Top employee quits job and starts his own business after boss refuses to give him a raise, he thrives in the new business while old boss struggles: ‘What a fool’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 16, 2026 12:00 PM EDT

When a boss repeatedly refuses to give a top-performing employee a raise, surely they do it fully knowing that this employee won't stick around for long, right?

You can't expect someone to willingly let you step all over them without doing something to put a stop to it, even in the workplace. When an employee gives their heart and soul to their job, and all they get in return is a big bag of nothing, it is only a matter of time before they find something better and leave.

So why do bosses and employers keep getting surprised when that underappreciated employee hands in their notice? By the third time they said 'no' to a raise or a promotion, they must have known that quitting would be the next step. There is no other reason for this employee to stay.

That is exactly what happened to the top employee and his boss in the story below. He gave so much for the company he worked for, and although his manager kept saying he appreciated his hard work, he never showed it in actions. Every time the employee asked for a raise, his boss would say no. This led the employee to do the only thing he could think of: leave.

But, instead of finding another job and working for another entitled boss, this employee decided to start his own business. With the help of his family, he began building his business and gaining clients, all of whom knew him before and loved his work. It didn't take long before he started thriving, while his old boss struggled to find a replacement for him.

The employee, now a business owner, ended up with the pay he deserved, while his old boss had to pay three people to do the job that he had left behind. How could he not have seen it coming? We have no clue…

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    Cheezburger Image 10638981120
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    A portrait of mature male carpenter working on his product small business concept

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    My dad's boss has to pay 3 new people instead of giving my dad the pay that he worked for.

    For context, I'm a teenager (genderfluid 15) and my younger brother is 11. My family have a good stable life financially, but recently it got better and we're finally able to do things we want
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    now. My dad (40m) has just gone self-employed because the company he used to work for didn't pay him a good salary for what he actually does.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    For context, my dad is a floor layer and does little handyman jobs here and there for friends and family. His old boss, we'll call him A, always loved my dad because
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    they started their floor business together. A became the manager and my dad was always the top employee. He did so much for this company that he was going to inherit it when A stepped down.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    But thing is, every customer who called up usually got my dad because he was happy to go above and beyond to make sure these folks are happy with how the final floor looked. He brought in so
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    much money to this company that he definitely deserved more than he was being paid (practically minimum wage).
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    a mature male carpenter with hearing protectors carrying wooden board indoors in carpentry workshop small business concept
    via Getty Images

    a mature male carpenter with hearing protectors carrying wooden board indoors in carpentry workshop small business concept

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    The injuries he's had while working have ranged from miniscule things like cutting himself, to things like cutting his thumb off and electrocuting himself. So you can imagine he's entitled to the raise he eventually asked for.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    A agreed to give him the raise. But he never did. My dad asked again, same thing. My dad then put up with this until their friendship was basically falling apart because A was always starting arguments
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    over paying my dad. Claimed he didn't have the money to give him a raise, and yet has a gorgeous house, two nice cars as well as the work vans for loading carpets and stuff and his entire family knows
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    very well he does not need to spend all this money on things that don't matter much. They can live in a normal house, sell one of the cars and be peaceful. But no, A wants to refuse giving a raise to his best employee.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    So my dad recently put in his two week notice. A then started begging my dad not to leave them, to no avail. He offered a pay rise like my dad asked for. My dad declined. He'd been setting this up for a while.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    My mum and I helped him build his own business from the ground. I work with him on my days off school and I'm going to be doing it for work experience too. I plan to work with him after I'm out of school too. My dad now gets the
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    pay he deserves and still makes people happy with their floors or anything else he's hired for handyman wise. I post on a tiktok account to help with advertising so he's never short of jobs. Right now he's got 3 weeks of work booked ahead.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    A then had to hire 3 new people and pay them all what he paid my dad. Each. So he's paying more than what he would've paid my dad had he just given him the raise. And my dad's doing well for
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    himself. When my dad told me about the new hires, I swear I facepalmed so hard there's probably a dent in my skull. What a fool.
    via ShiggySimp_UwU
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    Catacombs3 Bizzare as it sounds, this story isn't unusual. Instead of valuing an employee who went beyond and above, management often take them for granted. They are shocked when they finally leave,
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    surprised when a replacement can't carry the same workload and horrified they have to pay 3x the salaries to get anything close the the same level of functionality.
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    Raggedybabe Your dad sounds awesome and good on him for knowing his worth. Your family also sounds awesome for supporting your dad in building up his own business, that's not an easy endeavor and I'm sure a supportive family makes a world of difference.
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    GRootchem Good on you for helping your dad! Advertising services like that helps leaps and bounds in this day!
    via GRootchem

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job ceo raise overworked-employees workplace company business quitting
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