The story of real estate sellers and brokers struggling to survive is not a new story. One woman by the name of Debra Du-neier, however, decided to drop her flagging luxury real estate business and opted to launch an interior designing business combining feng shui, green living and environmental psychology.

Her new business is thriving, and it’s all thanks to her willingness to reinvent herself.

This is, of course, actually harder than it sounds. You’ll have to spend time, money and effort re-educating yourself to start a new business. That’s not something everyone is able or willing to do, but is nonetheless essential if the main business is being hammered too hard by the economy. This is especially problematic for those that have financial and social responsibilities to fulfill.

The sooner you act, however, the less painful the transition will be. Just preparing and looking for alternative lines of business to dip your fingers into is a pretty good idea – even if your current business is doing quite well.

The gloom and doom of the economy might well last for a handful of years more, so it is better to come up with a plan rather than be blindsided by a sudden failure in the business.