History Cont...

So things were going fairly well for me.....

And then the housing market decided to take a dump here on the west coast. Within a year our business went from $13 million in sales to a little over $5 million, with the sales getting progressively worse as the year continued. We tried expanding more into the wholesale portion of the market rather than sales to direct end users, but this required a significant influx of capital to allow us to purchase a small manufacturing plant that made a large portion of our inventory.

Through some connections we had, we learned that a famous athlete(supposedly) was looking to invest some money in a variety of businesses. We submitted a business plan in April, and we were told that we could expect an answer by the end of June. Well June came and went, and we were told that we were one of 3 finalists for the VC capitol, and they would be investing in 2. At this point our business has totally tanked and we are literally bringing in enough money to barely cover our payroll, and some weeks not even that. Then in August we got what we thought was a call from up above, and the VC co. said that we would be given a $10m grant, in exchange for 35% of the Co.

At this point there is like no money in the company, so we are scraping every penny we have to try and take care of existing customers, keep our labor force happy, and keep the doors open. I am told, that the owners have dumped every bit of personal savings they have in the Co., and so have many family members(though they were given the idea that they would receive a huge ROI.) They moved my Position to become general manager of the other business unit, which was great for me since I now was having problems with the Majority owner(funny how not getting paid will do that to you!!) and literally every day was a knock down brawl.

Well long story short, I was told that they couldn't afford to pay me while I was down there, but when the VC money came in they would cut me a piece and move me out of production management and into VP of sales(basically head of our new Wholesale sales dept) which would pay me 250K+. Every month the date for funding seemed to be getting pushed back. I had no part in these meetings about the VC money, so all I have is the owner's word that this guy even really exists. So basically for the last 6 months of 06' I worked for almost nothing....It got so bad that I couldn't even pay my gas bill at my house. At this point I start questioning if the money ever existed in the first place, and by the end of Dec. I just couldn't take it anymore. Literally every bit of savings I had was gone, and I was forced to pull the 8k I had online off of FTP so I could pay bills and some back taxes. I was totally broke.

So I left the company, with them owing me almost 35k in salary, + another 15k or so in commission checks and reimbursements. The company tanked in January, so I can pretty much expect to never see that money again. Basically everything I had built and saved for over the last 5 yrs is gone due to the housing market turn, and the mismanagement of funds that is typical with a small company. Basically while we all lived the good life when money flowed, the majority owner had a hard time returning to reality when the money dried up. And now I have been hit with a civil lawsuit from one of the vendors I set up for them, for the money they were owed by my old company.

So thank god that my dad had an opening in the Construction Co that he works for, and was able to get me in periodically.....working with a shovel and broom sucks ass, but not as bad as not having a pot to piss in. A good friend of mine got me a small mgmt. position in his firm last month, so I am trying to put away as much cash as possible, but it looks like I may have to file BK, to get the IRS off my back temporarily, and to take care of the lawsuit.

So this is where I am now, I've put aside a little money to try and rebuild my roll on FTP, with the hope that I will move up fast enough that I can make some decent money online by the end of the year. And it looks like I will be headed back to school at 28, to finish up my degree and figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life. The Co. I am with now has some huge growth potential, but I am not sure If I am cut out for the corporate environment, and I have always had a little bit of entrepreneur in me. Basically for the next couple of months I will be updating my blog whenever I have time, both with where I am in life, and how my poker quest is going.

If anybody is actually reading this, take a lil' advice from me, and no matter what the situation at work and how close you are to your friends, if they don't pay you it's time to move on...because trust me they aren't taking the hit(no matter what they say).

If I would have followed my gut and done what my family was encouraging me to do, I would not be in this situation and would have had the ability to transition into a job in the same industry. But because I stuck around so long, my name is now dog shit in the field where I have a ton of experience and ability, and I am basically un-hireable in that field.