How COVID-19 May Have Tipped the Ambitions of People Towards Entrepreneurship

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 25, 2020 / COVID-19 lockdowns were an unprecedented event that halted the economy and forced people into extended periods of staying at home. The S&P 500 took a historic stumble amid the chaos, businesses lost months of revenue, and the Fed had to step in to stem the bleeding with a monetary bazooka as people waited out the storm.

The economic uncertainty has only continued to accelerate since then.

More than 40 million people are now jobless in the US, marking the highest percentage of unemployment (~ 25 percent) since the Great Depression. People are stuck at home on unemployment benefits and are increasingly becoming disoriented with their prospects of re-entering the conventional workforce.

The silver lining? COVID-19 may have induced a watershed moment into the transition to more freelancing and entrepreneurial individuals. It’s either entrepreneurship or wait out the uncertainty of an unstable global macroeconomic backdrop. Ambition is now more than just an opportunity to start a new life; it may be necessary to succeed amid financial hardship.

Oz Konar, Founder, Business Lending Blueprint

For Oz Konar, the founder of Business Lending Blueprint, the spark of COVID-19 may have kickstarted people’s ambition to pursue a life of financial freedom. And it’s a message Konar has been advocating for a long time.

Can you provide some backstory on your entrepreneurial life?

I started my first venture when I was seven years old, selling water in flea markets, then tried my luck in three other business ventures with no success until college. I went to college and completed a double major in Biology and Chemistry only to rediscover that my true passion lay in entrepreneurship.

Subsequently, I ran my own lead generation business on the side while climbing the corporate ladder. At the top of my corporate career, I left my job and became a full-time business owner. Over the years, I went on to publish two best-selling books, spoke at many credible events both nationally and internationally, and received many awards and accolades. Currently, I’m helping hundreds of people start their own business as a business loan broker, called Business Lending Blueprint — convincing people to quit their nine-to-five job and become a six and seven-figure business owner.

What inspires you?

Heros. But not the conventional Hollywood characters like in Marvel movies.

I just mean anyone who has been through a hero’s journey — someone who has been through undeserved, extraordinary hardship. Where giving up was the best option for most people, but the person fought through all of their challenges and never gave up. Hearing their stories gives me the ultimate motivation to keep producing more and reminds me of how fortunate most of us are with what we have.

What does ambition mean to you?

Ambitious is someone who is very determined and leaves no stones unturned to accomplish a particular goal. The way I recognize them in life is that they usually ask a lot of questions on a specific topic and just act on it without any delays or waiting for the perfect time.

How do you think current events will impact the future of business?

I think more and more people will look for businesses that can work and sustain itself under any conditions. They will look to start more online businesses that give them location freedom. You will not succeed in business if you wait for the perfect moment to start. There is no such thing. Even now, it’s important to look at every challenge as an opportunity.

Being a perfectionist in business is the enemy of growth and profitability.

Can you tell us about Business Lending Blueprint and what your inspiration was for creating it?

We help ambitious people start and grow their own profitable business loan broker business from home. We furnish the community, education, tools, and other resources to help guide them along a path to financial sustainability amid economic hardship and uncertainty.

Most businesses don’t fail because their products and services aren’t in demand. They fail because they don’t know how to start and grow a successful business. Having suffered that myself through my father’s business, I wanted to build a company that would set the example and teaches others how to do the same.

Being a business loan broker, especially now with loans in such huge demand, allows us to help provide our students with the opportunity to start a business in a niche market that is recession and pandemic-proof. It’s the only business where you are helping people get access to money.

And money is the sexiest product you can offer on earth.

Why do you recommend joining the business loan industry?

If they are serious about building their own business and not looking for some side gig, I think being a business loan broker is the best business they can start with that requires no sophisticated educational background or professional experience. It doesn’t require inventory, telemarketing, cold calling, or brick-and-mortar overhead. On top of that, you are offering the sexiest product on earth, money to small businesses.

Our mission is to help people with the ambition to be their own bosses in a recession-proof industry.

You mentioned a couple of times that the business loan industry is “recession-proof.” Can you tell us more?

The alternative lending industry where I train my students boomed during a recession (e.g., 2008 Financial Crisis) as an alternative to traditional banks.

The first thing that happens during a deep recession and the ensuing financial hardship is that traditional banks slow down the lending process. However, alternative lenders flourish during such times since they are designed to provide lending under almost any condition.

That’s why I say being a business loan broker in the alternative lending industry is a recession-proof business model. And being in the business of selling money is more attractive than any other product you can be involved in.

What’s the worst advice you’ve received?

I studied Chemistry and Biology in college.

In my last year, I was doing full-time classes and trying to run a side business selling sunglasses in flea markets. I was basically operating with two to three hours of sleep per day. One day, during a lab, my professor asked me why I started a side business instead of getting a job, and I told him that I want to build a business. I don’t like the idea of having a job.

He responded that I should apply to work in a lab. It’s safe, and I’d always have a job, and I wouldn’t make it in business anyway because my name is weird — he said that I’m not really cut out for it. Worst advice ever.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

At one point, I had four separate businesses and was about to lose my mind.

I had no life or time for anything besides trying to run all four of them simultaneously. One of my mentors at the time had me sit down and asked me to write down how many hours I spent on each business and how much each business was bringing at that time. By the time I was finished, I had noticed that three of the businesses were taking the most amount of effort with the least amount of revenue.

One of the businesses was always on the positive without massive effort from me. That day, I decided to end all the other three and only focus on one business. Best advice ever.

What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs? What’s the best part about being an entrepreneur?

Advice:

Always prioritize taking action vs. thinking about it. Limit your time on social media channels and focus on your work. Track how much time goes to waste every single day and replace that with work that gets results.

Best Part:

The opportunity to influence others to do what’s best for them and to help them see their true potential.