2024 has been a crazy year. So much has happened. And more to come. So yesterday I found out that my old boss died a week ago. He was 57 years old and I thought in good helth. He died of a heart attack 12/4 at home alone. He was single and lived alone and his work partner went and found him on Thursday. He was a wonderful guy and super great to work for. I stayed longer than I needed because he was so good to me. He let me bring in the kids and they played in the break area. He was so nice to me about leaving in an emergency. I cannot say enough about what a good person he was.
He left the company about 2 year before I did and went to start his own business. He encouraged me to leave and go on my own. He came to see my place and we had lunch usually in the summer or after the busy season and I always sent him holiday card so he could see the kids growing. He's know the kids since they were 3 and 5 (they are 12 and 14 now).
His work partner called me today to try and recruit me to take over his business and work full time. I said no. I said I would more than willingly take on some of their clients, and I would be willing to help in the short term. But I'm not in a position, even though I have a super small clientele and only started 3 years ago to absorb his workload. I was honest and told him I'm not looking for full time work, even with a very lucrative income. My boss this summer showed up at my house in a new $100k trucks so I knew he was doing well.
I told him that I'm pretty happy where I'm at but I will help him clean up and finish any clients that were left hanging. I feel like my boss deserves that much. After all if he went to other established businesses and he admitted he did think about that, he knew they wouldn't want to be taking on that much. Most established firms/small companies typically have a maximum and certainly weren't looking to fully takeover someone's entire client list.
He asked me if I was scared now that my boss passed about the future being so quick. I said absolutely. I said that it makes me even more certain I did not want to work like my boss so hard. He worked super hard and I think that definitely contributed to this early demise. He worked 7 days a week and his life was his job. The partner said it was making him rethink his work ethic as well if it was worth it.
I am going to guess I might be unexpectedly growing my business more than I predicted this next year. I'm on the fence as I write this as to if I want too.
December 15th, 2024 at 09:38 am 1734255495
December 16th, 2024 at 12:59 am 1734310794
December 16th, 2024 at 05:20 pm 1734369604
Your response sounds perfect. You need to do what is best for you, not only financially, but emotionally.
December 16th, 2024 at 05:48 pm 1734371306
December 18th, 2024 at 04:31 pm 1734539510
December 19th, 2024 at 03:51 pm 1734623466
As I get older I find myself paying for things I know I can do myself, but I would rather not spend the time doing it. I used to feel guilty about this, but now I know it is just a wise use of my money so I can spend more time doing the things I enjoy with the people I love.
December 20th, 2024 at 12:02 am 1734652970