What is your plan B?

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laid offBefore becoming a full-time blogger, I worked for large corporate companies for 30 years.

I’ve worked through the good economic times and the bad economic times and over the years many of my friends have been made redundant.

There is no easy way to tell someone they are redundant but there are better ways than others.

I remember once being gathered together by the IT Director and he said to all of us, “We are going to have to cut some staff. Next week we will tell you who stays and who goes.”

The day arrived when we were going to be told whether or not we survived.

The Human Resources Manager entered into the open plan office and called one person into her office.

We didn’t know whether the person called was being made redundant or was a ‘survivor’.

They returned. They were redundant. They packed their belongings and went home to tell their families.

The Human Resources Manager returned again into the open plan office and called one another person into her office.

They were redundant, as well.

There was a pattern emerging.

If your name is called out, you are being made redundant.

The Human Resources Manager returned again into the open planned office. She looked at me and said, “Andrew”.

I swallowed hard. My stomach went into my mouth.

“Do you know where Alan is?” she carried on.

I didn’t.

She called someone else’s name out.

No work got done.

Eventually the IT Director appeared and said, “All those who have been made redundant, have now been told. The rest of you all have jobs”

Relief!

I rang my wife. We were happy.

I experienced this situation about 6 or 7 times in my career and it’s a horrible feeling.

But what about those who were not so lucky?

They were angry, concerned, worried, bitter, and fearful.

Can you imagine it?

You are working at a company, busy and doing a great job. You have been there several years, know numerous individuals, know how the company works and have many friends.

Than one day, you are no longer wanted!

No wonder the individuals are bitter and angry.

I am still in contact with some of those individuals who were made redundant and every single one of them is now working, which is just brilliant news.

They were confident in their abilities and they stayed positive during those worrying times.

Some had setbacks, no doubt. Not getting the first job they applied for. Many had not updated their resumes for years. Where do you start?

But they picked themselves up, dusted themselves down and started again.

Some still work for other large companies. Some started their own businesses. Some retired.

Many had invested in themselves.

They kept learning and discovering.

That is what winners do.

Investing in yourself gives you confidence in your abilities. It might be a $20 personal development book, it might be an audio on success, or it might a public speaking course.

In fact one friend who was made redundant said to me recently “I would not go back for all the money in the world and would absolutely say it was the best thing that could have happened to me”.

WOW! Now that’s a statement.

The newspaper headlines stated “1 in 4 employees would be in financial dire straits if they lost their job”.

Those situations got me thinking. If I were in that position, what would I do?

I needed my own plan ‘b’ for when the company said bye-bye to Andrew Rondeau.

That’s when I started my own on-line business. While still working full-time, I would work evenings and weekends. It built up and after 2 years I decided to leave the corporate world and am now my own boss!

So what emotional state would you be in if you lost your job?

What would be your financial situation?

How much do you invest in yourself?

Are you investing enough?

What is your plan B?

It’s a competitive world out there!

You could try your hand at blogging with  my
free Income Blogging Guide Blueprint.

Have you experienced a lay off or know someone who has? Share your views in the comments below.

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34 Responses to What is your plan B?

  1. Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny January 13, 2010 at 5:49 pm #

    Life in the corporate world is an emotional roller coaster ride. Thanks for another excellent article. It’s very helpful and supportive for those of us who are searching for alternative ways to be financially independent. You’ve done it and that gives me confidence that I can follow your timely advice and do it too.
    .-= Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny´s last blog ..Sins of the Past – What Do Yours Say About You? =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 13, 2010 at 7:08 pm #

      Cheryl

      With the passion you have…you’ll definately do it.

      Andrew

  2. Lance January 13, 2010 at 6:14 pm #

    Nice article Andrew! And what I draw from this is that what might appear to be a very bad thing, can indeed be very good. It’s all in how we approach it. And that’s a great thought!
    .-= Lance´s last blog ..Be Remarkable! =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 13, 2010 at 7:10 pm #

      Lance,

      Nice to see you here.

