To my boss, you're fired!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

To hell with the corporate overlords…you’re fired as my boss.

I am going into business for myself. Big fat color ad in the local yellow pages, new truck with all kinds of snazzy graphics, throwing business cards at anyone who will take one.

I have been silently planning this for months while I waited for the promotion to come up. I have been extra good, dotted I’s crossed t’s and been a model employee with a wall full of awards (ok 7) to back it up. My interview felt like a meeting of the minds among old friends, I could not imagine anything but getting the promotion after such a cheerful and uplifting work experience.

And you promoted your drinking buddy. :smack:

I filled out all of my licence apps, legal filings, etc, etc. All ready to go if I did not get the promo but looking forward to the possibility of moving up in the company.

I turned in my resignation before the offical announcement was even made to the crew.

So thats it buddy, you’re fired. 8 years of making you look good racking up corporate level awards for innovation and operational improvement on top of my 4 years of perfect attendance.

So its done, Aug 29th is my last day
New truck is bought
permits and licences are filed
business line aquired
business account and CC processing in progress
advertising awaiting proofs
bids being taken on truck lettering and graphics.
initial parts inventory ordered
learning how to use quickbooks
aquired a CPA for handling initial taxes till I have a better grasp of the details.

Move over bacon theres a new PC repair shop in town and we are here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.

and we are all out of bubblegum.

Spent 2 hours being grilled by dad and grandfather (self employed and retired self employed respectively). They seem to think I have a solid plan and if I fail its not because I don’t understand what I am getting into and how to run a business. In fact they have been wondering for about 5 years when I was going to throw off the yoke of my corporate overlords and follow my genetic predisposition for making my own way in the working world.

I feel like I just sprouted wings. The decisions are mine, the customers are mine the successes are mine, and the failures are mine. No policy BS, no action committiees, no political ramifications as to which regional manager might look bad, just make it happen, MY WAY!

Please Og no matter how successful I might become, grant me the strength of charachter not to recreate the petty suckup riddled world I am leaving.

2

Congratulations! Can I just tell you how completely jealous I am?

You’ve earned it. Eight years is a long time to put up with someone’s bullshit (someone you’re not sleeping with, that is).

You won’t regret it. The world is YOURS.

3

Huge congratulations for having the motivation, self esteem, and the courage of your convictions to break out on your own. You sound as though this has been very carefully thought out, and preperations made, so you go get 'em!!! All the best in your new venture!!!

4

Good for you! Fuck 'im in his ass!

5

Congratulations! I’m sure you’ll do well. I wish you all the luck in the world with your venture! The best to you!

6

Congratulations and welcome to the fold. I’m ten years out and it feels pretty darn good.

7

Congratulations! If I weren’t 3,000 miles away, I’d bust my computer just so I could have you fix it.

8

Out of curiosity (and ignorance on my part) how can an independent PC service person make a good living these days fixing PCs? I was kinda-sorta under the impression that given the relatively low cost of current PCs, that once they were out of warranty most people opted to junk them if they died and simply get a new one, just as most people do with color (non-flat screen) TVs, DVD players etc. once they realize the repair cost.

9

I often wish I had a good idea and the balls to start a business from it. Good for you drachillix.

10

You, sir, are my new hero. Get out there and give 'em hell. :slight_smile:

11

Congratulations on making possibly the biggest, bravest and best decision EVER!!

I went freelance/self-employed around 6 or 7 years ago and I WISH that I had done it sooner!!

There’s nothing quite as good as waking up in the morning and knowing that you are the ruler of a little (or BIG!!) empire of your very own!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

12

WOOT!

You quit your job and threw in Rowdy Roddy Piper’s best line ever!

Personally, with credentials like that, I don’t see how you can go wrong. :smiley:

Best of luck, drachillix.

13

I love stories with happy endings. :slight_smile:

Say, drachillix, how did your soon-to-be-ex-boss take his firing?

14

Spyware.

15

Wow! Good for you - and good luck! :slight_smile:

16

Rule 1 Never underestimate how PC ignorant many people are. I have already done paying jobs that consisted of moving a PC from one side of the room to the other because “all those wires get sooo confusing.”

Spyware is a bigun, kids are another. Upgrades in many cases are a good revenue source. The big one is other small businesses. They often need help with configuring large software packages or basic network logins/security for 5-10 employees. Plenty of brilliant people out there who are just not computer people. Not to mention (as my accountant put it) with some bnuisnesses, its cheaper to hire a good tech at $50-$60 an hour than have a bookkeeper who may be an ok computer person I bill out at $70/hr working on client work on another machine and take longer to finish the job.

I also have an angle that is part of my advertising that none of the other repair shops in town offer, and from some casual polling among my target market, it should be great. Can’t really say what it is for a few weeks till its too late for my competition to change ads but I will update this thread when that day arrives.

17

Good Luck and Congrats. I wish I was motivated enough to do what you’re doing.

Keep us all posted.

On your list of how to make money on PC repairs, I didn’t see confused Seniors.
That is my #1 repair category and my work is all for free.

18

Maybe that’s why he left it off the list. The list was how to make money, so working for free doesn’t really do it.

19

Good for you! I loved this line (above). I’ve always thought I would be a great boss, having worked at the bottom of the corporate world for so long.

20

Congratulations. A word of advice - look at Google Ad Words and other online advertising like CitySearch. Mrs. Blather’s store gets lots of customers that way.