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    A Great Day

    Today is truly a great day. And not just because it's my birthday.

    My ex-wife and I split up about five and a half years ago, when I was still living in Montreal. She took the kids and headed to Toronto - can't blame her, really. But since I was damned if I was going to be an absentee father (I've got enough issues with my own father over that one), I soon quit my steady job and made my way to Toronto, too.

    I work in the field of public policy. Here in the NPS, we don't have a lot of "think tanks" and independent foundations. Most everyone who works in Public Policy has to work in government, in academia, or in one of the NGOs in Ottawa. This is a problem for me. I don't work in government because I have a low bullshit tolerance. I don't work in academia because I have a low boredom tolerance (the continuing lack of a completed doctorate is a bit problematic, too). And I don't work at one of the Ottawa NGOs, partly because I've been there and done that but partly because Ottawa is a festering canker sore of a city which is high on my list of places I'd be happy to see swallowed up in a fiery cataclysm.

    With shitty alternatives on all sides, I started my own business. Policy research and consulting, mostly, although we put out a lot of free publications and do some pro bono work, too. I share a name and some resources with a partner in the US, but the Canadian office has always been my business, my risk.

    Unless you've a particularly obsessive personality, I don't recommend starting a business. It's harrowing. Having a payroll is terrifying. Constantly wondering if you've got enough money to pay your employees is harrowing. Constantly worrying if you've got enough people (and the *right* people) to do the job is even worse. Loads and loads of sleepless nights from work and worry.

    Anyways, as we took on more and more work, I took on more and more employees. But since revenues always lag the work, I was always having to borrow money to keep the whole thing moving. A major fuck-up on a project about two years ago set me back 70K. At its worst, I had about 120K in debt – much of it on credit cards - and was juggling creditors back and forth.

    I've never really been in debt before, and I found it a totally nauseating experience. Panic would set in whenever I left myself even a moment's peace. There were times when I thought I'd never get out of debt. Sometimes, I wanted to get out of the business entirely, but I couldn’t face the thought of shutting the doors and putting my employees out of work, either.

    Anyways, for the past few months, things have been getting better. Sure, I'm still overloaded with work and getting up at 3AM all the time, but I've been able to start paying myself some of the salary I had to defer when times weren't very good. As a result, as of today, both my company and me personally are completely out of debt for the first time in five years.

    I feel fucking fabulous. Even if I'm not crazy about being 38, I feel a totally new man.

    #2
    A Great Day

    Happy birthday, and happy debtfreeness.

    I knew we had a good'un on OTF when you were posting from a blackberry at the altar of the church on your wedding day. That sort of dedication is only to be admired.

    I'm not sure if I'm now debt free or if I've moved around so much, none of the scary companies chasing me can find me. I suspect the latter.

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      #3
      A Great Day

      Antonio, well done and may the sweat on your brow be only caused by hot weather from now on. Breathe. Exhale. Relax.

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        #4
        A Great Day

        Complimenti and auguri, Gramsci.

        Having been there and done that in a previous life, only to go running to the relative predictability of a major law firm, I have some sense for just how good you must feel and how proud you should be.

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          #5
          A Great Day

          Congratulations, AG. I can only imagine what an unending source of debilitating stress running your own company must be. I have enough trouble leading a stress-free existence as an insignificant flywheel in a company that runs perfectly well without the benefit of my directorial input.

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            #6
            A Great Day

            Excellent news, AG, congrats on both counts.

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              #7
              A Great Day

              Debt free is a great feeling. I became debt free about 18 months ago, when I sold my flat that I'd been renting out since I moved in with Alison. The only slight concern is that I'm now also asset free, but it's great to be, er, liquid.

              So, congrats AG. Lend us a fiver.

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                #8
                A Great Day

                Congrats from me too.

                I'm also asset-free but relatively debt-free too. I don't think it's a bad thing. My car will be paid for in August, and that was my largest outstanding debt. Of course, I'll probably do something silly and trade it in for a new one (and more debt) in September.

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                  #9
                  A Great Day

                  Cheers, all.

                  Boris, I can't lend you a fiver (other than this one), but I'd be very happy to buy you - and anyone else who's interested - a drink if you happen to be in London on the 15th. What is liquidity for if not liquids?

                  Lyra has suggested a Sam Smith's roundabout Covent Garden way, the name of which temporarily escapes me.

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                    #10
                    A Great Day

                    Well AG, we have at least two things in common, I'm 38 and debt-free too. Mind you I'll be 39 in two months...

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                      #11
                      A Great Day

                      Congrats, AG. That's wonderful news all around. And happy 38th. Lunch is on me this week.

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                        #12
                        A Great Day

                        Great news.

                        Does a great day involve all the features of a good day? No barking from the dog, mom making breakfast with no hogs?

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                          #13
                          A Great Day

                          Excellent AG. The feeling of being self employed and debt-free is both liberating and empowering. You're a mensch.

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                            #14
                            A Great Day

                            I dunno, AdC. On this board, my Arsenal sympathies pretty much disqualify me from menchness. But many thanks for the thought.

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