Former business owner struggling to find work. Need advice.
My mom is 54 and has been struggling to find stable work for a while, and I was hoping maybe someone here might have advice or ideas for roles/industries we may be overlooking.
She’s very smart, personable, capable, and has a ton of real experience. She owned and operated a small business (spa) for 10+ years (managed employees, payroll, scheduling, customer service, operations, etc.), has her esthetician license, and also has experience in the fitness industry from working as a trainer earlier in her career.
After the business closed around COVID, she’s done everything she can to continue working. She got her notary certification and worked as a signing agent for title companies/legal documents for several years, worked as a property field inspector doing independent contractor work, did DoorDash/Uber on the side, and also worked as a hotel night auditor for a period of time.
We’ve tried tailoring her resume, applying to spas, fitness studios, hotels, admin/front desk jobs, retail chains, applying online constantly, dropping off resumes in person, etc. and she’s barely getting any responses.
The jobs she does occasionally find are often part-time or overnight shifts paying around $12/hr, which just isn’t sustainable financially or physically long term. She tried the overnight hotel shift before and it completely ran her down.
She had to leave her last job because she and my grandmother had to move to Houston, and now she’s back to DoorDashing because she can’t find anything else.
I think part of the issue is she’s in this weird middle ground where she’s too experienced/overqualified for some jobs, but her background also isn’t super traditional since she spent so many years self-employed and doing independent contractor work.
She’s in the southeast Houston area. If anyone has been in a similar situation, knows of places that tend to hire people with more nontraditional backgrounds, or knows of anyone hiring, I’d really appreciate it.