      So many of my friends have said, “I wish I moved on sooner”. Thing is you get tied into the Corporate world. I did for 30 years and then thought there has to be another way!

      Andrew

  3. Joel January 13, 2010 at 6:23 pm #

    Very interesting Andrew. I’ve had one similar situation in my time, but luckily the rest of the time it has been voluntary redundancies. Either way it’s not pleasant and at the time I didn’t have a plan B. That’s a great way of looking at it.
    .-= Joel´s last blog ..Want A Free Premium Theme? =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 13, 2010 at 7:11 pm #

      Joel,

      Of course, not all plan B’s come off. I was lucky, mine did – eventually.

      Andrew

  4. Ms. Freeman January 13, 2010 at 10:21 pm #

    My plan B is my Concierge business which I work on in my time away form the job. I just hope it gets legs before my name is called- insert crossed fingers here.
    .-= Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..A Plea On Behalf of Haiti =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 9:10 am #

      Ms. Freeman

      The best thing is YOU HAVE a plan b! Just starting is a big success. I hope it goes really well and the hard work pays off.

      Andrew

  5. Rajendra January 14, 2010 at 5:24 am #

    This post is really inspiring for me. Each of us individuals who are working on corporate world having insecurity about there jobs. And now days due to recession we have seen most of the cases of job cutting. As I am also the victim of the recession, and from this lession I also going to prepare myself for an online business.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 9:13 am #

      Rajendra

      That’s great news. You have made a decision which is the biggest and hardest hurdle. You may wish to check out my free multi-media blogging/on-line business guide: http://www.incomebloggingguide.com/

      Good luck!

      Andrew

  6. Gerlaine January 14, 2010 at 5:15 am #

    I have never been made redundant. I don’t think that I have ever truly been in the corporate world. I have held menial jobs. But redundancy comes to them all.

    I have been blessed to quit jobs at my choosing for better ones and eventually my own business. More love.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 9:12 am #

      Gerlaine,

      Thanks for the love and I am sending bucket loads back.

      Having you own business is awesome – I love it. It’s not really work!

      Andrew

  7. George Serradinho January 14, 2010 at 6:22 am #

    One always has to have some kind of plan B or have enough saved to last a month or two while you search for a new job.

    I have a plan B and that is to go into the family business. I know they don’t mind and want me, but the pay will be so much lower than what I’m getting at the moment.
    .-= George Serradinho´s last blog ..Tyron’s First Plane Ride from Pretoria to Durban =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 9:16 am #

      George,

      Most people don’t have a plan b, unfortunately. Great news you have one already lined up. Knowing that you have one in place can really take the pressure off.

      Andrew

  8. Chris Peterson January 14, 2010 at 11:52 am #

    Making career in corporate sector especially in IT sector is not easy. After read year post, I remembered my previous company’s boss, due to bad rescission time he fired me from job in 2009.

    After fired from job, I was starting my own blog and now I made career in blogging.Any way this article is really nice. Thanks for great article.
    .-= Chris Peterson´s last blog ..Reply To Comments Appropriately =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 2:38 pm #

      Thanks for sharing your story Chris.

      And it’s brilliant you have made it as a blogger. Watch out for my next post!

      Andrew

  9. Dana January 14, 2010 at 2:07 pm #

    My plan B is blogging that will evolute to business online. I event think that this blogging think will be my plan A in future. And yeah — i also have plan C which become plan B in future. 😉
    .-= Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Email Creation by Using WebHosting Cpanel =-.

    • Andrew Rondeau January 14, 2010 at 2:39 pm #

      Sounds like you have a solid plan(s), Dana.

      There are not many like you around!

      Andrew

  10. Dennis Edell January 15, 2010 at 5:02 pm #

    Although I wanted to forever, in the end I was forced home full time due to injuries. Luckily I was still living with the folks, so it made things considerably easier financially.
    .-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..4 DAYS LEFT!- ProBloggers-31 Days To Build A Better Blog- + 3 Awesome Bonuses! =-.

