Re-invent yourself

from the Fox Atlanta news site:

"Reported by Jonathan Serrie | Edited by Steve Dixon

In these tough financial times, some say the trick is just not giving up.

Many are reinventing their skill sets in other professions.

Before he was greeting bar patrons, Michael Gross was a successful mortgage broker -- his wife Carol, an established architect.

But when the housing market dried up last year, so did their livelihoods.

Michael Gross said, "The money's running out. But the skill sets are still there. So, we're trying to find ways to reinvent ourselves and continue to earn an income."

Michael and a business partner recently took over the Cheyenne Grill -- an Atlanta sports bar.

Michael said he works as much as 115 hours a week -- but that his love for cooking and the people skills he developed in the mortgage business are a good fit for his new career.

"My dad taught me something a long time ago. Business is business. So, if you're successful here. If you understand how those skills translate, you can be successful somewhere else," said Michael Gross.

Carol holds weekly coffee meetings with other architects and designers looking for work, to critique resumes, brainstorm proposals and offer each other support.

"It doesn't make any sense to get depressed because nothing's going to come of that. You've got to try to keep your spirits high," said Carol Woodruff.

"Times like this, you just have to pull up your bootstraps and go to work. You just work, work work. Stay focused on finding opportunities because it's multiple streams of income that make it in an economy like this," Michael said.

Michael still runs his mortgage business, which he hopes will pick back up as the economy recovers.

Even so, Michael said he'll keep his new day job."