Oceanside man reinvents himself after lay-off

Oceanside resident Chris Cadigan had been working in the sales business for more than a decade when he, along with many other Americans, was suddenly laid off from his job in 2009. Like many others who have lost their jobs due to the economic recession, he was faced a daunting task: restarting his career. But with a little bit of luck and foresight – and a lot of persistence – Cadigan has started a new venture, and in just a few months' time he has reinvented himself as an independent businessman.

Cadigan began his sales career at the shipping company Airborne Express, and quickly worked his way up to district sales manager, handling accounts in Long Island, Queens, and Brooklyn. When his company was acquired by DHL in 2003, Cadigan was made a district sales manager in Manhattan, and then, just two years later, he was promoted again, this time to regional sales director.

By 2008, Cadigan said he was managing an account book totaling close to a quarter of a billion dollars. In addition, he was managing a sales team of about 40 people. “Things were great with my world,” he said. But unfortunately, his company was losing money. By November 2008, DHL made the decision to focus exclusively on international deliveries, eliminating its air and ground services within the United States. That meant thousands of layoffs nationwide.

“My worst day ever was when I had to lay off my entire sales team, with the exception of about four people,” Cadigan said. “I didn't trust corporate America after that.” Cadigan survived that massive round of layoffs and continued working for the company as part of a global accounts group. But by that time, Cadigan said he had already decided he wanted to go into business for himself, and began researching other opportunities.