Comment by cpncrunch | Hacker News Reader

Comment by cpncrunch | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

My wife works at a place like this, although it's a construction company and not software. We just made a decision to move to a really nice part of the world (Vancouver Island) a few years ago. My wife started looking for jobs after she got here, picked one, and basically lucked out.

This company really does treat their employees like family. My wife got a phone call a few months ago that her father was very ill and in hospital (he's now recovered). Her boss immediately bought her a plane ticket so she could go home to visit him.

Last year she had to take a month off for surgery, and the company was really nice about it. They paid part of her salary while she was off to make up for the unemployment benefit (even though they didn't have to), told her to take as long as she needed to recover, sent her flowers at the hospital, etc.

She started off on a fairly low salary, but she's got multiple large pay rises since she started there, and is now earning a decent salary. (Her boss talked to her about salary, and basically asked her what she thought she should be making).

They do expect hard work and commitment. Quite often she will work overtime if it's busy, and they are very quick to fire useless people. However in return for your commitment they do treat their employees very well.

These are companies that in the Valley are referred to as "lifestyle businesses" in a derogatory fashion, as they'll never be "IPO" money. Yet, they have happy customers, happy employees, and generate a profit.

Yeah, I actually run a lifestyle business myself, and have done so for the past 18 years. I make a decent living (albeit much less than I'd earn working for a SV startup or Google), have a virtually stress-fee life, live in paradise, and can set my own work schedule. I don't have any employees at the moment, but when I did employ someone I gave him the same work conditions that I set for myself (i.e. work whenever you want, and take time off whenever you feel like it).

Before I started working on my business full-time I earned about 5x what I make now (and that was over 15 years ago), but I'm much happier now.

The parable of the Mexican fisherman: http://renewablewealth.com/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisher...

:)

> These are companies that in the Valley are referred to as "lifestyle businesses" in a derogatory fashion, as they'll never be "IPO" money.

What's funny is that small and mid-size businesses that Silicon Valley looks down on can generate IPO money.

Founders, senior management and investors can make vast fortunes when companies go public, but "IPO money" for rank-and-file employees is typically in the six and seven figures, and that's in best case scenarios.

A lot of small businesses generate net profits of six and seven figures annually. My SO's uncle, for instance, makes over a million dollars a year running a services business. So every year, he's banking more than many employees will make in one-off IPO windfalls. There are tons of business owners like him in this country.

Personally, I don't want IPO money and all the headaches that come with it. I'd rather have more time, good people and freedom than money. That's why I was asking for examples of such cities/companies.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com