I’m a degreed professional who is newly unemployed.

My employer, shortly after I joined the company, has decided to close their doors indefinitely. This happened to me right after being laid off six months from another company who is barely keeping their doors open and has to conduct layoffs every quarter in order to do so.

I’m in healthcare, which is a pretty secure and sustainable field.
What I’m learning is that no job or career is safe in 2025. My degrees no longer offer job security and my profession, although in high demand, does not protect me from layoffs. I’m just as disposable as every other professional now. My profession is nothing special.

I will say that my skillset, not my degrees, has made it easier for me to be more resilient and find another job easily. I also interview really well. Once I can get in front of the hiring manager, I’m set. But that’s another issue. Due to all the massive layoffs, the competition has become more stiff and artificial intelligence is now being used to screen applications, making it more difficult to get through to the interview process. There are also less jobs available to apply for due to job creation being down since this summer.
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The jobs that are mostly available in my field are fee for service positions where I only get paid for how many clients I can see in a week. I HATE those kind of jobs because they are heavy laden with paperwork and treat clients like they’re in a puppy mill. I don’t mind hourly work instead because I can make more money than salaried professionals so I have been applying to a lot of those. However, it is hard to remain positive with a job market that is so dismal and bleak.

You may be wondering why a tech founder is even looking for a job. Because I have bills to pay and our business is not yet profitable. When you first start a business, this is always the case for a few years. I can’t allow my family to suffer for my dreams. I have responsibilities that require a steady income so that I can re-invest my business profit back into my business rather than utilizing that revenue to fund my lifestyle. This is business 101 and sometimes business owners need jobs too.

I would highly suggest that every business owner look at having something outside of their job. As an employee, you need to create your own financial security. I thought that being in healthcare was mine but I was wrong. It is the wild, wild west out there in this current economy and you have to look out for yourself. My current job didn’t even offer me another position within their healthcare system. They just gave me a month’s notice and sent me on my way. These jobs do not care about you. It doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do. You are always disposable and insignificant when it comes to their bottom line.

Be safe out there, folks!

It is tempting as a Mentor when you are not reaching your financial goals, to start lowering your price to accommodate for more accessibility. We have been tempted to do so ourselves in the past when we first created this mobile app. We started off with a much lower price point because we wanted to be more accessible to those who were marginalized and disenfranchised. Then we realized that those who were in this lower income bracket, did not have the expendable income to pay for Mentorship when they are just trying to survive day to day. That to ask these people to make this type of commitment was unreasonable and maybe we should look at partnering with some organizations that could offer this opportunity to the underserved for free. Our solution was enterprise accounts that could help these folks take advantage of Mentorship without being financially burdened.

We also recognized that the middle class is slowly dwindling and need support now more than ever to revamp and revitalize their skillsets to remain competitive in the job and business market. The working middle-class have more disposable income and were far more likely to be able to pay for a subscription for Mentorship if they deemed the experience valuable. People pay for what they prioritize. Plus paying for a subscription based service is much easier because you can budget for it. But you can’t or won’t budget for something that you simply don’t want badly enough no matter what the price tag is.

As Mentors/Coaches, we have to recognize that although some folks may be well-intended, they are not in the phase of their life where they are ready to make the necessary steps to better themselves. They know they should want to because they are not where they desire to be in life but they simply can’t bear to make changes. It is not the price point that is stopping them, it’s the mindset. The price point is the excuse they make to allow them to feel better about making the choice not to take action towards self-improvement, but the real reason they do nothing is they are scared to make a change. As a Mentor, you have to understand that not everyone is your customer and to not take it personally when people don’t jump on your current offerings. They are not your target audience and you will have to learn where to find your customers.
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Just remember, you have VALUE as a Mentor. You don’t have to charge your customers exorbitant prices to show that you are valuable but you do have to make a living desirable enough for you to do the hard work of mentorship. If you find that you have to constantly lower your prices to drum up customers’ interests, maybe you should be pitching somewhere else. Because eventually if you keep working at a reduced price, it will feel like you are doing more charity work than running a business and you will become resentful. And no one wants to work with a bitter Mentor who does not really enjoy helping them because they can’t make a living doing so.

We hope that you realize that the caliber of folks you are looking for are out there and not to give up looking for them. They are billions of people in this world and there is a Mentee or group of Mentees that are perfect for you and only you. Just be patient with the process and don’t sell yourself short. You will find “your people” if you continue to craft good offers that are mutually beneficial for both you and your Mentee (s).

Your target audience is out there. Don't give up.