“I have ten years of experience, an academic degree and I’ve always been an outstanding employee. So why can’t I find work?”That’s a question that’s been uttered by many skilled and educated people who have been rejected time and again by prospective employers. Instead of searching for the answer in a seemingly endless and unavailing search for another job at another company, for another boss, many qualified people are instead becoming their own boss — and their timing might be just right.Economist Craig Simmons says seismic changes are taking place in the way business is done, offering an opportunity to those looking to start a new business.“Local entrepreneurs have an opportunity to take advantage of the seismic changes occurring in the way local and international businesses operate,” he said last week.“The outsourcing trend is one manifestation of the change. It is especially pronounced in the provision of back-office, marketing and human resources services.”Surprisingly, around half of the biggest companies in the US claim to have been founded amid periods of economic downturn. Among them are giants like General Electric, General Motors, Burger King, Disney, IBM, Microsoft and Apple.Many taking advantage of those changes here in Bermuda are so-called “forced entrepreneurs” or “accidental entrepreneurs” — job seekers who, in light of the current unemployment figures and the financial crisis, are dropping out of the job market and establishing a new business instead.One Bermudian who falls into that category is Sacha Richardson, founder of Panacea Virtual Administration — a business she said aims to be a “one stop shop” for businesses looking for help with business administration and office management needs. She said her business fills a void in Bermuda business.“The bad economy may be that driving force that pushes a person into entrepreneurship,” she said. “An industry like mine can thrive in an economy like we see now where everyone is trying to cut back and trying to do more with less.”After 12 years of service as an administrative assistant and knowledge management officer for Appleby, the 33-year-old mother of three was made redundant in March. A week later, she was looking for another job until one day in April, when she realised venturing out on her own was a better fit.“I came to the realisation that I would not be able to maintain the same level of flexibility that I was able to establish after many years with Appleby. This was important to me as my oldest daughter, who is severely handicap, was often called out from school and hospitalised both locally and overseas,” Ms Richardson said.“I also had brain surgery in 2006 and 2008 and suffer periods of bed rest. I was always available to work from home or even overseas when out with my daughter or myself but knew I couldn’t enter a new job and expect that same level of flexibility. My children come first, but as I often say, they have to eat as well.”The name Panacea (pan-uh-see-uh) comes from the name of the Greek Goddess of universal remedy.Ms Richardson said it’s a word that, used figuratively, describes something that can completely solve a large problem. She hopes her business does just that — providing solutions to every business administration or office management problem a company may have.Right now, Panacea is a one-woman operation, but Ms Richardson said she hopes to expand sometime in the future.“I receive e-mails maybe every other week with people’s resumes.”While she does most everything herself, she does contract out certain tasks to other small businesses that are more specialised in areas such as graphic design, marketing, real estate and law.“If a clients needs are out of my scope, I will only outsource to my affiliates,” she said.“To be an affiliate, they must be reliable, affordable and provide a certain standard of service.“I prefer to use other small businesses as we all need to support each other.”As for how difficult it was to start a business, Ms Richardson said for her, it wasn’t, really.“Once I had the ideas together I knew the most important things I needed were a computer and business line.”“I’m an overly organised person and handle every aspect of my life with checklists so really once I had a checklist of all that I needed to do to get the business rolling, it was just a matter of getting it done,” she said.“I had my operating plan completed in about 2 days and the website was done soon after. Overall, I think it took about 2 or 3 weeks to really get rolling.”“I offer more intellectual services rather than physical it was easier and cheaper to get the business together.”The most difficult thing, she said, was not giving up on her idea.“I was well informed that I wouldn’t see the business flourish as I wanted before a year, but I convinced myself that I would be an exception.“When you have a product that you know is needed and will work but don’t see the clientele it’s easy to want to just say, ‘forget it’.”But she didn’t give up, and now, just six months in, she has a handful of clients and is now in talks with her first prospective international client.While most of her clients sought her out for help with word processing and general secretarial and administration work, she also offers concierge services like travel arrangements and event planning as well special services like social media marketing and billing and research.Ms. Richardson says that while the toughest part has been gaining the clients, persistence and creativity have paid off.“Most often potential clients fear high fees not realising that I am very reasonably priced and work with each client’s budget.”“I make sure I have my business cards wherever I go. I’ve had a lot of people who’ve called simply because they remembered they got ‘this card from someone one day’.”The best part about her new venture, Ms Richardson says, is the flexibility it affords her.“I enjoy being able to take the laptop and a good cup of coffee onto the porch and work in the fresh air or working on a complex issue and turning around to see a toy on the floor.“It helps you remember why you’re working so hard and makes the struggle worth it. The satisfaction and success of my clients is also a motivation to keep going.”For more information about Panacea Virtual Administration, visit http://panaceava.com/.n To learn more about starting a business, check out “7 Steps to Starting Your Own Business” in the latest edition of The Bottom Line Magazine: http://www.rgbdahosting.com/epubs/The-Bottomline-Magazine-July-2012/