Ask HN: Quitting my corporate job to help my dads failing small business • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Quitting my corporate job to help my dads failing small business

#11

Post by ataleb52 » Tue, Feb 19, 2013, 10:17 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #10

This isn't necessarily something you can fix. And recognize that it may not be something that wants fixing. Your father's reasons for leaving the tile business may be analogous to your reasons for leaving a corporate job - it frees him up to do something else. You'll probably have lots of jobs in your life. But you only get one father and a limited amount of time to spend one way or the other. What is the right choic…

Thank you for the advice, the thought of this being one of the last chances to really spend time with my father has definitely been a big factor in my decision.

Re: Ask HN: Quitting my corporate job to help my dads failing small business

#12

Post by ataleb52 » Tue, Feb 19, 2013, 10:19 PM UTC

orangethirty wrote: post #7

Realize that his business may not be failing due to the housing crisis, but to other factors that you may not know. Find out more before any decision is made. Sometimes, business owners dig themselves into a hole they can't get out.

Very true, I had thought about this before but somehow let it slip my mind over the last few months.

Thanks for the insight!

Re: Ask HN: Quitting my corporate job to help my dads failing small business

#13

Post by ataleb52 » Tue, Feb 19, 2013, 10:21 PM UTC

fatalerrorx3 wrote: post #5

RandyH wrote: post #2

#1 No. But you wouldn't have made a mistake by staying either. Who you are is what choices you make, and what commitments you keep. Whatever choice you made would have been the right choice for the person you would have become. #2. Just remember cash paramount. You can go years with little profit, or even no profit. You cannot last one day without cash. Your first consideration is bringing new streams of cash in.

About point #2: Using your web design/development experience, start a blog relating to reviewing tile quality, articles about color suggestions based on room color or size, etc. Find out what you can from your dad about best practices in installation and maintenance on tile and other options for floorting, etc. and offer advice to do-it-yourselfers. Start an email newsletter, slowly, slowly build up an audience, and…

Really like the idea!Funny thing is I always advised people to do this when I worked at a web hosting company but somehow never actually got my own father to implement this in his business...time to practice what I once preached.

Thank you!