How to Get Laid Off on Maternity Leave and Come Out Ahead
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A reader recently wrote in a question,
“I am on maternity leave and just found out I am LAID OFF so I am going to pursue my dream of working from home!
Where should my focus be?”
-Sue in New Mommyland
First of all, congratulations! I WISHED I was laid off when I was pregnant!
WHY?
Because you have just landed yourself into the PERFECT position to see if running a home business is right for you. Aren’t following me? Read on…
- You have just been given a lifelineBeing laid off means you will at least get to collect unemployment, and at the most receive a healthy severance. Of course there are some circumstances in which neither is a very good option, and you must continue to look for another job while pregnant.
But if you have had dreams of being a business owner, NOW is the time to take that leap of faith and get started. You have extra time, you have at least some income - and nearly all home based business owners could only DREAM of this kind of kick-start to a business!
~ - Keep your legal ‘Tush’ coveredThere are some pretty strict laws in place around workplace discrimination. You may or may not have a lawsuit on your hands. It is indeed legal for a company to lay off pregnant women, as long as the pregnancy played no part in the decision to end the employment.
Personally, this is legal ground I know very little about. For US workers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or a good Employment Law Attorney
is going to be your best source of information on this topic. (Other countries have different, and sometimes more family-friendly laws in place).
~ - Start to dream BIGHome businesses work best when you are doing something you are truly passionate about. The best question to ask of yourself right now is, “If failure were impossible, and success was guaranteed, what kind of business would I want to run?”
Entrepreneurship is a long time commitment - depending on your choice, you might not see income for 6 months to a year. Freelance work is a lucrative option
if you have specialized skills people want such as design, writing, and web development. This kind of work can also pay off more quickly than building a business from scratch.
~ - Put together a business planWhether you are building an empire or seeking a few extra bucks a month, a business plan will get you started on the right track.
Guest author Julie Lenzer Kirk just recently discussed how much work to put into a business plan on this site. The short version :: a business plan needs to be created, but whether or not you write up a formal business plan depends on your business goals.
The Small Business Administration has an extensive website dedicated to walking new entrepreneurs through the planning stages of a business startup.
~ - If you are at all interested in blogging, get started NOWBlogging will dramatically increase the success of any business, online of offline. Between the search engine ranking benefits, the incredibly low startup costs, the ability to truly position yourself as an expert in your field, or the product promotional opportunities, blogging is a huge opportunity to make money online.
Need blogging ideas? Check out the most extensive blog topic idea list on the planet!
Need help with blogging? You’re in the right place. eMoms at Home is the #1 mom-authored site dedicated to helping moms start and run a blog and make money online!.
~ - Keep your career on trackPerhaps you’ve decided this is the push you need to be a stay at home mom for a while. If your family can swing it, go for it! There’s plenty you can do to keep your career on track during this once-in-a-lifetime career hiatus.
Enjoy it and the precious moments you’ll get to spend with your children - you might just look back and say that getting laid off was the best thing that ever happened to you!
Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow).
Dawud Miracle has one focus: to help you get it. The it? How your website, and blog, can change the way you do business. You can find out more at 
I wasn’t pregnant when I lost my job — but I had twin toddlers at home and as a single parent, I knew I had to do something.
Nothing serves up motivation quite as nicely as the shock of losing a job!
Welcome to the WAHomers Club
Hey I look at it this way if you been wanting to work from home and haven’t its the universes way of saying since you didn’t get off your butt and do it we’re going to have to do it for you.. say bye bye to your job.
now its up to you to take action!
LOL Amanda! EXACTLY!
I work from home and it makes it easier, since I get paid by the work I do where if I want to work a few hours here and there its fun. We make sure there is always some one there to help the clients though but I think its perfect for when I do decide to have a family.
The same thing happened to my fiance, he believe it or not loved his job but hated HATED the people he worked with and felt that he was under paid. so what happened HIS BOSS FIRED HIM. 3 weeks later after EVERYONE else quit that he didn’t like his boss relized how many customers requested him called him back asked him to come back and my fiance said i want a 3 dollar raise i should have been given a long time ago and he got it, now he’s happy again.
