Why I Joined UP

– Tom Bishop

A story of bad timing… During the dot-com boom, I pursued my career agressively, going to business school at night and taking an engineering job with a national startup in April 2000. Yes, April 2000. The month of the stock market “bloodbath.” Within 8 months, the startup was out of business, and I finished business school in January 2002. Yup, January 2002! There wasn’t a worse time to be a graduate. It’s amazing what an MBA will do to pay the mortgage. I took several temp jobs, and opened a business with my wife, and created 12 jobs. In the spring of 2003, the

U.S. economy finally started to show signs of life again, with half a million jobs created in Q1. But the recovery began to sputter, and the high fuel costs and high insurance costs began to take their toll on our clients, and our business. I started to seek a job again, to help keep the business running. After a few temp positions, I found a full time job as an engineer. It’s surreal being an entrepreneur, balancing books and marketing the business, while also a temp, making copies for travel agencies.

We closed the business in 2005, gave up the SBA loan, the mortgage, the van and the house. We scraped under the bankruptcy wire in early Oct 2005. In 2006, I finally got a job doing what I want to do: Marketing. But it was after years of searching. It took sliding sideways at the firm that originally hired me as an engineer. Then the company merged and cut the health benefits. It goes on. The 90s economy was like a horse & wagon stopping at every corner to pick people up. Today the wagon is careening through the streets while the drunken riders fight to kick people off. I’m now watching that wagon race into the distance from the mud.

But I’m not getting up and dusting myself off for another try. Today I’m more interested in helping others catch that wagon and stop it. Today we rent, and we always will. Today we save, not invest. Today we shop local, not at big biz. Today I am dedicated to using my MBA to do greater things, by volunteering with Net Impact and CCT Boston. Today I join the fight for economic fairness for people who don’t have Dow-tracking portfolios, and who don’t have second homes or kids in prep schools. I stand in favor of communities over nations, workers over corporations, and small businesses over Wall Street. And that’s why I am joining UP.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Our stories, blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tom Bishop Says:
February 6th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

Update: The company I work for got bought. The health benefits are better and my own position is probably safer (for now). After 6 years of struggle, there is finally light. But…

One paycheck can end it all. We continue to fight. We will ensure that everyone who is able can get a good job in the “richest country on earth.”

Why I Joined UP

One Response to “Why I Joined UP”

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ABOUT BECOME A MEMBER CHAPTER BUILDING RESOURCES & SERVICES BLOGS & NEWS FORUM BOOKSHELF CONTACT UP	« Previous in this section Next in this section » Why I Joined UP Link to article – Tom Bishop A story of bad timing… During the dot-com boom, I pursued my career agressively, going to business school at night and taking an engineering job with a national startup in April 2000. Yes, April 2000. The month of the stock market “bloodbath.” Within 8 months, the startup was out of business, and I finished business school in January 2002. Yup, January 2002! There wasn’t a worse time to be a graduate. It’s amazing what an MBA will do to pay the mortgage. I took several temp jobs, and opened a business with my wife, and created 12 jobs. In the spring of 2003, the U.S. economy finally started to show signs of life again, with half a million jobs created in Q1. But the recovery began to sputter, and the high fuel costs and high insurance costs began to take their toll on our clients, and our business. I started to seek a job again, to help keep the business running. After a few temp positions, I found a full time job as an engineer. It’s surreal being an entrepreneur, balancing books and marketing the business, while also a temp, making copies for travel agencies. We closed the business in 2005, gave up the SBA loan, the mortgage, the van and the house. We scraped under the bankruptcy wire in early Oct 2005. In 2006, I finally got a job doing what I want to do: Marketing. But it was after years of searching. It took sliding sideways at the firm that originally hired me as an engineer. Then the company merged and cut the health benefits. It goes on. The 90s economy was like a horse & wagon stopping at every corner to pick people up. Today the wagon is careening through the streets while the drunken riders fight to kick people off. I’m now watching that wagon race into the distance from the mud. But I’m not getting up and dusting myself off for another try. Today I’m more interested in helping others catch that wagon and stop it. Today we rent, and we always will. Today we save, not invest. Today we shop local, not at big biz. Today I am dedicated to using my MBA to do greater things, by volunteering with Net Impact and CCT Boston. Today I join the fight for economic fairness for people who don’t have Dow-tracking portfolios, and who don’t have second homes or kids in prep schools. I stand in favor of communities over nations, workers over corporations, and small businesses over Wall Street. And that’s why I am joining UP. This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Our stories, blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. One Response to “Why I Joined UP” Tom Bishop Says: February 6th, 2007 at 10:34 pm Update: The company I work for got bought. The health benefits are better and my own position is probably safer (for now). After 6 years of struggle, there is finally light. But… One paycheck can end it all. We continue to fight. We will ensure that everyone who is able can get a good job in the “richest country on earth.” Leave a Reply Name Mail (will not be published) Website Spam protection: Sum of 1 + 4 ? Podcast Powered by podPress (v8.8)