A few weeks ago on a group coaching call for my Direct Sales Virtual Academy, someone asked to be coached around quitting her full time job. Her main issue, she informed me, was that she needed the security that her job provided and that was keeping her from quitting and stepping into her direct sales business full time.
Maybe you can relate. You believe in your direct sales business and you know you could make a go of it if you didn’t have to worry about going to work every day, but you can’t see giving up the steady, secure income and benefits of your “real” job. I completely understand and I’ve been where you are.
As I coached my client, however, we both discovered something fairly amazing. Job security, when you work for someone else, is a myth. Just ask the hundreds of thousands (maybe it’s millions, I didn’t actually Google it) of people who’ve been laid off from “secure” jobs since the recession started. I’m guessing they all believed in the safe and secure paychecks and benefits they counted on every month as well, until they were gone.
I, on the other hand, was self-employed when the recession hit. I was making the bulk of my income as a live trainer, traveling and speaking for corporate events and field leaders. In 2008, I had about fifty live speaking engagements. The recession officially hit in September of that year and by December I looked at 2009 and had exactly zero live speaking engagements booked. I didn’t lay myself off. I wrote an e-book, started doing webinars and online courses, went on Facebook, started this blog, and learned a new way to get my information out to all of you. The point is, I had choices BECAUSE I was self employed and no one could lay me off. In a strange way, I had more job security than my friends with “real” jobs.
So the point is, that security you’re clinging to doesn’t really exist. Your job could be gone tomorrow, along with your choices. If you’re working your direct sales business full time, however, and your personal economy takes a nose dive, you do have choices. You can choose to do more parties, book some vendor shows, and put more energy into your business.
It’s the ultimate job security, if you ask me. And I wouldn’t trade that level of control for any job, no matter how much it paid or how “secure” it seemed on the surface.
What do you think?
Julie Anne Jones is a direct sales corporate consultant, coach, and trainer, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read her weekly blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.
