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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 7, 2011 8:49:31 GMT -6
Looks like my daughter's job is disappearing. The owners of the company she works for to them this morning that today will be their last day on the payroll.
Looks like Mom and Dad will have to jump in and somehow provide a safety net. After only working for 3 months I have no idea how much assistance the state of Florida will provide in unemployment benefits.
The real bitch of it is, as I mentioned in another thread here just a couple weeks ago that a work proposal that she wrote got funded to the tune of $45K. She is going to see what can be done to pick up the work involved with that for herself, but Im not hopeful.
Sounds like they have had a cash flow problem for quite a while. I have no idea what would make them hire Heather back in the fall. They must have known that things were failing back then.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 7, 2011 9:20:32 GMT -6
Sounds like they have had a cash flow problem for quite a while. I have no idea what would make them hire Heather back in the fall. They must have known that things were failing back then. It sounds like that kind of poor business planning is precisely why they're going belly-up. I have worked for plenty of start-ups over the years and a number of them operate the same way. |
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Post by Tex on Feb 7, 2011 9:21:51 GMT -6
Sorry to hear it - sign of the times. I saw a company back in the 1980s completely re-landscape their office a few weeks before they went out of business. Sometimes with a bigger company the left hand does not know what the right is doing.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 7, 2011 9:49:55 GMT -6
Another bitch of this is, we subcontracted some satellite image processing work for them. It was for a National Park in Maine. We have about $500 in data purchase costs and 12 hours of processing work... I may get stuck either holding those costs or standing in line with their other creditors.
I know her bosses have both been talking about retiring, and I have to wonder if they figure its easier to bail out then try to fight to keep the company alive.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 7, 2011 9:55:34 GMT -6
Sounds like a good opportunity to buy the business at a rock-bottom price.
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Post by Tex on Feb 7, 2011 9:58:17 GMT -6
That's a thought. OTOH, I would want to study their business model carefully and see what got them into trouble.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 7, 2011 10:05:24 GMT -6
Probably hiring recent college grads did them in.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 7, 2011 10:28:05 GMT -6
Sounds like a good opportunity to buy the business at a rock-bottom price. That's an interesting thought, although its a business that I know NOTHING about, and I dont know that I have the cash flow here to support their business while that one turns around. Like Tex says though, it would require a good look at the books to see what the root cause of the problem is. |
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 7, 2011 10:57:24 GMT -6
More info, apparently they had brought in consultants who specialize in helping small businesses turn themselves around, and bankruptcy was the consultant's recommendation. They must have been well past the point of being an attractive buyout target. The timing to now was also based in part on their office lease being up at the end of this month.
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Post by innit Geezer on Feb 7, 2011 15:54:41 GMT -6
Damn Gordon, I'm sorry to hear it. The lack of notice is painful too. Hope this works out.
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Post by Tex on Feb 7, 2011 16:38:49 GMT -6
If your daughter did all of the work on the contract and the buyers still want the work done, maybe she could work a deal to do it for them directly as a contractor. You would probably want to get the blessing of the bankruptcy court on this to avoid any furture legal liability to the bankruptcy estate, but maybe it's worth a shot.
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Post by Merlot Joe on Feb 7, 2011 18:28:32 GMT -6
Gordon, sorry hear about your daughters job. I am sure everything will work out in the long run.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 8, 2011 6:48:54 GMT -6
If your daughter did all of the work on the contract and the buyers still want the work done, maybe she could work a deal to do it for them directly as a contractor. You would probably want to get the blessing of the bankruptcy court on this to avoid any furture legal liability to the bankruptcy estate, but maybe it's worth a shot. That contract just came in two weeks ago and she had just started to do the background research. Unfortunately for her, she doesnt have the production experience nor the hardware to carry it out. She could team up with some of the company's production guys, but not having the hardware would limit the potential for profitability. She spent yesterday updating her resume and found several job openings that fit her interest. She is being proactive, and we can afford to carry her financially for some time. After 3 months of working, its doubtful that she qualifies for much unemployment, if at all. Biggest thing for her is the prospect of pulling up roots again. She had hoped to settle down for a while. Its tough socially to keep having to make new friends and then leave them behind. |
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 8, 2011 7:54:49 GMT -6
Maybe she could take that new contract to a competitor? Another outfit that has the production experience and the hardware, and would be glad to hire her if she came with a built-in customer?
