349. My departing found a job paying 3x, pumped for him!

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What happens when a key team member lands a dream job, leaving you to face the harsh realities of a struggling business? Join us on an emotional journey as we reflect on the impact of our employee's exciting new role at a local car dealership and what it reveals about the state of our own endeavors. As business owners, we're confronted with tough decisions regarding transparency and the balance between sharing too much and too little with our team. This episode is a raw exploration of the challenges of leadership, where the stakes are high, and the emotions are real.

Navigating the choppy waters of business closure, we debate the merits of giving notice versus making a sudden exit, drawing from advice and personal experience. We wrestle with the notion of being open with our staff about financial struggles and the unintended consequences it may bring. This candid conversation sheds light on the responsibility of owning a business and the relentless pursuit of maintaining one's integrity and values amidst adversity. Listen in as we ponder how to keep a heart in business, even as we face decisions that weigh heavily on our conscience.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Happy Friday.
I'm struggling to find a roleand he found a role at a local
car dealership through referrals, through some networking.
And someone said like hey, likethe GM, he's a good dude.
Um, he's great at sales, he'sreally good at this.
And so he walked in and afterlike 10 minutes, like yeah, like
you're hired, like just fillout this paperwork and we'll get
you going.
They told him the OTE, the ontarget earnings in the sales

(00:42):
world.
That's like if you hit yourgoal, that's what you'll make in
a year.
Dude, it's almost triple whatI'm paying him.
Like he can make over triplewhat I can pay him as a man, as
a business owner.
And, dude, I'm stoked for him,I'm excited, I'm thrilled.
He's not just interviewing,walking around town trying to
find a way to replace his pay,but like, I'm stoked for him,

(01:05):
I'm excited, I'm celebrating it.
And so he's with the business,he's with me through the end of
next week, but then he startshis new gig shortly thereafter
and I'm intentionally nottelling him the future of the
gym.
He knows that like, it's not ina great spot and, unfortunately,
like it sounds like everyoneknows, like other people, random

(01:26):
people, are asking me about thehealth of the business.
Are we gonna stay open?
Are we gonna do this?
We do that.
I'm learning.
I should never have done thattransparency with my staff.
All it does is it opens up fearand anxiety, and now they get
to be afraid multiple months,multiple days, not just that, be

(01:49):
sad the day that something badhappens.
So, for better or worse, likethat's what I'm taking away and
now, now, in the future, yes, Iwant to be transparent, I want
to have open book policy, butfor better or worse, I don't
know like how that benefits thecompany.
Like and I know this clip isgoing to come back to haunt me.
But let's be real, when you'reopen and transparent about a

(02:13):
business that's struggling, doesthat benefit the employees?
Does that make their?
Does that make them work better?
Does that deliver more value toclients?
Does that help them go find newbusiness?
Does that help get morecustomers?
Does that help them go find newbusiness?
Does that help get morecustomers?
Does that help service existingcustomers better when everyone
knows that the business is notdoing well?
Well, I doubt it.
If your business is profitableand you're telling everyone like

(02:35):
that you're profitable, you'redoing well, people now ask for
discounts.
They now ask for, for gimme'sor for things that are not
beneficial to the company, andso in this moment in time, right
now, today, I don't think itmakes sense to have a
transparent profit and losspolicy.
I may change.
I want to give myself creditfor that.

(02:55):
So if you run the clip and youdon't include the clip about
that I want to have that openfor readdressing the future then
you're violating the agreementhere.
But I'm just something I'mlearning.
So, based off the council thatI've talked to and had, um, I've

(03:17):
heard different things.
I've heard folks say, like, hey, give the members 30 days
notice, then you can end theirbilling cycles cleanly.
I've heard all the folks sayjust wake up one day and the
door is locked and that's theend of the gym.
I've heard a few random thingsof like hey, like let's give
this last challenge a hoorah,three month heads up, but at the

(03:39):
end of the day, like, thisbusiness only financially
impacts me.
People pay for a product orservice, but this only
financially impacts me.
People pay for a product or aservice, but this only
financially impacts me.
And so, ultimately, I need toget I need to get counsel for
the things that affect me,because this is my decision.
My business and the customersare impacted, but they can

(04:00):
replace me at the drop of a hattoo, and so I'm trying to figure
out how to do business with aheart, because I have a heart
and my heart keeps gettingbroken over and over.
And so, just talking out loud um, the GM who's wrapping up, he's
referred me out to someone Ican do some side hustle work.
Um, get, do a little bit ofthings to make a little extra

(04:22):
money so that we can buy kidsChristmas presents this next
year.
I want to be able to replace mywife's car and put gas in the
tank, so got to figure out howto do that.
And so, yeah, man, I don't knowAll I have to say.
This is the end of week nineand had a good workout, got some

(04:44):
work done for my day job, andwe're going to go have a good
day tomorrow and a good daytoday and go finish up work at
home.
I'm I'm trying to think outloud on how to do this.
Well, I'm going to do right bypeople and for what it's worth'm
going to help the people likeyou not make the same mistakes

(05:07):
that I made and, learning fromthe past, learning in the
present as we go.
So that's where we're at,that's where we're going.
Let's rock and roll.