My sister and I were laid off around the same time. We started a small business together to survive unemployment.

The author and her sister run a small business, selling vintage items.

Courtesy of Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein My sister and I were both laid off from our jobs around the same time as our parents died.

We decided to start a small business, selling vintage items, which is something our mom taught us.

The small business is helping us through unemployment and face the grief.

When I walk into a suburban mid-century house with my sister, we're on the hunt for treasures that will make our customers happy — but we also like to marvel at the elaborate wallpaper in the bathroom.

We have time now to sift through the junk drawers and basement bookshelves.

Within the last few years, we both were laid off from our jobs as writers and editors.

While we continue to fling our résumés into the ring, we keep ourselves busy at estate sales and thrift stores.

We come from a family of thrifters and estate-sale lovers; our mother was an avid collector with an eye for beautiful and valuable antiques.

She taught her three daughters how to find treasures in the junk —what to look for, how to bargain, and which cleaning potions worked best to restore items to their former glory.

I've always enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, but I never imagined turning our shared love for vintage into a small business .

My sister and I were laid off I sensed a wave of layoffs coming in digital media before it happened.

A strange mix of optimism and despair coursed through me as I tried to regroup.

I quickly landed a new job, only to be let go from that role a year later.