Shady Businesses

So I was doing some pick-ups and drop-offs downtown yesterday and decided to stop in to a couple of jewelry stores I hadn't heard from in awhile. Sometimes they just forget to call me and their workbenches are piled up with repairs.

I would say that 90% of my clients are independent jewelers - who genuinely look forward to seeing me stop into their shops to chat for a little while and handle their business. The other 10% are jewelry chain stores. Usually they are glad to see me, and many of the employees recognize my face and come up to see what kind of goodies I'm carrying in my satchel.

One of the places I stopped in to touch base was an independently owned jewelry store that puts emphasis on "high-end fine jewelry" and they charge a mint for things you can really buy anywhere. The standard markup here in the Springs is about 300% - but this particular store averages about 500%. Hey - they have a reputation, and they can get away with charging those prices, so more power to them.

The store manager was busy with a client, so 3 of the employees came over to talk with me and see my stones. Then a young man walked in and started talking with the assistant manager as she came out of the back room. The manger was wrapped up with her client and walked to the front of the store, then asked, "Alright, who was here first?" The assistant manager said, "Oh - This guy was." One of the employees said, "Actually Jennifer has been waiting for about 15 minutes." The manager looked very confused - so she started helping the guy.

What kills me is the guy knew he wasn't there before me, and still took it as though he had been waiting as long as I had. What the fuck? He looked like he was in his mid-20's... and was dressed like the kind of kid who is riding on daddy's money.

Meh - the assistant manager came over and said, "We don't have the authorization to buy any loose stones with the Black Market being so hot right now. We can only work with our company in California. Also, business is down so we are working mostly from inventory." Without missing a beat, I said, "Not a problem! I have a had a full Federal background check, but don't have those credentials with me today. More than anything I wanted to touch base in case you have any stone repair needs... I don't have a full inventory of stones to offer anyway because my sales have been so good."

Do you think I'll ever send "high-end" business their way? Not a chance in hell.

Gossip Time!

The rumor mill is still up and running and keeping me in the loop!

The Agency I was working for is officially down to 1/2 the staff they had when I was employed there. The automotive industry has had such a breakdown with bailouts and the unstable auto economy that there just isn't much money left for small-time advertising companies. The Agency has been trying to diversify, but it is far too little, too late. If they wanted to expand and get their foot in the door of another market type, they needed to start trying 3 years ago when auto began on a slow decline.

In other news - it sounds like things may be shaking up for The Boss in her work life / home life balance. As she has been desperately trying to maintain her stranglehold on the Media Department, she has made a stranger of her husband. While I gag at the idea... she has confided that she and her husband no longer are sharing a bed. So much of her energy has been tied up in the advertising business that she has nothing left to give to her personal life.

I'm still thinking The Agency will have to close their doors in less than a year (I guess May 15th, 2010). Anyone else care to take a stab at their closing date?

Priorities vs. Keeping Busy

For whatever reason, 2009 has been a pretty rough year thus far. My husband and I are doing fine, but it seems like everything around us is crumbling. My niece has cancer, my mother-in-law has cancer, one of our good friends was murdered, my sister-in-law had her baby 2 months pre-mature, our best friends had to dip into their saving & vacation account to pay their 2008 taxes ($12,000 EXTRA even after their regular with holdings), and all of news hit in February & March... and we've just been dealing with the aftermath.

Emotionally I was a wreck for about a month, then I started feeling really neutral. The whole world seemed to be a blur and I was just doing enough to keep breathing and not smell too bad.

At the beginning of May, I planned to stay in Denver to help take care of my niece. All of her cancer treatments are at the Denver Children's Hospital, and since her mother is legally blind they needed a driver... and I was more than happy to help and have time with family. I had been working part-time at Curves just to get out of the house (maybe 12 hours a week). I had turned in my time off request a few weeks earlier, and handed in my notice to quit at the end of April (work through the end of May). My home business gets crazy in June/July, and I'm not willing to sacrafice my real job for something I do to get out of the house.

