A lousy economy or recessions are great times to think like an entrepreneur!

We started Square One Funding years ago to help people start their businesses initially, and our business grew beyond what we could have imagined; we have evolved into helping people with a wide variety of different and sometimes unique funding needs with clients worldwide. So, long story short, we started a business to help others start their own business, and it proves that any time is the right time to start your own business, regardless of whether it is during a good economy or terrible economy.  It is.

Think about it: thousands of workers can’t find jobs, so the talent pool is large and cheap. Good jobs seem less secure as companies cut hours and salaries, making people more likely to risk working for a start-up. Investors and loans are more challenging to secure. But even that is more of a hurdle than a roadblock. So, even if you have not had much success, Square One Funding can help you find the funding you’re looking for.

Many successful companies, including Microsoft and Southwest Airlines, were started during economic downturns. Business historians say these businesses don’t share a single startup formula for success. Instead, it combines luck, good ideas, and the willingness to work killer hours. Most perfect ideas and businesses tend to have someone in charge with an evangelical belief in the project—people who would almost sacrifice their lives to get this done.

Microsoft did more than simply position itself in the right place at the right time. In its partnership with IBM, Microsoft kept the licensing for the PC operating system. The logic was that other manufacturers would inevitably copy IBM’s personal computer, and Microsoft would make even more money licensing software to other manufacturers.

For Southwest, finding success meant finding a niche. 1971, it started limited flights between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Unlike other airlines, Southwest did not assign seating or offer food or entertainment on the flights. It also didn’t operate out of expensive major airport hubs where they would have to go head-to-head with established carriers. It used the tactic of avoiding competition and, at the same time, being the low-cost player at the wrong time. In a period that could have been hostile, they were insulated because of their low prices and operating model. Southwest democratized air travel with fares that were 50-70 percent cheaper than their competition.

What types of successful startups will most likely emerge from this recession? Green technology is a good bet. With $11 billion in stimulus money going toward modernizing the electric grid and $14 billion to expanding tax credits for renewable energy facilities, many startups that develop technologies and products surrounding wind and solar will get a boost. As the economy rebounds, these small businesses could be a source of innovation and job creation, particularly for workers who want more control over their careers.

Big businesses are the ones making the cutbacks and the outsourcing. They have a right to, but it’s small businesses that are providing the jobs; most small businesses start with one or two people with the idea that could cover a never-ending range of ways to make their presence in the business world on their own,” In fact, small businesses created roughly 80 percent of new jobs in 2016, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s most recent data.

That’s unlikely to change. “The bad times are the best times for starting companies,” says Gregg Fairbrothers, a professor of business administration at the Tuck School.

He adds that tough times require innovation and figuring out how to do more with less. That’s a lesson we could all learn in this economy.

Square One Funding is dedicated to helping you receive the funding you need to start your own business by matching you with our funding partners who can make that happen.

 Square One Funding is a Veterans-Owned Business (VOB) Supporter. The owner is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and a long-time Friend and Supporter of Law Enforcement.