When you have nothing to lose, it’s time to take a risk…

For the last two weeks I have been lost in the new Yazix project I’ve wrote about here. My involvement became bigger than originally intended.
It all started out with me giving some BA help, and writing about Yazix on the web, spreading the word thing, but in about 3 weeks I became the de facto project leader and then it has been made official.

Now that gave me a lot more responsibility and work, which I don’t mind, because I am positively excited about the project. Yes, this is me all excited.
You may have noticed I did not go all Amway on you about the project. Should I? Just joking.

But I am excited. I think the result of the project can be something useful and popular, something that helps people with their job, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. But this blog is not about Yazix, for that check the Yazix Blog.

What I wanted to write about is this whole crisis thing. Of course, people way smarter than me write about how it is bad or good for the markets, we are constantly bombarded by how tough times are, and that we are going to die, and all, but I wanted to write about it from a diferent perspective.

We have all read that there are touh times, people are getting laid off, employment is hard to find, money is tight, even I wrote about it how difficult it is to land a good job. But I want to bring up the other half of the crisis. Opportunity. There are half-joking ideas like Naomi at Ittybiz who, upon hearing that people – suit wearing, iPod owning people – live in tents has concluded that it’s high time to start a Yahoo Tent store – and I say half joking, because only the style is funny, it actually can be a good business idea, no? Go over there and read her post. I will wait. Note: NSFW.

Then there are initiatives for “charity projects”, where you work for no pay, but to hone and maintain your skills, and network with people – which is a good idea -, and not on some hidden corner of the web, there is a new group on LinkedIn called Code Angels.

But what about starting something that you was thinking about but did not do because it is risky? I wonder, if being in the middle of a crisis, being unemployed will make people more risk averse or more risk embracing.

I know that I choose the latter path. For me, Yazix is a “venture” project – I work with the hope of having a gain in the far future. If the project flops, I will be left with a fuzzy warm feeling that I have learned, and worked, and gathered experience, and n0 money to show up for my efforts. If it works out it will be “happy days again”. Would I have done it in non-critical times with a full time job? Probably not. I would not have had the time, I would have needed my free time for myself, I would have had no need for it, you name the excuse. No pressure to take the risk, we are all comfy, we are all good.

But as I have ended up unemployed I have two options:

1. Look for a job, which is a bit hopeless right now, and between offers and interviews sit at home and watch TV.
2. Join a risky project and work, build my experience, learn, and hope for the best – and look for a job (which still is sort of hopeless, btw).

I take the risk. What can I lose? My TV time? Not that I watch too much TV, so lets make it game time. Not a big loss if I put it up against the “what can I win?”.

So, question is: what prevents you from taking a risk if you don’t have a job and don’t get paid anyway? Is a certain zero income better than a “possible X” income where X is bigger than zero? I think that in this situation you should take a risk, instead – or beside :) – of complaining about the economy, how the local currency crashed, how inept the politicians are, how there are no possibilities, how… You get the point.

Not to mention that when the economy recovers, and you will be able to find a job at last, your CV will have a brand new entry and not a 6 months long gap. Just saying.

When you have nothing to lose, it’s high time to take a risk.