31. Laid Off During the Holidays? Here's Your Next Chapter

Have you been laid off right before the holiday season? I know how devastating and overwhelming this can feel—like the rug’s been pulled out from under you at the worst possible time. The corporate world can be especially cruel during the holidays, but I want you to know this: a layoff doesn’t have to be the end of your story. It can be the beginning of something so much better.

A year ago, one of my closest friends went through this exact situation. She found herself suddenly without the corporate job she thought defined her. But today? She’s thriving—working part-time as a consultant, creating her own schedule, and soaking up precious moments with her daughter that she never thought she’d have. This type of freedom and fulfillment is possible for you, too.

In this episode, I'm giving you practical, actionable steps to move forward after a layoff, especially if you're feeling called to entrepreneurship. We'll cover managing your mind during this transition, making smart decisions about your severance package, and the first concrete steps toward building your own business. I hope this episode encourages you to turn this unexpected plot twist into the beginning of your entrepreneurial story.


If you want to realize your dreams of leaving corporate and starting your own business in 2025, join me for a free strategy session by clicking here!

If you're looking for the right environment to start your networking journey, look no further than my group, the Mom Entrepreneurs Circle. Sign up below for mutual support, advice sharing, and the tools you need for both you and your business to thrive. We meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month and participation is totally free!


What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

  • Why taking a breather after a layoff is crucial for your transition.

  • How to manage the swirling thoughts and emotions that come with job loss.

  • The importance of calculating your "breathing room number" and how to do it.

  • How to strategically invest part of your severance package into your future business.

  • Three power moves to start building your business today, even if you don't have it all figured out yet.

Listen to the Full Episode:

Featured on the Show:

Full Episode Transcript:

This podcast is all about how to quit your job. But what if you no longer have a job and it wasn't your choice? Today I'm speaking to all the moms who are no longer at their job and the choice was in someone else's hands. This can be an incredibly scary time with a lot of mixed emotions. So today we're diving deep into exactly what to do if you've been laid off and you're thinking, maybe this is a sign to try something different.

In the next 15 minutes or so, we're going to cover three crucial areas, managing your mind during this transition, making smart decisions about your severance package and the first concrete steps toward building your own business. I hope this episode encourages you to turn this unexpected plot twist into the beginning of your entrepreneurial story.

Welcome to How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. It’s a podcast that helps working moms just like you, optimize your time, manage your mind, and start a business that helps you create more freedom, flexibility, and, yes, fun. I’m business and mindset coach Jenna Rykiel. And I offer practical tips to help you ditch the nine-to-five. I have been exactly where you are and I know what it takes to make the transition without trading one form of burnout for another. So, let’s get started.

Hi mom friends, before we dive in today, I want to talk directly to those of you who've recently been through a layoff. I know this wasn't in your plans, especially during the holiday season. The corporate world can feel especially cruel this time of year, can't it? A year ago, one of my closest friends went through exactly this, suddenly finding herself without the corporate role she'd built her identity around.

Today, she's thriving, doing part-time consulting work, creating her own schedule, and spending precious moments with her daughter that she never would have had otherwise. But I know that's probably hard to imagine right now when you're in the thick of it.

As someone who led teams through one of my former company's largest layoffs, I've seen firsthand how devastating this experience can be for everyone involved. So today's episode isn't about sugarcoating that reality. It's about giving you practical, actionable steps to move forward, especially if you're feeling called to entrepreneurship, but never thought you'd be exploring it quite like this.

Before we dive into all the practical steps and strategies, I need to say something really important. It is absolutely okay and actually really valuable to take a breather right now. After years of corporate sprinting, the endless meetings, the late night emails, the constant juggling of work and family, your whole system needs to rest. Taking time to breathe isn't lazy, it's not wasting time, it's not falling behind, it's actually crucial for your transition.

And it might look like having a second cup of coffee while it's still hot. It might be going for a walk in the middle of what used to be your busy time. It might be reading that book that's been sitting on your nightstand for months, or maybe actually playing with your kids instead of half listening while checking emails on your phone.

And if you're sitting there thinking, but I should be updating my LinkedIn, I should be networking, I should be figuring out my next move, stop shitting all over yourself. I want you to add, after I take care of myself, to the end of each of those sentences. Don't worry. We're gonna cover all the practical steps you need to take. But first give yourself permission to breathe. Your next chapter will start off better for it.

So let's start with something that might be keeping you up at night, right? It's all those swirling thoughts and emotions. You might be feeling betrayed, anxious about the future, maybe even questioning your worth, unfortunately. And I want you to know that everything you're feeling right now is completely normal and valid.

