Decisions

[wrightme43]

Ok most of you know my finacial situation has been major suxxors for this last year.


Here is where I am at now.
I work as a service advisor for Midas.
I make 10$ a hour, fixing to go to 12 plus a 3-5% commision.

The past 5 years I have owned my own business making good money untill this year, when it went to poo and I had to file bancruptcy.

The prior 4 years to that I worked as a lic. securities broker in natural gas, and oil drilling programs that were on the overall avg successful and still make those clients money today, in addition they received 85% of the intial investment as a 1$ per 1$ tax writeoff the first year. I was fairly good at that, but very very unhappy doing it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got a phone call last night offering me a position running a broker training program to increase that companies number of lic. brokers in this area. They have lost almost 50% of thier representives in the past two years and have went from gross sales of 32MM to 15MM. They need to increase the number of brokers to get back to where they were. I know I can run that, and make it work.
Upsides
50k a year plus bonuses.
4 day work week 12 hours a day.
my own office.
Downsides
Very weak economy and danger of loss.
I dont think I will be happy.
I dont like dealing with most brokers as they have a huge ego, and desire to control others for thier own benifit instead of trying to benifit each other and make both of you money. Its just the way I see it.

So all night last night I thought on this.
Upsides are huge to me, lots of money, lots of time off, being in charge.
Downsides weigh very heavy on my mind, before I had heartburn all the time, had trouble sleeping, and just was not happy.

Tonight at work I stayed late to close out the year end books. We closed at 4 pm and the only people there were the owner, his wife, and me. They have ran this shop from 1977 to now. It has a great reputation in town, and it is the largest Midas in the country.

I knew going into this job that I would most likely be the shop manager within 6 months. Everywhere I have ever been I have rapidly been put in charge of something.

For the last 4 years they had been owners but had allowed their son in law to be general manager of the shop. The last 4 years the business had lost money, lost gross sales, and lost reputation. Phil took back over this year. He made several commercials, letting people know he is back, and it has worked out very well.

They have made mention several times in passing what my long term intrests are in their business, what my goals are, and what I would be intersted in doing. Tonight they talked to me about needing to retire, remain owners of the store, but to have someone run the whole shop. To maintain it, grow it, and make it make money, take care of the employees, maintain its reputation, and keep it going.
They said they think I have the talent to do that, that they love the way I handle things, that their customers are commenting to them that they are happy about the way things are handled, and that they think I would be perfect to do this for them.

So this is what I wanted to talk about.
Upsides
I am very happy.
I enjoy the hell out of taking care of peoples problems, and have no problem at all explaining why someone else can do it cheaper, and why its worth more to have it done better.
I love to sell things, not on cost, but on the benifits.
I dont have heartburn all day.
I sleep well at night.
I feel like this business is secure and will weather any economic storm and even inprove as people keep thier cars longer.
I get constant feedback from my customers about how hard I work for them and how happy they are, except for a few fruitloops that noone can possibley please.
I pay 20$ a week for health insurance.

Downsides,
There is no way in hell they can match the salary.
No way they can match the time off.
I could possibley fail.

The responsibility would be higher here. Money is much tighter.

I am not driven by money, I like it, I need it, but it does not own me.

Rick knew that when he called me. He knows that he will have to pay me alot of money to go back to something I did not enjoy. He knows that I take everything I do with great care, and do well at anything I decide to.

What do you all think?

 

[ant_mb]

Man that is a tough one for sure. Personally I would take the money. If I were in your situation I would do what ever I can to make as much money as I could to get myself out of trouble. Once your back on your feet and out of trouble then find what makes you happy. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Stumbles06]

I am no expert in this area, but for me (and this is just my personal opinion), Quality of Life is the most important thing in the world. Sure, money makes the world go round, but what good is having money when you are miserable, can't sleep, health problems... etc.

