After weeks of training, what could possibly go wrong with my new hire?

Meira: I trained you, invested in you, gave you your first job, and counted on you to come through when I’d be out. How could you quit just when I need you most?

Russy: So sorry, but this is just not working out, and I’m abiding by our contract. I’ll do what I can to help, but do I have to remain miserable just because you gave me my first job?   

Meira

When I signed on my first client, my husband and I went out to eat in celebration.

It was the first time we’d eaten out in a fancy place — like, steak and cocktails and all that — since our first anniversary. And we’re coming up to our eighth soon, so that’s saying something.

Of course, the novelty wore off. When I reached ten clients, I splurged on a crossbody bag I’d been eyeing for a long while, and then I doubled back in because I didn’t want ten, I wanted 20, 30. More than that….

I was learning what being a business owner was all about. And boy, was it a learning curve. But a good one.

I always knew I’d be running my own business at some point. I was that type, the go-getter, the ambitious one. But for the first few years of our marriage, living in Israel, we were simply trying to keep our heads above water in any way that we could. I had a remote office job for a US company and did sheitels on the side, Avi tutored on the side, learned extra sedorim on Fridays and during bein hazmanim, and we were just totally preoccupied with managing, day to day. And this was with partial support from our parents. Life — rent, groceries, basics — were just. So. Expensive.

When we moved back to the US, I kept my old job at first, until we settled. And then I started tentatively, cautiously, making a move toward opening a business of my own. Avi wanted to stay in kollel here as well, and I wanted to make it work if I could — only now, we were on our own. We weren’t getting supported anymore, and costs of living were a fortune. I couldn’t afford to keep working my old job — the salary was simply too low.

I’ve always had a business-oriented side. I listened to classes, podcasts, read books. I knew about setup and scaling and management and I couldn’t wait to put all that knowledge into practice.

I started small, working on my business during the early morning and late-night hours while keeping my day job. The business was a pretty unique and niche idea I’d been developing for a while — a kind of brokerage for software solutions, being the “agent” for businesses to source and employ software developers and create and manage long-term software solutions for their companies. We’d be like their external software department, managing everything  behind the scenes, and working with software developers that I’d formed connections with to actually provide the services.

Most people’s eyes glazed over when I started explaining what I did, but anyone in the business or software fields got it quickly. People liked the concept, and I worked very hard to set up systems and policies that gave us (well, me) a name for exceptional customer service.

Once I had several clients on board, I cut down my hours at my old job, and eventually left it completely. It was a relief to finally be done with it — in the six years I’d worked there, I’d only received a raise once, and that was by such a pathetically small margin, it was almost laughable. I’d never felt valued there, the work was tedious and demanding, and there was very little paid leave. Being a business owner was definitely a step up.

And when I would have employees of my own, I knew exactly how not to treat them, so that was kind of a plus, too, wasn’t it?