What would you do if you spent so long looking for a job and everywhere you went you got that look that screams, ‘Sorry, we’d love to have you on our team, but right now all the positions in the company are filled!’

Of course, you’d try a number of things.

You’d, for example, try to get the other person to open their eyes, to understand, to see reason…telling or hinting at what they’d miss if they don’t give you the job.

Then there will be the worries, springing up and attacking your brain from every corner. Worries about the bills, the direction your life is taking, your goals and the many deadlines you have, what others think of you …but…

Why look for a job – instead of starting a business?

1. It’s the default way to make a living for many people

You want a decent income? The first suggestion you are likely to hear from someone is for you to get a job.

It is like the best way to make money for many people. In fact some look at school as one big key to the lock that leads to financial abundance – translation: a well paying job that comes with numerous perks.

If you meet with people out there, one of the questions they are likely to ask you, is, ‘What do you do for a living?’ Translation: Tell me what you do for your employer, before I tell you what mine pays me for.

Tell them about your job and you’ll see that smile. Talk about something else and you’ll see the stare that forces people to become even more conscious about how they behave around others – doing their best not to offend those they meet.

2. The benefits

Who doesn’t love them? You get the salary and then there are these extras. To some, this is a big reason to go job hunting.

3. Experience

When you finally land a job and start working, your experience starts accumulating – trickle by trickle until a point reaches where you can use it for something bigger.

With no experience, the likelihood of getting a promotion (better things) will almost be nil.

And with no job, it is hard to prove to any employer how deep your experience goes, which means, a more difficult time climbing the ladder to the top where most people want to be.

Experience can also come handy when you want to start something on the side. Or when you want to quit and go out on your own – private practice, business… Or when you want to move to another company – work in an environment a scale above the one you had at your previous job.

What options do you have when you can’t seem to find a job?

Giving up on the search is probably not an option for many people. Meaning there have to be other ways.

Some would settle for a small position (or odd jobs here and there) if they can’t find what they are looking for (a position that demands more of them and comes with a salary that matches the level of their skills and experience).

To the ones who don’t want to go this route, there are other options.

1. To look harder

Doing this requires more from a person. It requires them, for example, to package their skills (themselves) in a better way to every employer whose door they knock.

If they get turned down a lot, widening their search becomes a good idea. They have to do more research and look in more places. A big net always can catch more fish than the rod.

2. To start a business

Business, that’s uncharted territory to many. But it’s an option altogether.

One that might be scary but is still worth looking into.

You can use your skills, come up with a list of needs you can fill – using what you already have. With your list of needs, you can then come up with a solution.

One that you package into a product or service and take to the market.

The sooner you take it to the market the quicker you’ll know if your idea has any future. If it does, there’ll be a whole new set of risks waiting and you have to decide if you want to take them or not.

Why you have to be a little more aggressive if you choose the business route

Suppose you start your own business, what would you do next? There will be a lot of learning, marketing and testing.

The key here is to be a little more aggressive, in a good way. Not rushing, but aggressive, in a good way.

That means doing things faster, more efficiently, exploring more of what works, getting and acting on feedback quickly, being flexible enough to switch directions – exploring different areas that can lead to more growth.

Why? That may bring in more revenue…more profits, allowing you to focus on serving your customers well, improving your product and adding new ones to the market.

To be more aggressive, you will consider what the average person, with a similar business, is doing then do more.

Some things won’t work as planned but as we’ve already seen in 5 lessons for founders of the millions of businesses who watched Shark Tank you have to find your own way over these obstacles.

You have to make a promise to yourself, to not allow rejections and disappointments stop you.

As you struggle on, your muscles will get tougher. There’ll be fear and many mistakes. There’ll be doubts, losses and a lot of pressure. But the resolve to keep going will keep you on the path, serving your customers the best way you can and watching your business grow.

Can you do this?

It depends on how far you are willing to go. It also depends on how much discomfort you are willing to allow into your life to make this work.

Saying it is not enough. You have to say it and back your words with action. For when you do, your chance at success will increase. There are still no guarantees things will work out as you planned though.

It might also take a little more time than you planned before you see anything substantial in terms of profits.

Is it easy?

If it was, everybody who got turned down in a few job interviews would jump in. Not that there is a special breed of people cut out for this.

Like everything good worth having, there is a lot of hard work involved.

What if you have no prior business experience?

Experience sure helps but still it doesn’t guarantee much.

If you have no experience, you simply go out and get it: by learning from other people’s mistakes, learning more about your market, customers, business model etc.

You can learn by doing – starting the business and running it. Learning on the job – accumulating knowledge every single day.

What if you fail?

Then you can look for a job or keep going. You can revive the failed business or start a new one.

You decide which direction you want to take, come up with short and long term goals then give it all your best.

Also don’t forget to set deadlines for each one of your goals.

What if things work out?

You refine what you do and keep scaling.

The good results you get should motivate you to do even better.

This can also be a good time to explore what’s working for your business some more.

That’s where the bulk of your focus should be but you should also be open to trying new things.

If you are thinking of doing this, share your thoughts and questions in the comments. If you have done this – gone the business route after rejections from companies you thought would hire you – I’d like to hear you story.

The comments section is all yours.

PS: Download the free PDF guide: 10 Things to Look At if You Are Thinking of Starting a Business.