IH closing their doors?

[IndHobby]

Boy, ya’ll are like junk yard dogs looking for a fight.

First a little history here:

Point #1
A long time ago Gecko 201’s (I think) had some weird problem and it just required a little solder to fix. I remember because Mariss talked me through the fix and I did it on the kitchen table with him on the phone. I did a page on my site that stuck around for a while, but the problem was solved in the next rev, just a month or two. The world didn’t stop turning.

Point #2
I have sent some drivers back for post-mortems, and except for the one that smelled like burnt plastic (major mis-wire) they all came back with a clean bill of health. From my point of view it is easier to have them check them out them me deal with it.

Point #3
Yes, I used to buy steppers from Tormach. To be exact a few years ago back about the time he began the planning phase of his mill I used to deal his stepper motors. We spoke on the phone a time or two and discussed various business things.

I want you to have ABSOLUTE clarity on this. He was the vendor and I was his dealer.

Point #4
I have learned a whole lot about the business world since then. For those of you who believe in right and wrong I am refreshed by your optimism. Own a small business for awhile and you will learn something different. There are only shades of wrong.

If you do everything “right” your idea will be “borrowed”, if you do it wrong customers will kill you. If you do it expensive, someone will do it “on the cheap”, if you do it “on the cheap” you’re a cost cutting looser.

All shades of wrong.

Point #5
I think everybody should try being a small business owner for awhile. You will get to experience new things in life. You can be successful and yet too exhausted to enjoy it, or a failure and too dumb to fix it. And if you’re lucky, just that moment that you’re getting ahead and you realize it; someone will come by and kick you in the groin.

Because for every sale you make, the next one might be the guy who is going to copy you’re idea, and sell it for half the price.

This isn’t a reality show, there is no net, and you can lose everything and some.

On a lighter note; I am putting odds and ends in the estore and you might want to stop by and take a look.

[NinerSevenTango]

Been there, done that, had 15 employees for 12 years. All I got now is a half dozen T-Shirts. But I'm glad I did it, and next time I won't make the same mistakes.

People should read your words, there's a lot of wisdom there, Aaron.

The exhaustion can probably take years off your life, though.

[kochevnik]

Ditto here - I ran a computer business in the early nineties, we had 400 percent annual growth for 5 straight years, and then one day the big boys, IBM, Compaq, etc. cut their prices overnight by 40 percent and were selling retail for less than I could get my components. Put 70 percent of the small guys out of business in less than 6 months.

It was the most frustrating, exhilirating, difficult thing I've ever done. Took me years to recover. My condolences Aaron, I think you put up a good fight. I also concur about the shades of gray thing. Maybe 50 years ago a person had the luxury of toeing an absolute ethical line, but I don't know anyone who can do that now. They could do it then because they were so isolated - and so were their customers. I put out a good product at a great price and did my best never to steer anyone wrong. That's the best you can do nowadays.

If you've been thru this kind of experience, it's a lot like having someone close to you die. Some free advice - try to look at it in view of the fact that you did something that very very few people ever manage to pull off. And don't do ANYTHING rash in the next few years - just let it sink in and wash over you. There's no way to get proper perspective without the passage of time.

Best of luck - to Aaron and anyone else in a similar situation.

[Richards]

When life is winding down, there are two questions that will be on my mind. 1. Did I love and respect my family to the point that nothing was more important in my life than they? 2. Was I honest in all my dealings?

Life is hard. Somewhere along the way our character will be revealed. Business can bring out both the good and the bad in our character. Just like many of you, I've had good years and bad years in business. Just like many of you, I've had business failures caused by someone's lack of ethics. Just like many of you, when the choice came to either forget ethics or close the doors, I chose to close the doors.