The Curves manager (her mother is the owner), doesn't like anything being done on someone else's terms. When I had turned in my notice in December, she was going to let me go until 3 other women quit at the same time. She asked me to stay and help for a couple of months until she could get a few replacements hired. She tried increasing my hours to 20 a week, which I couldn't fit in with my home schedule, then she moved me from working late afternoons to mid-days (which totally fucked up my home stuff), then she let everyone know we had to work longer schedules because she wasn't willing to hire more people, then she informed us that no one was getting pay increases from minimum wage but that we would have more responsibility. After all of that I really had no inscentive to stay anyway.

The straw that broke the camel's back was that I laid into one of my co-workers about her inability to get to work on time. I took serious issue with someone being incapable of showing up to work because she wanted to take care of her checkbook and bills before coming to work because she would be too tired afterwards... and so she would call in and be late by 30 minutes to an hour every time we had a shift change. I couldn't schedule business appointments reliaby because I couldn't leave Curves unmanned, and I couldn't count on Candy getting her ass in on time. She came in almost an hour late that day, and I had to cancel a new client appointment because of it, and I was fit-to-be-tied!

The manager found out due to "anonymous" letter written by Candy, and called the 3 women who were on staff in for a meeting, sat us down and said, "I know I would get 3 different stories if I asked... and I don't have the energy to care... so all of you can consider your employment terminated as of today." I started laughing, and then I said, "This is awesome!" The manager looked at me like I had lost my mind. I followed up with, "Do you really think putting up with the drama that goes on here is worth it to anyone for minimum wage? I've already given you my notice, and I reject your termination because I quit!" I got up, walked out, and went on with the appointments I had scheduled that day.

The next day when I would have been scheduled to work I made rounds to my clients I never had a chance to see on Fridays... and I made 2 HUGE sales. Since then my home business has had a boom like never before, things are looking up for family, and I'm beginning to feel again. I'm thankful, I'm staying busy, and I'm happy!

Destiny...

Everything happens for a reason. For me, recent changes in my part-time endeavors have lead to expansion in my home business. I'll elaborate more in the future... but right now things are definitely taking a turn for the better!

Work Drama

Why can't people just go with the flow? I tend to be pretty laid back and calm. If you say something I don't agree with... I keep my opinions to myself unless I'm asked.

I don't like to stir the pot.
I don't like to get people bent out-of-shape.
I don't want there to be any trouble.

I just prefer that people agree to disagree (the beauty of being an American is that we're entitled to our own opinions).

So can anyone tell my why people like to provoke and instigate awkward situations? Why are there so many idiots who insist on arguing? Why are stoopid people breeding more stoopid people who ask more stoopid questions and get into stoopid people fights?

In the past I would be quiet and maybe cry out of frustration for not fighting back for myself... but last night I was provoked... and I didn't back down. For the first time in my adult life I truly stood up for myself against a stoopid woman who has been a thorn in my side since January. She tried to confront me about something I wasn't even involved in... and I let loose with everything that has been festering.

It felt so damn good to set the record straight!!!

ABANDON SHIP!!!

More news from the advertising world...

It looks like the "computer team" (I use the term loosely) from my old advertising agency is jumping before it's too late. Probably a good idea since the agency has cut their 401K plan, and health insurance is soon to follow. Before you know it they will convince some poor saps out of college to pay the company to work there!

You know, I remember Monday Morning Meetings when I would make suggestions - like diversifying account types or pushing internet marketing - would get me laughed at. Heaven forbid that any company spread their talent to ensure they can keep their doors open. I should have said, "Hey - why don't we put all of our eggs into one basket and live on the idea that it's sort-of worked the last 28 years..." Hell - I would have been promoted for that kind of forward thinking!

My heart aches for my friends who are still there - hanging on to their employment as much as they can with the hope that their loyalty will be rewarded if things turn around. For their sake I hope the incompetent jerks in upper-management (yeah, you - that master's degree means jack shit right about now) get their act together and really do some creative collective thinking.

Okay here's an idea (since I know some of the managers still read my blog)... Why not give the employees who are still there a share in the company? Give them ownership in the success of the business. ALL business. When things turn around - let them be part of the success (PROFITS TOO). Fuck that $50 cash at the Holiday Party - let them have potential to earn a REAL bonus (like $500 *gasp*). If they leave while things are still bad - they simply lose their shares (which are re-distributed to their replacement or to remaining employees). If they hang in there for a turn-around, track profits and give them the option to cash out a portion every year. To keep employees motivated - STOP giving bonuses to the managers only. You see, minions at the bottom of the "feeding pond" lose motivation when they are told about managers bonuses (which The Boss and The Biscuit shared amount info with me when I was there). Employees see their hard work being rewarded to managers (who go golfing on work days and spend more time gossiping than being productive).

