I packed up my life and moved to Kentucky just as the flooding in Atlanta started. We moved from one soaked place to another with an open trailer, and yet everything pretty much survived. My nephew is a careful man, and brilliant with tarps. He got us here safe and sound and I'll always be thankful for that.

I know he had hoped I was moving with less than I did, but I had thinned down almost as far as I could get. It's a third of what I had a year ago: good furniture had been sold and replaced with things I got off the street. I brought only the furniture of one room, and no bed, though thankfully we were able to pack the antique bedstand that reminds me of the good friend I got it from. I'm going to refinish it and get it ready for better times.

 Most of my clothing is gone. My books are down to only a few very personal books and the books I use in my work. Family pieces were the biggest part of my kitchen goods, and I would not let them go. I brought what I knew I would need. Everything else had been sold, given away, or was trashed.

I have the instruments, tools and materials of my work. I'm re-starting  with a full plate of skills. The biggest bulk of my goods are the copies of my writings - and I'll be very glad to move completely into the realm of a paperless writer!

I've very little money left. The steady nine to five job I worked ended up being a terrible mistake. The full time stopped months ago. My boss, possibly the most foolish and selfish person I've ever met in my life, spent thousands more than he needed on dressing up his shop and nothing on advertising, then wondered why business was bad. Wasn't the shop beautiful? Yes, but no one knew it was there, and old customers had pretty much gone away. He did nothing to make sure his staff was taken care of. So the staff who had the most need for full time work - and did the most work for him - had their hours cut in half.

It quickly became clear that I was going to have difficulty getting other work. My skills come largely from life experience and self education, not degrees. On top of that, I am in my late fifties and not in good health.  In interviews I barely heard "thank you for contacting us," let alone "we'll be in touch."

So I started full time on building the work I should never have put on the backburner in the first place. I am highly skilled - I'm just not officially skilled. It's amazing what a glance at a diploma can do. 

I realized quickly the only company that could hire me and make best use of what I do is - me. I dove in, creating my business  full time while I still had the part time day job. When the day job died, I doubled my efforts. But the effort didn't bring enough income to stay in my home, or my city. I moved to Kentucky, where family and a lower cost of living can help put a dent in the terror of the coming months.

I realize  how much is needed to keep life and business going during the 2-3 years it takes to  build a business up. I don't have that luxury. I'm lucky in that the Internet allows people to start businesses on very little overhead, but you still have to become known for what you do. That's the biggest part of the work. The next biggest job is getting people to buy your product - and that's also the hardest part.

 This is a time when even if people love your product, they will think many times before buying it. Any service or product is a huge gamble. So do you go ahead or not?

My philosophy, now, is go ahead. And I am. I can't even guarantee I'll have money in a few weeks, but I have the drive, the skills, and good work going for me. I'm reaching out.  The rest is up to the people who like my work enough to buy and use it.

 Whether it is my business, or some other businesses you care to support, go ahead and do it. That one decision, repeated by people all over this country, will rebuild our economy faster than anything.