How to Handle Losing a Job

Oh yes Adam! The blade runner blaster water pistol. Went from 5 dollers to 75 dollars after if was featured by you. Love your show but you are a double edge sword.

I lost my job due to a disc herniation in my lower back. Have not been able to walk right since July last year. But this will not get me down, i will get back :)

To underscore what Adam is saying, my uncle once told me, "Finding a job should be the same as having a job."

Hey Adam, you need an intern?

When I left school I was all set for an army career. Failed the medical so went to college. College screwed me so I left with nothing. I was now 18, unskilled, inexperienced and no educational qualifications. Unemployed for 2 years until I got a job as a car detailer. I then noticed there were jobs to be had all over the place. Was easier to get a new job and work up. I decided I would never be unemployed again no matter what job I would have to get, it's a starting point.

Went freelancer in 2001. I've had clients who at some point decided to move to another service provider, but those were always organic situations, upon friendly agreement.
I've fired a few clients though, which is always a hard decision to make but If a work relationship begins to feel toxic and uneven, its time to say goodbye.

When you lose a job it is always yourself that you have to look at to stay positive. You have to tell your self it is fine lets go and see what else is out there. Yes it is sad that the job you did for x number of years and you did well is gone but you have to take care of yourself and see what can help you move on to the next thing. Dont be afraid to ask for help or learn something new.

In the 90’s, I was laidoff/downsized four times in seven years due to changing market specifics. It sucked but I survived and came out of the experience with valuable lessons that have served me well since.

A whole video series or hell even another book by Adam about freelancing and what he's learned from 30+ years would be amazing. Could become an invaluable resource and broad guide for those getting into freelancing and side work. I'd buy it.

I seem to be able find work but I ALWAYS have something going on to make a living. I paint houses for a living (or so I say). I actually do everything from start to finish, refurbish, repair, clean, sand, prime, paint. I’m the all in one guy, no need to hire a builder or handyman to fix a problem before putting everything back together and finished out.

I just love the sentence: “Those are all the things I know about the thermal detonator.” 😊

Stay positive! The government will take care of you!

Adam has very good business advice, for a life long tinkerer! 📐🛠⚙️ Ha ha
I find his shop, somehow very calming, curious, and mysterious... In a mad scientist labratory kind of way!

hey if I oversleep one more time I lose mine too lol. hate the points system. doesn't matter how much I work they take a year to come off. it's tough to sleep for midnights, I end up using my one day off just to catch up on sleep. but I guess I'm in the wrong and shouldn't complain

Great insights, I would think in today's economic times, trying to sell things for a nominal wage profit would be difficult. Everyone is looking for bargains.

Edwin: How do you handle losing a job?
Adam: Go find another Job....
Me: damn, why didnt I think of that?

"And those are all the things I know about the Thermal Detonator!"
Lol.

My first commission is to make a 2 gallon casserole. One, my claybody is not formulated for cooking directly over heat, and will probably break on the first use. Two, finishing the job will put me hundreds of dollars into the red, just in shipping alone. Should I be sad about losing a crappy commission that's been a nightmare? I should be, but I honestly don't care. The point of what we do in this world is to make money, not lose it. Fundamentally losing money on a deal, simply because Americans are too stupid to understand what goes into making goods, is soul crushing. I think it truly is impossible to succeed as a ceramic artist in the US without some kind of financial support like a teaching job, or working for a nonprofit. Americans only want cheap ceramics and don't care about the fact most potters survive on less than $10k a year. A established potter might bring in $50k a year, but when your overhead is $40k a year, it's kind of like, "Why bother?"

What did I learn? Don't take commissions unless you are a rapacious sociopath when you set your price. If it isn't worth the time and effort, again, why bother? Would you want to constantly beg for commissions just to scrape by on less than minimum wage? Eugenics via capitalism sure is fun.

At some point rich Boomers need to have a reality check, and expecting the youth of your country to be able to survive on peanuts, and constantly running everything in the red isn't the solution. If you want nice things in this world, you have to pay for them.

I see the entire system as a fucked nightmare.

With the Etsy selling, also check sold items and reviews, where those sellers are doing well and where/how they're marketing their products. It definitely helps to see why they're shifting items and where you can do better or push into certain platforms and niches.

I would argue you should embrace some negativity. Let yourself feel. Take a long weekend to mope. And then add some ritual to mourn the loss of let the anger out. Trying to stay positive and jump right in to sales or job hunting without letting yourself feel the hurt is a recipe for burnout. If you didn’t mourn the loss, or release the anger, every failure along the search will feel worse. Also you need to look at what mistakes you made if any and commit to work on those.

Found a company :)

Takeaway: Great life hack and mindset shift: Treat not having a job....as a job!