Emptiness

My family isn't big into superstition - but there are a few quirks that I picked up honestly via traditions. The one that has come to mind recently is that things happen in 3's.

My grandmother had 2 sets of plates. One formal wear that we used a LOT, and a crappy cheap set that collected dust at the back of a China hutch. On the rare occasion that a nice piece of dinnerware was dropped and broken - she would open up the hutch and grab 2 of the crummy plates and break them right away. The idea was that things happen in 3's and the best way to complete the cycle was to be proactive... and not bother ruining 3 nice dinner plates to fate but simply follow up the first broken one with 2 of the cheap ones.

It kind of makes some sense to me, but that was dinnerware and I don't know how to stop bad things from happening in 3's when they are bigger.

Tuesday last week we found out my niece has cancer. Wednesday night a dear friend of ours was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Friday my husband got bad news about work and may have to tell people their jobs are no-more.

I cried a LOT last week. By the weekend I was exhausted. Today I'm just trying to get my head straight so I don't forget to pay some bills/feed some pets/tell someone "I Love You". I know this emptiness will eventually pass... but this feeling is still difficult to deal with.

Bad News? Good News!

Yep - just got my tax stuff taken care of.

Last year I owed about $900 in 2007 taxes for my home business. Between the home business stuff and our regular stuff - we had to come up with about $1,200. All things considered - I was prepared for the worst this year.

When I walk into my accountant's office on Wednesday - the first thing he says to me is, "Your days of seeing tax returns are over until you pop out a kid or two." Thanks, buddy. Not like we haven't been trying for the last 2 years!

Immediately following that statement - he looks at my home business profits for 2008 and says, "Wow! Great job this year! That means you're really going to owe though." I had kind of figured that anyways since my profits had tripled from 2007 to 2008... and we had put money in the bank in preparation for taxes. On the bright side - since my business is growing, and it is based in our home, we did get to deduct part of our utilities / trash / mortgage as a business expense this year (YAY!).

So I got a late-night e-mail last night from my accountant:

"Pack your swimsuit, you get a refund!!  Do want to direct deposit to the account I have on file?  If so I will have it ready to go Friday afternoon."

Apparently in 2007 we were at the top-end of our tax bracket and hadn't withheld enough money... but in 2008 we were at the bottom-end of a different tax bracket and had withheld too much. Cheers for that sliding scale!

Nostradamus? No - I'm Just An Observer...

I try to keep an eye on things happening around me, which is advice I'd give to anyone. Open your eyes - shut your mouth - and you may be surprised.

2007 was the year I decided to act on my observations. Oh I tried telling people it was their time to do the same thing, but no one believed me and they all called me paranoid... sluffed it off as they were just blowing off steam and that the sick feeling in the pit of their stomach was simply stress.

I had been observing the company dynamic of the Advertising agency I was working for since 2004. Instead of looking to diversify their portfolio (since they were strictly automotive since 1980), the company pressed on. The screaming / yelling advertisements with obnoxious poo-bahs who were so full of their own horse shit they believed they could sell themselves as roses in a Hilton... muscling their way into new markets with old ideas. The company was admittedly running on the money from their heyday in the early 90s. Behind closed doors and in hushed conversations - managers were confiding in each other and a few employees - talking about their concerns over clients looking for fresh ideas and better value. Employees weren't concerned because they were given votes of confidence by each other and believed their value outweighed their salary. Everyone kept saying, "This time will pass, and everything will be fine." It was fine for a couple of years...

The agency had to re-compete to keep several automotive advertisers - clients looking for their money to work better as profits were declining. A few clients were lost, a few were gained, and a few just quit spending money with anyone. Most clients were being very vocal about the cost of having an agency, and instead of standing by the buying power and protection of an agency's representation - our company buckled and began cutting agency commission (and quickly lessening the faith of clients). Meanwhile, managers continued to get huge bonuses as though there were still 15% coming in on every buy - and over $100,000 was blown on redesigning the lobby with a giant water feature for clients that came to the building once in a blue moon.

