[mehrens2112]

Hi everyone,

Thought I would start a completely off topic thread on the state of the U.S. economy. I can state it very simply in 2 words. IT SUCKS!!! I have been in my industry for 14 years now (sales rep for shoe companies), and I lost my top 2 accounts in the span of 2 months and instead of trying to let me weather the storm, they let me go. Am I bitter? YES! Any advice from anyone? I'll be posting here a lot now.

[chris7]

So sorry to hear that, I am a semi retired Electrician in the UK and have never experienced your problem, but have had friends/family who have. I hope things work out for you soon.

[vikulenka]

I'm so sorry That really really really really sucks. I hope you will weather this storm well. I'm really sorry. Good luck to you and your family.

[Kaeli]

Originally Posted by mehrens2112

Hi everyone,

Thought I would start a completely off topic thread on the state of the U.S. economy. I can state it very simply in 2 words. IT SUCKS!!! I have been in my industry for 14 years now (sales rep for shoe companies), and I lost my top 2 accounts in the span of 2 months and instead of trying to let me weather the storm, they let me go. Am I bitter? YES! Any advice from anyone? I'll be posting here a lot now.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Wish there was an easy answer or quick fix, as I know a lot of folks who have faced this same dilemma over the past couple of years.
Mergers, acquisitions, and now the weak US $ all contribute to this, and now with deflated real estate prices most people are seeing their major investment lose value each month.

Unfortunately, the majority of the US (?) elected certain individuals to lead this country. I guess we all have opinions, but when you are spending 100 million / day to finance a "war", it's going to have far reaching ramifications. What goes around, comes back around. We reap what we sow, etc,etc....

My simple advice -- don't get bitter, get better. Don't stew about it too much, or take it personally. It's happening to quite a few families these days. Try and stay active, perhaps some new education. Keep your networking avenues open. The key is don't get discouraged, because your attitude will ultimately direct you into new paths.

[tonypono]

Originally Posted by mehrens2112

Hi everyone,

Thought I would start a completely off topic thread on the state of the U.S. economy. I can state it very simply in 2 words. IT SUCKS!!! I have been in my industry for 14 years now (sales rep for shoe companies), and I lost my top 2 accounts in the span of 2 months and instead of trying to let me weather the storm, they let me go. Am I bitter? YES! Any advice from anyone? I'll be posting here a lot now.

I was layed off from my job last september after 14 years of working hard and being quite the loyal person. I felt betrayed, since I had felt close to some of them. I am in my 50's and had a hard time having people taking my job applications seriously. I finally applied for jobs I had no experience in and was able to use my love of animals in general and dogs in particular to get some free training and now I am an accredited pet trainer and really enjoying myself for the first time in many years. You have got to try different things, and not quit in general. I'm not about to give up no matter what they throw at me. I was down for a while but i refuse to quit. Good luck to you, believe me it will get better!!!

[mehrens2112]

Originally Posted by Kaeli

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Wish there was an easy answer or quick fix, as I know a lot of folks who have faced this same dilemma over the past couple of years.
Mergers, acquisitions, and now the weak US $ all contribute to this, and now with deflated real estate prices most people are seeing their major investment lose value each month.

Unfortunately, the majority of the US (?) elected certain individuals to lead this country. I guess we all have opinions, but when you are spending 100 million / day to finance a "war", it's going to have far reaching ramifications. What goes around, comes back around. We reap what we sow, etc,etc....

My simple advice -- don't get bitter, get better. Don't stew about it too much, or take it personally. It's happening to quite a few families these days. Try and stay active, perhaps some new education. Keep your networking avenues open. The key is don't get discouraged, because your attitude will ultimately direct you into new paths.

Thanks for the advice. I've already got 2 interviews lined up with other brands for this week, and the ball rolling on a few others. My accounts found out about this and are rallying around me too. I'm more than active too, mentally, physically and semi-emotionally

[Gaucho]

Originally Posted by mehrens2112

Hi everyone,

Thought I would start a completely off topic thread on the state of the U.S. economy. I can state it very simply in 2 words. IT SUCKS!!! I have been in my industry for 14 years now (sales rep for shoe companies), and I lost my top 2 accounts in the span of 2 months and instead of trying to let me weather the storm, they let me go. Am I bitter? YES! Any advice from anyone? I'll be posting here a lot now.

Very sorry to hear about your misfortune. A similar thing happened to me many years ago - and when I finally got my act together I began to see it as an opportunity to do some of the adventurous things I'd thought were too risky before. I ended up travelling and working abroad and I've since been grateful for what seemed like a disaster at the time.
I wish you all the best and I'm sure things will work out well.

[mehrens2112]

Originally Posted by tonypono

I was layed off from my job last september after 14 years of working hard and being quite the loyal person. I felt betrayed, since I had felt close to some of them. I am in my 50's and had a hard time having people taking my job applications seriously. I finally applied for jobs I had no experience in and was able to use my love of animals in general and dogs in particular to get some free training and now I am an accredited pet trainer and really enjoying myself for the first time in many years. You have got to try different things, and not quit in general. I'm not about to give up no matter what they throw at me. I was down for a while but i refuse to quit. Good luck to you, believe me it will get better!!!

Again, thanks for the encouraging words. I'm looking also at possibly opening my own business with a friend (yes I know be careful what you wish for, but this is pretty safe). Pet training would be good as we have 3 dogs. Love being with them. I'm definitely pissed off about this situation, but will bounce back easily.

[Dave C]

Hi mehrens2112,
sorry to hear about the job. I know you are probably hearing this from everyone, but I was made redundant 8 years ago and it ended up being a good thing for me; although it did not feel like it at the time. Set up a small company with a friend who was also given the boot and although were not rolling in it, I have a good life style & enjoy the freedom of not having a boss (no bugger telling me what I can & can't look at on the internet). Hope the interviews work out for you and try not to burn your bridges with your old work place as what goes around comes around,
Cheers,
Dave C

[solaris]

Originally Posted by mehrens2112

Hi everyone,

Thought I would start a completely off topic thread on the state of the U.S. economy. I can state it very simply in 2 words. IT SUCKS!!! I have been in my industry for 14 years now (sales rep for shoe companies), and I lost my top 2 accounts in the span of 2 months and instead of trying to let me weather the storm, they let me go. Am I bitter? YES! Any advice from anyone? I'll be posting here a lot now.

I'm sorry to hear that, mehrens2112

I guess it is the unfortunate downside of having a capitalist economy

Here in my part of Scandinavia for instance, prices on food have gone up almost 10% in just under a year

But still we have an unemployment percentage of only 2.9 of the entire population, which is almost as big a problem for my country as when it was more than 10% just 25 years ago It is near impossible to get qualified labour in almost all sectors of our economy