So do tell us, Whitespider, exactly what great milestones have you reached in your career?
Hmmmm…. Yeah, it does come across condescending don’t it… wasn’t really lookin’ to make it that way, just tryin’ to make a point.
As for me “still busting” my “hump climbing towers and installing radios”…
I don't believe I’d use the adverb “still”, or call it a “career”… this February makes 4 years of that work and I'll tell ya’ how that came to be…
In 1981, after bouncing around a bit, I was in Oklahoma subcontracting light construction work, my brother was in Iowa City dabbling in insurance and finance, dad was working for a New Car dealer as Sales Manager. After 15 years sellin’ someone else’s cars dad saw an opportunity to buy a Ford dealership in a town about 50 miles away… but it would be a pretty big nut to crack, and he knew he would need some help. He contacted my brother and I with business deal, and after some negotiations all three of us pulled-up stakes and moved.
It was rough at first, seemed like more money going out than coming in… but eventually we turned it around, and cultivated a respectable sized customer base. In the late 80’s we'd done well enough to purchase some lakefront property in Minnesota as a family vacationing/get-a-way spot. Profit margins started dropping during the 90’s… mostly due to new expenses forced on the auto industry and dealerships by CAFE, EPA, and other “lesser” known new regulations, along with an uncertain economy. In 2001 dad had his first heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery… and a couple years later he was ready to retire… he wanted out.
This left my brother and I with a difficult business decision…
- We could buy dad out… but the business was worth several times what it was when we went in, profit margins were less, and regulation expenses were rising. It would be a lot like starting over, but at 50 years old instead of 25. Even the motor companies were making it “difficult” for small(er) dealerships… it was “get big, or get out”. We were looking at not only buying dad out, but the expense of major expansion in an uncertain economy.
- We could bring someone else in… but it had always been a “family affair” and the idea of an outsider didn't sit well with us.
- We could just sell out and put the cash elsewhere.
My brother’s wife was working for her father, and my wife had made pretty well on her business… we elected to sell out. As it turned out it was the best decision, the dealer that bought us out closed the doors 2 years later, and a year after that had to sell his other store.
My brother went to work for his father-in-law, and I took some time off… did some fishin’ and huntin’, utilized the lakefront “up north” quite a bit, did some part-time bartending, and helped my wife with her business. About five years ago my brother’s FIL decided to retire and offered to sell the business to him. My brother came to me with an offer to come in, but my end would only be a third, he and his wife would hold two-thirds… meaning I could be out-voted on any business decision (i.e., I wouldn’t be much more than an employee, but with all the risks of an owner… and at 50 years old). I declined… but offered to help him out getting it rolling. And that’s how I became his employee… working at a job for 20-year-olds (as you say). But “climbing towers and installing radios” is only a part of the job… I also design, engineer and build electronics. I designed and developed a remote control system for “dragline manure spreading” (if ya’ know what that is) using two-way radios… I sit in a nice heated/air-conditioned room takin’ orders and custom building them much of the time. When the business needs me out in the field… well, I did say I’d help him out, but he pays me quite generously for that sort of thing.
So… now ya’ know.
