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The tough job market has forced some to be a bit more creative with their employment search and a few, for at least the time being, have taken a stab at entrepreneurship.

For those with families and small children, this has been a good temporary fix to being out of work and has allowed some unemployed individuals to find a way to balance a person's work and home life in an easy-to-manage way. But it's also turning into a trend.

The weakened economy is still struggling to dig itself out of its financial hole, despite the fact that some analysts are proclaiming the recession to be over. While some figures indicate that the economy may not get worse in the near future, there is little indication that the economy will suddenly improve.

With the unemployment rate teetering around the 9 percent mark, some economic experts are predicting the rate to hit 10 percent by the end of the year.

As a way to ride out the storm, many job seekers have turned to opening home-based businesses as a way to keep busy and to possibly turn a profit. The trend has gotten significant enough that a recent American Express commercial referenced it, telling entrepreneurs that the credit card company could address their needs.

Also, Google's search volume trends recently reported that the term "entrepreneur business" has more than doubled in usage over the past five months. Just in June, U.S. users searched for it more than 1 million times.

Entrepreneurs helping the economy

How can people starting their own businesses spur economic growth? According to some business experts, it's because successful businesses will add more opportunities to the job market.

Many job seekers who have always wanted to start their own business are getting the chance to, with many finding that it is helping balance their work and home lives to their liking.

Jennifer Manriquez started the Bilingual Fun Company and told Entrepreneur.com that working from home has been the ideal situation for her.

"At the moment, the home-based setup is the right balance for me," Manriquez said. "With my young children's busy schedules and daily lives, the flexibility it provides me is definitely worthwhile."

Despite being in business for herself, and being successful at balancing work and home life, Manriquez said she is already laying down plans for when her business outgrows her home-based office.

"I envision more space for additional employees one day," Manriquez told the news provider. "I have found that I am more productive if I am able to delegate some of the tasks that are very time-consuming. I would like to have an office space specifically for my own staff so that they have the resources, materials and space for completing the necessary work."

What does it take to be an entrepreneur?

Time and money. It's as simple as that. However, there is a third element that is important when starting one's own business: passion.

Paul Harris, the founder of Sutherland Auto Sales, told the DemocratandChronicle.com that it's his passion for automotive work that has helped him with his new business.

"I've always been a car guy," Harris said. "I was the kid who always did shop in school. I used to skip gym class to go to shop."

Harris' love for cars led him to fixing up what he described as "clunker cars," which were one's that were beaten down from years of use. With time, he fixed them to working order and has used that model to expand his business into two locations, which again highlights the idea of how entrepreneurs can spur the economy through growth and job creation.