Life changes

[Fat_Bulldog]

I lost my oldest brother last Friday, 3/31. He was 59. That's 4 from my immediate family since 2014. It's just me and my sister now.

Mother - July 2014
Father - January 2016
Brother 1 - March 2021
Brother 2 - March 2023

The world I live in, and my life, are so drastically different than it was just 9 short years ago.

[G. Keenan]

I lost my oldest brother last Friday, 3/31. He was 59. That's 4 from my immediate family since 2014. It's just me and my sister now.

Mother - July 2014
Father - January 2016
Brother 1 - March 2021
Brother 2 - March 2023

The world I live in, and my life, are so drastically different than it was just 9 short years ago.

My condolences, friend. It all goes by so ridiculously fast. Hang in there.

[GeddyWrox]

Damn, FB. I'm really sorry. My condolences to you and your sister.

[Radbird]

That’s brutal, FB. My condolences.

[a_smith]

My condolences. I’m so sorry that sucks.

[heyzeus]

I'm really sorry, FB. I know this is a tough time. I've been coping with loss for awhile now too, and there are peaks and valleys in how well you can move on and feel. I hope your family finds some peace.

[ThatGuy]

Joining the others by saying sorry for your losses, Fat. I hope you and your sister continue giving the world hell for many years.

[Fat_Bulldog]

Thanks for the kind words all!

[G. Keenan]

The time has finally come for me to quit my job. For the past 10 years I've worked at a tiny company, 3 people (including me) plus a part time bookkeeper. I'd been at the company for about a year and half when the founder decided to retire and sell it to the 2 current owners, who were also employees at the company, just like me, but had been there longer. So it made sense in 2015 to sell it to them. They did not pay the founder up front for the company. Rather, they agreed to buy it in quarterly payments over 5 years, which they finished doing in 2020. So all this time, my labor has contributed to the revenue from which they derived the income to make these payments. But I never owned any shares. Many times over the years, they told me they would be open to me buying into the company at some point, usually in moments where I was pushing for raises I deserved, this would be dangled in front of me while at the same time they gave me excuses for why they couldn't pay me what I'm worth. I know how much money comes in. I do 50%+ of the company's total sales, by myself. Only at the beginning of this year, 2023, did they grudgingly agree to a raise I'd been pushing for since 2021 and I got to a salary I would call fair.

One of the owners will retire at the end of this year and as recently as April of this year, he told me he would sell me his shares.

Fast forward to last week and the remaining owner makes a passing comment to me, just a little aside, about her buying him out. What? When were we going to talk about this like you've been telling me for years? So I offer to buy his half of the company and they both act totally surprised, like deer in the headlights. They'll think about, they say.

Thing is, we are interviewing new hires this week to start in January since we're losing a worker/owner. So 1 day after I offer on the shares, she and I are interviewing candidates and between interviews she tells me that she doesn't want me as a business partner. That it's "her time" and her "prerogative" to refuse me ownership. That past conversations about me buying in were just "ephemeral." I'm seeing myself being gaslit as it's happening. I'm stunned.

It's difficult to overstate how fundamental I've been to this business for the past 10 years. I've functionally been an owner, but without equity. I liked it, I was mostly self-managed, so I was patient when I didn't get raises I wanted. Repping the company as a buyer at trade shows is a major part of this industry and how we create product. For the past 6 years, I've literally been the face of the company to our entire industry. The two owners never travel. They never do that work. They don't even go to trade events in Chicago where we all live. I do all that, on top of doing half our sales. We've got countless clients whose only experience of the company is me. I'm in the office Monday - Friday 9 - 5 always here for clients and leads and sales while 1 leaves at 12:30 to go home and chill and the other leaves at 2 to take her kids to after school stuff, and works from home whenever she feels like it.

And now she thinks I'm going to come back next year and train up a new hire? And get this, she is going to pay for the shares in installments, using company revenue I would again be helping to generate. No. I'm done getting chumped here.

I don't have anything lined up yet but I just can't stomach coming back here. As soon as my year end bonus hits the bank I'm resigning. Let the retiring owner drag his butt back here and train the new person. I'm not doing it. We literally had his retirement party last night. He's old, and he's tired, and his spouse is very ill. Tough [expletive]. I was offering cash right now and you stab me in the back and cut a deal to screw me and expect me to keep working to help make the money that's gonna let the other owner buy the shares on layaway? Having led me to believe for 10 years that I'd have an opportunity to buy in when you retire? Go to hell.

Peeps -- I'm not crazy, right? It does seem like I've been wronged here, right?

[Radbird]

You most definitely were screwed over by both of them. Bank your bonus and get the hell outta there. They’ll change their tune once the realization sets in the amount of work you did and revenue you drove. And don’t take her calls once she sees her client base/revenue plummet.