Why Enough Is Never Enough

Whenever I hear a LEFTIST Speak about what He or She NEEDS, and how Everyone SHOULD LIVE THEIR LIVES according to them, and how it’s ONLY FAIR TO SPREAD THE WEALTH, and how Unfair Everything is, and how Companies make too much money, without Passing-It-On to their Workers, It Is The Best I Can Do . . . NOT TO WRETCH.

TO THE LEFT . . . IT’S NOT HOW MUCH THEY HAVE – IT’S HOW MUCH OTHERS HAVE:

I LOVE TELLING STORIES . . . But not all People really want to hear my Stories, even though I Personally Fancy-Myself as a Pretty Good Story-Teller. Which is of course strictly my opinion.

HOWEVER . . . When you Read my BLOG, More Times Than Not, I’m relating to a Personal Story. And even though I should NEVER have to provide this Disclaimer – HERE IT IS . . .

Every Story I Tell Is 100% True, Accurate & Unembellished.

WHEN GIVING . . . ONLY BEGETS DEMANDING:

You’re about to Read one of Many Personal Life Experiences (Stories), which Somewhat Explains why Anne & I Are the Way we Are.

About 40-Years Ago . . . I took Yet another Business Gamble (It Wasn’t My First Rodeo), and left a Great Advertising Sales Job . . . I opened my own Advertising Agency – The Promar Media Group, which stood for Promotional Marketing.

If I were to tell you that it was REAL TOUGH, just to get going, I’d be UNDER-TELLING just how Tough it Really Was.

For Years . . . I worked the Ad Agency, while Anne worked as the Head Teller in Several Canadian Banks, making almost enough money to keep a Roof over our Heads & Food on the Table, which is the Story of how Most Small Businesses Start. Which is also the Story why very Few Startups Survive, because that’s how Life is in the Real World, opposed to how Life is in the FAKE LEFTIST WORLD, where everyone’s a Winner, and everyone’s Entitled, No Matter how much they DON’T Risk & how Hard they DON’T Work.

FOR 45-YEARS – ANNE & I HAVE BEEN INSEPARABLE LIFE-PARTNERS IN ALL THINGS:

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS . . . Promar started to Succeed, enough so – for Anne to leave the Bank where she worked as the Head Teller & Assistant to the Accountant to Become Our Managing Partner.

THERE’S NO SUGAR COATING THIS . . . There were some years when Promar did Really Well, which meant very little to us, because the Profits we made from the Good Years, WERE LOST ENTIRELY, to pay for the Expenses of the Bad Years.

But the Ad Agency Continued to Grow Nonetheless, to the Point, in a time before Computers and Fax Machines, Promar needed Staff, which included Full Time Commercial Artists, Full Time Customer Service Reps, a Full Time In-House Courier, and at least one person to Assist Anne.

In No Time At All . . . Our Promar Payroll was the Single Largest Expense Anne and I Faced. And because Anne and I had no idea whether our Business was going to be Successful or Not, we Hired Young People without Families, just in case we would ever have to Lay some People Off.

ANNE & I ALWAYS PAID “SUBSTANTIALLY” MORE THAN THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE:

As Promar Was Growing . . . Anne and I had far more than our Fair Share of Financial Challenges. The Cost of buying Graphic Equipment. The Cost of Office Expansion. The Cost of all the Federal & Provincial MANDATORY Deductions At Source for the “Privilege” of Paying Employees (4% Vacation Taxes, Matching Retirement Taxes, Matching Healthcare Taxes), And A Whole Lot More.

THE COSTS NEVER WENT DOWN . . . BUT FROM TIME TO TIME THE REVENUE DID:

I can’t begin to tell you what it Felt Like for Anne & Myself, on Far Too Many Thursday’s, the Day Before Pay Day, where we sat outside our Bank Cash Machine, just before Midnight, so Anne and I could Each Take-Out the Maximum Amount of Cash from our Credit Cards. And then just after Midnight, we’d do it all over again, since we could only Take-Out So Much Per Day.

And In The Morning . . . We used all of that Money we Withdrew the Previous Evening and Morning, to Pay 100% of what we owed our Entire Staff, so they would all have their Paychecks.

Anne & I Employed Hundreds Of People Over The Years . . . And No One Ever Did Not Get Paid. Nor did anyone ever have to wait a second for their Paycheck, Commission Check, Expense Check or Bonus Check . . . NEVER!

SO WHY’D WE DO IT . . . And Not Just Let Some Of The Staff Go? Because Anne and I didn’t have the Heart to tell some of these young People that they No Longer Had A Job.

While Borrowing Money To Pay Our Staff – Anne & I Lived On Hamburger-Helper.

OUR STAFF NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD AUDIT THE ART DEPARTMENT:

Eventually – things got Better, and Promar was on a Roll, but our Staff wasn’t getting better. In fact, after doing the Audit of our Art Department, we found that our Staff were using our Equipment, Supplies & Time, for which they were paid Handsomely. But to our Chagrin, our Staff were busy doing Jobs for Themselves Under-The-Table, when they should have been working for us.

THIS GOES BACK SOME 30-YEARS AGO . . . WHEN $300 WAS A LOT OF MONEY:

To say that Anne and I were Pissed . . . is True. But we felt far more Betrayed & Cheated than just Pissed. Also – We needed to Keep the Art Department in Place for the Survival of our Agency . . . So Anne and I Gathered all the Staff and made them an Offer just before Christmas . . . Here It Was:

“We know that you’re Stealing from us. We did a full Audit of the Art Department and we are not Pleased. SO THIS THE DEAL . . . We Are Willing To Offer”.

