Many people are downsized during recessions. Many of these same people decide to open their own business when new jobs aren’t available. However, few people have been as successful as Tina Hilton, owner of Clerical Advantage.

Like many people in her field, Tina Hilton lost her job as a real estate title processor in the midst of the real estate crisis. Because her job was so specific to her crumbling industry, Tina knew that she had little chance of finding another any time soon. However, rather than falling apart, Tina started thinking outside the box. That has made all the difference.

After researching several work from home business opportunities, Tina decided to open her own virtual assistance company. Her unemployment office offered to continue to pay her unemployment benefits while she opened her business, which solved one problem. The business would make could use of her extensive social and computer skills, which was another plus. However, like many people in her situation, she found herself short of the money needed to market her company, Clerical Advantage, and find new clients.

Tina decided that since her company was ran mainly over the computer, free internet marketing would have to suffice as advertisement for a while. She started a blog and also visited blogs of people in her industry, leaving comments that could be tracked back to her website. This alone led to two long term clients. Tina also joined Twitter, which allowed her to stay in the public eye while having access to her clients’ daily needs and issues.

After seventeen months, it’s fair to say that Tina was successful in her free marketing campaign. She has a steady stable of clients that create enough income to support her and her business completely. She has written an e-book and thus established herself as an industry expert. She and her clients are both confident that her virtual assistance services are valuable and needed in the modern digital world. Best of all, Clerical Advantage is growing almost by the day. Tina hopes that this year will be the year that her ‘small’ business takes its place among industry giants as one of the premier virtual assistance firms.

What does this success story mean for you? Tina took her passions—people and computers—and combined them into one in-demand modern business. She used free means of marketing to find prospective clients. Once Tina had those clients, she wooed them with a superior work ethic and great results. Last, Tina did it all during one of the most drastic downturns in United States histories.

Do you have a great idea that can make you a bundle? Are you waiting for the right time, or the money to get your business off the ground? As you can see from the story of Clerical Advantage, a great idea and a great work ethic may alone be enough to add up to success. Don’t let the economy hold you back; every day, people like Tina Hilton are finding success in the downturn.