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 8, 2011 8:05:40 GMT -6
I dont know if she can do that. The she wrote the response to the RFP, but did so as an employee, so the contract is with her former employer. So as Tex points out, it would probably have to be something that the bankruptcy court would have to allow AND something that the client would also have to agree to (if they even can go that route, they may require a rebid)
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 14, 2011 17:57:19 GMT -6
Well, the daughter got some good news today. Her former employer turned over a project she had been working on for her to finish. Its not the project that I mentioned above, but one she had been working on since she started.
I am going to help her through the basics of self-employment, already clued her in on getting certain things in writing, agreeing on hourly rates, etc.
My little girl could end up an entrepreneur like her old man yet.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 14, 2011 19:35:19 GMT -6
It's the way the world is going. Good thing, too, in my opinion.
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Post by Tex on Feb 15, 2011 8:53:27 GMT -6
She will learn a great deal from the experience.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 15, 2011 9:28:42 GMT -6
Although not everyone is cut out for self-employment.
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Post by Merlot Joe on Feb 15, 2011 9:39:54 GMT -6
It has it benefits and it's draw backs.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 15, 2011 10:38:29 GMT -6
She will learn a great deal from the experience. The trick is doing it without a lot of resources to start up with. I did it 25 years ago while I was still in grad school and had the advantage of making all my mistakes when they would have a smal impact, and had Ann's income to rely on, once she graduated and got her professor position. |
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 15, 2011 11:00:32 GMT -6
Since her alternative is unemployment, she has the advantage of having nothing to lose. Unless there are a lot of startup costs, of course.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 15, 2011 11:03:13 GMT -6
True, unless she needs to get hardware (at this point she does not), in which case it will probably be my risk.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 15, 2011 11:10:55 GMT -6
That's what I was thinking of possible startup costs: computer hardware/software, business license, attorney fees, fronting travel expenses, etc. If she can get by without any of those investments, she has no reason not to go for it.
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Post by Tex on Feb 15, 2011 20:05:06 GMT -6
This sort of fell in her lap and it would appear to me that this would be a good opportunity to try self-employment. She may like it or she may not, but finding that out alone is worth something. It is an opportunity to start off with some business already on the books, which is saying a lot. I obviously don't have any idea what hardware the job entails, but she could also consider sub-contracting out parts of jobs to someone with specialized equipment, particularly for one-off items that she may not want to pay to own.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 24, 2011 6:40:12 GMT -6
Yesterday was "bounce back" day for the daughter. She stopped by her former office to pickup all relevant materials on the project that she inherited. Then she got a call from a couple of former workmates who are forming their own company and wondered if she would want to work on projects from time to time on a subcontract basis. THEN she got a call from the National Constitution Center requesting that she fly to Philadelphia for a job interview with them in two weeks. |
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Post by Tex on Feb 24, 2011 8:05:08 GMT -6
She will do just fine. My goddaughter is her age and told me that she had to do 58 auditions to finally get a job. Keep knocking on doors and selling yourself. The economy is very slow but there are jobs to be found. Some of it is a numbers game.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Feb 24, 2011 9:04:07 GMT -6
The fact that she is getting flown in for an interview is very good news. It means she is one of 3 or maybe 4 in real contention for the job and has beaten most of the competition already. Its like being in the playoffs at this point... her own little March Madness.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Feb 24, 2011 9:49:51 GMT -6
For a while there, I think we were all a little worried that she'd have to start pole dancing for a living. NTTAWWT.
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Post by Tex on Feb 24, 2011 10:35:26 GMT -6
Gay neighbor's niece couldn't find a job so she starting dancing at a topless place in Dallas. His aunt was not pleased, but I give the girl some credit for doing what it takes to stay afloat, which isn't always an elegant solution. I have been to the place in years past and it is very nice (and actually serves decent food). She has nice tits.
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