So I got FIRED yesterday...

[rcdlopez]

Im sitting wondering if to return it or not but hey I also need it for transportation for my girlfriend and I

The funny thing too was that when I was at the dealership, the salesman said I could purchase some sort of insurance with them in where I could return the car if I wanted to. There's no cooling off period for car buying so he said this would allow me to return it if for some reason I lost my job or something. But why would I lose my job we both asked? it's SECURED.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[csalvato]

Within two weeks, I'd already replaced my income as a prof

2 weeks to replace your income as a prof?

How did you generate revenue using SEO within 2 weeks? Getting consulting clients? Or niche sites? or what?

Normally rankings take weeks/months.

 

[ChrisGuthrie]

My question to you guys is, have you ever gotten fired? How did you get over it and how long did it take? Also, did you just ended up getting another gig or is that when you finally started your own biz?

Your forum thread is what prompted me to finally create a forum account so I could share my experience with getting fired nearly 5 years ago.

It was 4:50 PM on Tuesday October 13th, 2009. I remember the date because every single year since that date I've celebrated my fireversary (that despite my attempts to popularize the term has yet to be recognized as an official dictionary word).

My boss called me into his office "asking if I had a few moments" where he and the HR manager were sitting (Our HR manager was rarely seen outside her office). He said "Chris we're letting you go" and then went onto say other things I forget from the confusion and disorientation. Getting fired for me felt like being punched in the gut because I felt I was good at my job. I had won numerous awards. I was brought on stage in front of the entire company as the best person in the first 6 months for my new role for one of the awards and in general I was promoted quickly.

Questions immediately popped up into my head even while he was still speaking to me like:

"Why was he firing me?"
"Was it something I did?"
"I've won multiple awards why would they fire me?"
"I wonder if it's because my co-worker / counterpart knew that I had a side business that was doing well?"

I asked them to give me a reason for why I was being fired but I got an official sounding line about Washington being an "at will" state or something like that where basically they didn't have to tell me.

They asked for my keycard and gave me a set of documents that I could sign for some small severance pay along with a deadline of when I needed to sign.

I vividly remember getting the keycard out of my wallet and intending to toss it onto his desk but instead I must have put a little more muscle behind it because as soon as it came out of my hands I watched the key card fly across the desk and hit him in the chest (whoops - I may have even said sorry).

They then proceeded to escort me past all of my fellow co-workers who just stared at me because if you recall I mentioned it was 4:50 PM and everyone was starting to pack up to go. So first I was being fired without given a reason and then second I was being embarrassed by getting escorted out of the building like I was a criminal past my fellow co-workers and not allowed to grab my extra monitor (yah to be more efficient I brought in another monitor from home).

By the time I got home I was understandably still upset about being fired, but my wife reminded me that I had already been thinking about leaving my job to go into business for myself. They just moved up the plans a little.

Fortunately in my spare time (the time that most people are watching TV, complaining about what's on the news but not really doing anything about it etc) I had been quietly trying out various ways to earn money online. A few months prior to quitting I had already surpassed my day job income with earnings from the Amazon Associates affiliate program (I was building product review websites and ranking them in Google). In November 2009 I earned ~$10k from Amazon and then in December 2009 I earned ~$13k from Amazon and by January 2010 I was convinced I could make it work. Flash forward nearly 5 years and I've branched out into other areas and co-founded a WordPress company and we're doing pretty well.

If things go the way they are I should be able to exceed what my former CEO was being paid for running a 500+ employee company. (Granted it's a company that is based out of Canada so they aren't as crazy with their CEO pay as US companies but still a target I can shoot for).

Ultimately I've run into my boss at various times and I've never asked him why he fired me but I have thanked him as it was the greatest thing he could have done for me. I'm 99% certain at this point that I was fired because my sales counter part (the outside sales rep I worked with the most) knew I had a side business that was doing well enough to exceed my day job income and that I wasn't committed to the company.

Yet another reason why you should never tell your co-workers that you're doing stuff on the side. I've met so many people that have been fired because their bosses think they aren't committed to the company (or whatever)

TL;DR: Got fired nearly 5 years ago. In my first full year of self employment I tripled my day job income and every year since then I've been able to make more money than the last all while building internet businesses that let me work how and when I please. Don't tell anyone you work with that you're building a side business etc.

