Having owned my own business for about thirty years, I always paid my employees their fair share. They never missed a payday and, if they were working FOR the good our our team, they got regular raises.
Many paydays, Karen and I went home with no check. Sometimes we caught up later, but mostly not.
I simply love it when folks talk about the RICH self-employeed small business man; AKA a hearless SOB.
Diff subject: I observing the hiring of executives in the larger firms, I am ever amazed that the companies seem honor-bount to hire out of another industry. In the firearms industry, you've gotta be gunny or you fail.
I simply cannot tell you how many times I've seen folks from the bread, or carpet, or lumber industry sign-on as the El-Presidente of a gun or optics company. They may know marketing and employee control, but they know nothing about the firearms industry.
The singular exception was my good friend Gary Williams. Gary signed on at Leupold and was from the carpet or linoleum industry, but he quickly became Chub's protege. Gary thrived at Leupold and in the firearms industry, in general. He's gone from Leupold now ... and it is totally Leupold's loss, in my totally honest opinion.
God Bless,
Steve
PS. Totally off the subject; when Karen and I retired, at age 49, we gave our best employee, a lady named Gail, two years salary and I paid the taxes. The lady was wonderfully appreciative and followed her dream of starting up a small jewelry store.
She went broke in two years.
There is owner mentality, where we work hard to perpetuate the health of the business.
Then there is employee mentality, where they want to milk every frickin' dime out of the business and give as little as possible back.
Gail was unable to adapt to ownership. She'd look outside and the sun was shining, so she'd close up shop and take a two-day trip to the beach. Meanwhile, there were customers pounding on her door.
And she hired everything done. Trust me, an owner has to be able to do any job in the store better than any tradesman or any of his employees. To be successful takes enormous sacrifices and no ego.
ST
