I've recently started to suspect that I'm wrong about people in my life...today's classic is as follows:
My nearest business competitor closed down a few weeks ago after just 18 months of trading due to their initial over investment on the set up. The landlord approached me to see if I would be interested to take it on and I visited it several times.
Problem is, I can only do so if I use my house as security to raise any funds, a decision I'm just not prepared to do. Or attract investors. So, I approached my eldest sister to see if they may be willing to invest, the idea being that I would link the sites together and cross market, staff, etc, using my brand and contacts that I have worked hard to establish after five years in this field.
Before I knew it, they were meeting with the landlord and the owner without me,who both confirmed that I was first choice for taking this on and that they would not even be considered without my expererience, their bank manager was prepared to lend them almost twice the money I would need to start up, and they were seeking advice from everyone with little knowledge of this business and using me for advice on the more technical aspects, yet using my trading history.
I'd already expressed my concerns to my sister as to how this would work, scared of falling out etc and that we needed to agree on how the partnership would be set up, before any decision was made as to continue or not.
Today I went to their business for a meeting, and my concerns were clarified.
Whilst there, the owner of the site rang...seeking a decision, the bank manager rang for more info, and sis and hubby advised me that they had been quoted £10k for an extraction system following advice from Dodgy Dave and his greasy take away business next door and failing to ask me, who's set up two of these businesses and only spent £3K!
So as I waited for bro in law to get off phone from bank manager,every now and again shouting out for help and info from me etc, sis suddenly asked me how much I wanted as a consultant and how many days a week i was prepared to work for them...and I lost my temper...said that I was not going to help them set up a competing business and that they were using me. As she snapped back that they were the investors and I wasn't, therefore they were entitled to continue as they were,and saying that they had asked advice from Dodgy Dave as I was not running a commercial kitchen and he was(!), I walked out, saying that this was what I was afraid of....
A huge weight has lifted..bro in law has rung tonight and confirmed that i am the key to them obtaining this business... so I will drag things out...and will not be used...
Or am I a cow?
Feels good though!!!
