DR. WALLACE: My mother feels hopeless since she was laid off last month. She's worked at that company for 18 years and she often told me that her co-workers were like family to her.

Luckily, my mom planned ahead and has a good savings account, and she also received a severance package so my sister and I are not in danger of having our lifestyle jeopardized in any way.

I'm 18 and my sister is 17, so we will both be moving on to a local state college one at a time over the next two years.

Our mom now just sits at home and sulks. We know she was a great employee and she would have a lot to offer to another company, but she doesn't seem to be interested in trying anything new. What can we do to help her? — Our Mom Is Great, via email

OUR MOM IS GREAT: It sounds to me like your mother is still in the grieving process of losing her job and the daily connection to the friends she enjoyed spending time with at work.

See if you can find out if there were other employees who were also caught in the downsizing as they may wish to meet your mother for coffee to network about future opportunities.

Also think about what her skill sets are and what she could offer to your community as either an employee or as a local entrepreneur! It's possible that your mother and one or more of her friends could come up with an idea that might give her income, camaraderie and the wonderful sense of purpose that she enjoyed at her previous place of employment.

"When one door closes, another one opens" will most likely apply to your mother's situation. The key is for her to be ready to engage when she's ready, and I feel that if she does not face the daunting prospect of doing that alone, it might help her to move ahead with her search soon with a renewed bounce in her step.

I DON'T SEE MYSELF FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

DR. WALLACE: My father is a very successful small businessman and runs a specialty small business distribution company. He has a few dozen employees and two excellent managers.

Despite this, he has often told me that he would like to see me take over when he is ready to retire. However, I want to be a general business consultant some day when I start my career. I'm currently a business administration student in my sophomore year in college.

I've avoided speaking to my father about my lack of interest in following in his footsteps. I do have two younger sisters, but they both have no interest at all in business. They are talented musicians and one is a very successful drama student at her high school.

When would be a good time to break my news to my father? — Want to Blaze My Own Trail, via email

WANT TO BLAZE MY OWN TRAIL: At your age, I see no rush to make a final decision at this point, much less "announce" this to your father. It's entirely possible that you may have a change of heart within the next several years, and if so, it's better to not muddy the waters with a negative preamble.

But since you envision your future self as a business consultant, why not start doing some "free" consulting for him as you learn various business principles that may apply to his particular small business?

This will lay some groundwork for a future announcement of your desire to pursue a career in business consulting, plus also provide you with an early opportunity to work with a symbiotic business owner to see how much assistance, guidance and statistical logic you can deliver. And in doing so, you'll also come to understand your father's business down to a granular level. This should also help you to make your final decision about following in your father's footsteps.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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