On Business Matters / YC3 Day 1

In an earlier post, I mentioned having an employee. I have to admit, I was kind of proud to be able to hire one of my convention workers as a full-time employee. He was pulling a salary, benefits, and all that good stuff. He was actually doing quite well when he decided he wanted to work closer to home and not be on the road as much. I was devastated.

I tried replacing him with another worker, who as it turned out, was just as good. Things went well for a while and then Christmas rolled around. The problem with having a full-time worker is the inconsistency of the convention circuit. When we are in an active convention season, paying a full-time worker was no problem. The issue was when we rolled into our slow season. Of course, I made sure my worker was paid as promised. The issue was I wasn’t paid at all during that time.

Looking back on the episode, I should have had a years payroll in the back before I hired a full-time employee. The convention scene definitely provided me enough resources to have on. Budgeting for an employee during the slower seasons or lag years requires some adjustments.

I’ve never had to consider those aspects of business before. I’ve always had a salary position. When I left that position and moved to working the convention scene full time, the highs and lows of sales were balanced by my retirement. It was when I tried to take on someone full-time that I saw a different side of business.

The rational behind opening a salaried position was the establishment of someone who was dedicated to attending shows, learning the product line, and making sure everything ran without a hitch. And it worked out beautifully. I was able to provide him with two days off weekly and was working on securing him healthcare benefits.

The drawback was the two days off a week. The issue was we were gone on weekends, usually with a day of travel time on the front and back end of the show. For a 3-day show, this meant he was occupied for 5 days with the show and not able to work on the two days we were back at the warehouse. (Yes. We now have a warehouse.)

For the next show, we would both restock the cabinets, load the truck, and leave on the first travel day. On the return from the convention, we had just enough time to unload the truck before his two days off. From an owner’s perspective, there was not a net gain on the productivity of my employee. No new products were being developed.

Before, I hired people as I needed them. If they wanted to work a show, I’d hire them for the weekend. If they were good at drawing, I purchased their art. There was no continual pressure to produce beyond the job at hand. Having a full-time employee, there is this continual need to see something more than what you were getting before. Time limits and human nature restrict how an employee is optimized.

I know it sounds rather callous, but it’s the truth of the matter. To hire an employee, there is a need to make the position worthwhile. If the only gain is what you were getting before, then why go through the trouble? Of course, the three months of me not paying myself so I could pay my worker didn’t help matters.

When it came time to let him go, I made it clear to him that he did nothing wrong. I gave him a month to find another job and get himself situated. After all, he was an amazing worker and I certainly didn’t want him to leave with hard feelings. In the end, he got a far more secure job and seems happier for the experience. On top of it all, he got to travel and see a little more of the country than he thought he’d be able to do on his own.

So what lessons have I learned from this little episode?

First, before thinking about having a full-time employee, make sure the salary is locked up in savings a year in advance. This will also make paying taxes and salaries a whole lot more reliable.

Secondly, map out your expectations of the position fully. I’m not talking about a job description, I mean dig down deep and figure out what you want to gain by hiring this person. Make sure the time off you give the person matches with the goals you wish them to accomplish.

Third, determine if the gains of having a full-time worker exceed their current work performance. If the full-time paid position covers the exact same goals they had before, make sure having them maintain the status quo is the goal you wish to maintain.

Finally, make sure you have a clear description of behaviors that may lead to dismissal. Having procedures in place to let someone go are essential to maintaining good relationships with that person. Open communication as to how things are going and where the company is heading is essential to establishing trust with your employees – especially if you’re a small company. To be honest, this is the only point I had a clear understanding of from the very beginning of the process. If it hadn’t been for these procedures, things could have gotten very messy for both myself and my company.

YC3 Day 1

We have to be careful how we measure success in a show. Three day shows are always dicey. It's easy to fall into the pattern of despair if we don't make a fortune on Day One. Personally, if I manage to make table on the first day, we're off to a good start. That goal was achieved!

This doesn't mean we are in the clear by any stretch of the imagination. We still have gas, hotel, food, restock, and workers to pay. Once all of those boxes are checked, we are in the profit zone. 

There is a vendor I see on the convention circuit who consistently tells me he is making major money on the circuit. When we talk numbers, he never considers gas and food as part of his liabilities. His argument is he has to pay those regardless as to where he goes. I've never understood this mentality. The profit zone is not some abstract number you kinda have a feel for. It's an exact point in the business model that determines whether or not you're going to make it. 

I keep a meticulous spreadsheet with my expenses and receipts. I enter the bill counts into the spreadsheet and the credit card sales. I let the spreadsheet crunch through all the data and notify me when a positive return is earned. It's not until I get that positive return that I even begin to relax at a convention. 

Many artists and vendors view the convention scene as a hobby. They take off a weekend to peddle their products at their local show and really don't worry about where they end up financially because they have a 9 to 5 job to return to on Monday. Vendors that are dependent upon the convention scene as a sole source of income have a far more pragmatic approach to their systems. They want to know exactly where that break-even point is, how attainable is it given the crowd at the convention, how hard will they have to hustle to cross that threshold, etc.

As always, if you're interested in the game or the Tortured Earth product line, please check out our website: www.torturedearth.com