search isn't going well I don't believe we should be forced to set on our thumbs and do nothing, but continue to look for non-existent jobs in a field empty of jobs or, forced to accept unskilled labor jobs that pay way below what we used to earn.

Should You Give Up Unemployment Benefits Up Before Starting a Business?

I never mentioned this website when I quit for the same reason I didn't tell them I always have a craft project going. It's none of their damn business.

But, for two and half years, all I did was write free content about getting unemployment and answer individuals questions for free concurrently while I worked anywhere from 50 to 70 hours a week as a hearing coordinator.

During that two and half years I was a temp employee when I was recalled to work after being laid off while on FMLA in 2006

Eventually, I had to quit for a health related issue and again started collecting unemployment .. because I did try to correct and preserve the job.

However, after making it through the hearing initiated by the employer's appeal and again through their appeal to the board of review, I was burnt. Partly, because it had become apparent someone needed to stay home to care for my husband's mother full time.

That was the first time I looked at my website building practice site .. Unemployment-tips.com and thought .. could you earn money from this?

I thought, I can at least try, but being who I am, my mind wandered to the implications regarding my benefits. I thought, .. you never informed them that you had this website .. what might they perceive your intent to be?

I was tired. I really didn't want the hassle of producing the evidence, waiting on an investigation, waiting for the determination .. possibly having to appeal anyway and it dawned on me the reason I'd never tried to earn money was because I was always concerned about not endangering my benefits.

To hell with that. To get to the surface I decided I just needed to drop some weight. A risk? Not really I only had about two months of benefits left and I was tired of giving any more thought to keeping benefits.

If there were any issues they would have been my availability for work, whether I would actually accept suitable work (perception about my attitude, since I had yet to receive any job offers) .. compliance with required job search. (Producing the job search log is necessary and it is valuable documentation).

What I'm trying to say .. I believe I would have survived an investigation .. but collecting benefits felt like the monkey on my back I had to get rid of before I could move on with my life and be free to choose what efforts I made .. without regard to the damn unemployment benefits.

So, I Hacked Off The Ball and Chain

I just stopped collecting, rose to the surface and for the first time since 2006 I felt free to finally choose a firm direction without regard to what became my business.

This may be an irony .. considering what this website is about, but being unemployed is also a varying situation and sometimes collecting benefits can be the detriment if you have aspirations and ambitions to be the driver of your own living.

We were fortunate that my husband has been lucky and not faced unemployment during this never ending recession and that we've always had a special emergency fund .. that we try not to touch.

We had a discussion about what I planned to do (stop collecting and get to work on starting a business). He was nervous, but this discussion also made me aware just how unaware even a reasonable person can be regarding this self employment and unemployment benefit business.

I wrote article based on the discussion with my husband .. and I'm editing it right now to explain what he was having trouble understanding. Any effort to earn money .. even if you report any earnings .. gives rise to an eligibility issue of whether you actually willing to accept suitable work if you're trying to start a business.

Job Creation is Crucial To Ending a Recession

They must think we need someone to tell us what to do to actually earn a living.

I understand UI needs controls in place to prevent erroneous benefit payments to those that don't want to work, but when a recession lasts and lasts and jobs aren't being created .. why would the powers that be, wait until the last dying moment to consider that small business is actually the backbone of our economy and that is where efforts to grow the economy should be concentrated.

The 2012 unemployment extension added more weight to the ball with conditional eligibility requirements to collect extension benefits, but it also has attempted to open the window on the possibility of self employment for self starters as a possible way to get people back to work.

Collecting has historically, disallowed ambition to bear any fruit .. especially when a person becomes aware of how unemployment and self employment work in conjunction.

Like everything else in UI .. this particular situation, varies according to state rules and how those are interpreted by courts.

It's safe to assume your weekly UIB's are the paycheck for looking for a new employer, but if you want to be your own employer .. you'd better check how your state comes down on the issue of availability when engaging in starting a business.

Heaven forbid if you think you're going to get a pat on the back when you start a business that has the potential to create a job or two.

We need to get back to working for a living.

Ask your state why they don't have an SEAP. Encourage them to understand the value of new small business.

Have a question about UIB's and starting a business?


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Starting a Business

Do you have information to share whether about unemployment or an opportunity you've been pondering to make more money than measly UIB's?

It's a natural reaction of the "responsible" unemployed person .. especially when there is just 1 job for every 5 - 7 unemployed people depending on where you live.

Please, if your interest is commercial, contact me first to discuss.

Starting a Business

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