BYOB (Be Your Own Boss)

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I got laid off on a Friday afternoon. I ate a lot of pasta that night. I gave myself the weekend to feel sorry for myself.

On Monday morning, I went back to work.

What work? I had no job, no prospects; we were in a recession where no one was hiring and companies were barely giving freelance assignments–and those who were offered them at half the old rate. (Pride, schmide; I took what I could get.) But that Monday morning, I started work at a new company: Me, LLC.

I had to think of myself as a company because, to be blunt, it helped me get dressed in the morning. I couldn't afford the luxury of depression–that's just not my family's way. From my mother to my grandparents and further back, you got up and got dressed, and you found work. So that's what I did. And when I couldn't find work, I created some by writing a book and pushing it until I got an agent and we got it published. I worked harder on that than anything I've ever worked on in my life, there were a lot of tears involved, and I loved every minute of it.

If there is an upside to this recession, it's that a lot of people are taking the opportunity to reinvent themselves and strike out on their own. The latest is my friend Linda, who started AuroraSana–reiki for animal companions, transformational coaching for humans! Check out her Facebook page here.

Being your own boss–and employee, and publicist, and marketing manager, and intern–isn't easy. Lots of people have told me they don't have the discipline to work at home. I have something better than discipline: Incentive. I show up every day at my desk and work hard, but I'm also here when my husband gets home, I can pick up a relative at the doctor's office, I can see my nephew, I can write novels . . . I can have a life, one that isn't necessarily spent behind a desk under the rather unflattering glare of fluorescent lights.

If you've started your own company, have your assistant (you) contact mine (me) and tell me about it. I love these kind of stories, and I hope to continue being one.

With kindest regards,

Suzan Colón

CEO, CFO, COO, chief cook, and bottle washer,

Me, LLC