Pros
Opportunity to self manage and network in West Palm Beach. Manny would also buy you lunch/dinner sometimes...at a cost of course.
Cons
- payroll checks were often late for everyone - my payroll checks bounced a few times -- colleagues also had bounced checks - some team members would complain Manny kept "forgetting" to pay them. There were instances some members waited over a month to receive their payroll checks. - checks often had wrong amounts - always less than what was due. In fact, Manny still owes me money that I'm sure I'll never get. - we would always make fun of Manny because he would always disappear on Payday, and we'd have to scramble around looking for our checks. - freelancers had it worst. they simply wouldn't get paid. Can't tell you how many checks got "lost in the mail". - during my year we moved offices 3x -- in which we were required to pack, load trucks, unload trucks, paint, build furniture, etc AND still keep up with the workload. Of course, during those times Manny would have meetings or "calls" so he couldn't help much. - stress levels were extremely high. We had 12+ work days, lack of breaks, Manny's unstable personality, constant denigration of our work and the team, unrealistic expectations, late night and weekend texts (which you are expected to acknowledge or respond or you are reprimanded in-front of the staff the following work day). - After dealing with this for a year, I was finally due for a raise in October 2016. I was so happy when Manny praised my work and agreed to my raise -- not so happy when he said he couldn't pay it out until January, and then when January came, he kept forgetting. - after never receiving my raise, having a bounced check (again) right after the holidays, and being asked to build his desk as a form of punishment for not making myself available over the weekend to help him build furniture, a very inappropriate comment Manny made about a colleague, I had enough and gave my 2 week notice. I told him I was uncomfortable with the commentary and subject matter of some of the conversations taking place and felt I could no longer be of value to him or the team. There were several lines that had been blurred and I was no longer going to tolerate the volatile culture he had developed in the office. Manny's response was his typical rant: stop being emotional, weak and should put on "my big girl panties". In a span of 30 minutes, he tried to bully me to stay, bribe me to stay and then resorted to scare-tactics to get me to stay. I don't know if I'm more shocked that I tolerated working for such a manipulative and abusive individual for a year, or that everyone seems to know what a scam artist he is and still engage him in business. Do yourself a favor and google Manuel Bornia before you associate yourself with him.