STORIES FROM MY HEART

On the 26th of October 2016, my then boss called me into her office and informed me that I had been affected in a restructuring exercise. It was 2.00pm on a Wednesday and I was preparing for my evening TV show,   The Business Centre . In a matter of minutes I had lost a very well paying and prestigious job as a TV host in the country’s leading media house. It was a difficult time and I cried every night, wallowing in self -pity and anxiety. I realised pret t y quickly though, that even though I was emotionally broken I  needed to  face the truth and to deal with the feelings of betrayal, rejection, denial, and the anger that I felt. I knew that I had no choice but to focus on what the future held for me and my family. As a sole breadwinner, I was completely anxious about the future. I had a bank loan, school fees, rent etc that I needed to take care of. I was scared! That was the first time I truly understood what insomnia was. I couldn't sleep well , I stayed up crying and wonderi

Recently, I shared an article titled, what to do when you lose your job. I did lose my job a couple of years ago and I wanted to share a few tips on what I did to get back on my feet after that traumatic experience.  As a response to that article, I received a number of questions about how I managed my personal finances during that difficult time.  As it is for many people, a job loss catches us unawares and many times unprepared, with little or no emergency fund, where do you begin? The fact that I had 2 side hustles really propped me up during the tough times. But because they were both rather new businesses, I had to look for more jobs as a communications consultant as well as moderating events and as an MC for corporate events, which are well paying.  The difference though was that I had to put my foot out go pitch. I had to build a professional profile as a moderator, something that I had taken for granted when I was employed. I quickly realized that out of sight is truly out of m