Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire heres a question for you...........whats 4 years of hell worth to you?

our boss was in town today discussing things but a lil history first. Darla is a 3rd generation newspaper person. her grandmother owned the paper we are working at now. her grandmother was THE Queen Bitch. this fact is agreed upon by everyone including my father in law and he doesnt talk bad about anyone. back in '99 she decided to sell the paper. as a favor to my father in law a friend that was managing the newspaper in the next town over bought it and cut two checks, one to my FIL and one to his mother to make sure my FIL got his share as his mother was likely to take it and run. she died several years ago.

well our boss is tired of the paper. hes got a metal powder coating business on the other side of the state he is running now and now that he is in his 60's he is tired of keeping an eye on two businesses. there is currently 4 years left on his mortgage on the paper.

my wife and i currently take home $600ish combined a week plus benefits. not much but its cheap to live in northeast Montana. John said that as soon as the mortgage is paid off he wants to turn over the paper to Darla and I. however there are some issues. currently we are running a lil staff heavy and we need to fire one person. firing this person means Darla has to work long weeks at the same pay. i will have extra hours aswell. not quite enough money with the bank getting its cut and John getting his to cover the extra staff member. at the moment with current staff, including the extra person, after payroll, which includes ours, taxes, bills, mortgage ect but before Johns cut the paper profits $2,000 on a bad month, averages $6,000 per month and has the occasional couple months every year that clears over $12,000 in pure profit. once again this is AFTER Darla and my current pay checks.

so do you think 4 years of most weeks where the two of us put in 120ish hours combined is worth that? in 4 years Darla will be 37 and ill be 29. we will be the youngest owners out of 80 some newspapers in the state. John will carry our mortgage if we wish at prime. also after he gets his monthly check of $4,000 if there is anything left we can throw against the current mortgage to pay it off faster than the current 4 years so that our name is on it sooner. however this means that if we need a new computer and we decided to pay extra on the mortgage and there is no funds, theres no new computer.

4 years Darla will be 37 and ill be 29.


Oh hell yes, this is the time for sacrifice, sooner than you think those kind of hours won't be an option.

Jump all over that. Les

If it's something you're interested in and are passionate about, go for it. Not many people would pass up four years of bs for being your own boss the rest of your life.

Anyone that's been in the military can tell you that you can do four years standing on your head in 18" of schitt with ease and your payoff looks to be grand one.

Always invest in that which you love than it's not work it's play. Time goes by fast when you're playing.

Careful what you wish for.

I says.

GTC

ive been working there for 5 and a half years and my wifes been there since '96. i enjoy it as much as about anything else ive done. some weeks are hell some weeks are fun, most weeks arent hardly noteworthy and fly by but its that way with any job i expect. guess i better make the most out of my vacation to Orlando in September prolly be the last major vacation i get for awhile

Two thoughts...

If you wake up everyday and don't dread going to work, you are probably doing better than most.

Although there is no such thing as true job security, not to many have fired themselves.

Chris

Rattler,

Our facility was recently drastically downsized. 100% of seasonal employees are gone. Management and clerical went from about forty five to five people, and regular hourly employees went from 130 to thirty employees.

Many of the employees who remained had to learn new jobs and perform menial labor, where they had been foremen or technicians before.

A short while after this transition, I was having a discussion with a supervisor. He stated that "Work is just like being in the military or prison. You just have to put in your time. Someday it will be over and you will get to retire. That will make it all worth while."

He failed to understand when I responded that when work gets to be like prison, I'm going to find another employer.

It sounds like you have the opportunity to do something great, to work for a real future instead of a measly pension.
Many of us are very envious of those which can find employment in a field which they love and find interesting.

It sounds like you two have the chance to be very lucky people. Remember he who once said "Folks make their own luck."

My suggestion would be to seek financial advice and make sure the whole deal is through a company name so that if the business ever has to be wound up you will not lose personal assets(home, firearms etc), the good news, EVERYTHING is a tax deduction; from toilet paper .....hunting trips.... that lovely watch that your wife absolutely needs for work, really, creative is the key !
All the best in your endeavour.
Regards, J Stuart.

you can work yourself to death when you are young and can take it or you can work your self to death when you are old and will die from it.

Your choice....


me, I'd go for it!

Go for it, buddy!

I'm stoked for ya!

This may be the one chance that you have in your life to become very financially successful. Much of life is taking advantage of opportunity when it arises. With this kind of opportunity, what will you feel like in 10 or 20 years if you don't take advantage of it? What kind of regrets will you have? If you can honestly say that you are happy with your lot, and that you would have no regrets, pass on the deal. If you will always wonder what could have been, DO IT.

Any business will have risks. It would be prudent to weigh out all of these risks. What JSTUART said may hold true in Australia, but a small business owner here will find it very difficult to insulate his personal assets from business dealings. Most suppliers and vendors will likely want personal guarantees, which may mean putting ALL of your assets on the line. Not meant to discourage you, just wanting to lay out as much as I know on small business dealings.

The bottom line is this. If you are confident, and willing to take the risk, go for it and never look back. If you are unable to give 100% of everything that you have, both in money and in spirit, don't do it. I know that for me personally, I don't want to be laying on my deathbed in 50 years wandering what might have been.

Good luck with whatever your decision may be.

Wow, another instance of Montana being a very small world. I know John, and he is a pretty fair guy, even if he is wound a little different. ;-) I know him from this side of MT, and even went to kill p-dogs with him on a trip out east a 4 or 5 years back. Turns out I really like Glasgow and the surrounding area! THe people over there were all really nice!

Definitely go for it, IF you are willing to keep the right attitude, and work together on this. Be carefull of wrok stress, as it can cause marital stress when you work together closely. I am about 10 years older than you, and I am buying into the firm where I now work, and it has been rewarding.

Best of luck to you! It sounds like you can make it work.

to funny shortside, let me know if you come over with him again and ill run over to Glasgow. as for being wound different....hell he's a New Yorker

for all intense and purpose, my wife has been running the paper since the sale in 99. her owning it doesnt really change her job one bit. as far as John's been concerned he isnt on site so isnt in a position to make the day to day choices on how to run the paper. basically we just get a bigger cut for what we do...........major downside is it means ive got to write more.......dammit

Are you sure the paper is a money maker? Doesn't sound like your wife is making dick now, and she is running the paper.

Fact most NEW businesses expect to loose money for at least 5yrs
You are working an established business with steady positive cash flow which is not likely to dry up, The soon to be former owner will carry the paper (land contract) therefore if you should have to bail you credit a the Bank is still good, you are both young enough to pay off the mortgage realizing profits and retire 30 yrs from now with good money providing the positive cash flow don't run out and you plan well. If I were in your shoes I would go for it.

my wife does the billing for the paper. my wife makes out the check to the bank for the mortgage, my wife cuts John his check every month. hell my wife is more familiar with the papers financial s than John.

as for what we make. its fairly typical for the area for someone working for a paycheck. we have a 2000 square foot house, with attached garage, sitting on 1 and a half lots so it has a good sized yard and it only cost us $60,000...........same house in Colorado Springs is worth atleast 3 times as much....i know we have friends living there in a house of similar size....and we live in a better neighborhood. its cheap to live in northeast Montana

I thought your 4 years of hell reference was about a Democrat presidential win.