FORT WAYNE – Jeff McCall’s world was knocked off its axle the day after Christmas in 2007.

That’s when the Wells County man discovered his production-supervisor position at Ossian Smoked Meats was eliminated.

"I went through a lot of emotions in about three seconds," he said. "Questioning, anger, concern."

Next came 18 months of job interviews that never produced a job offer.

McCall decided the only person he could depend on for a job was himself. Using knowledge from a past job installing and maintaining heating and air conditioning systems, the 59-year-old founded the duct-cleaning business Duct Doctors in June.

Many laid-off workers see the recession as a chance to turn entrepreneurial visions into reality. About 9 percent of job seekers who found positions in the second quarter this year started their own companies, according to global outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In the second quarter of 2008, the number was 4 percent.

Amid the recession, entrepreneurs are taking extra steps to ensure their ideas will succeed, said Jane Rich, a business adviser at the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center. Entrepreneurs are carefully identifying startup costs and ensuring they have an equity cushion in case sales are slower than expected.

"I think there’s more attention to the (business) concept," she said.

The recession spurred Kendallville resident Jeanne Hosted to found her own company. Consumers who used to buy a side of frozen beef from her farmer husband and prepare many meals with the meat grew reluctant to make such big investments during the downturn.

Hosted, 49, and her husband, Dan, needed a way to sell smaller cuts direct to the consumer. Hosted outfitted a van with two freezers and started selling hamburger, steaks and roasts on street corners and at farmers markets. She opened the business, Farm Fresh Beef LLC, in May.

Hosted, who previously was a housekeeper at Parkview LaGrange Hospital, nurtured the business idea for two years while her husband expanded his cattle herd to support it. She wanted to promote agriculture and be an entrepreneur. Farm Fresh Beef combined those goals.

"I just wanted to do something on my own where I could be my own boss," she said.

To draw attention to the business, she had the van painted black and white like a Holstein cow, with horns, a tail and a cowbell attached. The horn sounds like a cow mooing.

Hosted financed the company’s startup costs with about $20,000 from a 401(k) account. After she consulted Community State Bank for ideas, the branch volunteered its Kendallville parking lot at Indiana 6 and Riley Road as a sales location. Hosted, who does not have any employees, sells meat there Fridays and Saturday mornings.

Entrepreneurs don’t need a major investment to start a business, McCall said. He invested about $2,000 and borrowed the rest of the $30,000 he needed to establish Duct Doctors.

"It really doesn’t take a ton of money in the bank," he said.

McCall found an experienced duct-cleaning equipment supplier, Rotobrush International LLC, to help him set up and organize the business, which he runs with his son Jason. McCall decided to focus on duct cleaning because his relatives suffer from allergies. The company supplied his marketing materials and offered suggestions, he said.

Both McCall and Hosted worked with the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center to craft business plans. Hosted had a clear plan for her business concept but needed help getting bookkeeping software. She turned to Jane Rich, one of the center’s advisers.

"She’s there for me all the time if I have a question," Hosted said.

Hosted checks competitors’ prices to create Farm Fresh Beef’s price list, she said. Farm Fresh Beef sells bulk hamburger for $2.99 a pound. Steaks cost between $4.19 and $9.99 a pound.

To start selling meat, Farm Fresh Beef’s labels had to earn approval from the health department and state Board of Animal Health. Hosted struggled to coordinate the approval’s timing with the label company, which needed orders weeks ahead of delivery. While she was working on the labels, Hosted said she also had to have the van modified so she could stand at the cash register and freezers inside. Still, Hosted managed to complete the tasks in about three months.

For McCall, being intimidated by the paperwork ranked among the biggest challenges. But entrepreneurs shouldn’t stop pursuing a dream because they fear the time commitment or paperwork, he said.

"I thought the same thing," he said, "but along the way there’s always been someone to give advice."

Hosted said she turned to her husband when she became frustrated. He advised her to be patient.

Persevering through those moments was worth it, Hosted said. She expects to turn a profit this fall and eventually would like to buy a second van. Other entrepreneurs can succeed with hard work, she said.

"It’s always hard to get started," Hosted said. "Just don’t give up and push. If you think you have a good product, just get the word out."

jglenn@jg.net