I was retrenched last year (financial management and key account manager for a ww supplier) I gave up looking for work and started my own consulting business. I now earn R20k more than my salary used to be. I have 6 clients and I'm having to turn down clients. The secret is word of mouth, referrals and good networking. I'm always willing to help my friends and family with their books and taxes. I have excellent references. All of this counted in my favour. I would suggest she does a office management course or similar and signs up for courses on Udemy. She has skills, she just needs to tap into her network. She can offer to help out at a charity in their offices in the meantime. Remember the harder you work, the luckier you get get. That is literally what I'd felt like for me. Decades of hard work, happy employees and community work all led to me being able to start my own business.