I was out. I couldn't stand watching the frivolous spending habits and poor work ethic of management knowing that it was my hard work - and the hard work of my co-workers keeping their outrageous incomes flowing. Oh the carrot of retirement was there for some - that when managers retired from golfing, drinking, lunching, shopping, and general laziness that someone within the company would have to move into their place - I could see the money wouldn't hold out for anyone to actually see that pipe-dream come to fruition.

So here we are in 2009. I just received word that The Agency has had their first round of lay-offs... and they even did that wrong. Instead of cutting over-paid upper management and putting a few key managers in charge of different departments, they cut their top paid regular employees who do the actual work. Yep! Keep that useless dead weight on the top-end and drop your labor force. Brilliant. Oh - and deflate the energy level of the rest of the employees by cutting their incomes by 5%.

I hate to say I told you so.

Dad's Big Game

Two years ago when we went to Montana for Christmas we had many plans of activities to try while at home... however my dad's body had other things in mind. We had purchased tickets to fly to Missoula on Christmas Eve, but dad went into the hospital 4 days before our flight with a ruptured appendix. My husband and I went to the airport 3 days early to catch an early flight to be with him, but United Airlines sucked dick (See previous post).

Dad was out of the hospital on Christmas Day that year (I am so thankful for small blessings). He has recovered better than anyone expected him to, back to hiking and hunting within 6 months of his surgery, and now he's 100% recovered.

In early October, I got a phone call from Daddy - and I could tell he was just bursting and giddy to tell me something. "Jenni - I got my Ram!"

Since I was a little girl, my dad has applied for a Ram permit every year. In Montana - the average number of permits available for the entire state is under 20. This year only 5 were issued. Of those 5 - my dad was the only person to bring home a Ram.

The day after his permit arrived, he called his friend to go hiking and to spot where the game was traveling... no real plan for hunting (guns along for protection - prime season for Grizzlies to be out eating berries in prep for hibernation). They started out in the afternoon, climbing up steep inclines, heading above the tree line. As they rounded a cooley, they spotted a herd of 50 mountain sheep - several Rams in the mix. Dad pulled up his scope to get a look - and he saw a 1 1/4 curl ram bedded down, but when the ram turned his head he was missing one of his horns (likely a rut fight incident). Just down the slope was another Ram, full curl horns (both of them), munching away on mountain grasses.

Dad and his friend sat and watched for awhile. As the sun began to set a few sheep began making their ascent up the mountain from directly below where the guys were positioned. The guys scrambled up the slope to stay ahead and yet not alert the herd across the way. They stopped when they reached a small tree clinging to the mountain side. Dad and Ed sat down to get another look at the Rams... his friend pulled out the distance scope to give my dad an idea of how far away they were. "Ernie - it looks like about 221 yards." Dad sighted in his gun using the tree for extra balance - compensated for the slight breeze - took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger.

BOOM! The herd took off up the hillside... the ram Dad was aiming for stood up and followed after for about 20 yards. The beast fell and tumbled down the mountain a little. He stood up, then fell again, and came to rest against a log. A clean shot to the heart - Dad had his ram.

Together, Dad & Ed got the Ram 1/2 way down the mountain slope to the tree-line... but since they had only planned to go for a short hike, neither had brought along any food for energy. As the sunlight vanished - they found themselves hungry and exhausted. They left the ram on the hill in the dark, and hiked down to their vehicle. Once in range of a cellular signal, they called in some friends to meet up for dinner at a local bar & grill.

A few cheeseburgers and sodas later, the group of now 4 men made their way back to the valley. It took all of their combined strength to get the animal through the trees in the dark, but dad's ram was hanging in his garage by midnight.

Timing on the hunt couldn't have been better. Because the rams had not gone into the rut (mating season), the meat was perfect. You see, most hunters don't get lucky enough to save ram meat because by the time they get their permit and make the hunting trip - all of the animals are pumped up with mating season hormones and adrenaline - making the meat rancid.

Look at hunting however you will, but I grew up on wild game and I am in better health as an adult because of it. My family only had store-bought meats in the freezer when we were in between hunting seasons and running low on game. This year Dad has a load of ram burgers, steaks, ribs, and more... and he has the bust of his prize on the wall of his living room.