If over-the-air radio is going to continue to be a vital force that attracts creative and financial capital, then you’d expect some new companies to pop up, like mushrooms after a hard rain. But isn’t that crazy, counterintuitive? Nope. Plenty of successful companies and retailers bravely opened their doors during the Great Depression. In radio, there were lots of startup owners and service companies (brokers, etc.) who turned on the lights in the period between 1989 and 1992, the last time the radio business was this troubled.

I’m not just glibly saying, like some think-your-way-to-success course, that “there’s opportunity out there.” There is, for sure. (Remember former RAB president Gary Fries’ oft-repeated comment that “change creates opportunity.”) Sometimes it’s a matter of stark necessity, and of putting food on the table in an industry which offers much less job mobility than a decade ago. So many good radio people have been tossed outside that there have to be some folks who will see opportunities in consulting and other services, and even ownership. Three examples: #1, I’m aware of at least one former Clear Channel executive who’s lined up the financing to buy some of the stations he used to be involved with. He’s convinced they’ll be coming on the market, and he’s persuaded some “money people” to be ready to strike when the opening occurs. #2, One unemployed P.R. and marketing pro I know of has quietly started up her own shop, working for herself. She’s got a great reputation in her market, and figures it’s time to see what her skills are worth on the open market. And #3, after syndicator Sovereign City Communications crashed, Scott Gilreath and others blinked at the sudden daylight and then started looking at business opportunities. Scott launched a syndication service company named RASS. In its purest form, you can call this strategy “betting on yourself.”

So watch for these new companies. Some of them will fly, and some won’t, despite good people and good intentions. Luck plays a part in business success, too. If you get a chance to help out somebody who’s playing the role of entrepreneur – maybe for the first time – give ’em a hand, or at least take their phone call or answer their email or follow them on Twitter. They’re doing it because they believe in the business, and they believe in themselves. They’re also believers in new technologies, like social networking, that can help spread the word. (That’s a significant advance over the environment of 1989-1992.) They’re willing to reinvent themselves here in the unsteady climate of the 2009 Recession – and today’s “new companies” deserve a shot, as some old companies are mainly focused on simply making budget.

Got any comments? I’m at Tom@in3media.com – Tom Taylor