I was working in corporate at a fortune 500 when my team was laid off. I also happened to be in the swing lifestyle and have several gf's who tried to talk me into doing this, and while I don't judge and didn't think it would be a bad thing for me, I was determined to use my college learnin' and try another company out. I interviewed and several were interested, But I chose another corporate position with a company that had been in business for over 90 years at the time. My decision was based on that particular company never having utilized lay off practices before. After a year, I wasn't thrilled with the position I had accepted, and was ready to start hunting for another job, when "guess who" got laid off with the group they had hired a year previously? Yep, that's be me. It was a sign or something. LOL
I did look for a few weeks, but most companies were tweaking their operations and cutting the necessities along with the fat at the time, so I met with some different people in the hobby to ask questions, went to the boards and read up a little bit, on what it was all about. Knowing a few ladies, I managed to cop an invite to a couple of socials as well. I invited a reputable provider and reputable hobbyist to come have drinks and I picked their brains for any info I could think of. They both vouched for me in the next days or so as a verified provider, which gave me time to get my site up and start my own little business. I'm working on updating my info on this site.