Editor’s Note: In keeping with our recession busting theme, I have convinced the most sarcastic son of a bitch I know to talk about the R word. This one’s a rarity, folks.

Life looks grim. Nothing good is happening. The economy sucks. Business isn’t great. People are losing their jobs. Marriages are failing. The cost of gas and food is going up. Income is going down. It’s hopeless.

We should all just give up.

No, seriously. That’s exactly what we should do if it’s all so hopeless. Why bother finding the opportunities? Why bother looking ahead? We should just move into protectionism, hoard everything and when it’s all gone, we should all just go huddle in bed until life’s over. I mean, really. There’s no point at all in doing anything. The world’s imploding. It’s over. Life as we know it is gone.

“Oh, come on, James. It’s not that bad.”

That’s right. It’s not.

The world is possibly turning upside down and times are tough, but the opportunities are excellent. There has never been a better time to start, improve or work on your business. This is the moment where you can buy low and prepare to sell high. This is the moment where you can build on a shoestring and eventually profit from your small investment.

There’s never been a better time for business.

Want to find a safety net because your job is iffy? Quit putting off your dreams of starting a business. Get a sideline going. Find ways to distribute and market. Look for strategies that you can use. Get a business plan going and do the research to see if it’s viable. Seek funding and helpful organizations.

Want to boost a lagging income? If your income is lagging, it’s probably because your sales copy, your product, or your website wasn’t that great to begin with. Make it better. (You have more time now anyways because you probably have less customers. Use the time wisely.)

Trying to find more clients? Well, they won’t come to you (especially if you’re sitting around staring woebegone at your shoes), so start learning about ways to get the word out that you have something great. You’ve probably read tons of great advice; why not start putting it into practice and testing it out?

Not sure what you can do? You have plenty of choices here. You can sit around wondering and do nothing, or you can actively explore venues and experiment. Take a course. Read some books. Get smarter. Make yourself someone who knows something that other people need to know too.

This is the moment where the world is changing, and you have every opportunity within your grasp to change with it. Here are three tips to get started right now:

Think about what you like to do best. What are you good at? Where are your strengths? Do you have skills or special knowledge? If you’re a great admin and you know your company is laying people off, why not take those skills to the virtual world?

Be proactive. Stop waiting for people to ask for your help. Tell them what you can do. It’s as easy as saying something like, “Hey, I noticed that your shelf here is a little loose… I can fix that for you. Been doing woodworking for 25 years now. It wouldn’t take long, maybe $50. What do you think?”

Go look for work. Sitting back and telling people, “I do nice work,” isn’t enough. Pay attention to other people’s businesses and find needs. Naomi didn’t realize she needed a VA until Jess emailed her and told her exactly what she could do to help.

Work for free.This sounds counterproductive, but sometimes volunteering your time gets your foot in the door to paying work. “I noticed you could really use some help with that. Tell you what – I’ll work five hours free of charge, no obligation just to let you test my services. What do you say?”

Invest in your own business. Money may be tight, but if you hoard it, you’re cutting off your own marketing potential to gain new clients. Find places to advertise. Ditch your ugly, outdated website and revamp it – you can even use a free template. Rework your copy to have better impact. Make your business more appealing to people who might buy.

Make smart decisions. If money’s tight, paying $50 for a product might seem like a bad idea. But if that $50 spent has the potential to bring back $100, then you’ve won, right? Think long-term potential with everything, and never stop improving so that you can earn better money.

Tap up the right people. Pitch your services to people who have money to spend, not your neighbour who just lost his job. There are great target markets out there – successful businesses doing just fine, entrepreneurs with the love of calculated risks, high-income individuals who have the cash to blow. Find them and step up to the plate.

Or you can bum out and go to bed. Give up. Get hopeless. It’ll just leave less competition and more room for those determined to turn this crazy world around and make it work for them.

About the Author: Want more great ways to take your business to the next level? James co-authored a great book that tells you exactly how to work less, make more money and do what you love so you can unleash your full potential and rock the hell out of your freelance business.