1 – “You can continue to use our Equipment & Supplies to do your Work On-The-Side, as long as you Pay for what you Use, and you don’t do it on our Time”.

IN ADDITION GO GIVING EACH OF THEM A SUBSTANTIAL RAISE . . .

2 – “We realize that you think Anne and I are making a lot of Money for the Work you do, but not nearly as much as you think . . . SO HERE’S ANOTHER DEAL. We will pay the Entire Studio 10% of all our Art Billings, RIGHT OFF THE TOP. But – Any Screw-Ups Caused by anyone in the Art Department, which costs Promar any Money, Will Be Deducted From The 10%”.

2-NIGHTS . . . 3-DAYS:

3 – And Finally – Because Promar did at that time, a Substantial Business with a Major Travel Wholesaler, we made Arrangements with the Wholesaler to Send our Entire Promar Staff to Los Vegas as a Christmas Bonus, Covering the Cost of the Business Class Flight, Including the Hotel & Breakfasts.

And For Spending Money While In Vegas, We Gave Each Person A Gift Of $300.

SO HOW DID OUR STAFF RESPOND TO THIS OFFER:

They Came Back The Next Day With The Following:

1 – 2-Nights & 3-Days in Las Vegas wasn’t long enough. They Demanded 3-Nights and 4-Days.

2 – They Agreed Not To Work for their own Clients on our Time. But they should have Access to our Equipment & Supplies . . . FOR FREE.

3 – They Won’t Be Held Accountable . . . for any Mistakes made by the Art Department, where Promar would lose Revenue for their Screw-Ups.

4 – They wanted a Lawyer to Draft an Agreement between Promar and the Art Studio For Their 10% Share Of Gross Revenue.

THAT WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TAKER-CLASS:

So Here’s How We Responded.

1 – The Offer for Vegas was still on the Table, since all the arrangements were already made, but 2-Nights & 3-Days . . . OR DON’T GO.

2 – The Offer for them to do Work for Themselves on our Time & Dime was Instead Changed To . . . FROM 9-5 YOU WORK FOR US – Don’t Use Our Equipment, Supplies or Time to Work for Your Clients.

3 – And as Far as the 10% Bonus on all Gross Art-Shop-Billings – That Too No Longer Existed.

Anne and I Couldn’t Believe the Abject Greed of these People, for whom we BORROWED MONEY on Both Sides of Midnight for more Weeks than I want to Remember, so we wouldn’t have to Lay any of them Off.

Where We Thought They’d be Thrilled With Our Generosity – They Wanted More.

ANNE & I COULDN’T FATHOM . . . how out of the Kindness of our Corporate Heart, to give them 10% of Our Gross Billing Fee, NOT THE NET . . . BUT THE GROSS, that they all of a sudden Felt ENTITLED to becoming our Risk-Free Partners.

AND AS FAR AS THE TRIP TO LAS VEGAS . . . Who could have Ever Dreamt People would take such a Wonderful Offer, which they Weren’t Entitled to . . . To Demand More?

SO HOW’D IT WORK OUT?

They went to Las Vegas and took an extra Day-Off from coming back to Work, because 2-Nights & 3-Days in Las Vegas wasn’t sufficient to get back into the Rhythm of the Time Change on their Return.

Believe It Or Not . . . When they Returned, within a week, they “Organized” and demanded that Anne & I Return to the Preceding Offers, or they would leave . . . WE SAID GOODBYE . . . AND THEY LEFT.

Before They Packed-Up & Left – Anne & I Hired A Great Art Director . . . Just One Guy (ED), who we allowed – for him, to do his Own Work in our Studio, as long as all of our Work Came First.

And after One Year with ED, Anne and I were so Pleased and Grateful for the Service & Attitude ED Brought to Promar Everyday, that we decided we no Longer Needed or Wanted an Art Studio, and gave ED more than $100,000 in Art Equipment, Cameras & Supplies – AS OUR GIFT.

We Also Gave ED All Of Our Clients.

THE ONLY PROVISOS . . . Were The Following – ED could Stay in our Office Space for one year. We would supply the Space, the Phones, and pay the Insurance. ED’S COST WAS $500 PER MONTH.

But – In exchange, when Anne and I needed Artwork for Promotional Projects, ED would have to place Promar at the Top of his Client Priorities, and give us a Better Price Than Retail.

ED WAS A MENTSCH . . .

After One Year . . . We Bid ED A Mutually Heartfelt Farewell.

The preceding wasn’t the Last Time Employers Took Advantage . . . but it was the Last Time Anne and I were Patsies. I Would Also Like To Say That The Preceding Was Anecdotal . . . But It Wasn’t.

When I Hear Nancy Pelosi, who is Worth a Huge Fortune, who Raped the Public Purse when she was Speaker of the House, with her Tax-Paid Government Plane, Speak about THOUSAND DOLLAR BONUS CHECKS AS “CRUMBS” – I could Barf.

When I just Heard on Television, an Angry LEFTIST Piece of Work Strategist, say that $1,000-Bonus Checks Aren’t Fair, when compared to how much the Companies are Making Because Of The Trump Tax-Cuts . . . It Reminded Me Of The Years Anne & I Borrowed Money To Pay Our Staff.

It Also Reminded Me Of Atlas Shrugged . . . And Why I Literally Hate The Left.

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov