The dire numbers of unemployment in the United States keep making headlines as companies down-size, right-size, and just re-size. We at I-ShopTheWorld.com are very familiar with this scenario.

In fact, we started this online shopping business while experiencing a layoff, so we have reason to offer you optimism and our moral support from the heart.

We have friends, too, who report some of their best experiences due to a layoff.

Our friend Ellee was laid off in mid-November 2003, and she says she and her husband had their best holidays ever with her less stressed for time and available to travel and spend more time with family. She was able to find a job within four months and has been working ever since.

Ellee’s cousin was laid off this year in mid-November, and she sees it as a good time to enjoy baking cakes for friends and family, one of her favorite things to do and a thing that supports itself through contributions from people who don’t have time to do their own baking but have heard of her “hobby” and request special home-baked cakes for their holiday parties and family gatherings. She says she may even start a bakery business next year if things keep going well and orders keep coming in.

Another friend Jenny was recently laid off ,and she says she is just going to relax and enjoy the holidays for a change, not worrying about deadlines, lack of vacation time, and getting everything scheduled so she gets no calls during the official days off.

We’ve often heard people say something to the effect that being laid off was the best thing that ever happened to them. It forced them to look at their life’s work and assess what they really wanted to do; often resulting in a job shift that took them away from the corporate world and put their destiny more in their own hands.

It’s tough. As the income and benefits subside, the loss of your sense of security certainly justifies a level of anxiety. Learning to live “lean” is not something that falls in the category of fun when it’s forced on you unexpectedly. We’ve heard that living lean as a sort of hobby can be fun, but personally our lifestyle much prefers eating out occasionally, being generous with those we love, and paying our bills on time.

The Internet has plenty of advice for the unemployed about finding a job, and many government resources are available for the unemployed, so we won’t duplicate that information.

In fact, as our friend Ellee has commented to us, “If we didn’t have unemployment, a lot of people would be unemployed” due to the numbers of resources available to support the unemployed.

We do encourage you to avail yourself of all the services out there and learn as much as you can about the market and yourself during this “down” time.

Our purpose here is to encourage you to be optimistic, creative, and ambitious in finding a solution to your problem. I-ShopTheWorld.com currently has many immediately available opportunities for those interested in and motivated to succeed in the various areas of online retail, you know?   And, should you choose to start your own online business, please remember we offer a consulting service to help you. If this article inspires you, let us know. Perhaps we can link to your site and help boost your sales and  you can return that favor by doing the same for us.

Whatever you do, remember to take care of yourself. Exercise, get plenty of rest, enjoy a good cup of coffee occasionally, and keep an open mind.

We are grateful we had the opportunity to break away from the “corporate culture” and launch our own business. We take this time to thank those of you who have contributed to our success by ordering our products, posting to our blog, and offering us encouragement and moral support.

We look forward to enjoying a very successful 2009 with you! .

- Your I-ShopTheWorld.com Global Family
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Reflecting on the United States economy and the economic woes reported from the rest of the world’s financial systems these past few weeks, we have noticed a possible correlation to the childhood fairy tale “Chicken Little.”

You probably recall from this old English folk tale that a tiny little chicken called Chicken Little felt a rose leaf fall on her tail one day and immediately ran in great fright crying “the sky is falling!”

First one she told was Henny Penny who joined her in spreading the message. On their way to tell the king, they met Ducky Lucky who joined their chorus. Then Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey also voted for the tale.

Did we say “voted”? Well, they joined the parade of characters till they all met Foxy Loxy who lured them into his den by promising to tell them where the king lives.

The story goes that Foxy Loxy led them into his den and they never came out again.

You can draw your own conclusions about what happened to Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey, but you can be sure that the foxy one came out of that deal okay.

Now there are those who predict that our economy will never emerge from the den it’s in, but that’s not our area of expertise, so we won’t speculate here at I-ShopTheWorld.com Our business is running a business and we plan to keep doing just that.

We believe in persistence and hard work. Those whose wares we represent have their hopes tied into the products we represent. We don’t’ plan to let them down. We plan to be here; to keep on working and hopefully only paying our fair share to the common good in order to remain in business.

We hope to pass along many good deals to you in the coming months. We don’t expect to ever be a Wall Street presence; we are what has come to be called a Main Street business.

We are drowning out those who are trying to spread the message that the rose that fell on Wall Street was actually a thorny stem or the whole bush. We know based on history that some people will come out of this slumping economy smelling like a rose.

We know that some people are simply going to see and seize opportunity out of this turmoil and disruption. Some people are not going to fare so well and are going to need assistance. We support many organizations trying to provide that help.

In some respects poverty and unemployment are big business. Like a friend of mine said after being unemployed for four months a few years ago, “if it weren’t for unemployment, a lot of people would sure be out of work.”

Think about it. The unemployment system here in the United States is huge. We hope our customers don’t have to file to collect, but if you do, you will encounter counselors, clerks, and a cast of helpers that include those who actually keep the records and generate the checks to say nothing of the landlords collecting rent for the space these agencies use. If someone wasn’t unemployed, those people surely would be. Even our culture of helping those with less actually employs lots of people to distribute money, food, shelter, clothing, and other things of need.

We can’t predict where the large-scale economy is going, but we do believe that it will keep going and those who don’t give up on it will be a big part of its recovery.

We plan to be just as “foxy” as we can be to lure you into our den and connect you with some of the finest products from around the world. We can assure you that you’ll come out okay.

- Do You really think the economy is as bad as the news media has been portraying it?

or …

- Do you think this is all just a fairy story they/the media have concocted, just like Chicken Little, to convince everyone that the “sky is falling”?

and if so …

Why?

- Do You think the media telling everyone the economy is bad, just like Chicken Little, is creating a “self fulfilling prophecy” and making the economy worse than it is really otherwise?

- Is the economy in Your country “better” or “worse” than as reported by the news media in the United States?

- How has any of this affected your personal finances and/or family finances thus far?

- What are You doing Now to prevent the reported economic situation from (further) affecting Your personal finances and/or family finances?

- What do You think can and/or should be done to improve the Global Economy?

— And Who should be doing these things to improve the Global Economy?

- What may we All do to work Together to Improve our World Economy?
for Everyone’s Mutual Benefits! .

We look forward to hearing All of Your thoughts, Comments, etc. on any/all of these topics related to the current Economic situation and How we may All work Together to Improve our World Economy for Everyone’s Mutual Benefits! .

We hope this all helps and Have a Great Day!