Motorcycle Forum / General / Harley / November 2008

 Urrrp , thanks , man . It was time to move on anyway , the job had lost
it's attraction - too much politickin' going on .

 The wife's homemade hamburger soup - you won't believe how good canned
ingredients can be with a little spicin' up . Backed by a DoubleDickel ,
if'n ya please !

 Or pursuing my metalworking hobbies - I'm getting set up to cast aluminum
in my back yard ... This might just be the impetus to set me on a different
career .

 Mmmm , juju , yummy ! I've just been considering a way to break into the
home security game . Custom window guards , A/C surrounds , door jamb
re-inforcements ... when times are tight , more break-ins , etc .

 I'm thinkin' back in business for myself ... I like the hours . Benefits
suck though .

Gotta let the wife finish her national teacher certs where she is right now
. Maybe in a year or two we'll head up there  . I got a couple of ideas for
the interim . Back in business for myself , most likely .

 Thanks , man , I'll have another DoubleDickel to celebrate my good fortune
. This is just the kick in the a.s I needed to put all those metalworking
tools to earnin' their keep !

 Are they still open ? For right now , it kinda leans towards
self-employment . BTW , I think I might have an idea for your floorboards .
Think replaceable disc of 4140 on a stud on the underside of the board .
Spins n sparks ... and can be set far enough back that the edge isn't a
danger to passersby .

  Actually , I think I might make up a few cards and scatter them in some
of the nicer neighborhoods near me - custom window guards and A/C security
surrounds . I suspect with times as tight as they be gettin' here ,
break-ins and A/C and condenser  thefts are going to lurch upwards .
 Bout time those tools paid their keep .
 And somewhere on the underside of that desk is carved "Snag" .

Thanks , Andy ! Already got the prerequisites for that job - but sub a
"shiny gun , and it was so BIG !!" for the sawed off .
 I'm starting to list things I can do as a
SoleProprietorIncorporatedUnderSubChapterS , but armed robbery hasn't made
the list . Yet .

   I'm thinking about moving over to metal , got a couple of tools and some
ideas .
 And the will to survive ...  did I mention I'm setting up an aluminum
foundry in my back yard ? Modified Gingery design , and I've already cast a
few ~2 lb  ingots .
 Small , but economical . Cast parts ... One-off's ... and machine shop
facilities to finish stuff . Oh goodness , I'm makin' me all quivery !
 Seriously , I'm gonna check out fabbin' window bars and A/C guards , I
suspect there's a market . Times be gettin' nervous heah ...

<snip>

tough market for jobs around here:

over the past ten years i have had less than 5 talented gringos walk in the
door looking for a job.  in the same time frame i have hired, fired and lost
over 50 useless warts on society whose only goal was to ride the clock until
friday.  over the past three months i have had an average of two or three
talented men a week walk in the door.  most of these had jobs where they had
dedicated years to the company store only to get sent home as soon as things
got tough.  now i am getting someone walking in the door begging for work
almost every day.

i told my guys that they were guaranteed their agreed on salary until may
savings were tapped and i went broke.  the captain here (me) plans to go
down with the ship and put the help in the last lifeboat.  one of my three
full time guys i had six months ago, one got himself thrown in jail three
times in a 90 day period.  i bailed him out twice and the third time i left
him in the pokey.  now he is jobless and incarcerated.  *idiot*

another of my full timers quit his job in july for a job that offered 2
bucks an hour more than i paid him.  now he is laid off from that job and
came back looking for his guaranteed 40.  i had to work not to laugh in his
face.  *idiot*

now all i have is one full timer and one part timer in addition to myself
and my wife who works out of the office at the house keeping the day to day
books.  which is actually quite lucky for me.

my full time guy is spending at least two days a week cleaning, organizing
and remodeling.  my part time guy is doing the same mostly.  i have enough
squirreled away to continue like this for at least a year without selling
another job if that is what it takes.  but i can't hire on any new folks
without being able to justify it.  work has slowed even for me.

folks that don't think far enough ahead to recession proof thier business
deserve to fail.  a new suburban for the wife, a hummer for themselves, a
bigger house with a pool, financed vacations and the like is usually what
kills a business when things get slow.  this is not always the case but the
bank ain't about to come get my paid for 11 year old truck.  no stupid
unneccesary payments allows me to honor a commitment i have made to my
workers.

yesterday i had two highly qualified men walk in looking for work.  one said
he needed a minimum of 15 bucks an hour with a guaranteed 40 to start.
right now he has a guaranteed zero bucks and hour with a guaranteed zero
hours per week; and he is wanting a guarantee from me?  the other guy said
he would do anything for anything.  he even said he would do day labor for
as little as 7 bucks an hour.  where were these guys when times were good?
where will they go the instant times get better?

the only full time guy i have is coming in and working about 30 hours a week
and he is still getting paid for 40.  he has lost the overtime he was used
to getting but he is not complaining even a little bit.  of those 30 about
one third is busy work.  he will get his 40 as long as he shows up and i am
still alive.  he will even get his Christmas bonus as always.  if the other
two hadn't thrown their jobs in the toilet right before the economic crap
hit the fan they would have the same deal.  luckily for me they were as
stupid (or did i mean greedy) as most people seem to be.

