Laid Off No Plan B?

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Laid off? Do you want to change careers?

Tech industry layoffs? That is hard to believe after all, technology replaces humans. Two weeks ago, I went to a hamburger joint. I hadn’t been there for a while so I was surprised there were no long lines. Then I realized there was a machine to my right where you order the food.

Losing a job can happen to anyone which means we must be vigilant. What is the situation at work? Will you be laid off? If the boss doesn’t like you, you might be on the list. I hope you’re not, but if you do, what is Plan B? Have you thought of starting you own business? 

Your Skills

You don’t have an updated C.V. or resume because you’ve been in your last job for 10 years. Update it, but call it a Business Profile, because you gained a lot of experience and contacts during those years.

Your business profile. We under-value ourselves. We don’t realize that what we know is packaged into words like marketing, tech support, finance, customer relations, design or security. In Canada, people from a certain country are well-established in the security business.

They could not find jobs they were doing in the home country, but they have one asset: English. They turned that into a security business which is extremely lucrative now, because of the pandemic. It also provides part time jobs for university students from that country.

The business profile is important because it determines the bull’s eye, your core business. It also determines what you can outsource to contacts you made while working.

The Government

Once your business profile is ready, study the government. Tax season kicks in, come January. Businesses get more cash back because the government knows they put money in the business. The government has some incentives for your line of business. What are they?

Have you thought of a business name? Dawn Deliveries. Yes. You might be delivering supplies that are needed at a particular location at the crack of dawn. Very little competition because few people relish the idea of leaving a warm bed.

Online Businesses

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The internet is not the only place for business. You can have a successful business on solid ground.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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