BETTERBOX

Back in 2001 I was working for Stolt Sea Farm selling Salmon. The Salmon companies were making way too much money and they kept spawning more fish each year as demand grew. In 2002 the salmon market collapsed due to over production. Too many fish and not enough salmon eaters. The companies were too greedy.

My boss, the President of Stolt USA, was fired and after about 90 days they got around to firing me too. All this was done to cut cost. Stolt was losing over $1 million a month. Stolt sold their business to Marine Harvest and closed their LA Plant. The good news was my employment agreement, which called for 6 months severance.

Pam and I discussed my next career move and Meredith and I went on the Journey of Self Discovery. I was in no real hurry to get a new job. Pam joked that I should "think outside of the Box". We talked and agreed what I really needed was a "BETTERBOX".

Well, I got a new job and we put Betterbox on hold. But my recent lay off from Empress and the poor economy has us back discussing our own business. It's no secret that I am ready to retire in the broad sense of the word. This does not mean I am ready to stop earning money. Jack, Colleen, and Meredith all need some level of support for the next few years. Pam has a great job and could easily support us but my income is helpful.

So now is the time for us to launch Betterbox. We formed an LLC [Limited Liability Corp] and set up a Business Banking account. I have been working as a Seafood Broker selling products for three different companies. It is not easy to start a business and make three clients happy at once. I have been working long days and weekends just to keep up. This Saturday I fly to Seattle to meet with another potential client. If all goes well, we should be working together next week.

I set up a simple web page and asked a couple of seafood guys to join me in a Network of Seafood Brokers. I still have some work to do on the Web page but Betterbox Sales & Marketing is coming along. You can visit the site at: http://www.betterboxsales.com


Pam is on the Board of Directors and is VP of Finance.