When I started out in buisiness a close friend was very ill and fightiing for her life.

Concerned about her possible berevity I took a calculated risk and bought a recruitment company right out. My reasoning behind this was I wanted something to live on, and a challenge.

I installed a family member to run the agency, and take it forward, hoping for the best.

Five years on the business has failed to make a profit - the family member has proved ineffective, and we are in danger of loosing our investment.

So what happened and what went wrong?

I bought into a business that promised a good rate of return, but we had no experience in it, and therein must be part of the error. The second lesson was in the capabilities of the family member and his energy.

Arriving at the agency six monthjs after the purchase we found the staff reading papers, the president accepting the reality and culturally unable to multitask - the fate of failure was already set in the sand.

We tried to change the paradigm over the years, pumping more money in, but the man we put there was unable to inform us of the account.

A geek cannot run a business.

The whole process was an education and out of abject failure CatchFriday was born, and we separated from repeating the same mistake.

We still have the agency though trying to sell it. The family member has a huge pride, even to the point of telling my other directors that I am the self-imposed marketing director and a bobo.

Pride comes before a fall - I have already lost the investment - maybe he also wants my mack too?

Catch Friday proves to be successful, and we continue to add staff and reinvest.


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