There may be arguments about the best time to start your own business. Some might say that you need to be flush with cash, others will say that you simply need to take the plunge when you've figured out a solid business plan. But there's one certainty – the loss of job gives you a great opportunity to pursue your small business dreams. Here are some strategies for finding success with your own business following a career setback.

Build upon your existing skills
As one suggestion succinctly puts it, “you can take what you are doing now in your job and sell it to others in your industry who need the same task/project done.”That's the nuts and bolts of how you should think about your new business. You've spent years and years at a job, learning skills and becoming an expert in a certain field. There's no reason you need to start from scratch when developing a business plan. Take stock of what you know and what you can offer, and build your new business around that.

Start a consulting business

This is the number one way to use your previously-honed skills as a new personal business. Consultants thrive in dozens of fields, including marketing, taxes, insurance, human resources, public relations, IT, career counseling, and more. You need to be able to use your skills to offer companies fresh perspectives on issues that they might be lacking in expertise. “Your prospective clients likely arent lacking smart or opinionated talent – if they were, they would want to hire a full-time employee, not a consultant. Rather, they seek outside expertise because theyre exploring unfamiliar problems, markets, or methodologies. They need objective insight that their in-house people can't provide. That's where you come in. Successful consultants fill pressing knowledge gaps,” says Inc.com. When developing a plan for a consulting business, you need to remember that you're selling yourself just as much as you're selling your service. You need to think of yourself as a brand with very valuable knowledge to offer. Don't sell yourself short – put an adequate price tag on your services.

Understand the importance of technology
When it comes to advertising your new business, you need to go on the offensive. If you're looking to be a consultant, freelance your services, be an business coach, sell real estate (here's a great guide for becoming an agent), or some other form of self-service- promotion, you must seek out clients in your respective field. “The first way to find someone who needs your skills is to search Google for companies in your area who might be a good fit. Go to their website and learn more about them. Think about how your skills benefit the company and will improve some aspect of their business. This will be helpful when we get to step three.The second way to find someone who needs your skills is to search on social media,” notes Forbes.

You will need to construct a website that does a good job of branding your business and promotes your skills and expertise. One overhead cost of starting any small business is developing an online presence, so if you're not proficient in web design this is one expense where you need to just bite the bullet and get it over with as soon as possible.

Whether you were fired or laid off, left your job to deal with personal issues, or simply quit because you wanted something more, building your own small business on the back of your long-developed skills is not only smart, but will help you kickstart your company quickly and with fewer overhead costs.

Submitted by: Larry Mager