When life gets tough ...

... the tough get going. We've all heard it, but sometimes we don't think about having to be tough and get going. : ) Its our turn. The market downturn in the last couple of weeks has caused some problems for I3, the company Steve works for. They lost their investor. He called the managing partners on Saturday and told them the money is gone, close the doors. Evidently, he had too much in one investment and that company folded last week so he lost it all. When Steve got to work yesterday, his bosses pulled him in and told him. They then had to go into their Monday morning meeting and tell the rest of the employees. There is no money for payroll or anything. He's out of work and technically, as of 2 1/2 weeks ago he was out of work ... we just didn't know it.

We knew this risk when we started there, but never imagined it would be so overnight. So now what ... Steve has started applying for jobs elsewhere. He applied for a couple last night and sent some resumes to friends and ex-co-workers hoping that one of them knows of openings. The managing partners at I3 are still trying to find some other source of funding. Steve and his co-workers all discussed their options. Of course, they are all facing reality - no paycheck yesterday so they are seriously looking for jobs elsewhere. But they also realize that you can't spend the entire day looking for a job so the extra time they have, they are still going work and try to get their product to market. They are VERY close to having a product ready. They truly believe they can get it done in 30-60 days so they are going to work like crazy until they get other jobs and see what they can manage. If they can get it done, they will have instant revenue and they will be a viable company again and it will have been worth the sacrifice (at least that's what we are trying to believe, but I'm not sure anything is worth this feeling). But, it just depends on how soon everyone gets jobs elsewhere and whether or not they can meet their goals.

Most of you know that Steve is a part-owner in another company, audioShare (DHC). That company is still moving forward, but it is not an option for employment at this point. They are still struggling to keep their heads above water and so hiring Steve is not an option for them now and not in the near future.

Keep us in your prayers. Keep him in mind if you hear of any openings in software development and/or electronic engineering. He has had a lot of managerial experience so management positions in his industry are also possible. If you hear of anything email or call me. I'll keep you all posted. Right now, we're still in the overwhelmed, purly scared out of our minds phase so we'll keep you posted!

Oh, and we aren't telling our kids right now. Honestly, I'm just not sure how or what to tell them and not sure I'm ready to tell them. So as I don't mind you talking to others, I'd rather kids not hear too much about it. Thanks!