[Jewelry making - Article 00279] - Re: [Orchid] Need of business advice

[Cynthia Ryder]

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    Julia, you have my deepest sympathies. 

    Background for the advice I am going to offer: 

    I was in business (1992) with my father and we ran a small stained
    glass and pewter casting studio. It was under the corporate umbrella
    and I had always assumed that I was a full partner in the business
    with 49% ownership. I was so certain of this that I personally
    financed $80,000 in credit debt for this business and my father's
    previous business. In 1998 my mother, recently retired from her
    corporate job, had joined the family business. In 2000, due to some
    poor decisions and even worse wholesale shows, and being unable to
    secure any further credit for the business was placed in a position
    of making a decision about which bills would be paid, I chose to pay
    my parents and the business', and to place myself in bankruptcy.
    When I made this decision, I assumed that my parents would stand by
    me, help me throught the proceedings and continue to employ my
    services because afterall, I was a 49% partner. They brought in
    their lawyer who informed me that I was wrong, because my father had
    never signed the minutes of the corpoarte minute book and thereby
    never making me a partner at all. I demanded some form of
    restitution for taking on the debt and working for little or nothing
    for all those years and was told that I was sh!!-otta-luck. I was
    turned loose. Fortunately my partner of the time and now husband was
    incredibly supportive and allowed me ample time to recover from the
    burnout and depression left by that business and my parents. It took
    2 years before I could have a truely civil conversation with them
    and it took another year to make the decision to just forgive them
    for their abandonment. 

    Like what you are currently considering, my partner and I opted to
    start a new business, this time using stone and sterling and
    focusing on retail rather than wholesale. What we did use my parents
    for however, since I strongly felt they owed us something, was for
    babysitting the kids while we built the business and took it on the
    road - inevitably they were gracious enough to step up and give back
    by caring for the kids. The best revenge and the greatest therepy is
    building on the skills and contacts that you already have and going
    out and doing it well. 

    My diploma still hangs in their workshop, as do many of my
    certificates and awards because it really doesn't matter, they can
    never take away the fact that you are gifted, talented and award
    winning. People still ask after me, and finally after years of
    trying to gain their respect, I finally have it, because I stopped
    wanting it and because I was willing to walk away and start over
    with nothing but the support of one good man. 

    My only hope for you is that you already have a friend or partner
    who can provide you great moral support at this time; and my advice
    is not just to walk away but run hard and do yourself and you son
    the favor of building your own business. You will derive far greater
    satisfaction from that then you ever will fighting for returns on
    your intellectual property and signage removal. 

Cheers,
Cynthia Ryder

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