http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/
get_a_life_blog/2007/06/what-to-do-when.html
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
What to do when your work dries up, key client disappears or industry grinds to a halt
Pamela Stewart Slim
Escape From Cubicle Nation
How to go from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur
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Save for a rainy day. Your financial adviser and grandpa were right … you should have a healthy cushion of savings set aside in case of emergencies. This is the hardest advice for me to follow, but it is very, very wise. Set up an automatic monthly deposit to an account that is NOT tied to your regular personal or business checking account. I heard someone suggest that it be a bank or financial institution that is inconvenient to get to and has few ATMs.
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I learned this lesson sort of by chance.
In my first transition from AT&T to Wall Street, I got a golden handshake to leave. Thru dumb luck, the protection that the Universe extend to the totally clueless sometimes, I was able to get back “in” in eleven days. Mostly that was waiting for the gooferment SEC and the blood test about drugs. In my new job, I had access to a salary deferral plan that allowed my to defer paying taxes on the handshake. Since I hate taxes, the money was “saved”. Fast forward to my transition out of Merrill Lynch, where I decided to become a consultant. I was seeing big gobs of money being paid to consultants in those go go days. Frau’s fears were minimal, and so were mine, beneath the bravado, since I still had that year’s pay with interest “salted away”. Always nice to fall flat on one’s face when you have a nice cash cushion to “fall into”. My consulting was a wild success. But it could have just as easily been a dismal flop. When I consult with My Turkeys (i.e., the FOWGs who are out of work) who “land”, I always try to drive home the need for building up a “rainy day fund”.
Sigh. Some even listen.
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