What would you do?

[MoNoXiDe]

I am now in a situation where it is almost too late to change my mind. So, I am going to give you a little information about my situation and ask for opinions from the org. "ppl outside of my day to day life"

I have been working for a cabin rental company for a little over 10 years. The company is owned by a woman that has 2 kids. "Both who don't care and just want money" The daughter "39-41" is so bad, the owner pays her a weekly pay check just to stay home. "so she doesn't have to deal with her" The son "37" has off and on worked there for a few years. I use the word work lightly. This guy writes down on his time that he works 50ish hours a week when he works maybe 10 if that. I think what he does is he starts at 40 then the time he works is all overtime Anyway now you know the kids and you know they couldn't run the company.

The owner is a paranoid lady who thinks everyone steals from her. She is very good to me personally but I have seen 100"s come and go. That is a lot of turnovers in employment. You get on her bad side and she will be on your ass until you quit or she fires you. She in the past 6 years has not really wanted to be in the office and says she is sick. She stays home all the time. Imo she is just done with the job. Which is fine. She doesn't have to be there but she does need to appoint someone to GM the place. You can't just let a company run idle with no management.

I could run the place and I pretty much have for the past 5 years. The only thing is, if I were the GM I wouldn't be paying the kids and I would want full control. This would never happen. She thinks her son will take over one day.

Ok so now you know a bit about the company here is my dilemma. I have been given a chance to GM / Co Own and start a new cabin rental company here. No out of pocket for me. The only thing would be my knowledge of running a company and my knowing of owners of cabins. "the ones on the company I now work for" I have received calls from owners all the time saying I should open up my own and when I do let them know.

I would be getting about a 20k raise in salary "not counting company capital" The thing is I feel like if I do this that I would be destroying her company. She counts on me for so much. She says to me all the time that she wishes that I was her real son.

Is it wrong to leave the company and start my own by calling the owners that I know would leave? or
Should I just stay where I am?

The reason I say its almost too late. My partner has already setup a website, I have already talked to a few owners to switch. Things are rolling for say.

I didn't re read this so I hope it makes sense. There is a lot more to the story but it would take way to long to read lol.

[twotonevert]

I say do what you need to do. When it is all over and done with, you will be working for one of her kids. Sounds like you know how that will turn out. Do your own thing and start your own company. From the way you describe it, you have no control over what your current situation is like.

[SoCal Blur]

It sounds like the company you are currently working for will eventually fail, once the son takes over. You might work there as the GM for another 5 years, only to have all of your hard work go down the tubes once the son takes over.

Although, it's a little unethical in my view to go after the cabin owners and "steal" them away from her, sounds like they are already looking for a reason to jump ship. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you think you and your partner can make a go of it and you have all of it in writing, go for it.

[Argilbertson]

You cant protect her from her bad decisions forever...eventually you're going to have to do what's best for you. I say go and dont look back.

[VaBusa]

As tough as it may be to "let her down", in the end she's letting you down by having the burden/work load on you, and just paying her kids to essentially do nothing. She may not mean any harm, but it's likely time for you to look out for yourself and not worry about how that affects her...

Just my :2cents:

[E Zurcher]

Yup, no brainer there. You are not responsible or her failed parenting and lack of business sense. There is no way my pride would allow me to work for her son. The world is full of successful people who build a better mousetrap. That could be you.

[MoNoXiDe]

It sounds like the company you are currently working for will eventually fail, once the son takes over. You might work there as the GM for another 5 years, only to have all of your hard work go down the tubes once the son takes over.

Although, it's a little unethical in my view to go after the cabin owners and "steal" them away from her, sounds like they are already looking for a reason to jump ship. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you think you and your partner can make a go of it and you have all of it in writing, go for it.

If I called the owners and said I'm not working for the company anymore and I started my own. That isn't breaking any laws. If I called them saying I left and solicited my company, that's the problem. I think they can put two and two together and decide if they want to change or not. Its just scary not knowing the true amount that will come.

