Photo credit: Tax Credits via Foter.com / CC BY
This is Part II of a series, so if you haven’t done so already, you might want to read Part I before continuing.
“Alex! Over here!” Julie half stood up from her seat in their booth towards the back of the bar and waved down her friend.
“You made it,” Alex said as she slid into the booth with Julie and her husband, Mike.
“We made it? You’re the one who’s ten minutes late,” said Julie.
“I know, I’m sorry. I got caught in a correspondence nightmare with a potential client and completely lost track of time. You know, I saw something online once that said being your own boss means you get to choose which 80 hours a week you get to work, but I never fully grasped the meaning of that statement until I took the plunge and found out for myself.”
“Are you really working that many hours? Because that certainly does make the prospect of being one’s own boss much less appealing,” said Mike.
Alex gave him a smile that showed her fatigue. “I haven’t measured it exactly. Obviously there are some weeks where I work more than others, but I figure I probably put in about 60 hours a week on average. Before quitting my job, I did the math and figured if I only worked a half day every day I could make enough money to cover all my expenses. What I had forgotten to factor in are all the things I have to do for my business that I don’t get paid for, like correspondence and billing. I never thought about how much time I spent doing that kind of stuff for my employers and the fact that they paid me for it because they had to. My clients don’t have to.”
“Are you sorry you quit?”
“Hell no!” Alex looked at Mike as if he’d suggested a threesome. “No, it’s just an adjustment, that’s all. I thought I’d actually have more time once I started working for myself full time, not less. But I just have to take it the way it is. It’s all a learning experience.”
“And are you learning a lot?”
Alex whistled. “Am I ever! But you’d find it all boring. Tell me about your job. I hear there might be a promotion in your future?”
Mike looked down at his glass of wine and twirled the stem slowly between his thumb and forefinger. “Yeah, not so much as it turns out. I was informed earlier today that, instead of being one of the lucky ones who gets to manage my new and improved department, someone from the company that bought us out will be taking over my role.”
Julie leaned back slightly as she regarded her husband with this news. “What does that mean?”
“It means they asked me to clean out my desk.”
“Today?”
Mike nodded.
“You didn’t tell me any of this.”
“I was hoping we could have one last enjoyable evening before I ruin it all with my bad news.” He nodded in Alex’s direction. “Sorry to spoil the fun, Alex.”
“Not at all. I’m sorry, Mike, that’s awful.”
“It’s not so bad. They gave me a nice severance package, so I won’t have to worry for a while. And I know they’ll give me a great recommendation, so finding a new job shouldn’t take too long.”
There was a brief, awkward silence before Alex raised her glass. “To unemployment!”
Mike laughed and clinked glasses with her while Julie looked worried.
To be continued…
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