The Midas job sounds like a good thing, great owners with a massive amount of trust and admiration for you, and I'm sure that, over time, the money situation could be negotiated.. Especially WHEN you make a success of the business. (The mind is a powerful thing... always speak in the POSITIVE)
Hmm, the time-off part... that impacts riding time??? Still, if you are enjoying the job, that can be handled... Just
As for Failing... I don't see it. You stated that

Everywhere I have ever been I have rapidly been put in charge of something.

, so it seems to me that you can make a go of anything thrown at you, and I would say this would be the same... Remember.. Positive thinking!!!

Just my opinions, and the decision still lays with you in the end, I hope it all works out for you mate.

Cheers.
Dave.

 

[Hellgate]

Hard call Steve. I'm in the same boat as you only I'm still looking, I've not taken the $10.00 an hour job yet. Good paying jobs are out there but there are now so many people applying it is hard to even get an interview.

I'm looking into opening my own business and I'm pretty far down that path and it scares the crap out of me. I really don't want to take on a $300K to $350K loan.

The only other solid offer I've got it a tour of Afghanistan with the Guard. No thanks, one combat tour is enough for one life time.

At the same time I am working with a career coach/marketing guy to help with my job seach. I really don't want to work at a Fortune 500 again however given the economic climate if I can get a job paying what I was making in October I'm going to jump on it instead of taking out the $350k loan.

Ultimately it is your call but if I had a similar offer I'd take it. Happiness is very important but for the next 9 to 12 months a good salary is important too.

 

[urbanj]

Personally unless the money was a lot I wouldn't do what I hate. If it is good then you can do it for a couple years, get ahead and then leave.

When I worked retail (mechanic) I enjoyed the work but hated the crap that went along with it. The last place I worked was like Midas (a franchised company in Canada) but I also worked at a dealership and some other shops. Anyways this place paid me crap and the owner complained about money but went out on Valentines day and bought a new Lexus for his wife. That was the final straw. When I am making you your money and you don't acknowledge the fact you need me.........I'm done. I was going to change careers until I landed a government job that pays very well and I love it. I feel I paid my dues and earned this.

About Midas, I know your situation is a little different in that you need the job but I can tell you view yourself as a skilled man and others speak the same. Every time I have an interview, I interview them more than they interview me.

If they want you that bad you should ask them what can they provide for you and why you should stay for them. what is the room for advancement,
job security and also what are their expectations of you? My view is if you know you're good, you're good. If they want to take a chance on someone else (and they have and failed) let them. Don't be rude about it but the number one thing is to not devalue yourself.

goodluck

 

[notjohndavid]

I don't know what kind of position you are in financially... but man... enjoying what you do goes a LOOOOOOOONG way.

If you are able to scrape things together and make it work at what you are making now.... stay where you are.

I remember when I was going to take a job and help someone out by filling a vacancy and do it temporarily until they found someone more long term. Well, I ended up liking the work, and really liking the people I worked with so before I knew it I was there for 3 years. About a month before I left I told my boss "you know... I'm thinking about looking for another job" and I was worried what his reaction was going to be at the time. But it was more along the lines of "I thought you'd have said that 3 years ago". Well, what I'm getting at is that I was happy with the work and the people with whom I worked. The money was awful but that wasn't enough to make me leave since I was making ends meet. I've taken jobs where I've made great money but after a few months the money wasn't enough to keep me there. The grass may seem greener on the other side because of the money, but it's not.

A friend of mine once told me about a business college that wanted to do a study about worker's wages. They put an ad in the paper asking for people to do manual labor for $5/hr (minimum wage was a bit lower when the study was done lol). So for a week everyone came in digging ditches. The next week they came in and said "Okay, now we're paying you $10/hr but we need you to fill the ditches back in". Next week, "okay, turns out you need to dig the ditches again but we'll pay you $20/hr". This went on and on... less and less people came in each week, and finally no one showed up at all because they didn't see doing a job that was pointless, regardless of the wage.

