For small business owners · First termination
Tuesday is your first time firing anyone. Rehearse before you’re in the room.
You have the documentation. You don’t know what happens when they ask for one more chance.
You built this business from nothing. You hired Jamie when you could finally afford help. You’ve given warnings, written notes, extended deadlines. The lawyer said you’re clear. But you’ve never looked someone in the eye and said “today is your last day” — and you can’t picture what you’ll do when Jamie’s voice cracks and they say “give me two more weeks, I’ll fix this.” Kommi puts you in that room first — with an employee who argues, begs, or goes quiet — so Tuesday isn’t your first take.
The script isn’t the hard part.
Every HR blog has the same opening line: “I need to let you know that today is your last day.” You have the words. What you don’t have is muscle memory for when Jamie pushes back — “I didn’t know it was this serious” — and you have to decide in real time whether to hold the line or accidentally open a negotiation you didn’t mean to start.
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What’s at stake
One over-explained apology or “maybe we can work something out” can become evidence in a wrongful-termination claim. Legal defense alone can run $50k–$160k.
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Why you procrastinate
Jamie isn’t a bad person. You hired them. You trained them. You keep hoping they’ll turn it around so you don’t have to be the one who ends their paycheck.
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What templates can’t do
Patriot Software and Pragmatic HR give you the opening sentence and the don’t-say list. They can’t simulate Jamie crying or bargaining while you sit across a small conference table.
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What a consult costs
One hour with an employment lawyer runs $250–500. They confirm you’re legally clear. They don’t rehearse the moment Jamie asks for another chance and you feel your resolve soften.
Sample roleplay · 3 minutes
“Give me two more weeks. I’ll fix this.”
You’re Riley, the owner. Jamie missed three client deadlines after a written warning. You’ve delivered the news. Now Jamie pushes back.
You (Riley)
“Jamie, I need to let you know that today is your last day with the company. We’re ending your employment effective today. As we discussed in your written warning on the 14th, the performance issues we identified weren’t resolved. That’s the basis for this decision.”
Jamie (your employee)
“Wait — I didn’t know it was this serious. I thought the warning was just a formality. Give me two more weeks. I’ll work weekends. I can turn this around. You know I care about this place.”
Your move
- → Repeat that the decision is final — don’t debate the warnings
- → Acknowledge their feelings without reopening the decision
- → Pivot to logistics: final paycheck, benefits, company property
Each choice changes how Jamie responds. The room gets tense. You practice holding the line without over-explaining, apologizing for the decision, or accidentally offering “let’s revisit in two weeks” when you meant to close the meeting.
Then the coach reads you back to yourself.
Not a scorecard. Not seventeen tips. One observation about what you did, one adjustment for next time, one sentence you can carry into Tuesday’s meeting.
Sample coach debrief
“You opened directly — no small talk, clear news in the first minute. When Jamie asked for two more weeks, you said ‘I hear you, and I know this is hard’ — good empathy — but then you added ‘I wish there were another way.’ That sounds like the door is still open.
Try next time: Acknowledge the emotion, then restate finality: ‘I understand this is difficult. The decision has been made and it is final. Let me walk you through what happens next with your final paycheck.’
Carry into Tuesday: ‘The decision has been made and it is final.’ Say it once. Then move to logistics. Don’t fill the silence with more reasons.”
Questions small business owners ask
- Is this a replacement for legal advice or HR documentation?
- No. Kommi helps you rehearse the conversation before it happens. Confirming your termination is legally defensible, documenting warnings, and following your state’s final-pay rules is still on you. We help you deliver the news clearly without saying something that becomes a problem later.
- I don’t have an HR department. Is this still for me?
- Especially for you. Corporate managers have HR in the room and scripts from legal. Solo owners and small teams don’t. You need to hear yourself say “today is your last day” out loud and practice what comes after — without an audience and without consequences.
- Can I practice different employee reactions?
- Yes. The roleplay adapts when you choose different responses — an employee who begs for another chance, one who gets angry and threatens legal action, one who goes silent and stares at the table. You can run the same scenario three different ways in fifteen minutes.
- I might only fire one person ever. Is $11.99/mo worth it?
- One hour with an employment lawyer costs more than six months of Kommi. You also get unlimited sessions across every scenario we ship — difficult client calls, vendor negotiations, co-founder conflict. Most owners find a second hard conversation within the first month.
$11.99 a month.
A coach with a calendar runs two hundred dollars an hour. Kommi runs roughly forty cents a day — and is awake when you can't sleep, which is when most of these conversations are actually being rehearsed anyway.
We don't have a free tier, a team plan, or a premium upsell. One price, no pricing page riddle. If we add tiers later, we'll do it because users asked — not because a growth deck did.
About forty cents a day.
- Two free sessions before billing starts
- Then $11.99 a month — about forty cents a day
- Unlimited sessions — any conversation you can describe
- A coaching read after every session, and your progress over time
- Cancel in two taps; 7-day refund if you change your mind
One conversation you’d have talked yourself out of is worth years of this. Or just sleep better on Wednesday. Either way.
Run your first rehearsal — free →US only at launch. We'll get to the rest of the world.
The conversation is on Thursday. Begin tonight.
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