I am in my late 40s. I have a wife who is self-employed, a young child (still single-digit age), and am self-employed myself. My wife and I are both not doing great with our income the past few years, and our little one is reaching an age where I think I could feasibly get back into the workforce. And neither my wife nor I have a solid/stable income. She has one business she operates herself, and it is highly seasonal and unpredictable. I have two I run - one is very stable but very low income, and the other is much better income but even less stable than my wife's. So a 'real job' with benefits and a stable check would do wonders for us, both in our current day-to-day lives, and in our planning for our future (which right now we have no plan).
I have not had a regular job for 22 years (late 2001 was my last 'real' job). I worked in the telecom industry back then, in middle management (lower upper management, I suppose - I was the lowest of executive level management, with a small department reporting to me). That company went out of business about a year after I left (I was cut in a series of layoffs they had to try and stay open). And, I have not stayed in touch with any of the people I worked with (either above me or below me), since I moved after I was laid off.
Aside from listing the two businesses I have been running for the past 2 decades, a couple of part-time day jobs I took just to get by, and the gig work I have been doing (Lyft, Grubhub, Instacart, etc.), how do I make a resume?
I can list the information for the bankrupt company, but it no longer exists in any form. And I don't have any contact information for any of my peers, superiors, or subordinates from that company.
I have a generic basic degree and a lot of 'life experience', but most of my certifications and such are now woefully out of date. Just the thought of trying to write a resume on its own seems more trouble than it is worth, making me reluctant to try and start a new career at this point in my life.