'AITA for keeping my brother out of the business and deleting our content?'
"AITA for keeping my brother out of the business and deleting our content?"
ThrowRA_AnonWorker
I (49m) started a business making furniture. At first, it was just a hobby, something that made me feel good and distracted me from the hectic things happening in my life.
My brother (52m) liked seeing me enjoy myself and wanted to support me. After a month, I offered that my brother hop on board. He took up the menial work in the business, talking with customers, suppliers, handling social media, accounting, content creation.
We made it an official partnership within 5 months. We grew over a million views on YouTube and nearly 50 thousand subscribers. We worked really well together…. Until we didn’t.
About two years ago, I told him to give me control of my business or he’d loose me as a brother. He gave me the business and stepped away. It was too hard on my own so I asked for him to come back.
My brother had a busy few years (leaving an abusive relationship, moving house, finishing college, getting married, had a baby). He found it harder to prioritise the business but still made an effort, like conducting market research, designing a new product, attended a short business course to push us along.
We always seemed to plan to catch up, but never did. Both our plates seemed to be full, so I had to do something before my business failed. By this point, our business had been running for 6 years, although it had been two years without new content but our YouTube audience was still waiting.
Lately, I started digging in our finances. They were complicated and I’m not sure if he was going to be honest, because it looks like, at least in the early days he’d spend a lot of business money on fast food, but would take his time to pay it back. I mean I’ve had to borrow business funds before but I always had a good reason.
I told him I’d gotten an accountant and needed all the paperwork, passwords and information regarding spendings. He seemed confused but supplied everything. He started acting weird, saying that he felt under the microscope.
I told him if he’s done nothing wrong, he’s got nothing to worry about. That made him angry and said that I was insinuating things. I told him he was a disappointment to our dream.
In a kneejerk response he said I could have everything. So I took it all. I changed all the locks, the passwords, the ownership papers, etc. I also deleted all our old videos, posted a new video announcing my new channel direction and gave it a new name.
I think he just gave me the business like last time, but now he’s saying I never appreciated the work he did, even though it is my art that people are following. My socials wouldn’t mean a thing if I wasn’t here, it’s my art, I started the channel, people come to see me. But he’s claiming he’s just as important to this business, like a ying/yang.
I offered him money for the subscribers because he was upset that he worked hard to build the business with me. He’s still upset about me deleting the old videos, he says I’ve deleted his work even though I’m offering him copies.
Here were the top rated comments from readers in response to the OP's post:
Ok-Horror-1049
YTA. Yes, it's your art, but your brother is right in that you are completely diminishing his contributions. A business isn't just the product. All of those "menial tasks" your brother did add up. They are work, and an integral part of any successful business. Customer relations, bookkeeping, marketing... it doesn't take away from your contributions to appreciate the work your brother did.
But it does seem by what you are writing that maybe he was distracted and/or not good at his job duties during certain times, so it makes sense that you would need to step in and assess what's going on.
If he was failing at his share of the work, stepping down may have truly been the best thing for the company...Where's ya'll's mom? Maybe she can mediate a reconciliation between you and your brotherš¤¶.
Philip_J_Fry3000
YTA, I wouldn't exactly characterize the work he did as menial. You act like interacting with suppliers, customers, doing light or not so light bookkeeping plus handling the company's social media presence is nothing.
|We went through them ourselves - he put in 3x more money than he took out. And then you accuse him of malfeasance where there was none. Don't expect him to accept any apology you may or may not offer.
tfelsemanresuoN
YTA. I'm surprised your brother even talks to you.
simsim_98
YTA. Social media marketing is no small feat. You used your brother and then discarded him.
KrofftSurvivor
YTA - given your response to this question, I hope your brother has learned his lesson and does not step back in to assist you again. You need an accountant to sort through the financials, and then the accountant will tell you whether or not you need a lawyer or whether you're just the AH.