Apparently the board wasn’t happy with the rate of growth of the company and decided Herman was the one who had to go. Only those who have struggled to start and build their own company can understand the emotional and psychological commitment it takes. When it fails, more than a company fails. The toll it took on both of us was enormous. The days that followed
We looked at food businesses and we looked at donut shops. We were open to anything. Once we almost bought a business that rented surf boards, fixed lawn mowers and did gift wrapping. How’s that for diver- sification. Then we discovered that the reason the business looked so profitable on the books
was that they also ran a horse racing book. We were open to a lot of things but becoming a bookie wasn’t one of them. A CHANCE ENCOUNTER A woman who was a neighbor of ours in Cher-
“I wouldn’t mind moving to the warm weather.”
were ones in which both of us had to dig deep to find the reserves of will and self-confidence that would allow us to pick ourselves up and try again. Our first attempt was a diet pill busi-
ry Hill and my partner in the Mystery Club adventure (Phyllis what’s-her-name) had told me that her husband was in the telephone answering service business and was doing well. Then someone else mentioned that answering services was a good business. We started to narrow our search. One day we were in a gas station in Fort Lauderdale. Herman was talking to the mechanic while I sat in the car. I noticed a man in a car opposite us who looked very familiar but I couldn’t quite place him. Finally I couldn’t stand it any more and I introduced
ness that started with great success but which our lawyer was dead set against. We took his advice and got out of it. A pile of checks was returned unopened.
The big question was... What to put in its place?
THE ODYSSEY At loose ends Herman and I decided to drive to Florida to visit my mother and take a break. My mother had moved to West Palm Beach where she lived with her sister, my Aunt Lil . The trip gave us a chance to think about what to do next. While we were at my moth- er’s condo I mentioned to Herman that every time we took a trip it was to someplace warm and that maybe, with my mother in Florida, I wouldn’t mind moving there. Herman was surprised, “You wouldn’t do that,” he said. I considered that my mother was in Florida, that my best friend, Selma Denen- berg spent six months of the year in Florida, the warm weather, and the fact that we were starting over – and I said, “Yes, I would.” I was ready for a major change in our lives. Typical of Herman, five minutes after my decision he was on the phone to business brokers looking for a business. That conversation started our odyssey all around Florida, both east and west coasts, to look for likely businesses to buy or for a job for Herman. We talked to everyone and listened to advice from business owners and brokers.
Aunt Lil and Sadie Schluger
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