Here's something fascinating I've noticed from my corporate days and now in my coaching practice almost every single person I know who's been through a layoff eventually looks back and says it was a blessing in disguise. But and this is important you don't need to feel grateful right now. You don't need to see the silver lining yet. What you need is a practical way to handle these emotions while moving forward.

So I want to offer three tools that help during this time. First is what I call the daily brain dump. I've recommended this tool before as a way to build awareness around the sentences in your head. How you're thinking about yourself, your previous company, and everything in between during this time will bleed into everything you do or don't do to make the most of this breather from work.

So here's exactly how you do it. You take out a sheet of paper, whenever you find time in the day, whenever you have some quiet time, and I want you to fill it up with every single thought floating in your head. Good, bad, and the ugly. Don't filter, don't judge, just write. Spend five to 10 minutes getting it all out.

It might be sentences like, I can't believe they let me go after eight years, maybe I wasn't good enough, actually I'm kind of relieved to be away from that toxic environment, I'm scared to tell my mom, what if I can't make this work? Maybe this is actually an opportunity. Get it all out. Then spend another five to 10 minutes noticing the feelings that each of those thoughts are creating for you.

In episode 27, I go into depth about the connection between our thoughts and feelings. And like I said before, your feelings are all valid at this moment, but, and this is crucial, some of those thoughts behind those feelings aren't serving you. Thoughts like, I wasn't good enough, lead to shame and paralysis. Thinking things like, this is actually an opportunity, may lead to curiosity and motivation. Neither thought is more true than the other, but one opens doors while the other slams them shut.

The power of this exercise isn't just in the venting, It's in the choosing. Once you see your thoughts on paper, you get to decide which ones you want to keep and which ones you want to discard. It's like Marie Kondo-ing your mind. Does this thought spark joy or at least serve a purpose? If not, Thank you for trying to protect you and let it go.

The next tool that I want to talk about is designating worry time. It might sound strange, but hear me out. I want you to set aside 30 minutes each day or however much time you want. I recommend later in the day, but before a major transition in the day. Okay. So for example, right before picking up the kids from daycare or school, you don't want to designate worry time at the start of your day, because that's just no way to start a day. Right. And doing it before a major transition in the day helps to also transition your mind off of those thoughts when the time is up.

So during this time, the designated worry time, I want you to allow yourself to worry completely. And I know this won't be hard for most of you. I want you to allow your brain to go there. And again, if you want to journal, write it all down, find a way to feel all the feelings. Here's the key though.

When those thoughts creep in during other parts of the day, gently remind yourself, not now. I'll save this for my worry time. One of my favorite quotes is "Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere." But hey, our mom brains are built to worry. So allow yourself to embrace it. Just contain it within that designated worry time each day.

The third tool I want you to abide by the next step method. Okay, instead of trying to figure out the next five years, just focus on the next step. Maybe that is updating your LinkedIn profile, or maybe it's just taking a deep breath and being present with your kids during movie night.

Speaking of being present with the holidays right around the corner, this is crucial. Your kids don't care about corporate restructuring. They care about making cookies and singing silly songs this time of year. Give yourself permission to fully embrace these moments. You will have time to figure it all out, but just focus on the next small step.

Now let's talk money, specifically your severance package, if you are lucky enough to receive one during this transition. Before we dive into what to do with this money, we need to figure out your breathing room number. Think of this as your monthly baseline, the absolute minimum you need to keep your household running without stress. I'm going to walk you through exactly how to calculate that. And I promise it's simpler than it sounds.

It's basically just figuring out your expenses, right? So your breathing room number, you want to think about all your non-negotiable monthly expenses. So mortgage, utilities, groceries, childcare, car payment, debt payments, all of those things. And then I want you to also add in a category for kids' essential needs, right? So all those little things like diaper, formula, basic clothing needs. And then I want you to add in an unexpected essentials. So I recommend maybe just adding in like 10% of your total, right? Life happens, washing machines break, kids grow out of shoes overnight. And I want you to add all of those things together to get your monthly breathing room number.

And this number is important because it tells you exactly how many months your severance package will cover. If you receive 3 months of severance at a salary of $7,000 per month, that's $21,000 total.

You can then figure out how many months of breathing room you have by dividing $21,000 by the number you got in your expenses. And this number isn't about scaring you, it's about empowering you. When you know your breathing room number, you can make clear-headed decisions about how quickly you need to start generating income, how much of your severance you can invest in your business, whether you need to tap into savings, all of those things.

And here's where I see a lot of moms get stuck. They either panic and drastically underestimate what they need, or they try to maintain every single expense from their employed life. And your breathing room number is about finding that middle ground, keeping what's truly essential while giving yourself space to build something new.