 

[princephoenix]

It was 4:50 PM on Tuesday October 13th, 2009. I remember the date because every single year since that date I've celebrated my fireversary (that despite my attempts to popularize the term has yet to be recognized as an official dictionary word).
My boss called me into his office "asking if I had a few moments" where he and the HR manager were sitting (Our HR manager was rarely seen outside her office). He said "Chris we're letting you go" and then went onto say other things I forget from the confusion and disorientation. Getting fired for me felt like being punched in the gut because I felt I was good at my job. I had won numerous awards. I was brought on stage in front of the entire company as the best person in the first 6 months for my new role for one of the awards and in general I was promoted quickly.
Questions immediately popped up into my head even while he was still speaking to me like:
"Why was he firing me?"
"Was it something I did?"
"I've won multiple awards why would they fire me?"
"I wonder if it's because my co-worker / counterpart knew that I had a side business that was doing well?"
I asked them to give me a reason for why I was being fired but I got an official sounding line about Washington being an "at will" state or something like that where basically they didn't have to tell me.
They asked for my keycard and gave me a set of documents that I could sign for some small severance pay along with a deadline of when I needed to sign.
I vividly remember getting the keycard out of my wallet and intending to toss it onto his desk but instead I must have put a little more muscle behind it because as soon as it came out of my hands I watched the key card fly across the desk and hit him in the chest (whoops - I may have even said sorry).
They then proceeded to escort me past all of my fellow co-workers who just stared at me because if you recall I mentioned it was 4:50 PM and everyone was starting to pack up to go. So first I was being fired without given a reason and then second I was being embarrassed by getting escorted out of the building like I was a criminal past my fellow co-workers and not allowed to grab my extra monitor (yah to be more efficient I brought in another monitor from home).

Dude, reading this made my jaw drop and yell out, "Holy Crap!"

This was SO similar to my situation!

I was called at 4:30 into my HR Manager's office to go over some "stuff in ADP" and there was my boss sitting there looking like a ton of bricks had hit her. ( She apparently had no idea I was getting fired, got into a fight with her counterpart in another department that same day over it.) That's when they told me I was being let go, and I definitely had some questions but all I asked was why didn't I get any warning. They used some past informal meeting about something a coworker of mine from another department had done, and said that counted as my warning.

Then came the giving up of my keycard, (I handed it to her, didn't throw it) handing of the severance package, told the speech about signing it and the deadline. Also was escorted past my co workers, to my desk to grab a few things supervised, (thankfully my boss had taken my department into a conference to give me some semblance of privacy,) then was escorted to the elevator.

One of the worst feelings ever, but that same day i had been telling myself that I could not wait for the day I didnt have to worry about making someone else rich and only working for myself. (Job was stressing me out anyways.)

Unfortunately i had not worked on anything on the side yet like you did, but I already started now. Ive been working on publishing my erotica but Amazon Affiliates program and making money off of SEO sounds quite interesting to me and I would love to try it out. Gotta get started in the fast lane somehow!

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your story, you have no idea how happy you have made me. Hopefully in five years I can be celebrating my "fireversary" and passing my story onto others to break themselves out of the slowlane.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChrisGuthrie]

Dude, reading this made my jaw drop and yell out, "Holy Crap!"

This was SO similar to my situation!

I was called at 4:30 into my HR Manager's office to go over some "stuff in ADP" and there was my boss sitting there looking like a ton of bricks had hit her. ( She apparently had no idea I was getting fired, got into a fight with her counterpart in another department that same day over it.) That's when they told me I was being let go, and I definitely had some questions but all I asked was why didn't I get any warning. They used some past informal meeting about something a coworker of mine from another department had done, and said that counted as my warning.

Then came the giving up of my keycard, (I handed it to her, didn't throw it) handing of the severance package, told the speech about signing it and the deadline. Also was escorted past my co workers, to my desk to grab a few things supervised, (thankfully my boss had taken my department into a conference to give me some semblance of privacy,) then was escorted to the elevator.

One of the worst feelings ever, but that same day i had been telling myself that I could not wait for the day I didnt have to worry about making someone else rich and only working for myself. (Job was stressing me out anyways.)

Unfortunately i had not worked on anything on the side yet like you did, but I already started now. Ive been working on publishing my erotica but Amazon Affiliates program and making money off of SEO sounds quite interesting to me and I would love to try it out. Gotta get started in the fast lane somehow!

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your story, you have no idea how happy you have made me. Hopefully in five years I can be celebrating my "fireversary" and passing my story onto others to break themselves out of the slowlane.

Boo yah! Work on making your first fireversary a good one. I had a bit of a boost as I sold my top website in 2010 just before my first year fireversary for a low six figure deal but ever since then just been working to grow business and doing new things.

