Two Door
Well-known member
Yes, that will rearrange the playing field and power dynamics substantially. Perhaps even catastrophically, but that potential exists already.
Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Evan, that wouldn't help me in anyway, in fact that might be worse for me.
Two Door, I feel like his end goal is destruction. We had a conversation on Thursday about the state of his company and the finances, he couldn't understand how the company doesn't have a savings account with money in it. I thought I explained things to him well enough, but I think he is still under the impression that I am doing something wrong. His company has been run at a deficit every year to the tune of 100 to 125k, then in May he would receive a rent check from Sprint, it would prepay the year and it was for multiple tower sites, that money would pay off his line of credit and then the entire process would start over. Basically he would race to spend all the company's money and then some, so it was kind of like living paycheck to paycheck and using a credit card on top of that. I had been warning him for the last three years that once the T-Mobile and Sprint merger was complete he was going to lose about $160k a year in rent. This is money that is gone forever, there isn't another customer that will take their place, there isn't anyone else that would pay even close to what they were paying. Well May showed up and the contracts were all up for renewal, instead of renewing, they just started paying month to month, October of 2021 we lost the first site and this October we are set to lose the last two. I have controlled things fairly well, over the last 18 months we have only racked up $85k in line of credit debt, versus the normal $175k and this debt is only that high because Dad had to buy a $65k front end loader for no reason at all. Without that we would probably be at zero debt, I have had to carry interest costs and then there was trucking the loader and repairs to the loader, along with his new $10k grapple with $3,800 adapter plates. I get no respect for pulling that off, but I will get blamed when we can't pay our property taxes or the line of credit off, that will definitely be my fault.
I just need to untangle the mess and get out, I just have to come to grips with losing the Hill and be done with things. I suspect I could make the break next year and have it be clean enough that I don't feel like I tried to screw him over. I was speaking to the accountant today and she figured we would be able to hire someone to do the data entry for about $20 an hour, but she was concerned that without someone that really knows the business, it could be a real problem to keep things in check. She also thought that anyone at that rate would be looking for 40 hours a week, if you wanted someone that is part time just when you need them, she said it would be closer to $30 an hour. Of course if you look at the numbers, that is about what I make an hour half the time, sometimes I make quite a bit more, sometimes I make quite a bit less, in the end it all washes and that was the original game plan. I would be available for Dad's company as a priority, in exchange I would be paid a flat rate each week. I liked the consistency of the cash flow and his company would always know what the costs were and budget for it. The first year I had a few months that I couldn't even take my pay without disrupting the company payroll, I knew that payroll was important and I made it work.
The company truck is the perfect example, I use my trucks for things, like going to the lake to clean up the trash, going to the tower sites to meet a customer, taking trash to the dump, the list goes on. When I needed a pickup truck I would take the company truck and put gas in it with my money. A couple times I used the company truck for road trips, but I asked if it was OK first, clearly now all that stuff wasn't OK and now I am the one getting burned. I am actually thinking about going through all the road trip photos and making a list, get the miles, then just cut him a check for standard federal mileage reimbursement rates.
I took a trip to Connecticut to get the Blurb (500 round trip), I took one to look at the loader (520 round trip), I used it to get the military trailer (520 round trip), I took it to springfield mass three times for the racking (1200 miles total), I took it to connecticut (450 round trip) at least once to get the shelving, I would have to look at the pictures and see what else I can find, there were at least three trips to manchester (700 total). I am not sure I can actually quantify any usage beyond that, but lets say over the last three years I used it for a total of 1500 miles for "personal" things. Total estimated mileage used would be 5390, now since I paid for fuel it would need to be removed from the equation, going to go with an average of $3.25 per gallon and the truck gets an average of 10MPG (539 gallons) is about $1750, current mileage reimbursement rate is 62 cents per mile would be $3341.80, let's round up to $3350, this means I would give him a check for $1,600. After that I can start charging him for my mileage and all my time. I think Iw ill show him this proposal and see what his thoughts are. He can't have things both ways, he either trusts me to wash things out and be fair or he doesn't and we go the new route. My hourly rates are the biggest issue, I tend to undervalue myself.
