America's 25 Best Young Entrepreneurs 2009

"So not only are these entrepreneurs navigating the toughest economy many of us have ever lived through, they're also vastly outnumbered by older, more experienced competitors, who usually have more contacts and capital. That's even more reason to continue to give young entrepreneurs the encouragement, respect, and awe that they've received since becoming cultural icons during the dot-com boom."

So cool and so inspiring!

Check out the Businessweek story here.

And make sure the cast your vote for THE best young entrepreneur here.

That 'entrepreneurial spirit'

My parents are entrepreneurs. They own a tree service company in Charleston, S.C., called Charleston Stump Stompers and Tree Service and have since 1989, when Hurricane Hugo ravaged the city.

They didn't start out as "tree people," as my mom would refer to them. They went to school for accounting, actually. But after Hugo hit, my dad saw an opportunity to be his own boss...and help people at the same time.

The storm leveled trees all over the area, leaving nothing but ugly stumps everywhere you looked. So my mom and dad took a loan out for a stump grinder and got to work. Thus, Charleston Stump Stompers was born.

Since then, it's evolved into a full service tree company, and I'm proud to say that my parents were innovative, smart and HARD WORKING enough to pull through the worst of the Great Recession. (They even used a bit of their B-school knowledge and invested in their own company while competitors were trimming costs and going under. Check out their rebranding, done by a good buddy of mine, Jay Fletcher of JFletcher Design.)

I'm telling you this story because when I got laid off, I immediately began drafting a business plan. My first instinct wasn't to start sending out resumes or schedule informational interviews, it was to start my own business. (Actually, my first instinct was to hop a flight to Buenos Aires and wash my worries away with cheap bottles of Malbec and red meat.) I think its a testament to growing up with parents who never worked for the Man.

Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come, too. My dream, whether it's asecond-hand shop or a Web site or a taco stand, is to be a small-business owner -- to be my own boss and hopefully help people through my company and its products or services.

It's easy to forget about these aspirations when you're stuck in the daily grind, working 9-5 (or more like 7 or 8) and living off of Amy's frozen dinners. But the video I came across above reminded me of what I'm working toward, and gave me a little inspiration to boot.

$1,000 down...

Yesterday I slashed $1,000 off my credit card debt, thanks mostly to the Way2Save count I set up about a year ago with Wachovia.

It sounded sort of gimmicky at first -- everytime you swipe your card we'll give you $1 in a separate savings account -- but, holy cow, those swipes can really add up...especially when you never carry cash, like me.

So 1,000 soy chai lattes, cobb salads, skinny jeans, Red Stripes and electricity bills later, I'm a grand closer to being credit-card debt free! (I don't say debt free because the mortgage on my home won't be paid off 'til I'm like 70, so...)

I would tell you how much I have left to $0, but I don't attend the school of full disclosure. I delve pretty deep into my closet of skeletons from time to time, but that's asking too much. I will tell you, it's not a crazy amount. But it's nothing to sneeze at, either.

Another thing I'll tell you is how that cloud of credit card debt hanging over my head came to be: It all started my sophomore year in college, when I HAD to have that dress from Bebe. Looking back, I realize I made two huge mistakes: I should have never opened that credit card account, and I should have NEVER been shopping at Bebe. Seriously, I spent that year broke looking like a skanky pinata.

Then I bought a house. No credit card debt came from the actual purchase of the house, but decorating the house to look like a shoot from the late Domino magazine (RIP) is another story.

Then I went through this phase of only eating special crunch rolls and drinking champagne cocktails with my friend Bridget, and that certainly didnt' help.

Then I got laid off.

Then I moved to DC, which is a way more expensive city than Charleston, especially when you're trying to make new friends. (Read: Constantly contributing to the greater-DC food and bev industry.)

And now I'm here, with a job that pays well and much more self control, and I'm finally able to start chipping away at (or, like I did this week, whacking big chunks out of) my credit card debt.

You know what they say...

Once a victim of the unforgiving pink slip, always a victim of the unforgiving pink slip.

No...I haven't been laid off again — I still have my fabulous job in this country's fine capital — I've just been getting a lot of requests from friends, family and even strangers to keep posting — to continue documenting the saga of a twenty-something caught in the economic storm.

And I'll be the first to tell you that the pink slip wasn't the only financial hurdle I had to clumsily climb over in the past year. A steady source of income certainly helped to tackle the course, but since my first paycheck six months ago, my bank account's been plenty busy with refinancing my home back in Charleston; a ridiculously higher standard of living compared to my modest Southern town; trying to keep my 75-pound dog healthy and happy in less than 400 square feet; parking tickets and car permits; revamping my wardrobe for a northern city with a vastly different style and climate; funding happy hours, soccer teams, margarita tours and museums; and of course...credit card debt.

So that's what I'll talk about from now on: my trek through the Great Recession -- along with a few humorous, interesting, sad, smart and shocking things that might cross my path along the way.

I'd like to say that as I navigate my way through Washington as a young, fabulous and formerly laid off young woman, you'll be able to learn from my experiences. But that's ridiculous. I don't have a clue what I'm doing. In fact, the best advice I have to offer is flashing a big smile and sporting a super thumbs up at the top of this page. Cheers!

Little Miss Paycheck

Stop the countdown! Yup, that's right. Yours truly has landed a job. A full-time one. With a regular paycheck and benefits and all. I even get free coffee, sodas and snacks all day long. You're looking at the newest addition to one of DC's most renowned public affairs firms. Title: Editor/Writer (Associate). (Want more info? Feel free to contact me, and I'll give you all the juicy details.)

I'm excited, to say the least. I landed the job a week ago tomorrow, but I've been so busy with work — it feels weird to say that again — and moving that I haven't had to time to really tell anyone or have a proper celebration.

Moving? you ask. Yes. I'm attempting to switch apartments so I can bring my dog, George, up here with me. All things were go until yesterday afternoon, though, when the guy who was supposed to takeover my lease backed out at the last minute. So here I am, supposed to sign a lease on the new place today after work, and I've got no one to rent out the apartment I'm in now.

I do have someone coming to check out the apartment on my lunch break today. She sounded promising and can move in May 1 — crazy, that's Friday. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Golden Arches are golden

Amid a sea of sinking first-quarter profits, McDonald's is a lone buoy of hope, up nearly 4 percent thanks in part to its beefed up fried chicken offerings, tastier cups of Joe and the sale of its interest in Redbox, those vending machines that pump out movies for a buck a night.

But mostly thanks to me, and the other 13.2 million unemployed Americans like myself.

Due to my current financial situation, I've been forced to frequent the home of the Big Mac — where $4.67 gets me not one but two Snack Wraps, a medium fry and a lemonade — more times in the last two months than I ever have in my pre-unemployed life.

I'm only kind of complaining. The price is definitely right, and the fries are magical — really, it's quite possible they could be an unknown cure, albeit temporary, though the effects will last longer if you opt to Supersize, to mild depression — but I could do without the side of stomach aches and slow but steadily growing arm flab.

Mission failed

Notice my job search countdown has reached zero. That makes 68 days without a job.

I'm not letting it get me down, though. In fact, I'm in pretty high spirits. My fingers are crossed for a second interview with the American Library Association, and I've got a good feeling about an editor/writer position with a big public affairs company in town.

Thirty more days on the clock, please!