While some people decide to dive headfirst into entrepreneurship, others feel more comfortable dipping in a toe, then an ankle, then a knee before swimming solo.  The choice is very personal and depends on your experience, finances and overall comfort with risk.  But, if you’re thinking even just a little bit about starting your own business, it’s never too early to take actions that will set you up for taking the plunge when you’re ready.  Here are some suggestions for first steps to take if you’re thinking about starting your own small business or becoming a full-time freelancer:

Find Real and Virtual Mentors.  I guarantee you are not the first person to start a business in your industry. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, DowntownWomensClub.com, Make Mine a Million $ Business, Yahoo groups and other networking organizations and websites to make connections with people who have started similar-sized businesses (though not potential direct competitors  — as you can imagine, it makes me really cranky when someone asks me for advice on how to start a business exactly the same as mine!).  Ask people how they got started and what advice and recommended resources they might offer.  You can also use the web to research successful entrepreneurs.  What do their websites look like?  What experience is listed in their bios or LinkedIn profiles?  What professional credentials do they maintain?  Take notes!

Understand the Essentials.  It’s not the most exciting part of starting a business, but it’s crucial to research any licenses, taxes and insurance you’ll need to go solo, and I recommend doing this sooner rather than later.  Start a list or folder to keep track of everything, and don’t be afraid to ask experts for help, especially an accountant and a lawyer.  You can look to freelancers unions, entrepreneurial websites (my faves are StartupNation.com, FastCompany.com, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com) and the Small Business Administration for free or low-cost help determining what “official” steps are required. Above all, be sure to find independent health insurance. Never take the risk of being uninsured.

Learn How to Market Yourself.  One of the most important requirements of entrepreneurship is the ability to sell yourself and your ideas.  Even before you launch your own venture, you can begin working on this aspect of self-employment: Join high-profile committees of industry organizations to make yourself visible to members (who may be future clients of your new business). Volunteer at a nonprofit organization related to the business you’d like to start. Take professional development classes online or at a community college to enhance your business skills and industry expertise. Start a blog on a topic related to your entrepreneurial interests. Start posting comments and articles on Twitter that establish your expertise in the area of your choice. Check out the Personal Branding Blog for ongoing tips on marketing yourself.

Read up. Many, many, many people have written great books on how to start and run businesses of all shapes and sizes. Here are some of my personal favorites.

Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

Getting Started in Consulting

Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money

The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It

If you have more how-to-be-an-entrepreneur books you’ve liked, please share in the Comments section!

Each of the above activities will increase your leadership experience, expand your network and, perhaps most importantly, build your confidence that there is a world outside of full-time employment.  The plunge into entrepreneurship could even take place sooner than you thought possible.  Or, if you find yourself resisting these actions, it may be a sign that you’re not quite ready to leave the regular paycheck pool, even if it is hard to find a job right now. Either way, self-employment is an option that many people consider at some point in their careers, so it’s always worth a bit of exploration.

1. Be smarter, faster and better. I wish I could offer you a magic piece of advice about job hunting and working in a bad economy, a piece of wisdom that I’ve been saving for this type of situation. However, my best advice is to use all of the same job hunting and career management tips I always advise, but do them smarter, faster and better (which, by the way, is the title of a book I co-wrote with the fabulous executive coach Karlin Sloan).

Being smarter, faster and better means:

• Updating your resume to include examples of how you thrive in challenging times, how you excel at stretching a budget, how you can bring in new clients and new revenue right away.
• Making 5 calls a day to networking contacts, rather than making 5 a week.
• Attending one networking event a week, rather than one a month.
• Following up immediately after you meet someone or learn of an opportunity. Return calls right away, send a thank you email the same day you have an interview, send in a resume as soon as you learn of an opportunity.

In any situation, ask yourself, “What would be the smartest, fastest and best way to handle this situation?” and do just that.

2. Try new strategies. We all get into ruts — going to the same networking events, talking to the same people at our association meetings, setting up the same keywords on the same employment websites, writing the same phrases in every cover letter.

STOP!

The same old stuff will no longer cut it. As Albert Einstein said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.To get a job in a bad economy, you have to cast a wider net and be more creative than ever. Try some new and different keyword searches as you look for jobs online. Challenge yourself to attend networking events in totally new industries, towns or social circles. Start looking in the newspaper if you’ve never done that before. Look for jobs at small companies if you’ve always worked for big corporations (and vice versa).

3. Find ways to make some extra money so you aren’t desperate and panicky. Potential employers can smell desperation and it isn’t attractive. If you are totally stressed out about paying the rent, you won’t be in the best frame of mind to conduct a proactive job search. One great way to make some extra cash without working fulltime is tutoring (for high school courses, college application essays, SATs, GMATs, etc. You can apply to tutor for Kaplan, Princeton Review or advertise your services on Craigslist). Bootstrapper has a list of 77 more ways to make money on the side so you can stay afloat while you look for your next career move.

4. Freelance full-time.  You may find that your “on-the-side” gig turns into a new career. That’s actually how I started my own business as a writer and speaker. It happened during the difficult economic period following 9/11. My dot-com job had disappeared and, while I was networking with former clients and colleagues, I started receiving offers to complete small projects for them. I said yes to anything and everything — I wrote marketing plans, nonfiction book proposals, nonprofit grant proposals, resumes, bios and newsletter articles for an hourly rate. I spoke to high school students, Girl Scouts, Rotary clubs and chambers of commerce. As the months went on, I eventually created business cards, a website, a portfolio and a one-pager about my services. That was in 2002 and I’ve never worked full-time again.

Freelancing, consulting and self-employment are not for everyone, but if you’ve been considering entrepreneurship, now might be the time to make the leap. My favorite “starter” books on this subject are Six-Figure Freelancing and Getting Started in Consulting.

5. Move to a city with jobs. If you’ve been thinking about relocating, you might want to consider a place that is thriving despite the economic downturn. BusinessWeek.com has a list of the best places in the U.S. to “ride out the recession.” I don’t necessarily advise uprooting yourself for the potential of a good job, but if you’ve been thinking about moving anyway or have some very strong leads in a thriving city, it could be a smart decision right now.

6. Move to an industry sector with jobs. If you don’t want to move to a new city, pay attention to the industries the BusinessWeek.com article highlights as growing: healthcare, education, law, energy and government. HRWorld offers its own list of top 25 careers to pursue in a recession and Career Hub shares a ranking of 72 recession-proof industries. Consider expanding your job search into one of these industries. For instance, if you’ve been applying to finance jobs on Wall Street, consider applying for finance jobs at a pharmaceutical company or a university. If you’re interested in management consulting, think about a firm that specializes in healthcare or energy consulting. If you’ve thought about teaching, do it!

p.s. If you own your own business or work for a small company, these recession-proof industry lists will help you determine where to pursue new clients and customers.

7. Help other people. Now is the time to be extra generous in helping other people with job leads, event invitations, networking contacts, advice and moral support. When you see a job listing that’s perfect for a friend, forward it with an encouraging note. Call up a fellow job seeker and invite him over for a cup of coffee and a chat. Barter your strengths (editing, public speaking, outfit coordination) with a friend who has strengths that you don’t. “Paying it forward” makes you feel good and it’s bound to come back to you in kind.

Check back for many more posts in the coming months on how to keep your career thriving in this difficult time. And if you have tips to share, please leave a comment!