Why Being Made Redundant is the Best Thing That Could Happen To You

Do you remember a time in your life, when you were toying with an idea but didn’t take any action?

Well, that was me a good number of years ago, when I attended my first property seminar and was encouraged to read the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad.’ I love reading, so I was eager to find out what I would take away from the book. I was pleasantly surprised with the content because it gave me the basic overview about how rich people think significantly different to poor people and what their views were pertaining to business and investing.
​
At the time, I was in a job that I was happy in. It paid good money and I was getting all the support I needed. So, there wasn’t really a great urgency for me to implement any of the learnings in the book. Saying that though it did open my eyes to a lot of new things and it also showed me what being an entrepreneur was all about. Just by reading this book alone, I knew that one day I would desire to go into business for myself.

Manager From Hell
Fast forward a couple of years later and I found myself in another job. I thoroughly enjoyed my work but I hated all the politics within the working environment. To make matters worse there was a change of management and my new line manager was a complete dragon who was a control freak and wouldn’t allow any of my team to do what we were previously doing before she came on the scene. Every day there was conflicts and tension in the office. None of the team liked her, or her management style.

​It was so frustrating working alongside her because she clearly had her own agenda. I was starting to reach my breaking point with this woman. I kept myself motivated by coming up with innovative ideas to move things forward because she was not interested in using any of the practices from the past. But it continually kept falling on deaf ears. 

Enough is Enough
One afternoon, the team and I attending a meeting with the dragon from hell, which ultimately ended up being a massive argument. She was commanding that we stopped doing the work that we were currently doing (as outlined in our job description) but instead carry out other duties that we knew would not work. She wasn't interested in listening to anything we were saying and it was in that moment that the idea of running my own business came flashing across my mind again. I told myself, that if I worked for myself I wouldn’t have anybody trying to control the way I feel comfortable working or have my hours reduced because of cut backs within the organisation, or have my job description changed at a drop of a hat. The more that I thought about it, the stronger it became. Bearing in mind that I didn’t have a clue about how I would go about it.

The Turning Point
There were lots of rumours flying around the company about people being laid off. I was just waiting for the news to come directly to me. Then low and behold, the day finally came. I was called into the office and was told that my team of 3 people was going to be reduced to two and if I wanted to stay then I would need to apply for the new vacancy because the job description would be completely different to the one I had been working with previously. My initial reaction was shock and horror because I sort of thought my job was secure. However, it kind of made sense why my dragon of a line manager was so forceful in the way she was trying to enforce all the changes within the organisation because these were the changes that would be included in the new job role. Needless to say, I was made redundant/sacked from that company shortly afterwards.

Putting my hand on my heart, it was the best thing that could of happen to me for two reasons:

1)     Although it was a very painful experience at the time, I’m grateful that it happened because I’m now doing exactly what I want to do without that much restriction

2)     Secondly, if I hadn’t read the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ all those years ago, I may not have had the courage to start a business and probably would have thought my life was over because I wasn’t clear about what I should be doing and may have ended up feeling like a victim and remaining stuck.
​
So all in all, I'm grateful for the experience.

Over to You
Can you identify with any of the points raised above? Have you been made redundant? If so, how did you deal with it? Or are you currently stuck in a 9-5 job and want to launch your own business?

Who knows what would have happened to me if I wasn’t made redundant? I might still be in a job that I hated, working with a control freak of a manager, instead of taking the leap and venturing out on my own. I've made a lot of mistakes on the way but I would never desire to turn back the clocks.

Wherever you are right now in your career, I strongly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. If you desire to have your own business, go for it. A job is no longer guarantee for life.

This is part 1 of a 5-part life after redundancy series. Make sure you follow me to get updated when part two becomes available.
​
I hope this article has been helpful to you. Take action towards following your dreams, and you will consciously manifest with greater success every day.
​
Donna Sack
Your Boss Strategist

Next Step 
Are you stuck in your 9-5 job, whilst developing your business on the side? Or have you been made redundant and are unsure what your next step should be? Either way, come and join me in my revised Facebook page - and be surrounded by like-minded professional women desiring to launch a successful business. The aim of the page is to inspire, encourage and empower professional women just like you, to dream big and to take action on your aspirations to start a successful and sustainable business that will last for years to come.
​
Donna Hudson
My name is Donna M Hudson. I'm the Sack Your Boss Strategist. I help professional women just like you who are stuck, frustrated and feeling unfulfilled in their corporate 9-5 role, to sack their boss and launch the business they truly love.
​

---