I Was Arrogant, Desperate, Hopeful, and Delusional Part Six

I knew my days in that contract were numbered once I stood up to the bullying owner. It was a risk worth taking, so all I could do was work as hard as I could.

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I did, however, take extra steps to look out for employees who were being verbally abused. I spoke up for them and gave them advice on how to avoid future pitfalls. This further reduced my risk of having my contract renewed.

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But then the day I was anticipating came, and it came in style.

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I arrived at the office with a pretty big to do list. I thought a big to do list ensured my contract a bit longer, but I was wrong.

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The owner was nowhere in sight which wasn’t uncommon. He kept his own hours.

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The employee that I stood up for in the meeting reached out to me. Honestly, I can’t remember if I had to go to their office or they came to mine, but in one final touch of power trippi-nesss, the owner tasked them with letting me go. That’s right. He had the employee I stood up for let me go.

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How is that for ironic?

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They felt terrible, but I wasn’t angry. Honestly, it wasn’t their fault, and I was relieved. I took a contract that I knew was rife with potential conflict. That was on me.

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From the whole experience, I learned several things: I should never put myself in a situation where I “Have” to take a contract to survive.

I should know exactly who I will and won’t work with.

Violating either of those rules only sets me and my business up for future failure.

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I left that contract knowing that my efforts in building a business required a massive pipeline of potential clients so I would never be desperate. Also, knowing who I will and won’t work with guides my marketing and sales process.

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Without those things, owning my own business would be more frustrating than it has to be.

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Little did I know that sticking to these two guidelines was going to be immediately tested.

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But that’s a story for part 8.