And listen, if you have a partner contributing to the finances and if their salary covers the expenses, please factor that into your breathing room. For some households, it's financially feasible to be on one income for a little while, which means your answer to how quickly you need to start generating income can depend on other factors, like whether you need more of a mental health break.

The next thing I want you to do depends on the breathing room number you just came up with, but I want you to consider taking some of your severance and setting it aside for your business. This isn't just another expense, it's an investment. So consider putting maybe 10% to 20% of the cumulative package into a new business fund. And no, it doesn't have to be an official business account. And no, you don't have to know what your business is. This is just putting money to the side that you can use when you're ready.

What I've learned in my own business is that so much success is based on how you invest in your business and yourself, whether that being investing in knowledge with a business coach, a consultant, a freelance marketer, or investing in the idea of itself by leasing a space or creating the product. You don't need to know how you'll use the money right now, but trust me, there will be plenty of ways to use it when you're ready.

Finally, I want you to consider what can be cut to help your severance package go further. And this will impact your breathing room number, but identify maybe three non-essential expenses you could cut if needed in the meantime.

Maybe it's one of the 17 streaming services, maybe it is the meal delivery service, maybe it's the gym membership. You might not need to cut them and that's fine, but having this backup plan can help ease anxiety. If you want to see how cutting things would impact your breathing room number, go for it. Make sure you're calculating at exactly how much time you have. And keep in mind, this all looks very different depending on whether you're a dual income household or you're a sole provider. And this isn't about pressure. It's about clarity. Knowledge is power.

Okay, moms. Now for the exciting and fun part, your first step toward building something of your own. I'm going to share three power moves that you can start implementing today and I want you to notice how each one builds on the next.

So first, Activate your network strategically. People are ready to help, especially right now. So don't hold back. Think about scheduling time with entrepreneurs each week, virtual or in-person, people doing the thing that you want to be doing. Maybe join two to three groups where either potential clients are or other mom entrepreneurs hang out.

Remember, I have a free mom entrepreneurs group that meets monthly. So definitely check out the show notes, really any episode. I talk about it all the time and reach out to former colleagues with a simple message like, I've been reflecting since layoff and exploring potential business area, would you be open to a quick chat about specific topic? Don't underestimate the power of conversation at this time.

Remember the friend I told you about earlier? She didn't have consulting on her radar at all until she met with an old mentor and he asked about it. You never know where those conversations are going to lead you and so many of those conversations end up being the stepping stones to what's next and to figuring it all out.

The second power move, get clear on your zone of genius. Your unique combination of skills might reveal exactly where you're needed most. Start noticing what problems you're uniquely positioned to solve. You know, maybe it's something that frustrated you in your corporate role or a challenge you've overcome as a working mom. Don't just think about your job title. Think about all the hats you've worn and problems you've solved. I highly recommend listening to episode 6 which is all about figuring out what kind of business to create when you have no idea what to do. It's one of my most downloaded episodes and I know you will love it.

The third power move is to turn those insights into actual business ideas. So keep a business ideas notes in your phone and write down every problem you notice people complaining about every time you think I wish somebody would blank, write it down. This should feel fun and exciting. We're not evaluating ideas yet. We're just opening our minds to possibilities.

And here's what I love about these steps. They create momentum. A networking conversation sparks a business idea. A business idea leads you to join a new group. Someone in that group mentions a problem you know how to solve. Before you know it, you're not just brainstorming, you're actually building.

And remember, you don't need to have it all figured out right now. Your next chapter will unfold one step at a time.

So action items for this week, First of all, breathe, take a rest, drink a full hot coffee. I know us moms are always drinking our coffees after they've gone cold, but after that schedule one coffee date with an entrepreneur. I want you to start that business ideas note, and I want you to join maybe one new group where either your potential clients might be or other mom entrepreneurs. And again, you're always welcome to join our free mom entrepreneurs group that meets monthly.

And here's what I want you to remember. Your corporate experience hasn't just prepared you for entrepreneurship. It's given you a secret advantage. You understand professional systems, you know how to manage projects, and you've already proven you can create value.

As we quickly approach the new year, I'm excited about the episode topics we have in store to prepare you to make 2025 different. Keep showing up, keep taking small steps and keep believing in the possibility of what's next.

If you're new to the podcast, I encourage you to check out some of the previous episodes and subscribe so you never miss a new one. I release them weekly and they are full of practical steps to help you create a business and life you love. I'll be right here cheering you on every step of the way.

Take care of yourself this week.

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. If you want to learn more about how I can help you stop making excuses and start making moves, head on over to www.jenna.coach. I’ll see you next week.

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30. Leave Corporate & Finally Start Your Business in 2025