Job Action Day!! Read three inspiring stories about people who were laid off
only to find their true career passions -- and success.
Today is Job Action Day 2009, a day for job-seekers to take action steps right now -- today -- to move forward in their
careers. The Quintessential Careers family of blogs (including this blog and
Career Doctor Blog,
Quintessential Resume and Cover Letter Tips Blog, and
A Storied Career), is looking at a promising aspect of the currently
employment scene -- turning unemployment into entrepreneurship.
A layoff can be devastating, but sometimes losing your job gives you the opportunity to do something you've
always wanted to do. Such was the case for these three entrepreneurs laid off as a result of the 2008 economic
meltdown. Here are their stories:
Darlene Gudrie Butts
I have been a financial adviser for more than 23 years. In 2007, I decided to open up my own financial firm. We were coming
off some of the best financial years and I thought this would be the time. Boy, was I wrong. The economic tsunami wiped my business off the map.
Before the final market meltdown, one of my clients gave me an idea for a book -- a simple book to help people get their finances
back in order. It would be written for the average person who felt intimidated by other, more formal books, on personal finance.
It could not have been the worst time for me to follow a dream, but I did.
The book, Lessons From The Depression: Eliminating
Debt the Old-fashioned Way, became more than just a financial guide. The book is a parable, the fictional story of Tim and Tricia
Smith who are buried in debt after a job layoff and real-estate troubles. By following the story of the Smith family, people were learning
lessons that were changing their lives. Soon, I was being asked to speak about the book.
I came back from near bankruptcy to be a successful author and motivational speaker. I am living my passion and I believe
I am now serving my life's purpose as well.
Thomas T. Venable, Jr.
It all began on October 31, 2008. I was laid off from my graphic/Web designer job after five years on the job.
After I got laid off, it took about a week for reality to sink in, and that's when the internal panic button was pushed. A 40-year-old
black man, divorced with two kids, paying child support and living with his girlfriend had to find employment fast! I applied for job
after job, went on interview after interview, plus phone interviews -- nothing -- still no job, no steady pay check. The problem that
I was having was that the employers wanted me to have a BA in graphics arts. They wanted me to have "The Paper." I am a self-taught
graphic/web designer with 14-plus years of experience in the field.
OK, so months roll past. I finally applied for unemployment because the severance and vacation pay I received was running very low.
My checking account was quickly plummeting toward the zero balance, and I didn't have any savings. I was selling personal items on
eBay just to get some extra money and on top of it, the credit-card people were calling me. They wanted their money! The credit
card people could care less if you're unemployed. At this point I am stressing real badly! My girlfriend has been doing as much as
she can financially to help out, but I needed to do something, and I needed to do something quickly. I sat around the apartment in
between looking for employment and cried when my girlfriend was not around. Not being highly religious since the passing of my
role model and father in 1995, I got down on my knees and asked for some help from the higher powers.
Long story short, I love to cook, so I spent some time learning about the specialty food industry. I thought to myself, what type
of food product I could make that wasn't too complicated and that the majority of consumers would purchase. I went through the
gamut of getting my kitchen certified, started a food business called Tommy V Foods, LLC, and developed a line of fresh salsa
called TommyV's Salsa. I currently sell at local farmers'
markets in the Northern Virginia area.
In business for only nine months, my salsa is a huge hit. People are really loving my freshly made salsa, and I have a big return
customer base! Even though I am not making the "big money" yet, I wake up every morning and start my day with a smile on my face.
This is my business. I call the shots, I make the decisions, and I create the path to the direction my business should follow. Yes
it is difficult at times, but I am not looking back to "what could have been" but looking forward to growing Tommy V Foods,
LLC, and putting smiles on salsa lovers' faces.
Tom Roberts
I was dismissed (nice word for laid off/fired) in April 2009 from my job as an account manager for Nolo Press (self-help legal books), in
Berkeley, CA. The publishing industry was hit hard by the economic downturn, and the company laid off many people -- sales,
editors and support staff. I had been promoted to my position a year earlier.
At 59, I knew the reality was that my work in corporate America was over. I could hear it "you are over-qualified;" i.e., with 40 years
experience, there is no way in hell we can pay you what you are worth. It was a nudge from the Universe. I had wanted for years
to be a full-time speaker and writer, so I went to work
on building my practice. My focus is on lawyers who abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate depression. I have
a role in next month's California Trial Lawyers Association, I was published in
Lawyers with Depression, and I am finishing writing two
books to be out around Christmas. What recession?
Follow the career tweets on twitter with the Job Action Day Twitter hashtag: #JobActionDay09
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