I like to throw as much of my internet money into other stuff as well (first it was paying off wife's $90k in student loans - and she doesn't work now anyway - doh) but I invest with WealthFront right now and planning to do some real estate rental properties as well. I just want to get to a point where I can retire if I want to even if I choose to continue to work.

 

[csalvato]

making money off of SEO sounds quite interesting to me and I would love to try it out. Gotta get started in the fast lane somehow!

Making money off of SEO is not what it was when @ChrisGuthrie did it. A lot has changed.

I am currently scaling an SEO business, only because my existing business is growing and I think I can scale my existing revenue streams very quickly. If I were in your position, I am not sure I would pursue SEO.

There are other ways to make money online that cost about the same...like affiliate marketing/media buying.

 

[princephoenix]

I am currently scaling an SEO business, only because my existing business is growing and I think I can scale my existing revenue streams very quickly. If I were in your position, I am not sure I would pursue SEO.
There are other ways to make money online that cost about the same...like affiliate marketing/media buying.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll be sure to check each one out and weigh my options.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

@ChrisGuthrie -- incredible story man, thanks for sharing it.

Fortunately in my spare time (the time that most people are watching TV, complaining about what's on the news but not really doing anything about it etc) I had been quietly trying out various ways to earn money online. A few months prior to quitting I had already surpassed my day job income with earnings from the Amazon Associates affiliate program (I was building product review websites and ranking them in Google). In November 2009 I earned ~$10k from Amazon and then in December 2009 I earned ~$13k from Amazon and by January 2010 I was convinced I could make it work. Flash forward nearly 5 years and I've branched out into other areas and co-founded a WordPress company and we're doing pretty well.

I hope this isn't overlooked. Too many people quit their jobs and have NOTHING on the back end. You worked your backend while at your job. It's often all too easy to say "I quit" (the event) but then realize you made a mistake because you come home to no business, no income, and no clue what you'll do.

 

[QueenVictoria]

A company that just fires people out of the blue without warning and giving feedback is headed towards a fast exit.

You're not anybody important unless you've been fired a few times. That isn't to say, you shouldn't consider invaluable feedback on your performance, but sometimes middle-manager types can be intimidated by people who outshine them, and quick to get rid of someone whom he/she may feel threatened by.
Also fitting into company culture is important. This might seem superficial, but companies like people who dress like them, talk like them, and have the same interests are they do. If you stand out, you're already on your way towards redundancy.

 

[Lauryn]

Got fired/laid off/let go/whatever July 31, 2014. Took 30 seconds to shed 2 tears, a few days to be angry and a little shellshock.
Mind you, I wasn't the only one to go. The entire company was pretty much fired.

I was fired from an extremely crappy $10/hr job only months before.

So I went from $0-$10/hr-$40k back to about $150 on my own (royalties plummeted).
Now I'm restructuring my beliefs and taking massive action to get sh*t done.

It's worth it, because I am at the point where I'll live out of my car before I jump on someone else's dream.

And like Vigilante said, "Never forget what it feels like to have your destiny in the hands of someone who doesn't give a shit if you live or die."

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jcaldwell85]

Love the story, this thread has me so motivated! Today I was not fired, but did receive an email from my CEO stating that she'd like to meet with me Friday to go over my books growth and progress which made termination cross my mind. Just the fact that she'd like to meet with me has me irritated even though I'm 99% sure that I am not getting fired. I'm an account manager in the worse industry (direct mail) and feel i'm in a position/industry where I can't control my destiny no matter how hard I try. I do enjoy the flexibility at my job because it allows me to work on my fastlane venture but I can work a hell of a lot harder. I'd rather fire my boss on my own terms and have 100% control of my future than have someone show me the door. The fire is under my a$$

Your forum thread is what prompted me to finally create a forum account so I could share my experience with getting fired nearly 5 years ago.

It was 4:50 PM on Tuesday October 13th, 2009. I remember the date because every single year since that date I've celebrated my fireversary (that despite my attempts to popularize the term has yet to be recognized as an official dictionary word).

My boss called me into his office "asking if I had a few moments" where he and the HR manager were sitting (Our HR manager was rarely seen outside her office). He said "Chris we're letting you go" and then went onto say other things I forget from the confusion and disorientation. Getting fired for me felt like being punched in the gut because I felt I was good at my job. I had won numerous awards. I was brought on stage in front of the entire company as the best person in the first 6 months for my new role for one of the awards and in general I was promoted quickly.

Questions immediately popped up into my head even while he was still speaking to me like:

"Why was he firing me?"
"Was it something I did?"
"I've won multiple awards why would they fire me?"
"I wonder if it's because my co-worker / counterpart knew that I had a side business that was doing well?"

