Many people dream of starting their own business, but many Americans are now doing it out of necessity given the realities of the high unemployment rate.

Call them accidental entrepreneurs, unintended entrepreneurs or forced entrepreneurs. A year and a half into the Great Recession, with the jobless rate hovering near double digits, corporate refugees like Lisa Marie Grillos of San Francisco are trying to fend for themselves.

Along with her brother Hernan Barangan, Mrs. Grillos started Hambone Designs, after her full-time contract position with Williams-Sonoma as a production manager wasn’t renewed in January. The new company makes bicycle bags that hold things like keys, wallets and cellphones.

“You have the time — why not focus your energy on something, rather than just trolling Craigslist and sitting and watching TV?” Mrs. Grillos says. “It’s really taking matters in my own hands.”

The Times article goes on to describe this trend further, and cites data from LegalZoom.com regarding a 10% increase in new businesses formed using its service in the first half of 2009, which surprised the company’s executives.

In many ways, a recession offers an ideal time to start a business. Many costs are lower, from rent to staff.

Wired recently published a fascinating article about Craigslist, the ultimate online classified advertising site. Needless to say, the organization is unlike most successful companies. Writer Gary Wolf asks the obvious question – how can such a basis site with minimal features dominate the market?

The answer is obvious – simplicity rules. One can imagine numerous features that would make the user experience better, yet would they REALLY make things better?

Keep this in mind if you’re considering your own online venture. A perfect site does not exist. Adding more features doesn’t necessarily make a product “better.” Anyone who uses Microsoft products can attest to that.

Finally, I’ll leave you with another obvious observation – Craigslist is a very powerful tool for anyone looking to find a job or hire someone. It most likely will not be the only tool you use, but for many of you it might become indispensable.