To All My Valued Employees

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company. More specifically, your job. As you know, the changing economy presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interest.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that, for every business owner, there is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

I started this company 28 years ago. I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. I converted my entire apartment into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building my company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I saved went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week, made a modest $50K a year, and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars, lived in expensive homes, and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like fashion from the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

You physically arrive at the office at 9 AM, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5 PM, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. I attach this business to my hip every day like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of my labor -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people who overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed more than a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

The government taxes me to death and thinks I don't pay enough. I have State taxes, Federal taxes, Property taxes, Sales and use taxes, Payroll taxes, Workers compensation taxes, and Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulates all the accounting that goes with it, which now occupies much of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was. Zero... Nada… Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business or the single mother, sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the real economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants only 50% of their hard work rewarded? Well, I agree, which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Guess what would happen if the government mandated I didn't need to pay taxes. Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. You can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb, thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? No, you defibrillate his heart. Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. My reaction will be swift and simple when the governments impose new taxes on me, or my company. I'll fire you and I'll fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem anymore. I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. That destroys my motivation to work and to provide jobs and it will cost me my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steam-rolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Thank you, If we fail, I want to know that I did the best I could to not let that happen.

Thank you for asking,I to have run my own business, and have been self employed most of my life. When I started at this business seven years ago, I had lost everything, my business,and most of my money.The lifestyle, and freedom gone. I was 47 years old. When first hired I was ask to clean the restrooms, instead of getting mad or depressed I cleaned them beyond anything they had ever seen. When ask to work on motor homes out in the rain, I did so without complaining. I’m now the top employee, and the only one who works on the owners exotic cars.I don’t live in fear because I have faith, and if someone treats me bad I make them my friend.

63 posted on 03/08/2009 11:03:34 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (2008: The year the Media died. --Sean Hannity, regarding Barack HUSSEIN ObaMao's treatment ...)

If employees act as though they are a leech, who deserves his parasitic job, then they will be treated as one.

Your point is well made. The main theme of a wonderful little book you can read in 1/2 hour called The One-Minute Manager: Employees who feel good about themselves produce good results.

Still I agree with most of what "The Boss" had to say.

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