I asked them to give me a reason for why I was being fired but I got an official sounding line about Washington being an "at will" state or something like that where basically they didn't have to tell me.

They asked for my keycard and gave me a set of documents that I could sign for some small severance pay along with a deadline of when I needed to sign.

I vividly remember getting the keycard out of my wallet and intending to toss it onto his desk but instead I must have put a little more muscle behind it because as soon as it came out of my hands I watched the key card fly across the desk and hit him in the chest (whoops - I may have even said sorry).

They then proceeded to escort me past all of my fellow co-workers who just stared at me because if you recall I mentioned it was 4:50 PM and everyone was starting to pack up to go. So first I was being fired without given a reason and then second I was being embarrassed by getting escorted out of the building like I was a criminal past my fellow co-workers and not allowed to grab my extra monitor (yah to be more efficient I brought in another monitor from home).

By the time I got home I was understandably still upset about being fired, but my wife reminded me that I had already been thinking about leaving my job to go into business for myself. They just moved up the plans a little.

Fortunately in my spare time (the time that most people are watching TV, complaining about what's on the news but not really doing anything about it etc) I had been quietly trying out various ways to earn money online. A few months prior to quitting I had already surpassed my day job income with earnings from the Amazon Associates affiliate program (I was building product review websites and ranking them in Google). In November 2009 I earned ~$10k from Amazon and then in December 2009 I earned ~$13k from Amazon and by January 2010 I was convinced I could make it work. Flash forward nearly 5 years and I've branched out into other areas and co-founded a WordPress company and we're doing pretty well.

If things go the way they are I should be able to exceed what my former CEO was being paid for running a 500+ employee company. (Granted it's a company that is based out of Canada so they aren't as crazy with their CEO pay as US companies but still a target I can shoot for).

Ultimately I've run into my boss at various times and I've never asked him why he fired me but I have thanked him as it was the greatest thing he could have done for me. I'm 99% certain at this point that I was fired because my sales counter part (the outside sales rep I worked with the most) knew I had a side business that was doing well enough to exceed my day job income and that I wasn't committed to the company.

Yet another reason why you should never tell your co-workers that you're doing stuff on the side. I've met so many people that have been fired because their bosses think they aren't committed to the company (or whatever)

TL;DR: Got fired nearly 5 years ago. In my first full year of self employment I tripled my day job income and every year since then I've been able to make more money than the last all while building internet businesses that let me work how and when I please. Don't tell anyone you work with that you're building a side business etc.

 

[princephoenix]

I wish you the best of luck!

Love the story, this thread has me so motivated! Today I was not fired, but did receive an email from my CEO stating that she'd like to meet with me Friday to go over my books growth and progress which made termination cross my mind. Just the fact that she'd like to meet with me has me irritated even though I'm 99% sure that I am not getting fired. I'm an account manager in the worse industry (direct mail) and feel i'm in a position/industry where I can't control my destiny no matter how hard I try. I do enjoy the flexibility at my job because it allows me to work on my fastlane venture but I can work a hell of a lot harder. I'd rather fire my boss on my own terms and have 100% control of my future than have someone show me the door. The fire is under my a$$

 

[garysvpa]

Yes I've gotten terminated due to company closure. I consider it a blessing (aside from the separation pay of course), because I ended up doing freelancing and taking care of my son. Right now my husband and I are planning to start a business, and we are getting inquiries about it already.
Sometimes, things have to happen in order for you to discover that you have better options. I do not want to go back to being an employee, and I dont plan to be a freelancer forever either. I have written my goals and I believe I'll get it, and you will too. Write down what you want and you'll be surprised you're getting there.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[qvantage]

Just chill!! Don't be upset but yes, i have never ever been fired from my job. I think this is golden opprtunity to give new start to your future and just don't waste your single minutes too.

 

[CreateLiving]

What an inspiring thread, often times a great loss can be a catalyst for great change. Anyone who has recently been fired or laid off...Do not wallow in your own misfortune, go out and kick some a$$!

 

[Barshalom]

I was fired from a job in Information Technology back in July 2013. Boy, I didn't see it coming but I felt really good because the boss was tripping. I got fired because I was doing my side business on company time. I was making personal loans to over 20 co-workers who had to pay me. Even before then, I knew that entrepreneurship was my calling in life. I am in a slowlane job for now but not for long.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Writer]

Just had my first layoff anniversary.
Laid off the same day I was recognized for reaching and exceeding all my objectives.
Laid off the same day I was given "critical tasks" to complete ASAP.
Laid off the same day I was awarded for having satisfied an important FAA audit.

