When you are an employee, on any given day, you can lose your job through absolutely no fault of your own. It’s just business. And it’s not just people with jobs at huge, publicly-traded companies who have to think twice. Privately-owned companies and “Mom and Pops” lay off too. And remember, there’s no such thing as a civil service, or non-profit sector, “job for life” either.  I know, because I’ve been laid off twice myself during my professional Corporate America career.

The first time, I was laid off during pretty good economic times, after the fourth merger in a row of the mega bank I worked for at the time. One day it’s a “dear colleague” memo on your desk, “great news we’re merging with another mega bank to make the ultimate mega bank.” The next it’s the old “your position has been eliminated. Congratulations, you’ve been downsized due to the merger.”

The second layoff happened almost exactly a decade later. I was laid off from a fairly small private company exactly one day after I got the highest possible performance review they gave.

The first time I was laid off, it rocked my world because even though the rumors about layoffs had been swirling for awhile, I was still naïve enough in my corporate career to believe that if I worked hard enough and did the best possible work, I never needed to worry. I simply wasn’t ready to be involuntarily separated from my job. I hadn’t stopped working and moving up the corporate ladder to reach that achievement of “laid off VP of Marketing” in sixteen years, since I also worked full-time to put myself through college.

But there was a huge difference the second time around. You see during the years between my first and second layoff, I had a secret. I was leading a double life-the good employee by day, entrepreneur at night and on weekends.

It wasn’t easy working full-time while being a start-up entrepreneur on the side, but then again few things in life that are worthwhile are easy. And ultimately it was worth the sacrifice, because when job layoff number two happened out of the blue, it didn’t knock me for a loop. This time I was ready because I had a Plan B. I took my sideline business full-time without missing a beat, kissed the ground I walked on, and never looked back.  I had taken control of my livelihood and my life.

Everyone knows their own circumstances, and after being laid off, maybe you need to work full-time and be an empowered entrepreneur on the side, or maybe you can afford to make the leap and give full-time entrepreneur a try.  No matter how you look at it though, protect yourself and realize that in today’s workplace, having a “Plan B” is not just a nice to do, but a matter of survival.

Guest author Melanie Jordan is the founder of SunLover Publishing, LLC, a well-followed podcaster, and the author of several books. Check out her newest volume: “What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know™ - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know!“. Copyright 2009 SunLover Publishing LLC.

.

Guest - August 11, 2009 - 8:50 am
RSS 2.0 feed.