If you need more than they can offer to manage then it may be different, but if you've made it for the last year I doubt that's the case. It really sounded to me that you'd already made up your mind before posting this but just needed some people to back you up on what you had decided. Maybe i'm wrong on that though.

edit: if you're worried about not doing a good job at the place you're at now... that's a good sign that you will do a good job and a good indication as to why the owners are looking at you to take over for them

 

[poorwboy]

Well Steve I would do what makes you happy. I have a job now that I cannot stand. I make awesome money and pay all the bills. I started this job 3 years ago and have developed a couple minor health problems. When I take a vacation my problems go away, when I go to work they all come back.

I travel so much with this job. And the owner is a anti christ pos motherfu**en cheap thiefing moron. I dont even get a merry christmas or a happy thanksgiving from him. I have dreams about meeting him in the alley one night. I HATE MY FUC**EN JOB SO BAD.

I have been looking at jobs that pay 20,000 less a year and closer to home just to be happy. Money makes you happy to an extent. I'll take less to be happy and healthy anyday. :thumbup:

 

[pooty]

'YOU DONT THINK YOU WILL BE HAPPY' that says alot. negotiate!! whether it be time off or more money. i say be where you are happy. yes, you could take the 'other' job and make alot --but- for how long? how long will it last and how long will your health remain?? tough call buddy, i wish you the best. good luck

 

[lonesoldier84]

honestly man if it were me i would go for the money. you could always find another retail/service job if it doesnt work out and you will work ur way thru the ranks in the retail/service industry given your experience/ability.

the reason i say go for the money is because if it is a 4 day work-week (plus holidays) then in the 3 days you have off you can do so much more to enjoy yourself. the way it would apply to me would be this simple formula:

(broker option) amount of annual enjoyment = X
-take as given that it occurs only during the 3 days plus holidays per year
(broker option) amount of stress during the actual work week = Y

(retail/service option) amount of annual enjoyment = A
-take as given that it will occur mainly during your days off, but you will have many good days at work as well in this instance
(retail/service option) amount of stress during the actual work week = B

If I were you, I would understand that no matter what i do:

Y > B
-because of the reasons you mentioned above
X > A
-because no matter how positive your outlook, money means you have more motorcycles, more vacations, more enjoyment around town, and more scantily clad women in your life

But, most critical here, in making the final decision I would utilize the following formula:

J = (X - Y) / (A - B)

if J > 1
take the broker job!
if J < 1
don't take the broker job!
if J = 1
flip a coin!

While this may seem like a simplified version of the decision making process it isnt. It is just a more organized way of figuring out what is the difference between the jobs. I tried to highlight the fact that possibly the annual enjoyment you receive in 3 days off plus holidays as a broker might outweigh an entire year's worth of relatively stress-free times.

The enjoyment as a broker attains a greater top speed. The enjoyment of being in the retail/service industry has a higher cruising speed. The question for you is, which has the higher average speed. The way to figure that out is answering the question:

What is your "J-Value"?

 

[ozzieboy]

Holy cow dude. Haven't got much help for you, I'm afraid. Good money can get you stuff. Stuff is good. If you're unhappy, stuff can offset that a bit.

Happy job. Don't need stuff as much, and live longer most probably.

How about your time off? One job is 48 hours a week. didn't catch the Midas hours but if they are significantly longer then that will impact on your time spent with your youngun.

Whatever you decide I wish you the very best of luck. I'd probably lean in the direction of the Happy Place myself, but I've got enough stress in my life without getting a high pressure, unrewarding job.

I'm sure the decision you make will be right for your situation at that time.
Hope you have a great new year.:thumbup:

Cheers
Mike

 

[fz6joker]

My personal experience screams that you should go for happiness and settle for nothing less. A couple of months ago I quit my job, which was hell every single day, in order to further my college education and I've never looked back, even though it has been a GREAT financial burden (paying for college and my fz at the age of 20 with no job????? harsh)

At some point you have to realize just how short life can be. Then put into perspective what it is in your life that matters the most to you. Once you figure that out then you're well on your way.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Do whatever you have to do to survive. Nothing has to be permanent forever. You can always quit if you don't like it. Take the money,the better paying gig that is. Especially if you receive benefits, like medical, dental, etc.

