It’s clear that from now on, we won’t be relying on big companies living at the fat end of the tail for job security. Seniority, talent, productivity, and loyalty have proven to be no guarantee that you’ll keep your position when things get this bad. That’s the bad news.

The good news? Maybe your employer is doing you a favor by handing out pink slips. Because you really only have control over your economic destiny when you cut out the middleman (your employer) and become your own boss. Then, whether or not you succeed is only a result of your willingness to learn and your persistence. In fact, that’s the new secret to success: be willing to learn everything you need to know and then apply it repeatedly.

It used to be that it took a lot more: a prestigious education, lots of capital, connections in the Old Boy network, equipment, office space, employees, and lots more. But the internet and applications like Drupal have changed things dramatically for the better. So here are the top 10 reasons why now is the best possible time to start a business—specifically one using Drupal.

1. Your time is free

Your unemployment insurance or severance package is a rare opportunity to buy the time to learn how to get a business website up and running.  Even if you end up looking to work for someone else, the fact that you started an online store, consultancy, or other enterprise will show a prospective employer that you have both initiative and valuable skills. It’ll be either your ticket to independence or a respectable interlude between your last job and your new one.

2. Knowledge is free

Everything you need to know about starting, running, and growing a business is available online (including courses from those prestigious universities), from books (free from your library or at a discount online) and from people who are already doing it successfully and who you now have unprecedented access to through blogs and social networks (the New Boys & Girls network).  And nobody cares where you went to school anymore.

3. Software is free

Open source software means that what used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (databases, web servers, content management systems, e-commerce platforms, programming languages, graphics software, office suites, etc.) is now effectively free. The price you pay is that you have to learn how to use the software, but open source has gotten much more user friendly and the volunteer support community is often light years better than any paid technical support.

4. Your office is almost free

Low cost PCs running Linux and the low overhead of online commerce mean that your home can now be your office (with a tax deduction to boot!). Your website is your store front and your modest hosting fee is your rent. Whether you want to do it all yourself or have someone else manage your servers, high-quality hosting is widely available for less than $50 a month.

5. Your "employees" are affordable

The ranks of freelance contractors are swelling with qualified professionals who can provide you with any service you might need at a reasonable cost and with no other strings attached. Coupled with intermediary sites that provide user-supplied reviews of each contractor and help you negotiate the details of hiring them, you can now easily and cost-effectively adjust your workforce on an as-needed basis.

But the even better news? Recent developments with the Drupal content management framework really make this the best of all possible times to start your own business.

6. Drupal technology is ready

The Drupal content management framework has been advancing rapidly and with version 6 it has now hit a sweet spot in power and user friendliness that pushes it to the front of the pack. With it, you can create dynamic sites using a point-and-click interface that would have required advanced programming only a few years ago. It has won accolades and awards for its features, and more businesses and organizations are adopting it every day. In addition, sophisticated core contributed modules (like Views, CCK, and Panels) add almost unlimited flexibility without any programming.

7. Drupal commerce makes money

With the release and continued development of the Ubercart e-commerce module for Drupal, you can now quickly and reliably deploy a full-blown online store with a catalog, shopping cart, product pages, advanced checkout options, built-in reporting, plus all the content management and community features of Drupal. The Ubercart developers are constantly improving this module and have an active sub-community supporting it. People have already built thriving businesses based on the Drupal/Ubercart combination, you can too.

8. Drupal is commercially supported

While you might start off supporting your Drupal-based business by yourself (with the assistance of the Drupal community, see below), it’s comforting to know that if/when you want to pay someone else to help with support, it’s there.  Acquia (co-founded by the creator of Drupal, Dries Buytaert) is the largest such option, offering a variety of support services and contributing back to the overall stability and quality of Drupal for everyone. But there are also dozens of other Drupal companies and professionals available to provide support.

9. Drupal can look great

Because Drupal is a sophisticated software platform, it takes more knowledge and effort to create a good looking theme to distinguish your online business. The resources are there to do it yourself if you want to, and there are good looking free themes that you can tweak to your taste. If you want a more distinctive theme, designed for Ubercart, with advanced features and guaranteed support, then you can buy a premium Drupal theme from a growing number of companies, including TopNotchThemes, for a fraction of what it would cost to hire a designer to create one for you.

10. The Drupal community is amazing

This is probably the best reason of all to start your new business with Drupal.  The developers of the core Drupal software and its contributed modules are all active and committed to keeping Drupal the best content management framework on the planet. But there are also many more people who support Drupal with documentation, testing, and user support. The community is so welcoming and encouraging that you’ll soon find yourself knowledgeable enough about Drupal to help others as well. And that is the secret sauce that drives the success of the community, of Drupal, and of the people and businesses who rely on both.

So what are you waiting for? If you’ve got a great idea, product, or service—and you have the willingness to learn and the persistence—now is the best time to use these amazing resources to build a successful online business with Drupal!