Condundrum. Wife and I want to move

[WolfeMacleod]

Seattle is getting expensive. Too expensive. And our place is getting small -too small, as my business grows. Our place is busting at the seams, pruduction is limited because of space issues, and we need more space, period.
And lower living costs, of course.

Wife has been looking in the Spokane, WA area at places for rent. Nice, big places, twice the size what we've got here (950 sqf) with two car garage + workshop type places, for the same amount as we're paying here, or just a little more.

But, we have a problem. An employee (and longtime friend)who's virtually irreplaceable and is dead-set on not moving out of him immediate area. Add to that, he doesn't drive, and refuses to learn, so his transport is extremly limited (IE: ME )
It would be virtually impossible to find someone else to replace him, because of his extraordinary workmanship he adds to my product. While I demand a high level of build quality, he far, far exceeds that.
I'm tempted to tell him I want him to start working weekends, so he can train his replacements (IE: My wife) and see how he responds to that. Other than me, he's basically unemployable. Untill he started working with me, he spent the last eight years folding dead chicken at KFC. His skills have been wasted.

Now personally, I love the Seattle area. I'd like to stick around here, but I can live without the traffic, and I can live without the high cost of housing. Looked at a few places around here, and they were wanting $2000+ for places barely bigger than this, many with no garage or workspace. A "spacious" 650 sqf house was asking $1200/mo!
So I have no problem moving, as long as it's reasonably close to Seattle.

We could force the issue on him. It wouldn't be that hard. All we'd have to do is call the city health deparment to come look at the place he lives. It's a dump - a total disaster of a house that should be condemned for multiple reasons. He lives there with a friend because "it's cheap" and the friend's father owns the house...

Get rid of the employee and train the wife, and loose her steady income and health insurance?
Force the issue on him? (He has no realy ties here...no family, no friends to speak of, and no life in general - so he'd leave nothing behind)

Or just deal with it and make his life miserable by giving him more work than he can possibly do?

[pwd72s]

Gee, you have a problem....

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by pwd72s
Gee, you have a problem....

Yes, yes we do. The wife and I have been tossing around the idea of providing him with living space, etc, in exchange for work, by the way. I have no problem havign a live-in employee/helper, expecially since he's a friend. We've known each other for a logn time, and he's one of my best friends.
I want to see him out of his curent situation very badly. I refuse to step one foot in the house he lives in. It's nasty. I fear for his health. He could live in a dumpster and have better conditions than he's in now.
When I say nasty, I mean nasty

And it's not his fault, really. It's guy guy he lives with, and his father the scumlord.

[Dantilla]

How much space do you need? I have a piece of property in
Puyallup with an old house and a warehouse sitting on it. There is a company renting part of the warehouse, but we have more space available.

If this is a possibility, I can give you the details.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by WolfeMacleod


And it's not his fault, really. It's guy guy he lives with, and his father the scumlord.

well maybe you didn't ask for this type of input, but that rarely stopped me before.

Of course it's his fault. He chooses it. If I were you I wouldn't allow him to live with you. I've found that no one is irreplacable. Just depends on your priorities. If he far exceeds your requirements, that's great, but are you willing to give up all the other stuff to keep him around (including possibly your sanity and your marriage)? Or are you willing to find someone who meets your requirements and works within your parameters? You're the boss after all...

[pwd72s]

I was only half joking...too many factors here for me to even begin to give advice...seriously! Is your work "location dependent"? Or could you leave the entire Northwest in order to gain a more favorable work envrionment and tax picture? Is shipping costs an important part of the overhead? Could you live in places other than Srattle & still grow? How critical to your work is this guy? Or...is he really more important to you than the business itself? Too many things unanswered here. Questions you need to raise for yourself, then answer for yourself...

[Wickd89]

If the business is doing well, then why not just be patient. Good business will lead to more dosh and if you like Seattle enough, just step up to the challenge.

I had a friend who moved from Louisville to NJ and thought it was to expensive. He then moved outside of Dallas to save housing cost and found that too expensive, then he moved to Kentucky. Next he will be moving to Mississippi and stuck there.

Me and my friends always say: YOu just have to make more to live where you like. Don't search out the bargain, just try to maximize your earnings.

An employee should not have to follow you to be successful. If I were him I would ask for 1/2 your company the way you were speaking.


Best of luck!

[WolfeMacleod]

The idea to move is not only money. My wife has been in Seattle for hte last 8 years and really hates it. She's from the east coast and thinks she might like living in Spokane for a while. It's more like the area she came from (size and cost of living).

I can take my work anywhere we go. Shipping costs are not really a concern since if I need to come to Seattle from Spokane, it could just be a day trip and 95% of my supplies are shipped to me anyway. Shipping out is not a problem either since I use USPS.

[Oracle]

Originally posted by WolfeMacleod
we have a problem. An employee (and longtime friend)who's virtually irreplaceable

In my humble opinion this the problem not the space issue. Any business can/should move based on many factors it's just a fact of the business life cycle.
I learned that nobody should be irreplaceable.