Things happen for reason. Thats why I told him to watch the movie the secret I said you may not realize this but just the seeds from the movie you’re going to put into action. And he doesn’t realize how much he does put into action, or what happens around him but everything happens for a reason and out of something bad comes something good. He was so angry he lost his job I said just give it time and relax when he did he got his job back
Getting laid off is indeed an opportunity to explore home-based business ownership - that is how I took the leap to owning MY business. But a few cautions should be stated. Primarily, you need to make sure your family finances can take the hit from the loss of your income. If you have no idea what kind of business to start and have done no prior planning, you will have a very long ramp-up time when you are likely not bringing in any money. Add to that the fact that sometimes the money from a home-based business is slow to come in even when you DO have clients, and you have a makings of financial disaster. Secondarily, you will lose a lot of time in your planning/development phase for your business in the post-natal period. You need to allow yourself time to recover from the birth, both mentally and physically, and you will have all the usual time and lack of sleep issues associated with a new baby. Plus, you are going to want to spend as much time as possible with the baby. All of this is to be expected, but it will take away from business development time. So you shouldn’t expect to have a fully functioning business in the period leading up to and for a few months after the birth of your child. What the time is perfect for, however, is planning and researching the type of business you want to own and operate. As Wendy said, DREAM BIG - and best wishes on the parental journey!
I say YAY! But then again, I’m a fairly ANTI-corporate citizen!
My advice to Sue is to give quite a bit of thought to what she WANTS to do. Put “work at home” in Google and it will quickly become apparent that there is no lack of opportunity.
However, just like any other job, working from home will require that you actually do the work. So, before falling in love with the “up front” version of an opportunity that looks good, also give consideration to whether or not the work appeals to you now, will still appeal to you later, and if your long-term lifestyle plan will benefit from choosing that course.
Above all - HAVE FUN!
You readers never cease to amaze me with your wisdom and insights!
I love you guys!! (sob)
I would like to work from home. But I have so many other things interrupting me that I’d have almost no time for it. But it’s something I really wanna do. This was a really insightful read and I think I’m gonna get off my butt and get to work on making it happen.
I think we are very fortunate these days in the sheer volume of possible ways to earn money from home. It really is amazing.
Getting started is really tough and there’s going to be a big learning curve no matter what you decide to do. But determination and hard work go a long way.
Im not a woman, Im not pregnant and I havnt been laid off at work but wow, what an amazing blog entry.
Glen, if I can write a post about MATERNITY LEAVE and an 18 year old guy finds it to be a great post - well, I had better watch out, because my head is swelling already!
haha, I surprise myself when I read the whole of a feed via a feed reader (Im a title reader 99% of the time) but for this entry I definitely read more than the title
SWELL, SWELL
Sue - you can do it! Working from home is one of the most challenging and rewarding decisions I have made in my life. I made the ultimate leap of faith almost 11 years ago and have never looked back.
Start blogging. It will give you a lifeline to other adult conversation and a sense of community. It will also challenge you to find your passion and may open doors of opportunity in the process.
Best of luck and keep us posted.
OK - this is the Sue that left Wendy the original message. I am getting chills reading all the ‘go for it’ messages. It has taken me a few days to get to read this because I have been working on setting up my BLOG - and chasing two kids of course! If anyone cares to visit it I have one post up at the moment…find me at momeorganizer.wordpress.com
I am keeping my daycare spot which starts for the baby next tuesday (so both kids will be there 3 days a week)and I will be focusing on some nagging home projects and getting my BLOG going. Thanks for all the support I appreciate it!
I agree. Being laid off is the best thing for you. I wished I was laid off. I end up resigning but didn’t qualify for unemployment since I voluntarily left. You need all the time to focus on your business.
I am glad that you are getting your blogs going. I will pay you a visit.
It’s MAY!! I’ve been blogging for almost a month and I LOVE it! Who knows when I’ll start making money from it but I have other plans up my sleeve. I will put a coupon out to firneds next week that gives them a two for one special for my new professional organizing business. I will not go back even if called back!
The title of this page is-
How to Get Laid Off on Maternity Leave and Come Out Ahead.
There is nothing here that explains how to get laid off…
I am on maternity now and I want to get laid off. I could ask the company, but I have doubts that the company would agree to it.
Any sugggestions?