 

[Ghost Weim]

I am no expert in this area, but for me (and this is just my personal opinion), Quality of Life is the most important thing in the world. Sure, money makes the world go round, but what good is having money when you are miserable, can't sleep, health problems... etc.

The Midas job sounds like a good thing, great owners with a massive amount of trust and admiration for you, and I'm sure that, over time, the money situation could be negotiated.. Especially WHEN you make a success of the business. (The mind is a powerful thing... always speak in the POSITIVE)
Hmm, the time-off part... that impacts riding time??? Still, if you are enjoying the job, that can be handled... Just
As for Failing... I don't see it. You stated that , so it seems to me that you can make a go of anything thrown at you, and I would say this would be the same... Remember.. Positive thinking!!!

Just my opinions, and the decision still lays with you in the end, I hope it all works out for you mate.

Cheers.
Dave.

I'm with stumbles - happiness is so important and stress just plain sucks, no matter how much you are paid for it.

But - you really have to do what floats your boat at this time in your life. Being in the line of work I am, I have told many people that you really have to be happy with your career - if not, then you will dread coming to work which will cause undue stress on you (and also your co-workers at some time). I have encouraged many to do what makes them happy - even if it meant they left our facility.

I guess I would toss it back at you - what feels the most "right" to you?

BTW - you don't have any materials management experience lurking in your background, do you? I have an opening...

 

[tom5796]

Definitely a tough one. Of course, this is a good thing to have this tough decision.

I'm going to take a longer term view here. As soon as I read your post a couple of things came to mind.

1. I am very leery of jobs that can be done from anywhere these days. If a job can be done with the phone/internet/webcam etc, it will find its way to the highest cost/quality return eventually.

2. Cars in the US cannot be fixed by a mechanic in India or China or the Philippines. Think about this, too: You have run your own business. If there is a real opportunity to run the Midas shop then there may be an opportunity to own it one day. You sound like you're good at it. Perhaps you'd really learn the business and own another eventually. Maybe a third and a fourth too. We have folks in the Northeast that have made fortunes by working in, and eventually owning several of their own Dunkin' Donuts shops...

You mentioned $10/hr going to $12. Does that include a bump to manager? If, at the end of the day you are talking about a difference of $15K per year then I'd stick to what you like. It could be way more profitable in the long run.

 

[wrightme43]

Oh no the bump to 12 and commision was negotiated before I started. I just had to prove that I could do it. Thats always been fine with me.

I dont even have 90 days in here yet. I know the car repair business will do well, with some simple changes this place could do even better.

The other jobs main downside is I know I wont be happy. I will be working four days to live three days.

In this job I can live 7 days a week. Do I want to have plenty of money again? Hell yeah!!! Is it worth it is my question I am struggling to answer. I am leaning towards staying with the job I have and working up. They had no one there other than Phil (owner) who could do the job before they hired me. They did not expect me to anything other than just answer the phone, tell people what is wrong with thier car, get approval, and order parts.

I know how to sell, and that makes it very easy to do alot more.

Basicly since I have been there we have more than doubled the number of fully synthetic mobil one oil changes, huge amounts of alignments that were just being left on the table, rear end and transmission services, lots of things were being over looked.
I talk to people about why they should follow the manufacturers reccomended service intervals, and how that saves them the heart ache, time, and monetary loss of part failure at 930 at night in the rain.

Silly stuff like making the customers bathroom, neat and pretty, with pictures, and it needs to be kept very clean. Most customers that wait with their vehicles are single women. More than half of our customers are women. We need to cater to thier needs, and comfort so that they become long term customers.

People will pay 20$ extra for high quality service in a comfortable and clean enviroment. Those are the customers we want. I am able to stop people that are calling on the phone shopping prices, and bring them in the door by removing price as a selling point.

Its simple.

