Home again.
We are finally back home after almost a month of traveling. The last little jaunt was back home to Kansas City, where I saw family and friends, and worked a booth at a sports show. We thought it would be a good idea to get in a visit AND work the show. That was a huge mistake. We almost had no time to really hang out with folks. If you are planning to travel and mix business with pleasure, that doesn't necessarily work very well when family is involved.
In any case we're back to the grind, and into making some fairly serious life-changing decisions. Of course, we are moving. What that means for us beyond that, we're not sure. Now that we have owned our own business for five years, we're not anxious to become anyone's employee again. We would like to start another business because we had a great time starting this one. I know my marriage is one in a million after what we've done as a team. I hope the next adventure in business is just as fun and successful as this one has been. I suppose I could be somebody's employee again, but I would have some demands for the workplace now that I've owned my own business.
If I had to go job searching, I wouldn't approach a job interview or a future employer in the same ways that I did. For one thing, I would make very clear that I would not come in or answer the phone from Friday at 5 until Monday at 8. And as far as phones go, I probably would not carry a cell phone (on this last visit my whole family was tricked out with cell phones. My younger sister would arbitrarily get on the phone and talk instead of talking to visiting relatives--rude.). If I HAD to carry a cell phone, I would demand that the employer pay for it. I would also negotiate for a Blackberry if I had to be THAT connected. I would also tell a future employer that I would work at home sometimes and not at work, and the internet allows for that these days (technology really is a good thing when it allows for good things to happen--like working at home). I would need at least two home-work days a month. Maybe three.
My demands may be a bit high-maintenance in today's work-til-you-drop world, but I would make concessions to these demands, like taking less money. Or opting out of a 401K. I would have to value my worth in comparison to cost of living where I would be employed, of course. But I would be conscientious and hard working, and I would demand the same of my co-workers. And the boss had better run a tight ship; I would not suffer business waffling or arbitrary-change-of-goals-due-to-giant-egos. In short, I am typing the whispy outline of some fantasy world that does not exist in corporate America. I realize, that like most relationships, the employee/employer relationship is not perfect; in fact, it is usually dysfunctional. Honestly, I will probably not be looking for a job. If one finds me that would be worth considering, I would have to make a list and do some soul-searching, especially if I had to move back to a city. It would have to be a really unusual, interesting, too-weird-to-be-true kind of job to move back to a city.
In any case we're back to the grind, and into making some fairly serious life-changing decisions. Of course, we are moving. What that means for us beyond that, we're not sure. Now that we have owned our own business for five years, we're not anxious to become anyone's employee again. We would like to start another business because we had a great time starting this one. I know my marriage is one in a million after what we've done as a team. I hope the next adventure in business is just as fun and successful as this one has been. I suppose I could be somebody's employee again, but I would have some demands for the workplace now that I've owned my own business.
If I had to go job searching, I wouldn't approach a job interview or a future employer in the same ways that I did. For one thing, I would make very clear that I would not come in or answer the phone from Friday at 5 until Monday at 8. And as far as phones go, I probably would not carry a cell phone (on this last visit my whole family was tricked out with cell phones. My younger sister would arbitrarily get on the phone and talk instead of talking to visiting relatives--rude.). If I HAD to carry a cell phone, I would demand that the employer pay for it. I would also negotiate for a Blackberry if I had to be THAT connected. I would also tell a future employer that I would work at home sometimes and not at work, and the internet allows for that these days (technology really is a good thing when it allows for good things to happen--like working at home). I would need at least two home-work days a month. Maybe three.
My demands may be a bit high-maintenance in today's work-til-you-drop world, but I would make concessions to these demands, like taking less money. Or opting out of a 401K. I would have to value my worth in comparison to cost of living where I would be employed, of course. But I would be conscientious and hard working, and I would demand the same of my co-workers. And the boss had better run a tight ship; I would not suffer business waffling or arbitrary-change-of-goals-due-to-giant-egos. In short, I am typing the whispy outline of some fantasy world that does not exist in corporate America. I realize, that like most relationships, the employee/employer relationship is not perfect; in fact, it is usually dysfunctional. Honestly, I will probably not be looking for a job. If one finds me that would be worth considering, I would have to make a list and do some soul-searching, especially if I had to move back to a city. It would have to be a really unusual, interesting, too-weird-to-be-true kind of job to move back to a city.
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