profile

Hi, I'm Barrett

How I caught an employee stealing $30,000 from me

Published over 1 year ago • 1 min read

You MUST check out BoldSEO:
​
Nick Huber and myself teamed up to launch BoldSEO. We work with 85+ clients and help them grow profits with SEO. Our team is top notch, especially Simon Purdon, who is the brains behind the strategy and offers. This Monday, April 8th, I'm opening up my calendar to operators who want to learn about our offers.
​
​Book with me here​
​
Last week I did a "spur of the moment" tweet about the time an employee try to steal $30,000 from me. It got bigtime engagement so I figured I'd expand on the story here.
​
This person was a 3-year employee of the company and in the last 6-months there we're a few warnings and conversations about attitude and overstepping. After a final snap, verbally assaulting another employee, it was time to pull the plug.
​

They didn't take the news well and we're surprisingly blind-sided (not sure how this is possible given their behavior).
​
A few days later we get a letter from their attorney...we're being sued for an "unpaid bonus of $10,000" which was allegedly promised to them. In Massachusetts these are paid out at 3x or $30,000 in this case.
​
Massachusetts is a VERY employee friendly state and it's near impossible to win so we wanted this to go away. The attorney presented a letter from my partner guaranteeing the $10,000...
​
I was shocked -- NO WAY we would write that in a letter. A $30,000 check to an ex-employee was gonna sting. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
​
I started sleuthing and logged into the company email and Google Drive where I found the ex-employee edited the real letter literally adding the line about a $10,000 bonus (and some other BS) -- completely fabricated!

They we're too dumb to know Google Drive keeps a complete history of all edits and you can revisit any old version!
​
I made a Loom video showing the fraud taking place in real time -- step-by-step. Better yet, the employee tried to secure a mortgage with the same letter! Double fraud!
​
I sent the video to their attorney -- suit immediately dropped.

Moral of the story: don't be an idiot.

Hi, I'm Barrett

I've bootstrapped multiple seven-figure companies and am sharing hard-earned lessons and insights about entrepreneurship.

Read more from Hi, I'm Barrett

NNN expenses are starting to impact industrial rent growth. Why? Because class B/C industrial tenants don’t care about base rent. They care about the total check they write every month for real estate costs.(I've experienced this first hand on the tenant side) For example... In Metro-Boston’s industrial market, base rents for Class B space average $12.50 per SF, but total occupancy costs often hit $18-$20 per SF. Operating expenses can run $6-$8 per SF (usually $3-5), with property taxes...

6 months ago • 1 min read

As mentioned last week, I'm currently under contract on an Industrial / Industrial Outdoor Storage (IOS) property about 20 miles from Boston, MA. I've kicked off my due diligence process, and I figured it would be helpful to shed light on the costs and process in general. PS: If you want to see my real estate deals, quarterly updates, and new CRE opportunities, join my RE Investor List. When buying CRE, you cannot cheap out or do half-assed due diligence. To successfully execute a deal, you...

8 months ago • 1 min read

Hey Everyone, $48,600 week on FaceBook Marketplace: I may be late to the party here, but the FB marketplace is incredible -- if you're a good copywriter. The post below, advertising warehouse space, has led to 652 clicks in 6 days, $4,050 of monthly revenue, and 10+ additional leads that can turn into revenue. So, who is paying? - Local truck driver is paying $1,000/mo. to store his trucks behind my building (not visible from the road.- Longhaul truck driver (Boston to Austin) needs a place...

12 months ago • 2 min read