Permission to Grieve
Gloria Glowacki is the Certified Senior Business Advisor and Director of Special Programs at the Small Business Development Center in Stony Brook, New York. She's had over twenty years' business management experience in the publishing industry that led to a position as Vice President, Product Management at the McGraw-Hill Companies. Utilizing her expertise in business plan development, marketing and sales as well as new product launches she now serves her community by guiding clients who want to start up their own businesses.
Not all people who come to Glowacki's office have lost their jobs, but there is a growing number in the 50 plus age group that have. "For my clients who have been downsized it's an emotional situation." They come to her without a focus, out of their comfort zone. Determined to start fresh by becoming an entrepreneur they usually think of doing something completely different from what they know, or try to replicate the familiar. Gloria tries to guide them into thinking about narrowing down and specializing, focusing on their strengths. She also points out some of the pit falls her clients encounter, for instance, that they will have to do it all themselves. There will be no assistants, mail room, HR department, finance department. When you are a start up, you have to wear many hats.
One of the most challenging things her clients face after being downsized, Glowacki says, is the grieving. "They have to go through it, before they can open themselves up to something new." One of her clients said "You are the first person who has given me permission to grieve and I had to, because I lost something that was important to me and it was attached to my identity."
Find out what Gloria has to say about going down "memory lane".
Hear her advice about transitioning to working out of the house and getting used to life without a staff.
