In today’s job market, things seem as unstable as ever for people who are trying to buckle down and keep their jobs. The counterintuitive process however may be to do something else with your career which is to start building an exit strategy for leaving your current job and transition into being an entrepreneur.
I read something today in the NY Times which caught my eye in the business section regarding the Chicago Tribune. The company that owns The Chicago Tribune and The LA Times filed for bankruptcy this past Monday. That in and of itself was not a shock. Many newspapers are struggling all over the country as they figure out how to leverage the emergence of online channels in their business plan.
You can read the article here:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/tribune-files-for-bankruptcy.html
What was shocking was that the $13 billion in debt that owner Sam Zell obtained in acquiring and running the company was leveraged against part of future of the employee’s pension plan. In return for Mr Zell doing this, employees were given equity in the company which will now be worth very little.
Here are 4 things that you can do in your career to make sure that you are not exposed in this type of ordeal.
- Stop putting your hopes and dreams in the hands of your employers. There is no logical reason for doing this yet we do it every day because we are told throughout our working life to keep our heads down, move up the ranks and retire in 30 years.
- Build your own business platform. The first step here is in getting clear on who you are as a person and who you want to be. There are several different platforms for doing this. Myers Briggs test www.myersbriggs.org, Soul Purpose Intensive www.soulpurposeblueprint.com, Strengthbuilder 2.0 and a great book to read is Unique Ability by Dan Sullivan from The Strategic Coach.
- If you insist in working in your current wage earner job, stop relying on the golden hand cuff tools that companies offer. Particularly a 401k or other qualified plan. As you can see, what good is having a qualified plan with a match if your employer goes out of business or files for bankruptcy. Look for investments and opportunities outside of your company that can assist you in your wealth plan. I would suggest working with a professional in this area to help you.
- Ask yourself this question about your personal wealth: Is it possible that I could be more wealthy doing my own thing vs working in someone else’s? When I say wealth I mean more personal wealth in terms of financial, great purpose for your life by working in your passion to make other people’s lives better, more time with your family and people you care about, better health as you reduce stress and finally more energy to work out physically as your not stressed out about your job that you hate.
- Look at the current model of how we work currently to make a living and then ask yourself if what we have been taught about our careers has really worked out for the majority.
Ask yourself these questions and look at where you are out of alignment and work on how you can build a better platfrom professionally and financially.