i hate it for the people that are losing thier businesses and thier jobs.
but in some cases both deserve it.  if you hold your boss up for too much
money when times are good guess where your going when times are bad.  of
course there is not much loyalty left in business.

in many other cases, people that gave thier souls to the company store are
getting screwed.

a good friend of mine just lost a job they had held for 19 years with a
perfect work record.  i have a cousin that has 27 years in with one of the
big unions that is supposed to be protecting them.  after a 27 year perfect
work record they had had two official reprimands in the past six months.
both completely unwarranted.  after three they are officially fired and lose
their really good 30 year retirement benefit package.  the two other people
in thier shop with over 25 years on the job have also received reprimands
for the first time in thier lives.  the union that they dedicated thier
lives to and paid dues to is purposely making a case to fire them before
they qualify for thier retirement package.  they will keep the 401k's but
loose the lifetime health benfits they were promised.

so if your boss is keeping you on in hard times, remember that in the good
times.  if your boss is giving you the heave ho, then have shirley pour you
a double on my tab.  the sad thing is folks are blaming the current
president for our situation.  if he is responsible, i wonder how he had so
much power as to trash the japanese economy, the european economy and what
looks like the chinese economy to boot?  i think it is human greed that
caused this.  not just one particular administrations actions.  it is bigger
than that.
michael

 Large cabinet/millwork companies here seldom last more than eight-ten
years . It's always been a tough market , and tough economic times have
aggravated that . It mighta helped if we hadn't had two plant managers in a
row that were more intent on their own gain , at the cost of product quality
(bonus's for "saving money") . I say build a few , build 'em very very well
, and stay in business . He tried to mass-market semi-custom cabinetry , and
that market doesn't lend itself well to big shops . Doesn't help that the
owner and his right-hand -asslicker have been drawing huge bonuses , instead
of capitalizing the company . I hope he has many sleepless nights in the
future , trying in vain to prop up a dying business . Might be different if
the G.C.s around here liked him , but both guys are pretty much universally
laughed at and hated . That coupled with the decline in quality has
effectively killed the business .
 I'm pretty sure a big part of all that new eqpt (like a $200k CNC router)
was bought on credit ... and he's sold most of the manual machinery at yard
sale prices . When the house of cards falls - and I'm betting it's less than
six months now - he's going to lose the whole shootin' match . Be lucky if
they don't get his house and cars too .

 But I'll be busy doing small jobs , and doing them very very well .

 And that's probably part of the reason I'm in the first cut - I may not
have a number , but I can act the part . I made an enemy of the boss'
earliest employee/almost partner years ago . I suspect he was lobbying hard
so send me packin' .

 I'm not sure I want to stay in cabinet work . I'm having too much fun
playing with metal , may be able to change courses and make that a viable
means of support .
 Anything honest for a buck right now ...

 Thanks Al , I appreciate it .

 Hey , we can commiserate whilst chuggin' shots ! Hope your situation gets
better too . Kinda shitty timing , but then the shittyness is the reason ...
and that statement calls for another shot <glug> .

 Called the emp security office a while ago , they said claims are first
come first served . Come now and it's a five hour wait . Line starts forming
at seven am ... they open at eight . I'll be there at 6:45 in full leathers
... Guess who's gonna be first in line ?
 I figger it's been over fifteen years since I was unemployed , least I can
do is file for some benefits .

 Thanks , man ! I've always managed to land on my feet . Of course
sometimes I landed on a different road ... gettin' into cabinet makin' was
purely by accident . I liked it , so kept at it . Might be time for some
metalwork ...

 There was a time when looking back and wanting revenge , or wishing him
ill would have been on my mind . Screw that , there's a great big wide world
of knowledge out there that I don't have yet . I kinda have a tentative
approach to a possible plan ...
 I'll take whatever comes around and run with it . Having been in business
before , I have a pretty good idea of the pitfalls - the biggie is quarterly
payments to Big Brother . Good accounting is essential , as is doing what
you promise when you promised it . At least I won't be looking at any major
tool outlays ! Might need a miter saw , and probably a nail gun or two , but
that is about it . And that will depend on where fate takes me ...

  How 'bout a nice hot cuppa coffee instead ? Thanks !
I kinda though the guy was stretching too far . Not certain , but I'm
beginning to suspect he financed some of this expansion with sub-prime loans
. Against rental properties that are held by his daughter's trust fund ...
 Oops .

 Way , man , way . I kinda figured layoffs were coming , but I was
absolutely pole-axed when I was the first to go . The man has no feelings .
He has only his greed , which is how we got to this point . I bet he lays
awake nights wishing we were still in that three man shop , with a tenth the
overhead he now has . What's sad is that the increase in income was not
equal to the increase in size - over triple the size for less than twice the
income .

 It may already have ... got some things in the works , but none of them
involve me working for someone else .
 I've been in business before , looks like I will be again .