How the Self-Employment Assistance Program is helping me start my own business

Late nights, empty coffee cups, and full storage shelves. These were all commonplace in the early days of HM Craft, which I often considered my "side-gig" while I was working full time as a graphic designer. I would work my 9-5 for 40 hours a week, and come home to play with new ideas, new art mediums, and experiment with things to sell on my online Etsy store. For about ten years, it was just a hobby that allowed me to make some extra cash on the side.

That all changed in June of 2025, when my full-time job experienced a reduction in force and my job position was eliminated. I soon began the process of applying for unemployment benefits, researching the job market, and making sure I was doing everything required of me so that my unemployment claim went through without a hitch. The requirements for unemployment included applying for 2 jobs a week, and doing 3 "actions" relating to a job search (including updating a resume, searching a job portal for work, and reaching out to an employer). However, the total amount of your claim could be reduced if you earned money on the side...like I did with my online store, HM Craft. I could either stop selling online, or look into making it more of a focus as a primary source of income. For the moment, stopping altogether seemed the most logical, so I could focus on finding work and maintaining the unemployment requirements in the meantime.

"You have a new correspondence," the online portal, Frances Online, alerted after my claim was approved. With all the letters, documents, and information available about unemployment, Frances Online acts as the central hub to answer questions, send information digitally, and manage your claim. It streamlines an incredibly complicated process, and allows for instant information if you run into any hiccups. It was in the Frances Online message portal that I was informed about special programs being offered through the Oregon Employment Department, including the Self Employment Assistance (SEA) program.

From the information in the letter, it claimed "The SEA program waives the requirement to look for or be available for work from a traditional employer while participants focus on their self-employment business. Income from your self-employment business will not reduce your weekly benefit amount." This seemed to be just what I needed to turn my "side-gig" into a "full-time gig".

When researching more about the SEA program, I discovered a link to their weekly webinar, where they go over the process of applying to the program, and are available to answer questions for potential applicants. In the hour-long Zoom call of ~30 people, the hosts explained that applying for the program did not guarantee acceptance, and the applicant first would have to meet the requirements to be considered. In my case, the graphic design career is considered very specialized and could potentially take a long time to find a new job (which meets the requirements of SEA). This differed from someone who was, say, a cashier or dishwasher that could find work easily in the many businesses within the area.

Since I couldn't find an example application, I answered the questions to the best of my ability. I'll share my answers here, in case it helps others:

• My application, as an example

And sure enough, my application was approved! I was in the SEA program, and could begin working on my business full time.

But this was not the end of the process: the next steps were to complete the required questionnaire in 45 days, which needed proof that your business was registered with the Secretary of State and that you had received an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Since these steps were all outside of my wheelhouse, I used the links provided from the webinar and met with someone from the Oregon Small Business Development Center to help navigate the process of making HM Craft a REAL business.

My first step was to turn HM Craft into an LLC, which I did using the online service called Northwest Registered Agent. They pulled together the "Articles of Organization" and e-filed to the Secretary of State on my behalf. After this I requested an EIN through the IRS, and used the assigned number to create a business bank account.

In my case, a business plan was not required but I wanted to be thorough. With advice from the Small Business Development Center, I created a one-page business plan, which was very similar to the initial application I completed to get into the SEA program:

HMCraft&Design_businessplan.pdf

Download PDF • 15KB

After all of the hurdles, confusion, and uncertainty, I am now happy to announce that my business, HM Craft & Design LLC is an official business! It is supported by the SEA program offered through the Employment Department, which I have found to be a fantastic resource to help get my business off the ground. I'm still required to file a weekly claim for another 5 months, but I no longer have to apply to 2 jobs a week, and reach out to employers. The extra money I make with my business is a plus as well.

Typically, being laid off and put on unemployment can be very taxing on the mind, with uncertainty and loss of confidence in a very turbulent time. And that's still true in my case, but with the Self-Employment Assistance program I have found some peace of mind. It gives me time to focus on the logistics of starting a business: like building a client list, creating inventory, and planning future market booths without the fear of missing a mortgage payment. So while my art room might still have empty coffee cups and full storage shelves, I'm excited to work on my projects for HM Craft & Design as a full-time job, rather than only in my free time into the late nights. ⭐

Thanks for reading! Follow me on social media (🦋 Bluesky | 📸 Instagram | 🐦 Twitter) Or feel free to support me at any of these sites:

• Ko-Fi

• Etsy

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These are my experiences as an Oregon Resident, which may differ from other states' requirements. I have not been sponsored by any companies listed above. If you have any questions specific to my experience, feel free to ask below! Otherwise I encourage you to reach out to your state's employment department to see if there are similar programs available for you.