 

[Drive2Riches]

Just had my first layoff anniversary.
Laid off the same day I was recognized for reaching and exceeding all my objectives.
Laid off the same day I was given "critical tasks" to complete ASAP.
Laid off the same day I was awarded for having satisfied an important FAA audit.

Today is my FIREVERSARY... eight years ago was the last day I had one of those premium-salaried jobs with benefits and two weeks vacay. I knew I wasn't cut out for being a corporate lemming. (Owning a corp... that's different.) It's been super rough since then, and I've been riding the entrepreneur's typical roller coaster -- ups and downs.

But the only things I'd change would be to tell myself to have more confidence and don't be so angry about it.

 

[katly007]

I've never been fired but I've quit a bunch of jobs, and most of them were crappy $13-14 hour jobs.

I think if I had a really cushy $75-100k job then my life might be different and I would probably settle for that. Except I've never had a decent good paying job so I've had to learn to work on my own projects. It's been a bunch of ups and downs. I've had five figure months and I've been broke in between. One thing about not having a boss is that it's all UP TO YOU. Your destiny is in your own hands. You can be really well fed or you can starve and you're the one that determines that. What are you going to do? What are your plans? You get to write the script.

What's really interesting is that my brother is the total opposite of me. He has a high paying corporate job, 100k+ or so and it's in one of those big tech companies. He's comfortable and happy and he looks at my life and shakes his head because of all my ups and downs and periods of being broke or failed projects. He said at one time that if he could apply and go get a high paying job for me he would, he's good at that stuff.

So sometimes it makes me think and wonder how my life would be if I were in his shoes. Then I snap out of it and say "No thanks. I'm happy with the experiences I have had so far (both the good and the bad) and the massive amount of things I'm forced to learn on a daily basis. I like how I need to grow as a person and to be better and can't just rest on my heels."

Also, the future is still not written. Who knows what the next five years is going to be like? My parents wishes that I were more like my brother because they believe in comfort and security. But would they really say the same thing if I make it big? Of course not.

Things happen for a reason, so if you got fired then it means you needed a wake up call or a kick in the a$$ to get moving. Or maybe you needed a change in direction. The next step is up to you, your move your call. What are you going to do about it?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Guest3722A]

I am pretty darn unemployable! And the last job I had, I figured I'd get it because I've been in this endless spiral of cashflow issues! It seems like I had one really solid business idea that really had excellent potential, and then bam, I lost it! I've never been able to really recover because there has always been this shadow that has followed me around! So, I'm thinking I'd get a decent paying job and save up some cash to enable my next business idea but THEN I was in a work accident where a steel hose exploded on one end, and broke a bunch of bones in my body as it flailed around beating me up, thus causing surgeries, and now I have MORE surgeries to look forward to. And the kicker is that I wrote up this hose several times over a period of time and their attitude was "get the job done".

And its true that these companies don't care if you live or die, or if they make sure you get the proper treatment that's supposed to be law. AND, then sometimes you get to waste more time by having to go further into the system where you need to involve the courts to get what's required to get back to where you were beforehand.

My experience with jobs is a whole lot of time consuming wheel spinning.

Currently, I'm fortunate enough to have friends who are willing to take a chance on me, and through their jobs that they hate, and work countless hours at, they partner with me where I come up with ideas that are agreed upon, and they spend the money and I do the majority of the work. Right now I've got two partnered ebay businesses, for cashflow, and the development of two really great ideas. (Ain't nothin' gonna hold me down!)

In my opinion, you're better off - as long as you don't have a bunch of bills built up. Then that's a different story all together.

 

[Ninjakid]

The vast majority of people would feel bad for you for getting fired, or they would try to guilt you and say how irresponsible you are for not being a good employee.

Here we tell you if you're not good at being an employee, good chance you're meant to be an employer.

Cheers to you mate, and good luck with your business.

 

[carlolacson]

Funny thing is as I quit my job they also planning to fire me on the same day.lol

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[valuecreator]

congrats on you getting fired. One door close and 2 open.

The dirty little secret is that you're worth way way more than $55K/year...

But they can't let people know that, or who would pick up the garbage and flip burgers?

 

[D11FYY]

Are you kidding? I fired my boss. When I handed in my resignation letter, it was the best day of my life!
There are many examples of people who became entrepreneurs because they had been laid off or fired from a job and suddenly had to find a way to pay the bills.

Prime example is in the first chapter of the $100 startup.. Guy gets fired and ends up selling mattress's to pay the bills.