1. Going in to work and doing the best job I can.
2. Making sure my skillset is marketable and keeping my resume continuously updated
3. Keeping in touch with my local network of recruiters.
In 20+ years, it’s never taken me more than a month to get a job and once, I left a contract (long story) with nothing lined up, met a recruiter for lunch on Monday and had a job offer with a what was then a Fortune 10 company by Thursday[1].
If I worked for myself, I would be constantly hustling for clients, collecting payments etc. Working for a company means money shows up in my account twice a month for exactly the same amount. If the company goes bust, I can find another job. If I want to take a vacation or get sick, other people take up the slack and I still get paid.
I’m no special snowflake, anyone in my metro area that has kept their skills up can easily find a job.
[1] Yes that was dumb luck, the department that I was hired into was a recently acquired startup and their HR hadn’t been fully integrated into the large slow moving bureaucracy.
Btw I think health insurance is the biggest problem here, in the US.
Anyway I didn't mean in any way that being employed by a company was some kind of bad choice, not at all!
As long as the ACA exists, health insurance is available. It's just a cost of being self employed.
On the other hand, it's even easier if you have a spouse that works a stable job. I know a few people (including me) that have spouses that work a low paying government job just for the insurance so they can be more aggressive about their career or start a business. Since I've been married, I've jumped back and forth between working salaried and contracting with abandon.
You can lose your job anywhere without much warning. The trick is don’t depend on your job for your long term livelihood. Instead, depend on a marketable set of skills and a network that can help you land another job quickly.