Get the most out of your Inc. online experience by registering and joining the Inc. community today. Get access to all Inc.com content and priority invites to free Inc. networking events in your area.

Login using:


Or login directly through Inc.com

 

February 2008

It's Pondemonium!

One of Inc.com's new bloggers, Greg Wittstock, founder and CEO of Aquascape, a $60 million company that sells equipment for ponds and water gardens, has been writing about the pain of having to cut his budget 20 percent and lay off 17 workers. It really got interesting when some of those workers wrote back: www.inc.com/pondemonium.

"Tomorrow, I get to stand in front of the 178 people who signed on to be part of the Aquascape team and tell them something they most certainly didn't expect to hear when they came onboard: 'For some of you, your services are no longer needed.' " --Greg Wittstock
"Your management team is horrible, but I guess that's what happens when you hire people who are completely unqualified to do the jobs they were hired to do." --Posted by Jimminy Crickett
"Here's how I'm looking at the company's failure to deliver on anticipated results. With each good person lost, we are letting a little dream die." --Greg Wittstock
"The only thing at Aquascape that was never cost justifiable is the shrine you built to yourself." --Posted by Karma baby Karma
"There was the first warehouse laborer, a Hispanic man who had worked for me for eight years and spoke little English, telling me in Spanish even I could understand, 'Aquascape mi familia.' " --Greg Wittstock
"You did it with both tact and class. I hope everyone is looking on, as I am, and learning from your experience." --Posted by The Fish Guy
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but seeing the full gamut of human emotions was, by far, the most emotionally draining experience I've ever had." --Greg Wittstock

Naughty Valentine

Why Sex Sells More Than Ever
Valentine's Day marks the busy season for companies that make "pleasure products" and other adult merchandise -- a $2 billion industry that's moving out of the shadows and into your local shopping mall. Meet the savvy entrepreneurs, many of them women, who are cashing in on America's naughty side. By Angus Loten
Slide Show: America's Sexiest Businesses

Most Popular

The stories you're buzzing about. Some of the most popular recent stories and slide shows on Inc.com
  1. Entrepreneur Of The Year
    Elon Musk isn't afraid to think big.
  2. Slide Show: Cities That Pay the Most
  3. Get paid more for the same job.
  4. A Crash Course In Communication
    How to be a good communicator
  5. Slide Show: 11 Businesses You Can Start in Your Pajamas
  6. Understanding Geeks
  7. A field guide to your tech staff

The Inc. 5000

Inc.com is accepting applications for the 2008Inc. 5,000 list of the nation's fastest-growing privately held companies. Find out how to apply (and check out the 2007 list) at www.inc5000.com.