Dianne Keep

As a person in the Construction Industry for 22 years, I learned the ups and downs of business. For 18 years I worked for a large corporation that went thru 3 acquisitions and many layoffs. I thought I was the lucky one as they always asked me to stay. As more mergers happened, more was required and the stress increased.

Four years ago one of the production facilities was taken over by a private owner. The new owner called and made me an offer I could not pass. I spent 2 years getting things in order only to have another investor take over. The new investor promoted me to Assistant General Manager and it started all over again. A year later they decided they were not doing as well and planned, so they turned it over to another large corporation. It took several stressful months for the takeover but on December 20, 2010 just prior to Christmas I was laid off. After 22 years in the industry, I walked away with one box of personal possessions and a final check that made me really think about my future.

I am telling you this story as it is one all too familiar for most of us. Layoffs, acquisitions and mergers, and company closures are so common today it is normal conversation. We have allowed others to control our future and our income. For me this had to change so I started looking for other options. What is interesting is it was something so simple and was right in front of me.