Just got laid off, now what?

So you just got laid off, now what? Go travel for 6 months to south east Asia and learn to surf. The smartest sales people track their finances down to the dollar. Of course they’ll make random spur of the moment purchases, but they are part of the overall budget. Let’s take a step back to 6 months before you were laid off.

Great sales people are great planners. They have to project manage deals often, and have the end in mind. That means they plan their finances appropriately. How would one do that? Budget budget budget. In my experience, I find that the majority of people gut check their budget rather than plan accordingly. In short, living below your means is essential.

It may be tough to do so, but budgeting is a key skill that must be adopted. In the simplest form, create a ‘T’ chart of income and expenses, and spend way less than what your income is. Smart individuals live within or beneath their base salary and commission is the icing on top, because as amazing of a sales person as you may be, it really comes down to timing, territory, and talent, in that order.

Take a portion of your expected income and place it into a savings account each month and consider that an expense you have to budget for. Automate the process. I’ve heard the 50/30/20 rule many times, while I don’t live by it specifically it’s a great foundation. 50% of your income goes to your expenses like housing, food, bills, ect… 30% goes towards going out with friends, travel, and the occasional random purchase. The final 20% should be placed in savings and investments. 

So you’ve implemented this baseline budget and savings over the past 12 months. You’ve saved a significant portion, and you live far below your means. But now you’ve been laid off. Salespeople are rarely given a severance package, so let’s assume you haven’t been given one. What do you do from here? Everyone’s situation is different. Some have kids, others are in committed relationships, have parents and family close by they help, a pet or two, or maybe you’re single and have no strings attached to anything other then the rent you owe each month and a few bills. 

Immediately you need to realize that you’re now free from that terrible manager that likes to read from his own book on Friday morning calls and thinks that will inspire you to pick up the phone (yes that was a CRO I had once). Take time to let that soak in, you’re free, at least for now. I cannot recommend travel enough. Leave the country for a few weeks, read a few books and enjoy life. While being laid off can be scary, it’s also an opportunity and a potential golden opportunity.

If you’ve heard the saying “pressure makes diamonds,” you can let that saying be your mantra for the next few weeks. While you are relaxing, your mind needs to be churning and trying to find ways out of the rat race. You got laid off once, it may happen again at your next place or in a few years. You need to be prepared. The question is how do you ensure you don’t get laid off? Start your own business. Have you ever seen Warren Buffets daily planner? You wouldn’t believe what his daily schedule looks like. It’s empty. Jumping from meeting to meeting does not allow much time for reflection, thought development, and for your subconscious to marinate ideas and formulate them. Take your free time to think of ideas to become your own boss. 

Now that you’ve got your idea, grab a glass of wine at a local bar where the drink costs less than $1.50 and start mapping out how you can bring your idea to fruition.

The difference between many people is execution. When starting my first business, I struggled mightily with the idea that there were so many companies in the same space, and more senior individuals in the profession. It took months to overcome that concept. What helped me overcome that struggle, is the idea that there are hundreds of plumbers, you don’t need to be the best one, but you need to be in the game. There is so much money out there, it’s all for the taking. You don’t need to have an original idea, but you need to be in the ballgame to score a run.

Once you return to reality and back at your homebase, you may start applying and interviewing again. Maybe your business idea you birthed a few weeks prior has become an instant hit, however there’s a saying “it took me 20 years to be an overnight success,” that saying holds more water than you think. At this point you’re about to get a new job 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 months after you were laid off, ready to join your next corporate family, but this idea has been slowly executed in the background this whole time. 

We currently live in a culture that glorifies the side hustle. But the side hustle is a sexy term for something that has always been around. Starting a business while currently employed by another. We all have bills, and often times early stage businesses don’t make much money. Which is why the IRS allows a business to be in the red within the first 2 years, they realize it takes time as well. You’ve returned to reality and your responsibilities may be back in full swing. Life is busy and salespeople don’t often have the best work-life balance. That said, a quote I heard recently is “If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, the want becomes the sacrifice.” 

Take being laid-off as a blessing in disguise. It’s an opportunity for you to recenter yourself, find your gravity, breath again, and start your new life. You will become the phoenix, rising from the ashes and becoming a beautiful bird. You are on your journey to starting your own business and never being laid-off again. 

TLDR

Being laid off happens for dozens of reasons, many that are out of your control. Smart sales reps are always looking at other opportunities by interviewing and staying sharp, but looking to plan for the future. Prepare, prepare, prepare.