Incompetent 'boss' - what would you do?

[Snorkers]

Not necessarily AIBU - but perhaps I ABU - i don't know!

I am an experienced business owner and since retraining I now work in a technical field. Last year I started doing freelance work for a tiny company within this field whereby i get paid per job and the company take an equal cut.

I am working alongside a more senior & very experienced technician - he however wants to semi retire so is now specialising in a niche, very profitable area and is leaving the more general work to me. I am fine with this and am really eager to learn as much as a can from him.

The issue is that he has given this more general area of his work to his wife to run as her own business. She is not a technician or in any way an experienced business owner.

Politely - she is pretty incompetent. She gets flustered really easily, cannot focus on what she is being told, gets quite stroppy when asked about details, particularly financials.

I was promised x amount of work per week but it turns out that they don't have any where near that much work, and I am expected to generate 85% the promised work using skills from my former role. And do this unpaid. She also asks or expects me to do all sorts of other stuff for her for free which is nothing to do with my job and I have started to say no to this now I've realised she is taking the P.

When I tried to discuss there not being enough work to make what i am doing financially viable she began getting stroppy, and I had to tell her to please behave more professionally and stop raising her voice to me. I have worked my socks off there, been super reliable and have given her no cause to take umbridge with me.

The 'model' they are working to is not how I would run any company and there are many flaws and ways to streamline the way the company operates. However - I have been offered this more general side of the business for free if i continue working there for a year as they will both then work in this niche area.

My dilemma is I really want to work alongside this experienced technician but I will be building up this business for the wife. Asides from the incompetence - whilst she has promised, there is no guarantee she will hand it to me in a year. I don't have money for legal fees so it's all based on trust, and she has done a few things that have caused me to question her trustworthiness, and also - i would significantly change how the business is run if it were mine anyway to the point it would look nothing like it does now.

So my choices are:

1. Walk away now and spend the time building my own business and developing my own technical knowledge - i will only need half the amount of work as i will not need to give anyone else a cut

1. Grit my teeth, take what work she gives me and see the year out so I can learn as much as i can from the technician which really is priceless

1. Carry on there whilst building my own business on the side, leaving when I feel confident and financially in a position to go it alone.

What would you do?

Thank you!

Walk away, clearly!

Another possibility is to approach the guy and tell him that this isn’t working for you. That his wife isn’t competent (obviously, different language!) and you are currently having to do 85% of the business development etc. that had not been part of your agreement. Suggest that you work on a handover now with you paying X amount a month for 12 months with him available for y hours a month for consultation.

But only do this if there is value in being under his umbrella for a year and you are prepared to walk away if he says no.

I worked somewhere in 2018 for 4 months and ended up walking away. The boss was genuinely an idiot. I’ve never met someone so intellectually challenged in a position of authority. You couldn’t discuss anything with her, she couldn’t problem solve or objection handle at all.
I left after four months. Just said on the Friday I wouldn’t be coming back on the Monday

So the key thing, when you pose a question like this, is to listen to people's arguments, not their conclusions. Ignore the fact that everyone's saying "option 1" - the main value you should take away from this thread is factors that you hadn't properly considered or weighted. I guarantee that others aren't properly considering or weighting all your factors! So incorporate everyone's thoughts into your own analysis, but make the decision based on that analysis, not based on our votes.

Wow, patronising much?

The issue is the technical side - well not an issue - I am good at it, but bit scared to be out on my own with no one to turn to for advice!
As the owner/operator of my own tiny business, I pay people to help me with stuff I can't do........
I don't have money for legal fees so it's all based on trust
I am no fan of lawyers, but if you think it's expensive getting proper legal help just wait and see how much it costs when things go wrong and you have no legal agreements.

LonginesPrime I actually found that comment really helpful! It's true.

Option 1, definitely.

If your boss is as useless as you say, you might end up with a fair few of their clients, anyway!

Option ONE... good luck OP 🌺

I have been offered this more general side of the business for free if i continue working there for a year

The reason I asked what exactly they have promised you in terms of business assets is because this is significant in terms of the risk you're taking. If it turns out the potential reward isn't very valuable, then there's less incentive to stick things out.

For example, if they are saying that you could take on their existing clients in this 'general' business area under your own name (or own company) in a year, then that doesn't seem valuable, given that (1) you're generating the business for them anyway and (2) you've not signed a non-compete clause or agreed to any kind of restrictive covenant preventing you from working for those clients or soliciting their business anyway.

Whereas if they have promised that they would sign their brand (IP, domain names, etc) for that part of the business over to you, that would be more valuable and the decision as to whether it's worth the risk is very different.

The bottom line is that if you're intending to act to your own detriment for the next year for commercial value that will materialise later, you should make sure they have a contractual obligation to hand over that value.

And if what you're being promised isn't actually that valuable, it's worth considering why you'd choose to put yourself out for a year to receive it.

A contract doesn't need to be fancy - it just needs to be clear and legally enforceable. You can already see the get-outs they're putting in place so you know it's needed. I would ask them to provide you with a draft contract and then take it to one of the organisations who helps small businesses and get them to take a look. Or ask around to see if your friends know a lawyer who could have a quick look for you - you don't need to hire someone to negotiate the whole deal, just someone to look it over and point out any flaws/suggest some bespoke language to reflect what you've agreed.