Two Door, I feel like his end goal is destruction. We had a conversation on Thursday about the state of his company and the finances, he couldn't understand how the company doesn't have a savings account with money in it. I thought I explained things to him well enough, but I think he is still under the impression that I am doing something wrong. His company has been run at a deficit every year to the tune of 100 to 125k, then in May he would receive a rent check from Sprint, it would prepay the year and it was for multiple tower sites, that money would pay off his line of credit and then the entire process would start over. Basically he would race to spend all the company's money and then some, so it was kind of like living paycheck to paycheck and using a credit card on top of that. I had been warning him for the last three years that once the T-Mobile and Sprint merger was complete he was going to lose about $160k a year in rent. This is money that is gone forever, there isn't another customer that will take their place, there isn't anyone else that would pay even close to what they were paying. Well May showed up and the contracts were all up for renewal, instead of renewing, they just started paying month to month, October of 2021 we lost the first site and this October we are set to lose the last two. I have controlled things fairly well, over the last 18 months we have only racked up $85k in line of credit debt, versus the normal $175k and this debt is only that high because Dad had to buy a $65k front end loader for no reason at all. Without that we would probably be at zero debt, I have had to carry interest costs and then there was trucking the loader and repairs to the loader, along with his new $10k grapple with $3,800 adapter plates. I get no respect for pulling that off, but I will get blamed when we can't pay our property taxes or the line of credit off, that will definitely be my fault.
I just need to untangle the mess and get out, I just have to come to grips with losing the Hill and be done with things. I suspect I could make the break next year and have it be clean enough that I don't feel like I tried to screw him over. I was speaking to the accountant today and she figured we would be able to hire someone to do the data entry for about $20 an hour, but she was concerned that without someone that really knows the business, it could be a real problem to keep things in check. She also thought that anyone at that rate would be looking for 40 hours a week, if you wanted someone that is part time just when you need them, she said it would be closer to $30 an hour. Of course if you look at the numbers, that is about what I make an hour half the time, sometimes I make quite a bit more, sometimes I make quite a bit less, in the end it all washes and that was the original game plan. I would be available for Dad's company as a priority, in exchange I would be paid a flat rate each week. I liked the consistency of the cash flow and his company would always know what the costs were and budget for it. The first year I had a few months that I couldn't even take my pay without disrupting the company payroll, I knew that payroll was important and I made it work.
The company truck is the perfect example, I use my trucks for things, like going to the lake to clean up the trash, going to the tower sites to meet a customer, taking trash to the dump, the list goes on. When I needed a pickup truck I would take the company truck and put gas in it with my money. A couple times I used the company truck for road trips, but I asked if it was OK first, clearly now all that stuff wasn't OK and now I am the one getting burned. I am actually thinking about going through all the road trip photos and making a list, get the miles, then just cut him a check for standard federal mileage reimbursement rates.
I took a trip to Connecticut to get the Blurb (500 round trip), I took one to look at the loader (520 round trip), I used it to get the military trailer (520 round trip), I took it to springfield mass three times for the racking (1200 miles total), I took it to connecticut (450 round trip) at least once to get the shelving, I would have to look at the pictures and see what else I can find, there were at least three trips to manchester (700 total). I am not sure I can actually quantify any usage beyond that, but lets say over the last three years I used it for a total of 1500 miles for "personal" things. Total estimated mileage used would be 5390, now since I paid for fuel it would need to be removed from the equation, going to go with an average of $3.25 per gallon and the truck gets an average of 10MPG (539 gallons) is about $1750, current mileage reimbursement rate is 62 cents per mile would be $3341.80, let's round up to $3350, this means I would give him a check for $1,600. After that I can start charging him for my mileage and all my time. I think Iw ill show him this proposal and see what his thoughts are. He can't have things both ways, he either trusts me to wash things out and be fair or he doesn't and we go the new route. My hourly rates are the biggest issue, I tend to undervalue myself.
