Before I started my own company, I was working for a small business. There were 5 of us, and it was also part of a parent company that had just a few more employees. When I started there, it was my first experience working for a company of that scale and size. I'm sharing few tidbits of information, that I hope will help you. Remember though, these are just what I saw and experienced and may be different in your particular circumstance.
1. They take away the free snacks and soft drinks.
This was a staple to the office and a quick fix for the munchies. These were free snacks, provided by the company. I hate to admit but grabbing a snack and a soft drink about 10:30 and 3:30 was a regular routine for me. At the beginning of the year though, the snacks were gone and the drink were too! The red flags should have gone up for me then, but I just thought, "Oh they are just trying to save a bit more this year." I should have thought, "Oh man, I need to hurry and find another job, THEY ARE TAKING AWAY THE FREE STUFF!" Yes, it seems logical for a company to not really offer free snacks and food like that, considering the costs of junk food. But, if your company has something like this in place, and it's gone, take this into consideration and try to find out exactly why. Most likely its financial. Cut backs, regardless of what they are, are a sign to get your stuff ready and start looking fast, kid.
2. Your firm only has one main client.
Yes, they may have more than one client, but at best they provide sporadic work. If the company gets most of it's work from one client, this is a clue that the company is not willing to take the time to look for new clients or just can't think of ways to promote its self for new and different areas of their field. My two main business principles are, 1. Don't count your chickens until they are hatched. 2. Don't put your all your eggs into one basket. When I was laid off, they told me one of the main reasons why I was being let go was that their main client was just hiring people in house to do the job I was doing and my bosses were doing, thus they did not have the money to pay me anymore.
3. You are reading this at work or Googled it.
Caught you! The fact is, you're worried and are trying to read the writing on the wall. If you are concerned your company is about to start laying off, go ahead and start looking. Don't waste your time trying to figure out if they are going to, try to beat them to the punchline. Always be prepared by keeping your portfolio and resume up to date.
4. No work.
Have you been watching tv shows at work instead of doing work? That may be ok if your small business just made 100 million dollars. If you are not doing work for a client, you should be doing self promo work and working at getting new clients.
5. You ask for a raise and lose your job.
Ouch. Talk about a slap in the face, this is what happened to me when I was laid off. I should have realized that when I asked for my raise and it took almost 2 weeks to hear back about it, that something was up. I just was too naive to admit it, but the day I got laid off, I woke up feeling the news wasn't going to be good. And, it wasn't. Plain and simple, all the signs pointed to the obvious, they just ran out of money to pay me
Yes, this post is kind of tongue and cheek, but, take it into consideration. Working for myself is wonderful and I enjoy what I do so much more. However there are a seperate set of obstacles when it comes to owning a small business. That is another post at another time.
1. They take away the free snacks and soft drinks.
This was a staple to the office and a quick fix for the munchies. These were free snacks, provided by the company. I hate to admit but grabbing a snack and a soft drink about 10:30 and 3:30 was a regular routine for me. At the beginning of the year though, the snacks were gone and the drink were too! The red flags should have gone up for me then, but I just thought, "Oh they are just trying to save a bit more this year." I should have thought, "Oh man, I need to hurry and find another job, THEY ARE TAKING AWAY THE FREE STUFF!" Yes, it seems logical for a company to not really offer free snacks and food like that, considering the costs of junk food. But, if your company has something like this in place, and it's gone, take this into consideration and try to find out exactly why. Most likely its financial. Cut backs, regardless of what they are, are a sign to get your stuff ready and start looking fast, kid.
2. Your firm only has one main client.
Yes, they may have more than one client, but at best they provide sporadic work. If the company gets most of it's work from one client, this is a clue that the company is not willing to take the time to look for new clients or just can't think of ways to promote its self for new and different areas of their field. My two main business principles are, 1. Don't count your chickens until they are hatched. 2. Don't put your all your eggs into one basket. When I was laid off, they told me one of the main reasons why I was being let go was that their main client was just hiring people in house to do the job I was doing and my bosses were doing, thus they did not have the money to pay me anymore.
3. You are reading this at work or Googled it.
Caught you! The fact is, you're worried and are trying to read the writing on the wall. If you are concerned your company is about to start laying off, go ahead and start looking. Don't waste your time trying to figure out if they are going to, try to beat them to the punchline. Always be prepared by keeping your portfolio and resume up to date.
4. No work.
Have you been watching tv shows at work instead of doing work? That may be ok if your small business just made 100 million dollars. If you are not doing work for a client, you should be doing self promo work and working at getting new clients.
5. You ask for a raise and lose your job.
Ouch. Talk about a slap in the face, this is what happened to me when I was laid off. I should have realized that when I asked for my raise and it took almost 2 weeks to hear back about it, that something was up. I just was too naive to admit it, but the day I got laid off, I woke up feeling the news wasn't going to be good. And, it wasn't. Plain and simple, all the signs pointed to the obvious, they just ran out of money to pay me
Yes, this post is kind of tongue and cheek, but, take it into consideration. Working for myself is wonderful and I enjoy what I do so much more. However there are a seperate set of obstacles when it comes to owning a small business. That is another post at another time.
