Posted on August 29, 2019 by dragonspitapothecary
Have you ever been laid off or even fired from your job?
Almost everyone has and if you’re one of the few who have been fortunate not to yet, I hate to tell you but one day it will happen. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 1 in 18 working adults will change jobs every 3 years. These changes are the result of personal choice or from being laid off or fired. We are likely to be laid off or fired at least 4 times in our working career. It is estimated we will have 12 – 14 jobs in our working career time frame. https://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsfaqs.htm
First that’s a lot of jobs and changes.
Second how unfortunate that every day someone is in this situation and probably freaking out wondering how they will continue to live, pay their bills, feed their family and generally survive. We are so incredibly dependent on corporate America for our basic living and it’s a downright shame that this is such a big risk as a result of that dependence. Unless you are independently wealthy or already highly successful in your own small business you have this risk and you are dependent on another for your livelihood. It’s fact and reality.
What It Feels Like to be Let Go
When you find yourself across the table from someone telling you that your job is gone or your services are not longer needed it is incredibly surreal. You are shocked and stunned -even when you know its coming. A rush of emotions comes over you followed by a feeling of numbness. It is shock, hurt, anxiety and worry all at once. It is a distinct feeling of “what now” as we are driving home to tell our family all the while running through options of what we can do, how to recover and how long we can last without a paycheck. We know the panic and weight we feel in our chest at the thought about the pile of monthly bills coming due and realizing there is not another paycheck coming. When it has happened to me I immediately get a pain in my stomach and will throw up. My hands will start to shake and I get all clammy and my stomach is doing so many somersaults with this news that I am physically ill.
Losing our job has significant impact to our life. Very quickly families can be in a difficult place financially that could be devastating. Today it takes most families having both parents work in order to provide for a family even modestly. Even if you are an expert saver and live thrifty, savings can be quickly eaten up with regular living expenses if you are not able to find a comparable replacement income quickly. It takes time to find another job that is comparable in terms of job scope and pay. Depending on the market and availability of jobs in your area this process could be quite drawn out. Where I live I know there is not the pay or type of job that I do in the area we live. I am fortunate to find what I do in a remote setup but if that were gone today I would be scrambling to replace it with another job.
It is a high stress situation that can cause physical, emotional and spiritual pains that can overwhelm us. We are suddenly pulling all available resources, network contacts and more to not be in a dangerous financial situation for our family. This can be physically draining, emotionally strenuous and very, very dangerous for our health.
Do More than Keep Your Resume Updated
In this day many people keep their resume constantly updated. This is useful for opportunities that may come up right away or in the event we need them because we’re looking for a new job. It is a fact of working these days that we need this professional profile ready for any thing. While this is super important it is not the only step we should be taking to protect and react against the risk of our jobs being gone tomorrow.
Knowing the impact, risks and likelihood of losing a job what can we do to safeguard ourselves and secure our family’s financial dependency on that income? Knowing it could happen more than once, what are our options for getting out of the situations where we are vulnerable for that? Are there realistic things we can do besides saving a ton of money for a rainy day?
Most of us try to think positive and that it won’t ever happen to us, we will be ok and we’ll find another job quickly. We try to be hopeful and just not think about it or that we will be lucky. I’m all for being positive and hopeful but given how frequent this happens and how harsh it can be on a family I think we also need some practicality applied in the form of a solid Plan B.
Plan Bs can be anything from having a side job to small business but it needs to be
1) scaleable to cover bills in the event of a job loss
2) be manageable to do while we hold down a full time job
3) dependable
For me the answer of a Plan B came in the form of setting up a small business. My small business isn’t at a point where it can cover all our bills if I lose my job but I continue to build it in that direction. It is also highly flexible to work around my full time job including when I need to travel for work. It is highly dependable and I know long term it is the answer to eliminating the risk that I could be fired or laid off. Yes my small business could fail but that risk is a whole lot smaller than being laid off or fired from a corporation. I have a lot more in my control to prevent failure.
Setting up a small business may not be your answer but consider for a moment that when you work part time somewhere as your side job you are still putting yourself in a dependence situation on a company. You are still trading your time and talent for a paycheck. However, when you start your own business, even through a direct sales setup, you are taking more of the controls in your own hands to offset those larger risks.
Don’t be an Ostrich
Too often we wait until we find ourselves in a bad situation such as being fired or laid off to realize we should have been preparing for this event. I challenge you as uncomfortable as it is to think about setting up a plan B. Hopefully you never need it or don’t need it for a long time but please do yourself a favor to put your mind to rest and have a plan B in place. I remember thinking after I was just let go from a job that I should have had more of a savings account in place and how I wish I had something I could rely on so that I didn’t have to take the first offer that came up for a new job.
Realize that some plan B’s may take a while to establish so while things are good and seem stable use that time to start up and grow a solid plan B. Again, it could be that you never need it but wouldn’t it be nice to have it in place and be a favorable income stream for that time you do need it? If you don’t need it then you have an incredible extra bundle of funds to do some fun things with the family.
When you come right down to it let’s be truthful and say no one really wants a job to begin with. However because we need jobs to live we have to find other ways to eliminate the risk from that dependence. The answer is being independent as much as possible. Finding your niche and having the courage to start something like a small business can only work in your favor by reducing the risk from the dependency and giving you more control over your financial fate.
Interested in more?
If you would like more information about doTERRA to see if this is right path for your Plan B, please reach out! I’m happy to provide you with answers and information to help you see if this is the right opportunity.
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