Crazy plan or crazy smart?

[Philip J. Fry]

Hey Buso. So, from https://www.buildersociety.com/threads/how-much-should-they-buy-me-out-for.6153/, we did resolve the issue. They told me I either had to accept a deal or they fire me. I was fed up with working with them and didn't want to work. Instead of "buying me out" for 2.5mm, they informed me that no one gets bought out of a revenue share contract. The contract just ends. So, they offered me 200m remaining pay and 300m/year salary. The 200m payment is actually 30m or 40m lower than what's owed to me and we settled at 215m payment. The 300m/year salary was supposed to be 300m/year salary with 50m raises each year for 5 years. No if, and, or buts about it. I read the employment contract and they worded as "50,000 annual raises, if we meet our goals and if the company is doing well." Fuck that shit. That was not what we agreed upon and they always try to lower my pay, upon what's agreed upon. This has been happening ever since I knew them. They're just giving themselves outs to not pay me the 50k annual raises we agreed upon. They can say stuff like "uhh I'm worried about Omicron" and then use that as justification to pay me less. NOPE! That's getting re-worded.

However, even at 300k/year salary, I'm in the top 3% of SEO salaries and going to another company would be hard. Also, 215k payment is still 215k payment. Once the 300k salary + 50k annual raises for 5 years are written in the contract properly and signed, I would be good, I think, as it's written in my employment contract. What I worry about is 6 years from now. How would I negotiate the next contract and what platform would I have in the negotiation? What if they mess with me once more? What would I do and how would I defend myself?

Therefore, I have an idea. In year 3 of the contract, I'll write anonymous letters to all competitors with proof that I'm working for a competitor of theirs. I'll then give them tips on what they can do for their site. If one competitor does it, they'll be a good rival, which would solidify my importance and need in the company. It'll also make it so that everything in SEO is more expensive, since we'd need more workers, budget, etc. This would then give me a good reason for an additional raise and so forth: our competitors got stronger and we gotta do more work to stay competitive, therefore, I need to be paid more.

What do you think? Crazy? Smart? Also, how do I help the competitors take action on the anonymous letter? I really gotta explain SEO to them and how the tips would help them. Also, I'm certain my non-disclosure agreement and confidentiality agreement is OK with this, since I'm not accepting pay and am not telling them what we're doing. It's free tips, anonymously

@secretagentdad They're slimy as fuck. @miketpowell It's going well with them but they're not straight shooters and are as proper as used car salesmen.

 

[Darth]

Can I suggest you get a good employment lawyer for advice. Maybe they can advise you on whether the rev share agreement could in fact be terminated like they are saying too. These amounts aren't trivial so worth professional advice.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Can I suggest you get a good employment lawyer for advice. Maybe they can advise you on whether the rev share agreement could in fact be terminated like they are saying too. These amounts aren't trivial so worth professional advice.

Yes the amounts are not trivial but I took a year of business law in business school. It's a contract and we never specified how it'll end. Really, they made a good point. It ends when either party wishes, since it's an at will contract. I mean, think about it, what would force them to stay in the country other than a set duration in the contract? Nothing. Also, yes, I was entitled to the full amount but I took 30k or so less. They were fed up with paying me so much and wanted something in return. I gave them the 30k to grease the wheels so to speak: I'll make more keeping the relationship going than ending the relationship and fighting over every last penny. Also, I signed the deal already and they're wiring me the 215k promptly.

For them, it's give and take. For me, I want contracts written in stone and security. However, they're Spanish and it's a different culture. In the end, I'm still better off by 215k and a 300k/year job It's sorta like a bad marriage where there's tons of arguments but, at the same time, we're both better off together. I actually learned this from Mike Powell, that the relationships are important. This is for investors with employees, employees with employees, contractors with contractors, and so forth. It hurts to lose 30k but, hey, I get a secure 25k payment every month starting January. Not that bad of a trade. The most I ever earned with the profit share, after expenses and all, was 340k or so. So, I don't lose much and secured my salary.

Some people just need to perceive that they won to keep going. The lady who sold me my condo treated me as a victor, since she lowered her price to me; but, afterwards, I found out I paid the most within the last year of anyone for a condo at that condominium. I learned something from her, after I checked the stats on Zillow lol.

Did I learn something from Trump's Art of the Deal? Yes, contracts are important and that's what causes you to do good in Business but, however, the human element is important too and you gotta treat people with dignity. The contract can just be a piece of paper very quickly.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

I talked to someone else about this and here's a tip: if you're leaving a company, don't train your replacement. Leave on good terms but don't wait for your successor to show up or train a replacement. Say that you are willing to consult for them once you leave. This way, you get consultation pay, which is higher than salary since you gotta pay taxes and what not, instead of having the company pay for it. They also save on non-salary expenditures with a consultant such as healthcare, PTO, etc. Training your replacement is for sucks.

 

[secretagentdad]

Since you asked for opinions I will give you the negative one. They’re one conversation with an outside council away from you getting zilch.

I don’t have all the details but this sounds remarkably similar to a situation I ended up in except my contract had liquidation protections for me. I still got beat down pretty bad because the cost to enforce it was to high and I respected the guy to much to fight with him.

Based only on what you said.
Now is when you freak and send them a low six figure offer or get nothing at all.