After losing my job last month I've been pretty down but I remember how much I hated the way things were managed and how my checks were late and how much time I put into that place without getting anywhere I realized that I could be anything I wanted and a company to work for us always just that. Focus on your goals, get there and take care of yourself it's the only way to get anywhere in life.
a company isn't going to do it for you. Thank you for the video

Start hiking, walking, riding a bicycle when you feel depressed.
Start doing volunteer work.

Simple, move on and get usefull ;)

dude what's that shirt

"how to take advice on losing job advise from someone who couldn't lose a job if they tried"

Look immediately for another job. Don't wait.

At first I was going to comment that as a maker you should stay in your lane. After 35+ years as a dislocated worker specialist you gave great advice. Well done Adam.

Thank you for this! Recently lost a free lance job, this was a great talk!

I was looking for a job when I got the last one.

Thanks for this video, all of the questions and answers here are great to hear and hear answered

So I got the notification for this video yesterday morning as I was getting ready to head to work. I watched it with great interest. Little did I know, that six hours later I would be handed my termination notice. So this came right on time. At 45 years old I have never been fired from a job and have left every single job on good terms. This is going to be a very difficult road for me into completely uncharted territory. Thank you for your advice.

To the etsy question, I am a wood turner who sells bowls/pens/openers etc on etsy and local markets. I completely agree with what Adam says about knowing you market and competition. At my last local market I realized I had my market all wrong, people are not spending 100+ dollars on a big salad bowl but they are spending 40-60 dollars on a multi purpose utility bowl. Then I worked back from there based on material costs and time to get the revenue I wanted to determine what materials, size, time for each bowl.

I remember my boss telling me that he was letting me go because I had a bad temper. I lost it and punched him. No one tells me I have a bad temper and gets away with it.

“Revenge of the Jedi” is going to stick with me for a while

I feel sorry for folks who have never lost a job or had to change careers. It's disheartening, however it has always been an opportunity for growth and change. The biggest thing Ive found is sometimes it is you who will create a job or opportunity while you are doing something different. The main key is to not give up or give into despair while your life is changing.

As an adult with adhd, too, I cansay for myself, routine is the worst I can think of. It gets boring very soon and then I don't want and won't do it anymore 😅 but hey, maybe even we are different in what works for us...

I've had over 90 jobs in 25+ years of working. CNA, machine operator(cnc), forklift driver, dock worker, pizza maker, pizza delivery, shrink wrapper in a chocolate factory, door to door vacuum sales, vacuum repair, landscaping, shipping/receiving, production work I am fast as hell at(muscle memory helps a lot there), interior/exterior house painter, supermarket stock, dish dogger, white glove busboy/waiter for the Buffalo Country Club, warehouse picker, had 3 jobs at once, gone through 3 jobs in a week, fired on a Friday and have a new job and at work on the following Monday, had an employer ecstatic that I had so many jobs because that meant they didn't have to spend any extra money to train me, temp agency sent me to a warehouse where the boss showed me the warehouse when he got a call. Excused himself, said he'd be back. Well after a while I get bored and start cleaning. Put all the tools away, swept and just kept busy. 2 hours later he comes back to say he's gonna be even longer so he says "Why don't you grab a broom and sweep?" I say "Already done." Look of surprise and then says "Why don't you collect all the tools and put them away?" I say "Already done'" Even bigger look of surprise and then he says "Ok , well then I'll leave you to it." and away he went. Back in my day we had to fill out a piece of paper called an "Application". Nothing to do with phones. So anyway my trick was to take that app home, fill it out and then take it back. Ask to see the manager but don't say why. Now you hand the manager the app and now he has a face to go with the name and app. Now he starts looking through the apps and yours comes up. He thinks"I remember this guy." and puts your app in the pile to call back. I didn't get 90+ jobs without a few tricks.

I would totally watch Revenge of the Jedi!

Hi Adam, have ever thought of make the Star Trek space probe Nomad?

I recently lost my job and I’m trying to make my way as a freelance maker- these videos are a goldmine for advice! Your feedback and encouragement when you received the tiny Excalibur I made also helped me get motivated to work more on my craft. Scary but exciting! Thank you again Adam.

Great, now the algorithm knows I’m unemployed.

When I was free lance I couldn't maintaince a schedule. Sometimes jobs for me would end up coming in at 9pm and be something that can only happen between 11pm and 6 am. When I was younger my dad got annoyed because I was underbidding for the skill set I actually bring to the table.

I lost my job years ago, and ended up being freelance for a while. I struggled some days but got up and 'worked' be that applying for jobs, going for a run i.e. not sat watching junk TV all day, and got 'lucky' with a lovely company that needed some help, and a friend who found me a regular temp job. Nowhere near my usual wage, but it paid the bills. Honestly covering the bills gives headspace, easier said than done.

Job is what we do for others, work is what we do for ourselves. We can be jobless but not workless.