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mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Sooooo many headaches.
Way too many, I feel that he doesn’t trust me anymore, so that is bad for him because he thinks I can’t be trusted and it is bad for me because I am working way to hard for someone that doesn’t trust me. Anyone that knows me, knows I am fair, so this really ***** all around. In the end, the one who will get hurt the most is my Dad, he just can’t understand what goes on, I make most things seem like they flow, he only sees the tip of the iceberg, he acts like he wants to know everything I am doing yet he never has enough time to listen. He wants to have a weekly meeting to go over finances and what is going on with the company, I don’t want to do that because he will see that money is in the bank and then he will forget all about what it is allocated for and next thing I know there will be an influx of bills or some other big ticket item will show up. So I guess maybe neither one of us trusts the other one in some way. He pays me to do everything with the businesses, not to be his lackey, that should be extra, but I have just done what he asks (most of the time), it is just easier that way.
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Seagoon
Well-known member
Thankyou
clmeredith
Active member
bulletpruf
Well-known member
That's a lot of personal use and expense on a company vehicle. I get it that you do a lot for the company that you're not paid for, but I don't think that justifies using the truck personally to try to "wash things out."
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bulletpruf
Well-known member
I don't see how you can stay if he doesn't trust you.
It is a tough call, all the trips in my personal vehicles to the camps, tower sites, meetings, bank runs, and general errands have far exceeded that over the last few years. I was hired to run his office and handle leases, but in reality I am a gopher, project manager, property manager, whipping boy.......
Also I forgot about this, almost half those trips with his truck were because Perk had been damaged by Dad's ramp truck and I had nothing else to use. It is way to easy to forget things when you don't think there needs to be a score card. Apparently I am going to have to keep score now, I hate doing that.
Also I forgot about this, almost half those trips with his truck were because Perk had been damaged by Dad's ramp truck and I had nothing else to use. It is way to easy to forget things when you don't think there needs to be a score card. Apparently I am going to have to keep score now, I hate doing that.
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kaymccampbell
Well-known member
With family, you have to keep perfect score. Remember, strangers will screw you once, family will do it forever. And they'll do it based on your good deeds.
bulletpruf
Well-known member
You need to look at it from you Dad's point of view. He sees personal use of a company vehicle to the tune of thousands of miles. That results in direct costs to the company (oil changes, maintenance, tires, depreciation, etc). That takes $ out of his pocket, and if he called it theft, I'm not sure I would disagree. Is it a lot of $ in the grand scheme of things? Nope. But I suspect that's why he doesn't trust you.
You doing work for the company that's not compensated is another problem altogether. Trying to "wash" this may sound attractive to some, but that's akin to taking money out of a cash register because your boss asked you to run an errand when you weren't on the clock. Should your boss have done that? Nope. But that doesn't mean taking money out of the register isn't theft.
He approved usage every time, that is the issue I have, did it come in the form of a written consent letter, nope, but I never used the truck without his approval. The problem we have is he doesn't remember anything anymore, it has gotten a lot worse in the last 6 months, more people are noticing it though, so I am not alone. As far as maintenance, that contributed to one oil change, the wear and tear is hard to apply that is why I used the federal rates for exactly that. Regardless, I spoke with him today and he has calmed down about it for now, the good thing is that there won't be a next time, I am not using the truck unless I get written approval from now on and if it is local, I will try and write it in the "log book".
86turbodsl
Well-known member
Dammit man, now i want one...It needs 4x4 just because.
The loader is in better shape than I expected, I will have more pictures later this week, it is raining right now so I just have a couple from loading it and someon the trailer.
bulletpruf
Well-known member
Dammit man, now i want one...
You have to finish the Fairlane first!
Chrisb62
Well-known member
Coming to Florida any time soon ????
