An accidental new breed of entrepreneur has emerged. "Unintentional entrepreneurs" span all generations and walks of life. There are victims of corporate lay-offs, post-grads who are uninspired by the lagging job force and those who claim they were just tired of being miserable at their previous jobs. They’ve all made the jump from employed to self-employed, often turning hobbies, creative interests or what they considered ‘silly’ ideas into occupations.

In mid-July, an initiative called Unintentional Entrepreneur launched a five-city U.S. tour (Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.) aimed at helping small-business owners and entrepreneurs. The target audience was what co-creator Kevin Reeth refers to as ‘unintentional entrepreneurs,’ a unique segment of small-business owners who found themselves starting their own companies by coincidence, by accident and sometimes because they had no other choice. 

"Technology has made it easier for people to start a business," Reeth says. "If you make jewelry, you can now get online and chat on message boards with people who also do crafts. You can join discussion boards, contribute to blogs — you can network very effectively."

Small business no longer only refers to mom-and-pop shops, as entrepreneur no longer only refers to dot-com geniuses. Both now refer to, for starters, the single mom who put her crocheting hobby online and turned it into a lucrative source of income, or the 20-something-year-old with an eye for fashion who’s always giving solicited advice to friends, families and strangers and thinks, "I should be charging people for this advice" — and then does.  

Unintentional Entrepreneur’s five-city tour intended to bring these people together and get them networking with fellow local small-business owners. At each stop the attendees heard testimonials from veteran entrepreneurs as well as tips on how to manage financial transactions, use social-media tools effectively for marketing efforts and build not only a website, but an online brand.  

wOw attended the NYC stop, an informal meet-up over beer and pizza, where the mood was jovial and relaxed. But make no mistake — the questions from these budding entrepreneurs were pointed and thought provoking. This was a group that wanted to get down to business; their livelihoods depend on it.  

No matter the speaker, the theme was consistent: YOU (yes, you) can become a successful entrepreneur. In fact, it’s easier than ever. Resources exist today that can provide invaluable visibility for a company without having to pay for an ad in the local paper (the process itself sounds downright prehistoric). You need endless passion, dedication and the guts to make it work. But what’s a better motivator than a lack of a paycheck, or total boredom?

The tour has ended (at least for this season), but the culture of unintentional entrepreneurs will continue. So why not take that jewelry-making hobby, that crocheting pastime, that idea for how to streamline business (probably born out of frustration in the workplace) — and turn it into a job? There’s never been a better time — and you’ve never been in better company.

While the term "accidental" entrepreneur leads some to believe that inadvertently starting your own company is as easy as "oops," think again. There are five essentials every person should have before they launch their own business. Read on to see what they are …