Musings of a Punk Rock Father

After getting laid off in June, which I have already written about, I spent a while searching for a new job. Since my previous job was in the mortgage industry, as a residential mortgage underwriter, things weren't looking very rosy. Things only got worse since then. I applied to several mortgage companies: wholesale, retail, correspondent, broker, mortgage insurance companies. I even got interviews. But no second interviews. A relative got laid off soon after me, but hers was much more harsh than mine. I was told in March, got to work until the end of June, and then got paid until the end of September. She was shown the door that day and got two weeks severance. More and more mortgage companies are going under, more and more are laying off. Two people who were laid off with me have already been laid off again.

So what's a mortgage guy to do when the industry goes to crap?

Start a new business.

This month I am opening a new business with my soon-to-be step-father-in-law. We are opening a store called Ink Station, an ink cartridge refilling store.

It's a very exciting time, but also very demanding. I started officially on October 1st, and it has been a lot of work. But I have had a lot of fun getting it up and running, working on the build-out of our store from design to choosing furniture and displays, to ordering product and equipment, to selecting vendors. I'm very happy with how our logo and store and all of our in-store signage has turned out.

Our grand opening is November 10th, and we have an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor of the town we are in on November 15th. I am hoping for a busy day!