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I need some grading done. I will trade you a rust free burb to come do it.
Chrisb62
Well-known member
Ran when parked ....he knows what he has.
Those are the worst sellers, not sure they actually want to sell whatever they have listed.
Uncle Willie, we need to talk anyways, I will PM you when I get a chance, could be a good opportunity for some extra cash on your end and make my yard smaller at the same time, a real win win situation.......
Uncle Willie, we need to talk anyways, I will PM you when I get a chance, could be a good opportunity for some extra cash on your end and make my yard smaller at the same time, a real win win situation.......
86turbodsl
Well-known member
Now i've spent the last couple hours looking at payloaders. I like the Hough H25, but not sure it's a fit for the operation. I need something small enough to get into horse stalls from outdoors. I know, skid steer, but those are always super expensive and usually beat to death. Did anyone make a very small 4x4 payloader?
Chrisb62
Well-known member
bulletpruf
Well-known member
I'd look for a skid steer project - something needing a motor or other significant work. I see them periodically on FB Marketplace. Yeah, I know, I'm signing you up for another headache.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I have 2 nice candidates.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Toro Dingo.
86turbodsl
Well-known member
Yeah, not the best idea, but probably only possibility. I found a Hough H25 for 1K.
A loader is nice because you can move a lot of weight, a skid steer is great if you need to get into tight areas and want to move around fast. I personally hate skid steers, I also have back and neck problems and it seems that you need to be a contortionist to get in and out of them, then if you want to do things by yourself, well, you may find you have to climb out over the load to do what you need to do. I am all set with a skid steer.
bimmer1980
Well-known member
When I was on the hunt for my skid steer, I looked at a JCB robot machine. Single boom, skids steer, but side door access to the cab. I probably should have bought that for the $7k the guy was asking.....
I farted around and ended up with a bobcat 642 with the Ford engine... It work for awhile until I ended up getting the New Holland LS 150 machine. I sold the bobcat for what I paid for it.
I still think about the JCB machine and how handy that would have been.
As far as the H25, it looks neat, but I bet the controls and operations are cludgy and slow. But that's just me. Great for a conversation peice and some entertainment once and a while. To actually get work done, get a more modern machine and be done with it....
That's just my two cents worth... Back to the regular program..
I farted around and ended up with a bobcat 642 with the Ford engine... It work for awhile until I ended up getting the New Holland LS 150 machine. I sold the bobcat for what I paid for it.
I still think about the JCB machine and how handy that would have been.
As far as the H25, it looks neat, but I bet the controls and operations are cludgy and slow. But that's just me. Great for a conversation peice and some entertainment once and a while. To actually get work done, get a more modern machine and be done with it....
That's just my two cents worth... Back to the regular program..
Ralf99
Well-known member
Was interested to see what a Hough H25 was - found this….old skool cool!
Ralf99
Well-known member
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86turbodsl
Well-known member
I know, i want to buy it, but i worry that it won't get into the horse stalls or will get stuck. I guess they get stuck easily if it's muddy.
Strouty, Does your Dad have dementia going on? Did he ever have a handle on company finances? Doesn't sound good thats for sure. I watched both my parents fade away. I ended up taking over all their medical and financial decisions after a bank branch manager decided to help herself to some of their money. She ended up in Federal Pen for 6 years, the *****. Family business is tough, you have the loyalty to your family, to the family business but then you have to protect yourself also. If dementia is involved you have to get yourself out or running the company one or the other.
