One Entrepreneur's Take on Unemployment

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Lots of businesses are actually cutting salaries and benefits. As recently as August, Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison announced that his pay for this year would be reduced to only one dollar. That's a significant reduction from the $84,598,700 he earned last year. See? Everyone's doing their part in these tough, tough times.

And if I don't want to pay a full-time person $84,598,700, it's now easier and more politically correct to hire part-timers, subcontractors, and other outsourced help to fill the gaps. That's because when people are out of work, they'll do whatever they've got to do to bring in cash. Just ask Lou Diamond Philips, Stephen Baldwin, Heidi Montag, and the rest of the cast of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. I don't need a washed-up celebrity. But I'm often in need of an experienced part-time programmer to write that application for my client. And I can hire him now for lot less than I could have paid before. I could use some marketing help but instead of hiring a full-time marketing person, I can have that talented woman in Dallas do the work for me at 10 hours a week. She's happy for the extra hours.

Because of the rising unemployment numbers, many business owners are in a better situation than they'd like to admit. And I think this also causes some guilt. We like to complain a lot. We complain about the long hours. About our customers that don't pay. And the suppliers who don't deliver on time. But seeing unemployment rise, I find myself complaining a lot less. I see friends losing their jobs and suddenly the headaches of running a small company don't seem so major. I'm happy that I can forecast my future cash flow and have the power to make adjustments to keep as many people as I can—including myself—employed. I'm relieved that my life isn't controlled by selfish bosses.

Do I feel guilty about all this? A bit. But not as guilty as I feel after reading about People's Hottest Bachelors. Or that I pluck my eyebrows more often than Chace Crawford.

Gene Marks, CPA, is the owner of the Marks Group, which sells customer relationship, service, and financial management tools to small and midsize businesses. Marks is the author of four best-selling small business books and writes the popular "Penny Pincher's Almanac" syndicated column. He frequently speaks to business groups on penny-pinching topics. More penny-pinching advice from Marks can be found at www.quickerbetterwiser.com.

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