Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Don't Cheat on Your Husband, but Definitely Cheat on Your Boss


Or his boss or the boss in general.
It would be amiss for one to line up an extra spouse, you know, just in case the current one doesn't work out.

However, I wouldn't think twice about lining up some side action when it comes to a boss.
In case things don't work out.
Because, I don't want to be the one to tell you this but someone has to-
things seldom work out.

Perhaps in the 1950's there was such an animal as "job security", but those happy golden days are long gone the way of poodle skirts and bobby socks and gold watches given for twenty five years of loyal service.

Times, they are precarious, no?

Entrepreneur Chick has exprienced the happy good fortune of doing what was right even though, at the time, I wasn't aware of how good my choices were relative to this cheating idea.

August fifteenth, two thousand and three, was when my husband actually walked away from his job that he was most certainly bound to lose anyway.

Why was he bound to lose it? Was he a bad employee?
To the contrary, after significant downsizing in his company and after they had fired over two hundred people, and kept but one-  my husband was the one they retained.

However, the handwriting was on the wall and we knew it was only a bleak matter of time.

Unbeknownst to Entrepreneur Chick, while her husband was hard at work, she was also hard at work, quietly building up an asset base- to the end that, when the day came to make the inevitable break,
because of the income stream still coming in from the asset,
we could transition to paying our bills, have someplace to live, and keep up that pesky eating habit of ours.

Since that time, I've understood more clearly the reasons why it's important to have something else going on and have focused on that.

The biggest risk you can take these days, is not to take a risk at all.

People ask me all the time- I want to start a business, I think I should start a business, what should I do?

My answer?

Take any sort of positive action to that end.
You can always modify it later.

As I don't know you, I don't know your situation; but I do know the job market.
I'd lay odds you can come up with something much better than that hill of beans if you put your mind to it.

More next time about how to break into owning your own business!





20 comments:

  1. Oh hallelujah! I'm so glad you're posting in this direction.

    I am reminded of a sweet older lady named Mercy that I know who works at Wal~Mart. Several months before her retirement after 20 years of service, they cut her to part-time so they wouldn't have to pay her retirement. That is EVIL - pure and simple!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have WAY more guts than I do! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love when you write about how to start your own business. I need to get my butt in gear!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Most people are scared of making a decision, in case they get it wrong. One of the most significant things someone once said to me, was that not making a decision was still a decision - a decision to be inactive and allow someone else to control your fate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm hanging on your every word. TAKE ANY SORT OF POSITIVE ACTION TO THAT END. Here I go again, putting barriers up in front of myself. I always figured you had to be some sort of anointed demigod with an armload of signed forms and a sycophant banker to start up a business. Boy, I'm whistlin' Dixie. Can't wait for the next installment, and thank you!

    P.S. I love the conversational, snappy way you write these. Very easy to get into and follow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Polly,

    Aww, thank you! I'm so glad you've enjoyed this post.

    That is just awful about Mercy. I truly believe that it's going to come back to bite them, treating employees like that.

    Tony was just sharing with me this morning, as he gets up WAY earlier than I do, how a gunman went into his place of employement and opened fire because they fired him after 23 years.

    THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!

    Anyway, Polly, so glad to have you back online. I adore reading you and you're a part of my life now, actually. Did you know that?

    ReplyDelete
  7. "A",

    I have way more guts than you do, huh?

    Do I need to remind you I was NOT the one with the turkey fryer in my backyard?

    Yeah, I took it there.

    (BTW, thank you so much for your invaluable advice yesterday. I'm following everything you said to the letter. Sorry for eating the chili. Will be better today, Dr. Wallace.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chloe,

    I bet your butt looks darling in or out of gear- :)

    I forgot how you dislike sexual harassment. LOL

    Nonetheless, thank you and I hope you'll enjoy the next few posts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kim,

    I love the way we understand each other. (Being a fellow business owner too.)

    YES, you are so right, and your friend couldn't have been more on the money.

    NOT MAKING a decision is still a decision!

    I was just reading recently about how ppl do not make a decision merely due to their fears about getting it wrong.

    I'm going to post about that very thing- probably incorporate it in the next installment.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Postman,

    As always, so delighted to see you!

    I'm going to read your blog tomorrow as I have to limit my computer time because of one horrendous migraine yesterday. I went around saying, "Somebody shoot me."

    It thrills me that you get so much out of what I write-

    And yeah, let me tell you straight up, once you start moving, and you just keep on moving; things start happening.

    It's that whole you don't find out until you step out, thing.

    You are so flipping smart and so ahead of the pack anyway, you're going to do great, great things with your life. I know it.

    (And no, if you have to have all those things first to start a business, I'd not have a business. I figured out how to make stuff happen, that's all.)

    "Sycophant": In a modern context a sycophant (from the Greek συκοφάντης sykophántēs) is a servile person who, acting in his or her own self-interest, attempts to win favor by flattering one or more influential persons, or by saying lies against a fellow citizen for gaining a kind of profit. These actions are executed at the cost of his or her own personal pride, principles, and peer respect. Such a manner is also called obsequiousness.

    See Postman? I always learn something from you!

    xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the title of the post! It's such good advice too.
    Rhondi

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooog, migraines. I know how that goes. My mother gets 'em bad. She was saying the same thing you were. ;-) Hope it's all cleared up now, and you don't get another one for ages.

    I really appreciate all the cool tips and handy hints you give out, both on this blog and to me personally. I'll try to remember 'em when the time comes. Thanks a bunch for taking the time. And thank you wholeheartedly for the kind words and vote of confidence.

    There we go: you be my encyclopedia, and I'll be your thesaurus.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just noticed that you entered your blog with the mr linky thing on my blog. You are only supposed to do that if you are doing a Thankful Thursday post on your blog too. Thanks for joining in anyways :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rhondi,

    Well, I have a big fat OOOPS! lol

    ReplyDelete
  15. Postman,

    Aww, thank you. I haven't gotten one in a year and a half. Last time, and this is SO attractive, I threw up all the way from Oklahoma City to Dallas because it hurt so bad.
    I'm like, pull over! Pull over!

    Tell your mom to get a Bed Buddy if she doesn't already have one. "A" told me about it and I'm telling you, they rock! It's an ice pack and it's soooo wonderful.

    We have a deal then, you're my thesaurus and I'm your encyclopedia. Don't search for any cooking tips or recipes. I'm just telling you now...

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's exactly what was supposed to be our Day 1 of the Arizona road trip turned out to be. Poor Mom was having such a hard time. She felt like she was about the hurl. If the car was stopped, she was fine. If it moved at all, she got nauseous. Man, you had it rough. I'm sorry to hear that. Jeez.

    Bed Buddy. I'll make a note of it. Thanks for the personal referral!

    Oh, and thank you for the compliment. I rather like the new pic myself...even despite the lens flare.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I forgot to subscribe to the comments on this post, so I'm just now coming back to read your response.

    I feel the same about you. I'm very glad we connected. And it's all because of the Bearded One! That's where I found you, you know.

    And, EC, I think you're the best thing since Ziploc bags for taking the trouble to do these business-advice posts.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Polly,

    I had no idea you found me through The Bearded One! I had often wondered how you did, but forgot to ask you, or thought you might not remember, because, for the life of me, I do not remember how I found Chloe. Drives me crazy.

    Better than ZipLoc bags?! Are you sure? Man, I am truly flattered.

    (And you are more than welcome.) xxooxxo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yeah, that's where I found Postie and my friend, Jennifer, too.

    Better than ZipLoc bags. And prettier too.

    ReplyDelete