He had sepsis a while back and it essentially cooked his brain, so short term memory isn't so good, cognitive skills are a lot duller than they should be as well. He is stubborn and doesn't like to admit that there are issues, but occasionally he acknowledges the problem. It is tough because even when we write things down, he doesn't always remember to look at the board or his notes. I think the only way to resolve the issue is to keep him more involved than I currently do, it is so tough because it wastes a lot of time, one "quick" phone call turns into 40 minutes of discussion, the same discussion we had the last time we talked. He can't make a decision if there is more than one part to the problem, so things will sit unless I make the decision and leave him out of the process. As VP of the company, I usually don't involve him in the more complex stuff, but there are a lot of things that he has to be brought in on because I am not part of the other six companies. There is no clear answer, no one else in the family wants to do what I am doing, it isn't something I can just "train" a third party to do, his wife is ignoring things, in the end it is always my fault and unfortunately I am used to it. I have a financial stake in things as well, so if I abandon ship, there could be fairly large economic repercussions on my end. If we hire an office person, Dad will essentially call them everyday and have them do some stupid tasks, then they won't get the actual work done and I will still have to do most of it myself, plus deal with another person and all the problems it creates with my Dad. He used to pay a woman for 35 hours a week and she barely did what I can do in less than 5 hours, Dad had her making spreadsheets of info that she could have pulled from quickbooks, but she didn't have a clue how to do it, I tried to teach her, but it was "easier" for her to deal with the spreadsheets.......
I am now working on Chuck's room, going to fix the walls, we are going to lay down 1/4" plywood and wrap all the seams with 2x4s, he will be able to chew on the 2x4s, but there won't be a way for him to get to the plywood. When he chews on the drywall, he starts at a corner or an edge, usually there is a dent of something that he can grab onto, then he goes to town, kind of like escape from alcatraz, he almost pulled it off, the litter box was hiding things pretty well on camera. I am amazed he didn't fry himself, the romex had bare copper showing where he had gnawed on it.
I am now working on Chuck's room, going to fix the walls, we are going to lay down 1/4" plywood and wrap all the seams with 2x4s, he will be able to chew on the 2x4s, but there won't be a way for him to get to the plywood. When he chews on the drywall, he starts at a corner or an edge, usually there is a dent of something that he can grab onto, then he goes to town, kind of like escape from alcatraz, he almost pulled it off, the litter box was hiding things pretty well on camera. I am amazed he didn't fry himself, the romex had bare copper showing where he had gnawed on it.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
I betcha he gave himself a blast. You just didn't notice him walking around dazed for an hour or so.
I had a bunny that I hand fed up to softball size. He was always following me around when he was out of his basket. Usually I just petted him and stuff, to keep him busy. Well, one day he was out and I was probably making sauce, so I was distracted. When I noticed him, he was covered in dust and visibly shaken, but he recovered to himself in short order, so I figured he just gave himself a scare.
Well, a couple years later, the bunny was repatriated to my grandfather's farm, and I was moving the chest freezer, as I was moving, too. As I was wrapping up the cord, I noticed it was chewed up pretty good. Then I knew why he was covered in dust and shaken. And why he stopped going behind things after that.
I had a bunny that I hand fed up to softball size. He was always following me around when he was out of his basket. Usually I just petted him and stuff, to keep him busy. Well, one day he was out and I was probably making sauce, so I was distracted. When I noticed him, he was covered in dust and visibly shaken, but he recovered to himself in short order, so I figured he just gave himself a scare.
Well, a couple years later, the bunny was repatriated to my grandfather's farm, and I was moving the chest freezer, as I was moving, too. As I was wrapping up the cord, I noticed it was chewed up pretty good. Then I knew why he was covered in dust and shaken. And why he stopped going behind things after that.
My dad has one by of those three season sun rooms on the back of the house. We put it on an existing deck platform. So the floor is flat 2x4s with a layer of 3/4 plywood on top. The groundhogs who had taken up residence underneath decided the sun room had the a better environment and they clawed and chewed through all that. I finally put a piece of 1/4 inch plate down since every time I did ply they just came through again.
Ron
Ron
scooterbum46
Well-known member
Kay - I saw what you did there....
Back in the dark ages, we had a "cute little ball of fur" . Along with chewing cords, she left little piles of ball bearings in the corners. She got a cage outside.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I don't think plywood will slow him down long. You need to put up metal. Maybe a roll of flashing around the bottom of the wall.