Newly Displaced Workers Seize New Opportunities

June 25, 2007 - PRLog -- Whether the U.S. unemployment rate climbs or falls, it remains high enough to create ongoing anxiety for those facing the possibility of company downsizing and layoffs. In the midst of a time when a large number of households are touched by the fear of unemployment, some displaced workers are viewing their circumstances as an opportunity, rather than a burden. They’re using this time to launch their dreams of self-employment.

Bob Egerter, owner and president of Maintenance Made Simple #132 in Liberty. NC, is living that dream. “After my work location was closed, I had to decide whether I was going to find another job working for someone else or step out on my own,” he says. “After lots of thinking, I decided to purchase my own franchise using my retirement funds, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Now I am investing in myself and I am in control of my future.”

Egerter’s situation is mirrored by Bill Kahn of Upper Saddle, New Jersey. When Kahn’s company was acquired by another, the senior management team was displaced. He decided he no longer wanted to report to another employer, so he bought his own Schooley Mitchell franchise. “I had heard of utilizing existing retirement funds as start-up capital without taking a distribution or paying penalties,” he says. “So I researched the concept further and decided it was the right financing option for me. It is a much better utilization of my retirement funds, provides access to capital without loan repayment requirements and will generate a much higher return over time on my retirement assets than I would investing in the market.”

Like Egerter and Kahn, more and more displaced workers—and even those with secure jobs—are taking notice of their retirement funds and are utilizing those funds to start a businesses for themselves. Through a little-known retirement account investment option, IRA holders are accessing retirement monies before retirement age without incurring early distribution penalties or taking on debt. Today, thousands of new entrepreneurs are financing a business or franchise by utilizing their retirement funds instead of incurring debt from high-interest loans.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small business is big business in the U.S., despite continuing layoffs. The SBA reports that the small business sector creates 60-80 percent of new jobs annually, and it generates a majority of the innovations that occur in the country. Small business ownership presents limitless possibilities and opportunities for a displaced worker to step out and attain a popular American dream: owning and operating his or her own business.

“Amidst corporate layoffs, down-sizing and the difficulty of finding employment after age  55, many workers are finding comfort in the idea of becoming small business owners and seizing control of their professional careers,” says David Nilssen, president and CEO of Guidant Financial Group, a company specializing in self-directed IRA and business funding solutions. “Entrepreneurship provides phenomenal opportunities that can defy most financial models. Most prospective business owners are simply unaware of all the possible ways to start a business. They don’t realize that, with the right guidance, accessing the necessary capital should not be a difficult task.”

The most common ways of funding a new business or franchise include cash, home equity lines of credit (HELOC), SBA financing, signature loans and retirement funds. The bottom line is that each borrower faces different circumstances and should get in touch with a company that will help them evaluate their options and find the loan that is right for them.  

After consulting Guidant Financial Group, Egerter and Kahn found that utilizing their retirement funds was the financing solution that made the most sense for them. They were able to roll over their existing funds without taking a distribution, paying penalties or incurring additional taxes. “My retirement funds are money that I earned and worked hard to save,” says Egerter. “And now I am in a position to utilize this money, while still growing it, for the next step in my life without having to be concerned about incurring additional debt from a loan and paying back the money.”

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About Guidant Financial Group™

Guidant Financial Group provides investors the freedom to make investments in real estate, franchises, businesses, tax liens and more by facilitating the conversion of existing retirement plans to a self-directed IRA or 401(k). Guidant is a member of the Better Business Bureau, IFA and IBBA.  For more information on Self-directed IRAs or Business Financing please visit www.guidantfinancial.com.

Website: www.guidantfinancial.com/default.aspx?c=PRL