Listen to the good advice I’m sure you’ve gotten before and consult a contract lawyer. You do not appear to fully grasp the nuances surrounding the situation. Things work the way they do legally speaking, not the way they theoretically should.

Good luck bro.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Since you asked for opinions I will give you the negative one. They’re one conversation with an outside council away from you getting zilch.

I don’t have all the details but this sounds remarkably similar to a situation I ended up in except my contract had liquidation protections for me. I still got beat down pretty bad because the cost to enforce it was to high and I respected the guy to much to fight with him.

Based only on what you said.
Now is when you freak and send them a low six figure offer or get nothing at all.

Listen to the good advice I’m sure you’ve gotten before and consult a contract lawyer. You do not appear to fully grasp the nuances surrounding the situation. Things work the way they do legally speaking, not the way they theoretically should.

Good luck bro.

Well, to their credit, they did send over the $215,000 already. That's a sign of goodwill on their part. I talked to other employees and they're trying to lower pay for everyone, not just me. Yes. I'll read through the employment contract and, if needed, contact a lawyer for clarification. I talked to a lot of lawyers and, although I know I'm not a lawyer, I know enough to know when to hire them and when not to. The contract's language is quite easy.

Also, it's not like I'm without leverage on my end: I can choose to work or leave. I can choose to improve my LinkedIn and get another offer. I can contact a head hunter. I can make decisions at this position that'll help me be more valuable in the market, which would force them to bid for me against another company. The company past the startup stage a long time ago. This is well past entrepreneurship and we're in the late growth phase. I'm a well paid tech employee now. Stuff's different.

I still hate my boss nonetheless lol. Fucking cheap Spaniard who just fucks with people all day.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

If anyone is reading this. DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!

If you own a business and are in a contract with another company, them moving you and your employees into their company is a merger. You deserve compensation for them buying your company. FUCK. I signed a settlement for 30k less than debts they owed me and no compensation for my company. FUCK.

I should have gotten a lawyer earlier. FUCK! I was so stupid!

 

[Sutra]

Goddamn. Ouch.

Really sorry to hear that.

 

[bernard]

Well that sucks, but on the other hand, you're clearly competent and with a chip on your shoulder, so go think about how your story can benefit others and then write/youtube/podcast about it and make some SEO monies.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Well that sucks, but on the other hand, you're clearly competent and with a chip on your shoulder, so go think about how your story can benefit others and then write/youtube/podcast about it and make some SEO monies.

Nah, it's nothing that'll generate money. Here's the lesson.

Let's say you do SEO and found a painting company in the city to optimize. Their site sucks and you give them more sales. You only have one client and they only have one SEO. You even have employees that you hired to do SEO on their site. Over the years, you and the only client of yours get to know each other and the formalities of business dissolve. That's when they can start treating you as an employee and not as an external company. That's when you're in danger of becoming an employee and not getting paid for the company you built.

So, let's say your employee works for you on their site. They are paid $10/hour. You add in an additional 100% management fee and charge the client $20/hour. You don't tell them that there's a management fee. It just is. You also don't give them the SOPs. You keep your internal business practices internal. You can explain it to them but don't hand them company documents. You gotta keep your business separate from them.

Better yet, if you find a second company to do SEO for, you'll be safe. If you only have one, you can get swept into that company.

What I did was, over 6 years, gave them direct access to employees, let them know employee pay and benefits, and even gave them access to SOPs. I was being lazy. I also wasn't looking for other clients and sticking to my one big fish. "20/80 principal" i thought to myself. Nope. It was laziness.

So, there you go. If you run an agency. Run an agency. If you are an employee, be an employee. You can't be something in between.

Finally, I talked to someone else and, in reality, I'm doing pretty good. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-salary-report/412508/ says the top 3% earn over 200,000 USD a year. My starting salary as an employee is $300,000/year. I might not get the yearly 50k raises like I asked but I'm still doing very, very good as an SEO.

It's just that I've never been an employee before lol. I'm gonna miss the freedom I had. But, tbh, I wasn't managing my agency that well at all if this happened and my income on my 1040 would be higher as an employee than as a business owner -- I tended to buy business things and try out ideas which cost me money. I was spending too much and had too many expenses as a business owner.

 

[freshpeppermint]

If anyone is reading this. DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!

If you own a business and are in a contract with another company, them moving you and your employees into their company is a merger. You deserve compensation for them buying your company. FUCK. I signed a settlement for 30k less than debts they owed me and no compensation for my company. FUCK.

I should have gotten a lawyer earlier. FUCK! I was so stupid!

Hey I know this is unrelated but, how did you manage to get hired and learned SEO to where your paid this much??
Is there like a course or something you took? How did you grow this company big from what you have said? Since you got a client to pay you that much, it means you are really good at SEO or just marketing??
How did you show these guys proof that you could grow their company big??

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Hey I know this is unrelated but, how did you manage to get hired and learned SEO to where your paid this much??
Is there like a course or something you took? How did you grow this company big from what you have said? Since you got a client to pay you that much, it means you are really good at SEO or just marketing??
How did you show these guys proof that you could grow their company big??

I went on https://www.buildersociety.com/link-forums/digital-strategy-crash-course.19/ and did the courses. I then made a journal and wrote about my progress. Good luck.