As this issue was going to press, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released employment figures for May 2009. In that one month, the number of unemployed workers in the U.S. rose by 787,000 to a total of 14.5 million.

Chances are you know someone who's recently lost a job. This is a scary and uncertain time. Or, if you're Rich Sloan, it's “a phenomenal time.” Sloan, co-founder of the Web site startupnation.com, thinks a recession is a great time to launch a business. Why? “Widely available technology makes business easier and less expensive, outsourcing makes business possible for people who don't have or don't wish to have a big infrastructure, and social media allows for inexpensive marketing,” he says. And a time of rampant layoffs, he adds, “is a time when people dust off that dream of owning their own business.” We talked to several former financial services company meeting planners who have done just that, asking them to share the good, the bad, and the challenging of making the leap to self-employment.

Kathy Rust, CMP, CTC

LEFT THIS JOB: Vice President, Corporate Meetings & Events, Washington Mutual

TO START THIS JOB: Rust & Associates, Seattle, 2009 www.rustandassoc.com

Target Client: Mid-sized companies with meeting spend over $5M

Target Projects: “My goal is not to do meeting planning. I want to focus on infrastructure, on strategic issues, and on business processes. My role at Washington Mutual was leading a team doing meetings and managing the SMMP: creating the preferred-vendor program, creating consistent policies, leveraging our spend. Companies don't realize what they don't know about what they're spending and who is spending it. They don't understand their liability when non-meeting-professionals are signing contracts. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit if you have the time and energy to find it.”

Why I Made the Switch: “When J.P. Morgan bought Washington Mutual in September 2008, the New York investment firm decided to downsize the West Coast office with the intention of ultimately moving employees east. I was not willing to relocate. I started to look around the Seattle area, and there was not much out there. Many others had been laid off as well, so it was discouraging. I took this as an opportunity to do what I'd always wanted to do — start a business.”

Challenges of a Startup: I need to identify the niche I am going after and refine the services I am able to offer. And once I find that target client, I have to get in the door and ascertain what they need. I have a great capacity for building relationships. But it's a challenge to get to the right people in the right company. I would like to talk to the CFO or procurement head because they are looking at things holistically. It's about risk management, and how all the pieces fit together.”

Staying Connected: I'm a member of the National Business Travel Association and Meeting Professionals International. I go to my monthly chapter meetings and continue to network with colleagues. And I am one of 12 industry professionals on the task force developing a strategic meetings management certification, which will launch at the NBTA convention in August.”

On Being Your Own Boss: “It's exciting and it's scary. I love the idea of having autonomy — of having all the responsibility and all the reward of growing this business. I believe that this is a good time to start a business and that this is a good business to start.”

Steve Clark, CMP

LEFT THIS JOB: Assistant Vice President, Conference & Travel, CUNA Mutual Group

TO START THIS JOB: Stephen Clark & Associates LLC, Chicago, 2003 www.stephenclarkassociates.com

Client Types: insurance and financial services companies

Project Types: training conferences and client programs for up to 500 guests

Having a Plan in Place: “I was planning to do it for many years, and I had saved the startup money. I was very active in Meeting Professionals International. They were always teaching the process of working your way up the chain. I had done that. I reported to the president. All companies, especially financial services companies, struggle with where to place the meeting management function. No matter how much they value you, you've reached your peak. I realized I had many more years of working but had gone as far as I could go at the company. Also, I had no personal life whatsoever!”

Advice: “One mistake I made was that I should have diversified my clients. You don't want to let one client dominate, because you never know what's going to happen. You have to market yourself, and that's not easy. You need to step out of your comfort zone, knock on doors, and sell yourself.”

Staying Connected: “For the past five years I have been on either the board of directors or a committee of Financial & Insurance Conference Planners. I spent 18 years on boards and committees with MPI. I have a good network. In the past few years I have missed the office camaraderie. But you've got to be secure enough in yourself to be able to handle that. And you need to stay involved in the industry. Make sure you belong to meeting planning organizations, keep up the rapport. I also subscribe to e-newsletters, which make it easy to stay on top of things.”

Making the Pitch: “Financial services planners today can sell the value of hiring people who have lost jobs and have them become part of the staff as independent contractors. That way the company can hire someone with a much higher level of experience than they could otherwise afford, and they aren't paying benefits or having to manage an employee. Especially when a company has peaks and valleys in terms of meeting management. In addition, the fee for the independent contractor can be passed through to the meeting owner. The meeting department doesn't have to take on the cost if it is marketed correctly.”

Coming Through the Downturn: “We have seen these cycles in the past but this is without question the scariest of them. As an industry we have struggled to get recognition for corporate meetings, to get a seat at the table. But we still struggle with showing executives the return on investment that meetings bring to the bottom line. And unfortunately, now corporate meetings have reached the cover of every magazine and become the topic of every talk show, but not in a positive light. Luckily people have short memories. But we have to get back to the starting point before we can move forward again.”

On Being Your Own Boss: “This year, the thought of getting a corporate job has crossed my mind multiple times! But I love being self-employed. I have a much-improved quality of life. I sleep! I wake up happy.”

Jennifer C. Squeglia, CMP

LEFT THIS JOB: Director, Meetings & Client Events, Fidelity Investments

TO START THIS JOB: RLC Events, Marlborough, Mass., 2007; www.rlcevents.com

Client Types: Large companies in and outside of financial services/insurance, a nonprofit organization

Project Types: Site selection, project management, event specifications, and other consulting

Making the Leap: “Having my own company was always a dream. Once I decided to do it and was in the process of making it happen, there were days where I thought I was crazy. But it would come down to the same conversation: What's the worst that can happen? I can always go back to work. Despite my fears, it felt right. I knew I could do it.”

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