Do You Have a Plan B for Your Career?

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is how she phrased it. My mother, that is. As a high school senior my mom, like all moms at the time, told me I needed to have a career fallback plan. I wanted to be an actor, but 98% of actors don’t earn enough to make a decent living, so how would I support myself? My fall-back plan, or Plan B as I call it, was going to a broadcasting school, learning how to make an audition tape and then securing my first gig at a very small-town radio station. For the next decade I moved four times, working at larger stations with each move and making a decent living while acting on the side. 

Then the company I was with wanted me to move from Atlanta to Houston, a town at the time that was dying due to a recession and oil bust. I said no, they said goodbye and I needed a Plan B. This time though I had nothing and it took a year to find, totally by accident, the world of promotional products, a field I flourished in for the next 34 years. 

Last year, millions found themselves suddenly unemployed when the country closed down due to COVID and most had no Plan B. Like the saying, it’s easier to get a job when you have a job, should things suddenly change in your work life, it’s better to have a Plan B in place than to not.

What’s your backup plan were you to suddenly be laid off? Or the company you worked for closed? Or any of a dozen other ways you might find yourself suddenly unemployed? A Plan B can encompass many things and below are five ideas to get you started. As my mom also used to say, it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

• What are you already doing that you can turn into a career? If you have to start over, why not do something you love or have a passion for? Do you have a hobby, interest or a cause close to your heart you could monetize? Maybe you have an idea for a product or service that fills a niche. Whatever it is you consider, ask yourself, does it bring value to people and/or solve a problem? Is it something they will pay for? People find new ways every day to make money online selling a product, a service or even themselves via ebooks, podcasts and YouTube videos. Decide what it is you want to do and then it’s time to…

• Determine a Timeline: Even though this is a Plan B, you need to determine how long it would take to get up and running and generating income. Three months, six months, a year? This will come into play when we talk about your finances. Let’s say you want to grow square watermelons (you think I’m kidding?). You’ll need to determine upfront costs to get started, what online tools or apps you’ll need, an estimate on how long until you start generating revenue and what your ultimate goal is (perhaps owing a chain of square watermelon stores around the country!). Create a strategy and lay out a game plan that will get you started as quickly as possible so you can see results and generate income.

• Can you pursue this as a side hustle right now? You’ve decided what your Plan B will entail and you’ve laid out a plan to bring it to fruition. Now you can put it aside and hope you’ll never need it, right? WRONG! If this is something you really enjoy doing, why not do it now as a part-time gig? As long as it doesn’t conflict with your current job, getting started now will help you determine if there truly is a market for your idea and if it’s something you would want to do full-time. Besides, should your current career take a nose dive, you’ll already have the foundation laid and can start immediately taking steps to ramp up the business. 

• Always be building your personal brand: Look, whether you stay in your current job for years to come or you have to start over, the bedrock of any business you undertake is you. Not unlike a corporate brand, your personal brand is what people will think of when they hear your name. It’s your story told through the prism of platforms like Linkedin, your resume, your social media sites and how you interact with others. Determine how you want others to see you and understand just like a corporate brand, your personal brand will change as you gain more experience and your career grows. If you’re not already on Linkedin make that a priority. For social media sites, the one piece of advice I offer is the same one I repeated over and over again to my two sons, who thankfully took it to heart. Do not, under any circumstances, put anything online that you don’t want future employers, employees, investors or customers to see. Leave your political rants at home, don’t trash your ex’s, no drunk photos or pictures of you doing something your mother would blush at, don’t lie about your work experience and no off-color, racist or sexist jokes. I’m sorry if that’s obvious, but given what I see on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, it’s something that needs to be said. Remember, the things you post about, the information you provide, the leadership you show combined with your daily interactions create your personal brand. Make it one you can be proud of. 

• Save for those rainy days: Our oldest son had wanted to be a police officer since he was 10 years old and at 22, his dream became a reality. For seven years he loved the work, but given the current conditions, he decided he needed a career pivot. He took six months to determine he wanted to get an MBA, figured out how he would do it and created a financial plan that means he won’t have to work for the two years it will take to complete. He’s 29 and understands the commitment to succeed. For your Plan B to work, you need to understand your unique financial situation. If you didn’t bring in a dime for three months, six months or a year, what would it take for you to pay all your bills? What could you cut out of your expenses and what must you have? This is a hard conversation and if you have a spouse or family, make sure to include them in the discussion. You need a Plan B fund to ensure you keep a roof over your head and food on the table and stashing away money must be a priority so you have breathing room to implement your Plan B if needed.

In the Special Forces they have a saying, “Always dual prime a charge”, meaning have a backup primer or fuse on an explosive device just in case the first one doesn’t go off. When I used to fly small planes, I was always looking for a place to land in an emergency just in case the engine failed. The same is true for our careers. While some might argue a backup plan makes it more likely you’ll fail, I believe, like my mom did, a Plan B helps you stop worrying about the “what ifs” and focus on the “how to” in your current role.  

I was one of the millions laid off when COVID hit and fortunately I had a Plan B, a moose with blue hooves. I’m in my third career now and while it’s a crazy idea, my wife and I believe Marvelous Moosey will be world famous one day soon. The plan was in place before I lost my job, I’d been saving for that rainy day and while the timeline is taking longer than expected, the world is a different place than it was pre-COVID. It’s all about tweaking and adjusting the plan to get where you want to go.

The goal is to pursue your dreams and if that’s what you’re doing now, fantastic. Just remember, the only constant is change and if things change and you have no Plan B, you could be in a world of hurt. As former President John F. Kennedy said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” Take the time to make a Plan B now, when you don’t need it knowing it’s there if you ever do.