My partner was stifling the company's growth

Yosef

There was something so exhilarating about a new beginning.

And it was even better when I could make some people very, very happy along the way.

Things have been tough recently, for everyone. I’m well aware of that, even though our business has been one of the lucky ones not to be dealt a death blow by the coronavirus crisis. Basic household utensils are always in demand, especially pre-Pesach. But I wasn’t kidding myself, things weren’t what they used to be, and it was time to step things up a little.

That’s why Avigdor’s idea came at the perfect time.

He brought it up at our weekly meeting one week, fastidiously reviewing the weekly accounts first, summarizing the minutes of our previous meeting, and only then moving on to the last item on the agenda: Expansion Opportunity. Only my cousin — and business partner, since we inherited the management of the company from our fathers — would calmly lay out the week’s agenda and then, excruciatingly methodically, explain the proposal that had come his way a few days earlier.

“A few days ago?” I’d nearly jumped out my seat. “The chance to buy out Paperex Supplies at a steal of a deal, the opportunity we’ve been waiting for to break into a whole new market and expand our product line, open a new division... and you wait until now to tell me?”

Avigdor, being Avigdor, hadn’t reacted beyond raising his eyebrows. “I got a call on Thursday, today’s Monday. We don’t have to run after anyone, Yoss, they need us right now. They want to sell badly. I thought we’d discuss it together today, there’s plenty of time.”

I didn’t think I’d ever understand the way his brain works. But that was a side issue right now — the main thing was, yes!

Here’s something you should know: for months already, I’ve been telling Avigdor we should expand the business. Kitchen supplies are sweet, wedding gifts are great, we have a classy collection, luxury line, as well as the reasonable range — kitchen appliances, cutlery and dishes, and tablecloths and towels that are durable and affordable. We have a fairly large wholesale operation going, and we supply lots of the houseware stores in the state.

But we could be doing more than this. I’d spoken to the accountant, we had the funds available to invest, and expanding our client base with an entire new product line would take our business to a whole new level. I’d just been waiting for the right opportunity to come along, and it seems it had. Paperex was a successful home-office supply company, and with coronavirus changing the work landscape so drastically, I could see that home offices were going to be more than a passing trend.

We signed on the deal later that week. Avigdor, of course, pored over contracts with Brown, the lawyer, for hours in advance, while I ran out to buy some champagne. This is what we paid Brown to do, read the small print, and hey, this was something to celebrate! Like I said, I’d been hoping to branch out like this for a long time.

To be honest, I felt a bit of a pang at the way Avigdor took charge of this. It wasn’t the first time I’d been left feeling like the tagalong in this partnership. All the times I’d suggested expanding, and he’d brushed it aside — and now I was barely involved in the process. Still, I tried to put it behind me. After all, the main thing was that we were expanding now. Who cared who had been behind it?