People don't always know what is best for them. But fully funding an
IRA would be a way to funnel money to them without taxes that might be
appreciated when they do their taxes..
On 1/28/24 6:09 PM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote:
I would be a bit surprised if anyone that works on my shop floor would
prefer that. We only have 25 employees and they are mostly welders
etc. I wonder if any of them even have an IRA.
*From:* Robert
*Sent:* Sunday, January 28, 2024 7:53 PM
*To:* af@af.afmug.com
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] compensation for employees
Fully fund IRAs?
On 1/28/24 5:18 PM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote:
Thanks Ken,
No stock options. I am slowly giving the company to a couple sons
that are putting in the sweat equity. Still not sure about
production based bonuses. Should everyone get the same amount?
*From:* Ken Hohhof
*Sent:* Sunday, January 28, 2024 1:11 PM
*To:* 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group'
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] compensation for employees
I worked for big companies in the 80’s and remember profit sharing
and Christmas bonuses. Then we had a period of startups with stock
options as a huge part of compensation – the idea was you worked 80
hour weeks for modest pay but if the company hit it big your options
could be worth a lot. I suspect some people hit the jackpot and a
lot more got the shaft.
My sense is that employees today are mostly focused on the short
term. They have bills to pay, they want to know what income they can
count on, they probably don’t want to roll the dice on profit sharing
or a bonus or stock options. Also, Millennials and Gen XYZ I talk to
seem to view employment as transactional, and they don’t necessarily
identify with the company or the owners (thanks to companies like
Amazon and owners like Bezos).
So while I don’t have any hard facts, my guess is you’re doing the
right thing already. If you’re inclined to tie compensation to
company performance, I wouldn’t make it a large percentage, and I
wouldn’t try to use it as an incentive for people to work insane
hours or achieve impossible goals (like Elon Musk’s “extremely
hardcore”). And I’d make it fairly short term, like monthly or
something, so employees aren’t making their families scrimp in hopes
of a windfall at the end of the quarter or year.
If you do experience hard times, reduced hours might be a temporary
solution at least for hourly employees. Realizing that with low
unemployment, some of them might move elsewhere.
The good news is that any part of your business tied to fiber
projects is likely to have at least 5 good years coming.
*From:* AF mailto:af-boun...@af.afmug.com *On Behalf Of *Chuck McCown
via AF
*Sent:* Sunday, January 28, 2024 12:16 PM
*To:* af@af.afmug.com
*Cc:* ch...@go-mtc.com
*Subject:* [AFMUG] compensation for employees
My latest pivot a couple of years ago to microtrenching blades,
adding grout machines, then microtrenching saw attachments and now to
a specialized type of vacuum excavator has gone extremely well.
Almost no software involved. Just a little in a motion control PCB
in the grout machine to control the hydrostatic transmission. This is
by far my most profitable season I have ever had in 50 years of
running some kind of hustle. And those years of the stinger and
other related antennas and hardware were not bad at all. I am a bit
more confident that these new “durable products” have more legs than
the antennas that were radio specific.
But having been through wax and wane of business, economy and product
cycles for many decades, I am always reticent to ratchet up pay. I
do give bonuses. I will always live in fear of not meeting payroll.
Only happened once about 30 years ago, but that is a bad deal. And
actually nobody was unpaid but I had to layoff everyone. But I digress.
What would y’all suggest as a way to reward employees when things are
going well? I give COLA plus modest merit increases every 6 months.
I could give substantial merit increases but that plays into my
phobia of things getting tight again. Maybe that is totally
unfounded. I know when things started going well for Henry Ford he
doubled pay and things got even better for him.
I would like to do bonuses based on my bottom line income (I think),
but how to distribute that evenly? Should everyone get the same
amount? And how to relate that the size of the bonus is tied
directly to how well the company is doing? Or should I just give
really nice raises this go around? Or both? I guess if things slow
down we can always trim staff or let attrition do it for us. I think
you all can understand the reluctance to give raises as it is a one
way street. You really cannot cut pay.
I want employees to prosper and do better personally. I wonder if my
fears are justified. I know some of you have worked for large
companies at certain points in your life, how did they accomplish
this. I know some of you have really prospered with your WISP/ISP,
curious how you approached the whole sharing the wealth thing.
Chuck McCown
McCown Technology Corporation
8401 N Commerce Dr
Lake Point, Utah 84074
801-250-9503
435-830-4306 cell
www.mccowntech.com <http://www.mccowntech.com>
www.microtrench-blades.com <http://www.microtrench-blades.com>
www.terabitnetworks.com <http://www.terabitnetworks.com>
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