Continued from the last post…

So the time had come: I had to tell my loyal staff of two that I was selling the business and would be heading to another state. It had been a difficult few months as I couldn’t tell my staff about the job offer my husband had and could not confide in them that I was alone while my husband was away at the starting phase of his new position. So once I was sure what would be happening I could finally tell my staff. I decided to do it at our weekly meeting; I was going through it in my mind, thinking about what I would say. I didn’t want them to think that they would be out of a job and needed them to stay motivated to keep working thorough to the transition of the sale. But when the time came, I blurted it out: “We are moving to Melbourne and selling the business.” Try as I might, I could not hold back the tears, then there were hugs and more tears all round. They were happy for me and I think sad to see me go, but also apprehensive what was going to happen to their jobs.

You may be thinking that it wasn’t very professional of me to break down in-front of my staff, but we had been through a lot together they had been working with me for over six years and we had become like a family (well you end up spending nearly more time through the week with your work mates then with your family – sad but true) We also had a lot of fun together making up funny names for our sales reps and our contractors. We worked hard, doing the work that normally six people would be do. When out on site from the early hours of the morning to late at night we would try to crack sarcastic jokes at one another to break up the stress when things weren’t working. When they did, we’d high five and saying “JACKPOT,” which had become our version of “winning.”

Adam and I had become a great trouble-shooting team, working methodically through the problem till it was solved. I learnt a lot about AV from Adam and I think occasionally he learnt a bit from me also. We often battled over trivia with me going to Google to prove I was right (not that I was right all the time — Adam definitely won more times than me). Adam is now a first time dad — who would have thought? — I bet he will be a great one. Emma was my rock, my right hand and sometimes my left hand. We had a few battles in the early days but one day everything just clicked for her and she became a great administrator, customer service person, sales person and most of all, a great friend. I am very proud of her progress.

So I am now in Melbourne the sale has gone through, and Adam and Emma still have jobs. I miss my previous work mates every day and remember the good and bad times we had. I wish to thank them for the years of work that they gave to me and the company. Creepy cheers to you both.

Wow, now I better get serious about looking for a job. I already have some interesting interview stories — just not sure if I should tell them…