  11. Cody September 21, 2010 at 7:19 am #

    Andrew, great post. I think that a lot of people don’t think about what they would do if they lost their job. I usually help people get their first one, but this is definitely something everyone needs to think about. What are you going to do if you can’t get a job quick enough to pay the bills? Do you have another source of income to at least cut some of the burden? Blogging is an excellent way to get started making extra money online. Great post.

    • Andrew September 21, 2010 at 8:22 am #

      Thanks, Cody.

      In todays world…no jobs are for life. You have to make your own income on the side.

      Andrew

  12. Mike From removing skin tags October 24, 2010 at 9:54 pm #

    My plan B is my internet websites, I’m lucky that I love my day job. But if that goes wrong I will turn to Internet Marketing full time, which I also love as well.

    • Andrew October 25, 2010 at 10:19 am #

      Mike,

      That is exactly how I started. A few years later I left the 9-5.

      Andrew

  13. Mike April 11, 2011 at 7:36 pm #

    I started blogging and building niche websites precisely for this reason. I’ve seen too many people get let go with no warning to ever trust working for someone else. I’ve been lucky so far but sooner or later my time will come.

    • Andrew April 13, 2011 at 8:09 am #

      Mike,

      So are you blogging part-time and working full-time?

      Andrew

  14. Craig April 14, 2011 at 8:52 pm #

    Well I’ve never been made redundant, I’ve been working for myself for over ten years now, running a stone masonry business and an online IM related business.

    I’ve had my ups and downs during the years.

    I don’t really have a plan B as I’m always working and changing plan A.

    Maybe you don’t realize you need a plan B until reality kicks in.

    • Andrew April 15, 2011 at 8:27 am #

      Craig,

      In a way you do have a plan b by having 2 jobs!

      If one ‘goes’ the other one is still there.

      I agree with you when you say, ‘Maybe you don’t realize you need a plan B until reality kicks in.’.

      I really believe most people don’t think of having a plan b.

      Too much hard work?

      Can’t be bothered?

      I’ll easily get another job?

      Some of the reasons, I suspect.

      Andrew

  15. Jeffery Laird May 11, 2011 at 2:48 pm #

    It is truly scary as to how many people live paycheque to paycheque and depend on their job so much that losing it would ruin them financially. I know that we learned our lesson when my wife was laid off a few years ago – thankfully I was working and our business helped to carry us over until she could find more work. If we didn’t have some sort of backup plan, we would have been screwed.

    • Andrew May 11, 2011 at 8:28 pm #

      Jeffery

      I agree…and so many people THINK it won’t happen to them!

      Andrew

  16. Gary Ashton July 19, 2011 at 11:31 am #

    For those who go to work daily there is a fear of losing their jobs and being accountable is a heavy responsibility. I think running a blog or a site is also like running a business. No one can terminate you for not posting new articles or for not using the latest SEO tools 🙂

    • Andrew July 19, 2011 at 6:29 pm #

      Gary

      When running your own business…YOU are accountable, no one else. I like that – spurs me on.

      Andrew

  17. Hayley July 22, 2011 at 2:26 pm #

    I’m still on university and therefore didn’t go through that kind of situation, yet.

    However, I believe it must be a ‘terrifying’ feeling knowing that you may be laid off.

    A plan B must always be ready. You never know when the worst may come!

    Congratulations on being your own boss! : D

    • Andrew July 23, 2011 at 8:04 am #

      Hayley

      A plan B is a must-have. You’d be surprized that only a very small percentage of people have one, though.

      Andrew

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  1. What would you do if you were laid off? - December 7, 2010

    […] a comment and get a link-back to your blog. Thanks for visiting!Only yesterday I mentioned the importance of having a plan ‘b’ in case of being made redundant.I’ve received some great comments, so thank you.Watch this video […]

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