Yes I think I remembered you being siblings. “The Force is Strong in that Family” is us Star Wars geeks will say.
What happened… long story, because the start is relevant to finish.
Worked since I was 12. (Swimming pool job, Sbarro Pizza at 14)
Had family in business - joined that at 15 - entry level, cleaning up etc. By 17 I wore a tie to my senior year of high school, skipped classes, rushed back to work at 3. Gained valuable experiences…just invaluable. Lived with parents, worked 65-70 hour weeks mostly, banked most of the money, but man did I eat well when I went out. Anyhow, love family but my Dad’s side is cursed - good at business, just can’t get along within the business as was the case with my and Father so the plan was for me to go on my own. Age 24…I finally put a deal together… my Dad dropped me off at O’Hare and said 'now it’s all you. It’s your money. You could’ve done college but you didn’t take school seriously. I think you can do this but if you can’t, I can’t do anything for you other than let you stay in the basement again".
24: Took over something losing $400k a year. (We made $369k our first year) The current staff is smirking at me - they were all 40s-50s, I was a kid. Day after Thanksgiving I called them all in and said “Look, I’m gonna do this starting today. I’ll do the whole thing. If anyone wants to quit, please give me 30 minutes notice so I can go across for a Big Mac ok?”. On Black Friday - we had the biggest day that business had ever. I loved my place. On late nights - 11pm, 12am - I’d be last to leave and yeah, I’d high-five the building and say “thanks pal” - I admit I did it all the time.
Anyhow my management nucleus - was GREAT. All family-types. My competitors had new managers 6-8 months at a time - I had the same guys and girls for 20 years in a row. This was in suburban DC and we just killed it every day. I paid many people over scale - but man they worked. We laughed. There’s was minimal drama.
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Downturn. I lost something worth about 40% of my bottom line. BUT - the decade of REPEAT customers pulled me thru. Cut my advertising to zero - and we still made good net profits. All the while - the “bigger” competitors I was beating - they’d try to take my employees. They’d phone complaints into their government buddies. Didn’t work. They called me to try and buy me out - I ignored it.
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Internet. Competition. The deck got re-shuffled. My “big competitors” thanks to money and real estate got DOUBLE the outlets. I had one rooftop - these guys had 10,15, 20. Economies of scale and internet competition hurt. Good news I still had street Cred and I sold my place, sold it for 10 times more than I bought it for.
The corporate folks call me during all that - they have a struggling outlet in NJ so I went to look. Oh my God it was toxic reputation. Had a UNION in it - a JERSEY Union. So - I tell corporate “oh no, I’m waiting for a sweetheart place. Not gonna do this fixer upper unless its free”. Now - by this time I had a clandestine meeting with the union steward, union president - and it was a love-fest. The corporate seller sold it to me for pennies on the dollar. My TEAM from Virginia - “6” of them come to NJ with me. They rented 2 apartments, lived as roomates. The deal was I’d work the weekends - they’d drive home to be with family (all had spouses, kids, and could be hired for 6 figures easily).
We turned it around - good 7 year run. Year 7 the damn union leadership changes. The new militants were not allowing me to service customers properly. Not to mention - rent on that facility was gonna rise. But I was profitable. Get this - the ORIGINAL place I sold - it was #1 in Virginia sales-wise… it dropped to #48 out of 50. It was a disaster so the corporate folks - paid me VERY well to leave NJ - and come back to VA - I never thought I’d come there again. I KNEW there was 50-50 chance I couldn’t turn it around AGAIN. But the payout to leave NJ was ridiculously good and I just felt - things in my industry will change. And a small guy like me might not make it. So I took the money - as means of securing my family regardless.
Back to VA- SAME TEAM- plus 2 NJ people came to work for me. Damn it was buried. The corporate seller - stuck me with obsolete stuff. (Analogy - try selling the OLD I-phone model, for MORE money than the new I-phone model…70% of my inventory was cra(No I wasn’t in phone business, it’s an analogy). My family lived in suburban Philly due to school preference. I had apartment in VA and me and my 2 NJ people would go home on weekends - this time it was ME doing the weekly road trip.
The internet competition - got REALLY nasty. I did NOT have the economies of scale my mega-competitors did. These families were worth $100 million each, easily. My 20 year managers? 1 got throat cancer - couldn’t work. 1 paid off all his weddings and college stuff, Wifey has a 6 figure pension from government - he retired. So I was missing 2 out of 6 of my key horses.
Corporate was funding these losses (part of my deal, lol)…but Covid hit and they puckered up and asked me to put money in. I said “NO”…so we sold it…and me and my nucleus left the building together, laughs and smiles and some tears. They’re ALL doing great - 4 retired, my main right hand man - a 60 year old woman earning 6 figures, I see her weekly. A young lady - she’s about to get her accounting degree because I thrust her into a key position - and she flourished and she already has an accounting job.
So, here I am. Enjoying doing nothing. Enjoying kids. Enjoying food and yeah, I’ll start doing some solo trips just for kicks and attend conventions related to the industry - just to keep fresh. Overall I’m proud of my lot in life ,and thankful I’m “safe”…but ugh…some days I want to stage a comeback but its so risky and unknown. All my mentors are telling me - don’t do it. But - some nights the itch is there. Just 2 days ago 2 of my old employees texted “where are you going next? We’ll be there in a day”…geez it’s tempting.
That’s what happened 
