For a couple years of my career, I found myself working for a lot of small contracting firms. Maybe it was the area I lived in. Or maybe it was the sign of the times. Either way, I ended up working for Frank Sellers. He had a shop of about 30 technical people. Some of us were programmers. Others did system administration. You knew we were small because Frank's wife did the books.
One benefit of working for a small company was that you felt significant. And Frank made sure all employees felt the family love. It was not that Frank was not professional. Rather he created a cozy environment that was very positive. Even when I had to spend most of my time at client's sites, I still felt like I was part of the small company family.
Another good thing about Frank was that he made sure that any problems I had with the company were resolved quickly. He answered his own phone. And he would get things done when I needed help and it was in his power to do something about it.
The only detriment to Frank's operation was that he was small. He said he was not able to pay me much. So I stayed with him as long as I felt like I was learning the skills necessary for my career. Frank's company had no budget for me to attend even the cheapest of training seminars. Frank said he had an obligation to the bottom line, since it was his money at stake.
I can only hope that Frank was able to grow his business and grow the value he gave to his employees. There were some sharp guys working for him. Maybe they paid them better than me. Because some of them worked for Frank for many years. I do look back fondly on the time I was employed by Frank.
