Today was the closest I’ve been hit by the recession, it was also the day I realized just how important it is to have a backup plan in place and ready to go.
It started last week, I had heard through the office grapevine that there was a possible layoff in the coming weeks. You know the type of rumor, someone had overheard someone else who heard something about a budget cut or excess salary that needs to be trimmed.
At first I didn’t think much about it I’m my local office CAD and graphics manager, I’m busy and always hard-working not to mention consistent with producing high quality work. No problem right.

Nothing happens or is even heard for a few days, then some more rumors surface. The word is that the future ex employee is in either the administration or drafting groups. Now comes the worrying. I start thinking about who I’m up against, the various chargability figures and percentages. Have I been slacking off lately? Am I allowed to write blog posts when I’m slow, check my favourite rss feeds? Uh oh… it’s definitely going to be me… Panic, anger, worry, you know the drill. No matter what your experience is with being fired or layed off it never comes across in a rational thought. Always the emotions waterfall and you’ve been caught unprepared.

Today became d-day as 11:30am rolled around and I receive an email asking to schedule a quick  Noon meeting. I’ve never had a last-minute 12 o’clock meeting called before. And especially not by my inter office manager whom I almost never hear from.

The time is upon me and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. In fact I’ve prepared for this day for last year and a half. My company is legally formed, I’ve got a couple small regular clients, my network is continually building with 100+ twitter followers, a blog gaining in popularity in my niche/job category, and a portfolio already in place. I could lose my job on my lunch hour and I’ll only need to ramp up my client search, start blogging some more and cut some unneeded costs to get by. Thank you freelancing.

I dial the number to connect with my manager, she answers and seems in good enough spirits. I’m slightly relaxed as she says hi and asks about the weather where I am. As I begin to answer, very cold and sno… I hear a beep. Another drafter from a western office has joined, I now realize this is going to be a conference call. I’m thinking to myself, whewww.. but at the same time I’m starting to figure it out in my head, two of our three head drafters are on the line now with our team manager… Where’s John… the third drafter out of an office only an hour and a half from me isn’t on the call yet..

That’s when our team manager starts in with the explanation how John is no longer with us… she went on to explain dividing his workload and existing projects.. I somewhat zoned out, both greatly relieved and at the same time worried, my mind whizzing. I wonder if John has any back ups like I have? Did he already have clients on the side, or is this going to seriously affect him financially and emotionally…

The meeting which seemed to take forever to start and even longer to finish was only 10 minutes at most, but it left me thinking even now hours later what if it was me? And almost just as much what would any AutoCAD drafter do if they were layed off? In this economy there really aren’t many full-time, well-paying positions available. So what can you, or I for that matter do to land on our feet, or just to be prepared for the worst.

It became clear to me this afternoon that freelance cad work is truly the best way to be prepared, and not only that but it’s also a great way to earn extra money from a skill we already have. Although I’ve known freelance drafting was always going to be my fallback it took this nerve-wracking and unnecessarily emotional day for me to know that I need to share my knowledge and experience in freelancing cad work with anyone that would like to learn it.

So today is the official announcement of the new site I’m working on TheFreelanceLifestyle.com  this site will serve as a new community where new, and veteran freelance and remote cad workers alike can share their stories, tips, and help each other to make sure we can all pursue a career in freelance autocad work.

Here are some key features that will be added for launch or integrated soon after:

• Private forums and community for discussion, questions and advice for all situations
• Resource section where I will provide guides, checklists, must have apps and software for remote working and walk throughs needed to begin freelancing
• Full Access to included premium downloads of Custom Title Blocks, drawing templates and other useful tools for branching out on your own
• Video section to go with how to`s, advice, tips and setup
• Lifestyle guides, tips and lessons in saving and managing billing or payments etc…
• Job boards with cad specific postings
  
• Access to my email and the ability to pm me for immediate and person responses to your questions.

For only a dollar a day you will get full access to all these features listed an much more. Not to mention the wealth of information provided by a community of our peers. It really is the best investment you can make for your career and future security in an economy like ours. Freelance Lifestyle.com will teach you the skills needed to start freelancing cad work on your own in a matter of days.

The time saved simply by using the drawing templates and title blocks is worth more that 5 month of subscription. Plus you’ll get information and skill to help protect yourself from losing your job.

Sign up for the mailing list here or below to be notified as soon as the community is opened.

I look forward to seeing you on the freelance lifestyle and hope I can help.

If you have any questions or comments at all don’t hesitate to ask!