CNNmoney.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Desperate for a job? How does CEO with a six-figure salary and flexible hours sound?

With fewer jobs available and more people feeling shut out of the labor market, many would-be 9-5ers chose to go out on their own.

Challenging economic times can encourage entrepreneurial capitalism, according to a recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. More than half, or 51%, of the companies on the Fortune 500 list this year began during a recession or bear market or both, according to the study.

And while it may be difficult to get off the ground, some start-ups are flourishing in the current economic climate.

Julie Trade became her own boss after her husband was laid off in 2007. With a background in marketing, the former stay-at-home mom, 40, launched her own marketing communications business from a spare bedroom in Scottsdale, Ariz., drafting advertising and press materials for her clients.

Since her husband struggled for nearly a year to find another full-time job and they had a young baby, "I figured the best solution was to work from home."

Trade thought she could earn a little extra cash for the family while her husband searched for a new job. But as the recession worsened, her business began to take off.

"I thought I'd get a couple of clients to make ends meet while he was looking for work," she said. "But what happened was my business kind of went crazy."

Trade got up to speed on email and IM and learned about new marketing techniques, such as search engine optimization.

"I started to think about ways I could offer a variety of services, learn new technologies," she said. "I found ways to make myself appear larger than just a stay-at-home mom in a back bedroom."

Soon she was writing press releases and ads for established companies including British Telecom and Argent Software. "Companies that I never thought in a million years would need my services suddenly did. I was a cost effective source," she explained.

Now Trade logs 40 hours a week, mostly between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. plus evenings and weekends, while her sons, ages 2 and 5, are asleep. "During the day I'm still a stay-at-home mom," Trade said.

That's a stay-at-home mom with a six-figure salary.

Trade estimates that she now makes twice what she did when she was working full-time before having children.