The Work Thread

I had a bit of news from my Dad last week and I'm not sure what I want to do with the information. I'm really happy about it, but I'm not sure if this is the right move for me.

To give a bit of context my Dad has his own business, he's a consulatant in the financial software industry working on software that's the kind of stuff that handles the billion dollar transactions. He's been contracting for a while, but he was contacted recently by one of his old clients who had his own massive business and wanted to expand to the UK. he said when he gets a customer in the UK he wants my Dad to be the face of that company. Now my Dad is still working on all the details, but he wants me to come and work with him if it happens and I'd be changing role quite a lot and this is what worries me. I'd still be doing support, but it'd be for that one specific product. I'm certain I can do it and my Dad said my salary would be higher which is huge for me and he knows I'm not happy right now.

He said there might be some risks involved, but I'm really considering it my head. The more and more I think about it the more I get anxious that I won't make it work and that I feel working for family may be weird. I haven't spoken to anyone about it, but do you think I could make it work?

What an odd question! Only you know if you can make it work. Being in at the start of something is exciting and if it does well, being in at the start will bode well. If it doesn't succeed and you've paid attention to how the business is run, you'll be able to move on with a lot of experience you wouldn't gain in your current role. Whether you can do this is up to you, but you rarely get anywhere in life without taking a risk now and again.

Working for friends or even freind's family (as I did for about 2 years) or even directly with family is weird. I say this also as a consultant with many "friend clients" with multiple new businesses. You enjoy additional closeness and some sense of emotional security as you already know each other but the management can get really strawberry floated up because they don't know how to manage you, are constantly testing the relationship, trying to "play boss" and prescribe busywork and so on. I am not sure I would repeat the experience but in the end I did value it. You also feel obliged to a sense of loyalty and overwork that is not really earned by the management but already exists in the relationship.

On the other side there is the financial aspect, there is really zero financial security in a job for a brand new business because it is based on 100% risk, there is no value in the new company already and its ability to pay debts or recover from mounting debts may be poor depending on how the company performs, there is also this degree of pressure on yourself depending on the role, this includes private loans and parent company loans to pay salaries. There may be value in the parent company but it may wind down or decide to outsource or franchise the UK arm in the future which means no job, but your network gained from that might be enough to recover and land a new one, so it is really impossible to say what might happen.

I would say absolutely look at how the prospect of the new business pans out before having any expectations of making any commitments, whether it is your dad or not and whatever relationship you have with him.

Having said that, working for a new company that is learning on its feet and developing how things work is both exciting and very stressful and demanding, it is a good experience, but maybe not one you are ready for yet. As deaths head says if you are prepared to take a risk you would come away with a lot of experience of both good and bad things that happened in the company in its early stages and that may span weeks or years or have you set for life. The truth is nobody really knows. I would try not to "buy into" any excitement too much as it is all just speculation really and you can be towed along very easily that way if you are not privy to the specifics and where the money is actually coming from.

And that is one of many angles of experience forming why I take on all the risk myself, because if I strawberry float things up well gooseberry fool.

For what it's worth, the company I was working for that existed for 6 years as a limited partnership but expanded into a different area I facilitated and "went Ltd" (oh goody, what a big deal) did run out of money and had to let everyone go and close the office. But the management was not very good and the product was not sold well. It might be worth looking at the product and the performance of the parent company. Find out what the turnover is like, what really is the meat of what your hooking your lifeline up to. Don't pay attention to grandiose hand waving and promises of success and big ideas and making millions etc, try to be skeptical and objective as to what this opportunity actually presents.

I would say, you're young, go for it. Even if the worst happens and it fails it wouldn't be an instant thing so you could prepare, you'd have a lot more experience and coming back from being broke and jobless while an emotional kick in the nuts just means you'll be pretty much back to where your are now. You don't like your job as much as you did, it seems your progression possibilities have dried up since you were demoted, you've not had any luck with your job search and your Dad throws this opportunity to you.

It's risk, sure, but if you really broke down what would happen if it didn't go well wouldn't you say it's worth a shot? You go either get another job, or go on job seekers for a bit while you try to find one. You don't have a mortgage or kids, so it's only your standard of living that would take a momentary hit, it won't ruin your for the next 10 years.

Go for it.

but what if he accidentally the whole job?

Go for it. You will be wrapped up in what if forever if you dont.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

You get along with your Dad, right? If so, definitely do it.

strawberry floating hell StayDead obviously do it. I'm actually annoyed at you for even having doubts.

Well nothings confirmed yet, but I think even with the risk it's worth it. a) I'd be learning something new b) I get on with my dad and believe he'll treat me right and c) might make me happier in the long term.

Let's see what happens. I just don't want to work with my Dad if it somehow strawberry floats up our relationship, but I think that'd be hard to do.

Qikz wrote:Well nothings confirmed yet, but I think even with the risk it's worth it. a) I'd be learning something new b) I get on with my dad and believe he'll treat me right and c) might make me happier in the long term.

Let's see what happens. I just don't want to work with my Dad if it somehow strawberry floats up our relationship, but I think that'd be hard to do.

Crack on then. Give it a go!

The recent obsession at work with having wash-up meetings now seems to have descended into a need to have a meeting about anything and everything.

"So how are we going to measure this?"
"Well I can run a report to show how we're progressing, and send it to anybody who needs to-"
"We should have a meeting about this"
"Well, we could, but it's literally just a report I run every week and-"
"Yeah we need to have a meeting about this. I'll send an invite"

Why have a quick conversation between two people when you can drag it out into a half hour conference call involving 5 other people.

So much time wasted doing gooseberry fool like this.

I used to work in the same company as my dad and it was fine. Just stay out of eachothers gooseberry fool.

Lotus wrote:The recent obsession at work with having wash-up meetings now seems to have descended into a need to have a meeting about anything and everything.

"So how are we going to measure this?"
"Well I can run a report to show how we're progressing, and send it to anybody who needs to-"
"We should have a meeting about this"
"Well, we could, but it's literally just a report I run every week and-"
"Yeah we need to have a meeting about this. I'll send an invite"

Why have a quick conversation between two people when you can drag it out into a half hour conference call involving 5 other people.

So much time wasted doing gooseberry fool like this.

the nhs was awful for this, next step will be having pre-meetings and pre-conference calls

Lotus wrote:The recent obsession at work with having wash-up meetings now seems to have descended into a need to have a meeting about anything and everything.

It's because people hate their jobs and try to drag out everything in an effort to just get to home time. I get it.

False wrote:I used to work in the same company as my dad and it was fine. Just stay out of eachothers gooseberry fool.

It's his company, it'll just be me and him. He's in Germany today ironing out the things on his side.

That mean you going for it then?

Can't pull a sicky now.

That's not a growth wrote:That mean you going for it then?

I think I will if he says it's happening. I mean this is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity right? Never going to get the chance again so may as well try.

I'll see what my Dad says first either way.

Do it.
If it doesn't work out, do you really think it would be hard to change jobs?