No one knows how many businesses were started simply because the entrepreneuse( that's the feminine counterpart to entrepreneur) found herself jobless and little prospect for a new job.

That's certainly how I started my own business. With so many people getting laid off -- it is only natural that a signficant portion of them will dance with the idea of trying to work for themselves.

According ot the Kauffman Foundation the majority of Americans believe entrepreneurs are the best solution for the current financial crisis, it's just the majority are reluctant to start their own company.

Seventy-one percent of Americans believe that the economic crisis of the past two weeks has made it more difficult to become an entrepreneur. The study shows a gulf between those who see opportunities and those willing to seize them; 49 percent of respondents see opportunities for entrepreneurial ideas in the current economy but only 26 percent said they would actually consider starting a business within the next five years.

Becky Post was one of the 26%.During the 21 years that Becky worked as an editor for Hazelton she dreamed what her life would be like as a freelance editor. She dreamed about the flexibility, the exciting clients, the potential to earn a lot more money than she earned at her job.

When the organization re-orged, Post was offered a lucrative severance and decided to follow her dream.

Her  dream quickly  became her nightmare.

In a matter of months, Post realized that she is a company gal and that given a choice of working for herself in the proverbial bunny slippers,or waking up at the crack of dawn to drive over 30 miles  to an office, Post will take the office.
Post now works as the Managing Editor for Fieldstone Alliance* and has a litany of reasons why she was a reluctant entrepreneuse.

Then was the issue of cash flow. Her concern  about cash flow  was so pervasive that she hesitated to purchase office supplies like post it notes and refused to go out to breakfast and lunch.

Within months she signed up to be a substitute teacher just so she could get out of the house.

Genevia Fulbright has taken the time to define reluctant entrepreneurs( entrepreneuse if you prefer the feminine counterpart to entrepreneur)

 You are a reluctant entrepreneur if you:

* Have plans to only run your business until you find a new full-time position.

* Avoid planning for the growth or prepare basic business projections beyond six months or so.

* Fail to invest time or funds on professional advisors or visit
small a business center’s for guidance in areas that you do not have
expertise such as law or accounting.

* Use your credit cards instead of checking with bankers to see if
you might qualify for a line or credit or small business loan to
finance your business.

According to Ms. Fulbright, I definitely meet some of the criteria for a reluctant entrepreneuse  even though I have been self-employed since 1978--except for that 18-month stint at Rapp Collins.

Like many entrepreneuses and entrepreneurs who describe themselves as freelancers or consultants, its not entrepreneurship that we are interested in. We want to do the work that we love and if to make that happen we have to be lumped in as entrepreneurs, so be it.Being an entrepreneur is more a by-product and not the goal.

Of course, those of us who are  reluctant entrepreneuse know that failing to act like an entrepreneuse can be problematic.  That's one of the reason Jeanne Larson created Incubator.

I met Jeanne after 9/11. She and I were in a consultant support group -- most of us were struggling to find work and Jeanne had just landed a contract with the Minnesota Workforce Center to provide entrepreneur consulting to folks who had been laid off.

 It was a sweet gig. People who had been laid off in Minnesota had the option to come to the center and take classes on a variety of topics --all designed to help make them more marketable. In fact, Jeanne got the contract because she had taken computer classes at the center when she was laid off and her counselor encouraged Jeanne to create a course for entrepreneurs. 

If you have been laid off it would be worthwhile to check with your local workforce center to see if  they offer entrepreneur courses -- none of the participants had to pay Jeanne out of pocket, the center picked up the costs for the course.

If your local workforce center --that's code for unemployment office-- doesn't offer entrepreneur courses, BizzBangBuzz has a post with links to 100 free courses people can take to help gain the skills to transition from reluctant to grounded entrepreneur.

For more on reluctant entrepreneurs you can read about:
 

Arlene Battishall, CEO of ScooterGirls - a company she created because she works in the housing industry and believes every day she walks into work will be the day she gets laid off.

The Work At Home Blog  looks at how starting an internet based business is ideal for introverts.

Are you facing a job lay-off? Have you considered starting your own business? Share your stories.

Full disclosure- Becky is my managing editor .I am in the process co-writing the third edition of The Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations with the workbook's original author, Gary Stern.

Elana blogs about business culture at FunnyBusiness