What do you do ? -

after you absentee owner wants to start coming in to work? Its been 4 years i have been running his store with no issues. This owner knows nothing of the industry, bought it as an investment lol. but now wants to start delegating. Should i tell him to beat it? Or let him just run the store into the ground and go over to the competition? Nice guy but knows nothing of the trade and cant hold a wrench of work sales. Dont know what to do. Any help would be great. Thanks

Harmony, you ll need as much harmony as you can get here. Sounds like a very sticky situation you ve found yourself in. I d suggest a two-prong strategy:Do your work wonderfully. Most bosses in their hearts know what they know and don t know. Your guy can bluff and bluster all he wants, but I m guessing that in his soul he is well aware that you are the person who can truly get things done. But sometimes bosses are slow to recognize an employee s value. So, to help prove that to him, I would try to schedule a personal vacation for a few days; do it soon, so he gets a glimpse of what life is like at the shop without you. If you are correct in your judgment, your absence should prove that to him.At the same time....Start your own business planning. My guess is that Plan A has less than a 50-50 chance of succeeding. It s his company and he has the right to run it any way he wants to, even if that means booking a one-way trip to the dung heap. But I m not sure why the only alternative you ve mentioned is to go over to the competition. If you know this business well and have had success growing it, why not see if there s a way to build your own? Is there room in the market for a competitor? One other thought as you re working through this: You might see if the owner is willing to sell the business. Since you say he s a nice guy, there might be a win-win here. I m smelling entrepreneurship in your future.