Recently, my girlfriend lost her job. I know, I know, she’s not the only one, and she’s not the only one today. It affects her as much or more than it affects me but it obviously puts some stress on our every day way of life. Much undeserved, unneeded stress, but there nonetheless. I sit and think a little bit about her situation in particular and realize that she is surely not the only one to be out of work for the same reasons either.

Her boss, a likable guy, has been in business as a small business guy for a number of years. He has seen some success and some hardships the same way others have. Of course, the recession affected him just like it affected everyone else but he made it through, albeit with a good number of staff and business administration changes.

It would be one thing if the story ended there, but it’s a small part of why he is in the financial hot water he’s in. Essentially, the guy is a person who cheats on his taxes, cheats on his books, shows no regard for proper business management or accounting practice, has absolutely no business sense at all, and now his chickens are coming home to roost. Of course, he’s the business owner, so in true entrepreneurial fashion, he cuts his staff to accommodate bills that he’s accumulated over the years and cannot pay (the biggest being unpaid taxes).

So, in short, he fucks up, screws the pooch, totally mismanages his business, and then punks the people who were actually keeping him afloat. It seems a bit callous and downright wrong to me, however, as the business owner, it’s his right to do so. While I support that right and understand why he did it, it doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t make it sensible.

What this all really gets down to is that, if you are a small business owner with employees, you are not only responsible for your own welfare but to some degree you are also responsible for the well-being of your employees. Employment is an at-will contract where the employer pays for the services of the employee with the expectation of services provided in accordance with the pay being received. When you hire someone, you are agreeing to pay them for their work unless they prove inept or they leave of their own free will provided that they provide the services agreed upon. It’s a fact…….just a straight-up fact, an inescapable, indelible truth. As a small business owner, you are definitely, absolutely responsible to honor your agreement and if you don’t think so, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE BUSINESS AND GO FUCK YOURSELF!! PAY YOUR FUCKING BILLS AND STOP CHEATING THE BOOKS AND LYING TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU!

I will definitely smile in amusement when this asshole’s house of cards comes down around him. And, to anyone reading this:

Don’t get mad unless i’m talking about you!!!