Like this.
Some one calls looking for prices on brakes. I know ours are higher than most other places other than the dealers.
Ask them what thier car is doing!!!!!! and just freaking listen to them. People want to tell thier story.
Ask them what kind of car they have, and listen some more.
Ask them how they like their car.
Ask them if they are going to keep their car.

Now they have spent more time on the phone with me than anyone else they have called all day.

I qoute them a price that is at least 25-50$ higher than the lowest they have but offer them a no charge inspection.

Why in the hell would they come see me???
I listened to them.
We lose the price shoppers anyway almost everytime, or if we were to try and win would not make any money anyway so whats the point in that?
We get the people that are going to keep thier car and are looking for someone that will hear them. I smile on the phone and have a very positive attitude. People like that. I like that when I call somewhere and will go out of my way to deal with fun people.

Another thing that I have been able to do in just a short time is make friends with a couple of Bosnian guys that came in. Now they are bringing in thier other Bosnian friends that dont speak english and being translators for them so they can get thier cars fixed. Bowling Green is a city that immigration sent a large number of Bosnian immigrants, and now they are bring over more family members. Some people wont work with them because its hard to understand them, the other side of that coin is if you will they bring friends, they pay in cash, and really just want thier car fixed by someone that will make the effort to understand them.






Its really fun for me, I have fun doing most anything.

I may change my mind and go after the money, but as of now I believe I will better off working in the automotive repair business.

 

[Oscar54]

I decided to give my thought without reading others first.

I say do what makes you happy! Money is nice, but the want of money causes problems.

If you are content, and like what you do, that is worth lots of money.

What good is money if you are going to be misserable and it kills you?

It sounds that you want to stay at Midas, so stay. From your post I think you can parlay your salary up in the near term, and start a friendly contract negotiation over time for your's and their futures.

Good luck!

Lewis

 

[Oscar54]

Ask them what thier car is doing!!!!!! and just freaking listen to them.

That line just %$#&@*! craked me up!:rof:

Did you read Dale Carnegie? That's like his first rule in sales:"Listen"

 

[Nelly]

I am no expert in this area, but for me (and this is just my personal opinion), Quality of Life is the most important thing in the world. Sure, money makes the world go round, but what good is having money when you are miserable, can't sleep, health problems... etc.

The Midas job sounds like a good thing, great owners with a massive amount of trust and admiration for you, and I'm sure that, over time, the money situation could be negotiated.. Especially WHEN you make a success of the business. (The mind is a powerful thing... always speak in the POSITIVE)
Hmm, the time-off part... that impacts riding time??? Still, if you are enjoying the job, that can be handled... Just
As for Failing... I don't see it. You stated that , so it seems to me that you can make a go of anything thrown at you, and I would say this would be the same... Remember.. Positive thinking!!!

Just my opinions, and the decision still lays with you in the end, I hope it all works out for you mate.

Cheers.
Dave.

I am with stumbles,
I measure my wealth in the overall terms of mine and my families health.

I can understand the benefits of going for the cash but whats going to make you the happiest and healthiest?

For me its a no brainer mate.
What do you think the Midas owner will be able to bump your hourly rate to?

If you negotiated a £16.50 an hour rate (is that unreasonable for a manager?) X it by the hours a week you are willing to work [48 hours] $792.00 X it by the year 52 weeks = $41184 per year. Thats nearly your 50,000 for less stress and more happiness.
Now that is a very simplified way of looking at it. Lone solider is just being modest lol.

Good luck with which ever way you decide to go.

Nelly

 

[pooty]

you got the midas touch!! it screams to me you want to stay at midas. and it sounds like you will do great. customer service is going out the window nowadays. who knows maybe they will put the shop in their will to you.

great things happen to great people!!

 

[Ghost Weim]

Its really fun for me, I have fun doing most anything.

I may change my mind and go after the money, but as of now I believe I will better off working in the automotive repair business.

I think you did the right thing. :thumbup: Good luck - and keep us posted on how things progress.