[semi]

depends on several things: have you have signed a non-compete agreement or CNC? are you certain your new partner isn't just using you to get clients and then will drop you to take all of the profits?

if you can get out of the current situation, i think i would...i have worked for small, family owned businesses before and they have some particular problems especially if the family members are not qualified to run the company! i would make sure all paperwork was gone over by my own lawyer and i was absolutely clear on the consequences if things go badly or i had a difference of opinion with my new partners, there isn't any reason to jump from one set of problems to another...good luck

[GsxrBots]

...i have worked for small, family owned businesses before and they have some particular problems especially if the family members are not qualified to run the company!

You have just described my situation perfectly. If I were in your shoes, I'd bail. All I'm waiting for to bail is the perfect offer..

[VaBusa]

All I'm waiting for to bail is the perfect offer..

That won't include your job on the corner of 5th and Main, right? You're not making enough, or so I hear

[Poppy]

I think you already know the best path forward. What I think is important is what would happen to you and your future with the current employer if something happened to her? Sounds like an exciting and new opportunity for you. I say also remember to give notice to the current employer and a separate notice to the owners...letting them know of your new opportunity/venture. No stealing, just a "goodbye" sort of thing. The ones interested will be contacting you. No bridge burning though, be professional! Good Luck with your decisions, regardless.

[880jedi]

Jump ship ASAP. When your new company offers to buy the competition, your golden.

[GsxrBots]

That won't include your job on the corner of 5th and Main, right? You're not making enough, or so I hear

Not with you always asking for the "friend discount"

[Tiller]

In the end, you gotta look out for you and yours... As long as you are not overstepping any ethical boundries you may have with your current employer, then i'd definately say you gotta bail before her kids take over and you are out of a job

[dadofthree]

That won't include your job on the corner of 5th and Main, right? You're not making enough, or so I hear

With an equipment upgrade he might break even

[dadofthree]

Not with you always asking for the "friend discount"

Discounting friends, bad practice

[GsxrBots]

With an equipment upgrade he might break even

I'm not sure what you're offering there, but I'm not interested..

[Skydyvyr]

From your description of the situation, it sounds like moving to the new company offers a potentially brighter outlook for the future. If it were me, I'd be leaning in that direction, but you should be very, very careful about contacting clients of your current employer. Regardless of what you say or don't say, if they move over to your new company and your old company fails (or even stumbles) as a result (or claimed result) of that, you and your new company could become the target of a lawsuit. Unfortunately, in this country, there is no requirement that a lawsuit have merit to proceed -- and cost you $$$ to defend. These costs could sink your new company and you personally, even if you would ultimately win the lawsuit.

Client contact lists are definitely the property of your employer, not you, regardless of how they were sourced, and if you use them in any way, you open yourself and your new company to legal issues. If however, there are other ways to advertise your move, like industry newsletters or online forums where you can advertise your new employment and employer (without mentioning your previous employer) and they reach out to you, and you can demonstrate this in preliminary legal negotiations, you may be able to limit your legal defense expenses.

Someone earlier in the thread asked about Non-Compete or CNC agreements. While having one in place with your current employer could sink your new enterprise, not having one does not protect you from legal action if you use any proprietary information (including contact lists) from you current employer. Even personal relationships with clients of your current employer could be argued to be an asset of your current employer. If those relationships were cultivated during business hours or in the place of business or via business owned equipment or after hours in pursuit of business goals, then your current employer could argue that those relationships 'belong' to them.

Finally, if you have decided to make the move, do it NOW! the longer you spend involved with a competitor and your current employer, the stronger your current employer's argument will become that you were stealing clients/information/whatever from them. You should also be aware that posts such as the one you made to this forum (if found) could contribute to the strength of your current employer's case.

All this being said, while I do have some personal experience in this area as an employer, I am not a lawyer and don't even play one on TV.

Best of luck to you whatever direction you ultimately choose to go

--Sky

[voodoolord]

One thing that has not really been mentioned is the stability of your partner. Partnerships in business are not easy to maintain and I think should be avoided when possible. You guys need to hammer out an agreement and put it in writing before you commit. The other option I was thinking is if there's any possibility of going into a mutual partnership with your current employer since here interest seems to be waning that would be a better situation. Again agreements in writing and make sure you have a lawyer review the agreements to make sure theres no pitfalls.

[SKECHE]

good luck.....