Good luck!

[HardDrive]

No offense, but Spokane sucks compared to Seattle.

A) NO employee is irreplacable.

B) There are more affordable places to live in this area. But Seattle proper is always going to be $$$ What about moving out towards Carnation?

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by HardDrive
No offense, but Spokane sucks compared to Seattle.

A) NO employee is irreplacable.

B) There are more affordable places to live in this area. But Seattle proper is always going to be $$$ What about moving out towards Carnation?

I know. Spokane is no comparison.

As far as no employee being irreplacemable, I know that too, do a degree. However, I encourage you to come over here sometime, and take a look at his workmanship, and compare it to my competitor's workmanship - ANY of them. There is no comparison, period. Even among competitors costing much more, the workmanship on most is comparable to that of a five-year old. Or a blind person.
I am anal about my product, and my assembly, and I'd say he's even more anal about it than I am. Takes it to a completely different level.

I've tried out several people here, and not only do they not cut the mustard, they just plain can't do the work to any degree. It takes an incredible skill set to do this kind of stuff well. How many people do know know that solder on wire finer than your hair? Most people I've tried can't even see it.

Carnation is nice. But there's still the issue of his transportation.

[Nostril Cheese]

You make pickups, right?

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by Nostril Cheese
You make pickups, right?

Yeah.
Things I like about the assembly work are flawless soldering joints, flawless routing of "pigtail" leads that come off the coils...no unneccesary lenghts or funky lead twisting, extraordinary taping and securing of the coils. Because of this, I am not forced to wax-pot my coils to reduce microphonics.
Everything is extremely clean, neat, and tidy, even in areas you can't see.

I just bought a pair of "Dragonfire" pickups off Ebay this week to take a look, and all I could think of was "WTF is this crap?"
Pay attention to what the other guys do, and do it better. is my motto.

To give you an idea of how anal I am about this stuff...if you look at the plain steel slugs in the lighter bobbin ( visible on the full sized picture) you'll notice a slight gap between the plastic and the steel. I am going to reduce the radius on this edge by about .003 on the next order of these parts, to reduce that gap and creat a smoother steel/plastic transition.

[Hetmann]

Move where you want to be and where you can afford the best shop you can put together. Offer to help this guy get settled in your new location. If he doesn't want to go, train someone new to do the work. You will find someone else who needs the work and can do it to your expectations. Have the wife watch this guy closely for a while to determine what his techniques are. Not a big deal, you'll be fine.

[craigster59]

Would it be possible to ship a quantity of pickups to your friend for finishing and have them shipped back in a timely manner (1 to 2 day turnaround)? Or possibly make his finished pickups a higher grade (in quality and cost, similar to a Fender custom shop vs. MIM type of deal) while you hire someone in Spokane to work alongside you?
Edited to clarify a premium placed on your friends work, not meaning a lesser quality in the Spokane product.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

I don't think I've seen the answer to this question, soooo: Why won't your friend move? Have you really talked to him about what his concerns are?

If he is living in squalor that is a choice of life. He will likely do the same at your house. I have a great friend who chooses to live in conditions I will not suffer. I still see him as often as possible, but I try not to stay at his place. He understands.

I'm thinking the issue is your friendship and concern as much as an "irreplaceable" asset. Good friends are not replaceable, good employees had best be!

[JavaBrewer]

Humm something does not sound right. You and your wife (business owners) are being held hostage by a "craftsman" who prefers living in squalor. Are you paying peanuts and thus cannot afford a replacement? Train someone else and move. Oh and finally, no way in hell would I let a guy comfortable in the mess you describe live with me. No employee is irreplacable!

Share this with your wife in Spokane.

[scottmandue]

Have you checked out Portland?

I don't know what your tastes are but my friend moved there and I liked visiting there. Lots of good food and entertainment... I don't know but it possibly could have lower cost of living and lower real estate cost that Seattle... maybe some of the Portland guys could comment?

[jorian]

Sounds like the tail is wagging the dog here. I had a similar situation a couple of years ago with an employee. I too felt he was irreplaceable. He wasn't. Although I struggled to find someone, I went through 3 trainees, the new guy is almost as good technically but his attitude and drive. I figure in 6 more months he will be the equal of the guy who left. The bonus is he is about 50% more productive!

PS I think Spokane is a great place.

[Shuie]

Can you ship him the unfinished materials and let him do his work and then ship his finished part back in batches, or does he need access to your shop and tools to do the work?

I live by the 'everyone is replaceable theory' when Im at work because everyone in my line of work really is replaceable. From what I understand about your line of work, EVERY detail and technique can make a huge difference in the performance of the finished product. I know for a fact that you have demanding customers that obsess over small details and nuances. Unless you are willing to replace this guy yourself and are certain you can train someone to do exactly what he does, then I would continue to work with him.