We've been discussing how the Great Recession started out as a massive credit collapse, resulting in a deflationary cascade. With declining wealth, incomes and revenues, people and corporations have had to embrace some extreme cost-cutting measures. As a result, the significant advances in technology over the last couple of decades are now being deployed in ways that are drastically changing the employment landscape.

Employment is not the only aspect of our economy that is being…

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been exploring the massive restructuring of employment occurring today -- how traditional, full-time jobs with benefits are disappearing, while various forms of self employment are rising. Confirming these trends is this report by CBS News, indicating that one third of all people working today are freelancing.

So what's…

As more and more traditional, full-time jobs disappear, more and more people will find work as soloists (freelancers, independent contractors, etc.). As a result, a funny thing happens to companies: they become much more dynamic and fluid. Instead of spending a large amount of time and resources finding people with a perfect set of skills, contacts, and experience, companies can solve their immediate needs by contracting with individuals, small firms, and boutiques.

Consider the…

Last post, we discussed how to get started in the new, self-employment-based careers of the Great Recession. In today's post, we'll describe this in more detail, along with the career paths available in this new environment. To get an idea of the new career ladder, let's explore a hypothetical worker who has reached the top of the traditional ladder, and show what it looks like to start over as a self-employed worker.

For this example, we'll use a CEO of a small…