Unemployment benefits story (sympathy or sob)

So, apparently everyone's not running off to start their own businesses:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/self-employment-falls/

 

Yet another reason to be pessimistic about the future of the labor market

 

I had to fix a coffee machine at a sandwich shop today in downtown Chicago.

(The level probe had hard water build up, causing it to overfill and leak out. I removed the probe & cleaned it with a file. Total time: 10 minutes. Bill: a little over $150.00. I showed the manager how to fix it if it happens again.)

I got there a little after 1:00 and they still had a line. I spoke with the manager and he said that they'd be busy until around 2:30.

I asked him what kind of numbers his store did and he told me that they average about $5,000 a day gross.

Still think it's a silly idea to work at a sandwich shop to learn the business?

I've seen people work at national coffee chains prior to opening their own coffee shop. It makes sense.

You'll make mistakes, better to make them on someone else's dim than your own.

I wouldn't loan money to or invest money with a friend or relative who wanted to open a sandwich shop who had never worked in one. But if they had put in their time & learned the business, I would consider it.

Obviously, the actual sandwich making is not the skill required to run a successful sandwich shop. If you're smart & hard working, don't you think you could learn what is necessary.

If you did, do you think you could raise money from friends & relatives to open your own shop?

When I asked the GM if his $5,000 average daily gross made him one of their busiest stores, he told me that it put them in the middle of the pack for their downtown stores. (Their store at Midway Airport is their busiest and grosses $20,000 per day.

 

I also don't think that anyone should be surprised that corporations are reaping record profits despite their lack of adding new jobs.

Companies are running very lean. Inventories are low. They've cut labor costs. They've tightened up their supply chain. They've squeezed vendors, changed vendors, and lowered costs through outsourcing and/or moving jobs overseas.

New jobs are always going to lag. Companies need to be confident that growth will continue before they add jobs. Even if they need additional labor, it's better to pay overtime than to add jobs.

The lack of a tax plan for 2011 and the new healthcare bill has added to uncertainty.

 

High periods of unemployment aren't easy for anyone.

But they're cyclical. And a poor economy does result in some good things too.

Corporations are forced to reexamine themselves. They're forced to focus on what they do best. They cut unnecessary costs and waste.

Poorly run businesses go out of business and good companies grow their market share.

Companies that weather the storm are well prepared to prosper when the economy grows.

The same thing happens with the workforce. It forces you to reexamine you skills and potential.

Right now, today, someone is starting a successful business. Someone who in a better economy would have never left their comfortable job.

Maybe it's a guy with a truck who will build a successful moving company. Maybe it's a kid in his parent's basement who will found the next Microsofr, Dell, Facebook, or Groupon.

And, lastly, if you're having a hard time finding steady employment in the current economy, then you will likely have difficulties finding steady employment during any period of high unemployment.

This doesn't mean that you aren't smart or educated or hard working. But, it does mean that your skills and experience are not being valued by prospective employers.

Change or add to your skills. Gain new experiences. Change fields or careers.

Do it now, because otherwise you will be in the same boat a year from now, or two years from now, or ten years from now.

 

Do you not get sick of yourself Yankee Fan? You are now communicating with yourself.

If you replaced "coffee machines" with "Gold", I'd swear you were Ragu

 

I know. I know. I'm annoying myself a little bit too.

But I'm trying to be thorough.

This shit is important. I've felt sorry for myself. I've thought that I've been screwed.

But, at some point you need to tell yourself that you are going to succeed no matter what.

You have to put your future in your own hands. My success or failure is determined by me.

 

YF,

I do think that $5,000 a day gross is not so great when the expenses are probably $4,750 or so.

 

Thanks Ace, now we're in for another 3000 word lecture on how to keep costs down, low overhead, smaller wages, just work smarter not harder.

 

OK, let's get back to unemployment and this tax deal. I think this is a very bad deal for poor and middle-class people. I'm stunned that Obama would suggest it. I think it would be much better to hang the Republicans out to dry and let people see that what they were willing to let go just to get the millionaires' tax cut. Having said that, I do think at some point companies are going to have to start hiring again. We're filling five positions now and that's after the company insisted everyone had to take a 6.5% pay cut for the next two years in union negotiations. One question I had for YF: Why is it so terrible that unions fight hard for the kind of benefits and wages for workers and people decry them for that and when a "small businessman" charges the market rate, suddenly it's a bad thing?

 

I negotiate rates based on what the market will bear.

If you are a laborer, your product is your labor. You have every right to sell your labor at the price the market will bear.

My biggest problem with unions is when they act against the best interest of their members or when they protect poor workers. They also sometimes fight necessary change.

But, I have no problem with unions fighting for the best wage they can get.

BTW, I think I'm a pretty good employer. I pay my employee $20.00 per hour. He tracks his hours and tells me what I owe him.

I'm very lucky that he's a very trustworthy person.

Oh, and he's a Democrat, a union member, and a Steelers fan.

 

I doubt it. They have a good location, so I'm sure they're paying a high rent, but as others have pointed out, labor costs are relatively low, and their basic ingredients are not so high. They're not using gourmet ingredients.

You're getting the message. No need for another lecture. That is what it comes down to. And that's why it's worth working in a restaurant. That's where you learn these skills.