I'm filling a couple of positions (quite a departure from a few months ago when we were on the brink), and I had a few observations to share with job-seekers on how I sift through:
1. If your salary expectations differ from the ones on the job posting, don't even bother. This will get you ****-canned immediately. Especially in this market, the job pays what it pays. Perhaps in hiring environments where there is a worker shortage, it could go the other way. Nowadays? Putting in salary expectations that don't match up to the job will immediately disqualify you.
2. A well-written resume will get a longer look than a bad-looking one. If the resume is well-organized and neat, I will read it. In this particular search, the criteria I listed said that Quickbooks was required. I was immediately canning those resumes that didn't list QB experience. Thing is, I looked longer at some resumes than others. One candidate had a great looking resume, but no QB. However, I noticed that she had Great Plains. So, she got an interview. However, if her resume had been a chore to read, I wouldn't have bothered looking long enough to see the Great Plains experience on there.
3. Although it's an annoyance to me, there really isn't much of a penalty for submitting a resume that just totally doesn't fit. In this age of electronic submission, you can spam the universe with your resume. Is there a penalty for it? Only in a small number of cases. As an example, I have two positions posted. One of them is for a production person, one is for an office person. One candidate submitted a resume to both. When I e-mailed to ask if he had quickbooks experience, he didn't respond. Since it was obvious that he was applying to jobs indiscriminately, he also didn't get a callback on the production job. He WOULD have gotten the callback, but I immediately dismissed him as a flake who has no idea what he's applying for. So, although you can spam a job posting and there aren't many consequences, it will cost you if the hiring manager remembers that you wasted his time before.
4. The cover letter? If it's generic, don't bother. However, if you tailor it to the specific job listing, it WILL cause me to look extra close at your resume. That tells me that you're not just spamming. It tells me that you are interested in the job and took the time to look over the job posting.
Those are just general observations I had as I sifted through 50 resumes for 2 part-time positions. It's brutal out there. However, if you're looking for work, stay encouraged. Keep trying. You never know when a company will be looking for somebody with EXACTLY your skills. I think that may have just happened with one candidate who is coming in Monday. For most jobs out there, she would have not had a very good fit, but her resume looks like she was born to work in this company.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Long Climb Out
I am crossing my fingers and holding my breath that the business is up off the matt and can start doing well again. Wow, did it crater my finances, though. I have balances on waayyyy too many credit cards. Worse yet, I've got both business and personal credit cards, and most of them are pretty close to maxed out.
Fortunately, if the business continues to do well, I should be able to climb out a lot faster than I would have if I had a job. I retired over $10,000 worth of credit card debt, alone, just in May so far. That's good news. The bad news is, that really didn't make that much of a dent.
I might be able to retire a comparable chunk of credit card debt in June as well. Beyond that, there's just no telling in this business. July could be great, or it could be awful. I've seen it go both ways.
I'm also making progress on my mountain of fixed-term debt as well. In August, I pay off an equipment note that will free up another $300 a month. After that, though, not much happens until 2013. That year, I'll pay off three more notes, which will free up almost $2,000. Then, in 2014, I'll pay off 3 other notes and free up another $1,500.
The name of the game is survival. If I can just survive that long, I'll have almost $4,000 less debt to service, every single month, just in my fixed-term loans, alone.
Really, that's like $48,000 a year in income. That's almost a job right there.
The key is just surviving. Making payments. Day to day and month-to-month. It'll happen eventually. We have enough equipment that we shouldn't need to take out a note for anything for the foreseeable future. We have what we need and we're in a "make do" mode until we get prosperous again.
In the mean time, using all this money just to pay off debt sorta sucks, but it doesn't suck as much as accumulating debt, and it doesn't suck as much as not-being able to make progress. It took me two years to get to this point. It's feasible that with two good years, I could be pretty much all the way back out again.
Fortunately, if the business continues to do well, I should be able to climb out a lot faster than I would have if I had a job. I retired over $10,000 worth of credit card debt, alone, just in May so far. That's good news. The bad news is, that really didn't make that much of a dent.
I might be able to retire a comparable chunk of credit card debt in June as well. Beyond that, there's just no telling in this business. July could be great, or it could be awful. I've seen it go both ways.
I'm also making progress on my mountain of fixed-term debt as well. In August, I pay off an equipment note that will free up another $300 a month. After that, though, not much happens until 2013. That year, I'll pay off three more notes, which will free up almost $2,000. Then, in 2014, I'll pay off 3 other notes and free up another $1,500.
The name of the game is survival. If I can just survive that long, I'll have almost $4,000 less debt to service, every single month, just in my fixed-term loans, alone.
Really, that's like $48,000 a year in income. That's almost a job right there.
The key is just surviving. Making payments. Day to day and month-to-month. It'll happen eventually. We have enough equipment that we shouldn't need to take out a note for anything for the foreseeable future. We have what we need and we're in a "make do" mode until we get prosperous again.
In the mean time, using all this money just to pay off debt sorta sucks, but it doesn't suck as much as accumulating debt, and it doesn't suck as much as not-being able to make progress. It took me two years to get to this point. It's feasible that with two good years, I could be pretty much all the way back out again.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Last Post... for a while...
Strange, but I started this blog thinking it would chronicle my bankruptcy. I can only describe the last two years of business climate as absolutely, horrifyingly brutal.
The thing I always used to say about small business is that if you invest $100,000 in a business, and it fails, you probably don't lose $100,000. Chances are you'll lose two or three times that amount, realistically.
Why? Because businesses hit rough patches. When they do, you do what it takes to keep them afloat. You don't fire-sale off all the assets every time you hit a bad month or two. Most successful businesspeople can name a time or two (or countless times) when they were on the brink of bankruptcy. If you can't, you've either been exceptionally fortunate, or you just don't own much of a business.
I wish I could credit my survival to tenacity or fortitude or something like that. Mostly, I stuck it out because I didn't have any other good options.
Most business owners will double down in hard-times simply because they don't see another realistic way out.
They go all-in because they have no other choice. If you have another choice, then it probably isn't a business. It's probably more like a hobby.
Right now, the business is rolling again. We are as lean and mean as possible. Things are cruising. I can only thank my employees who have been loyal and hard-working. They're really the ones I owe my success to. It's been that way since about my 3rd year in business.
Once you get a business up and off the ground, you should realize quickly that you can't do it all yourself. The people I have in key positions are all better at their jobs than I would be if I were still filling those roles.
This is not to say I'm totally out of the woods, but for the time being, we're very, very healthy. We should be for the next month or two. In this business, anything beyond that is a guess, at best.
So, I'll close out this blog for now. I'm no longer on the brink. At one point, it looked very likely I was going to have to declare bankruptcy, but right now, I am nowhere near that anymore.
Just hope to keep things rolling. I built this business up from $0 in sales to a million in 4 and a half years. I can build it up from where it is now, to a million or more given the right circumstances. Our foundation is strong and it'll be easier the second time.
On the other hand, I also am acutely aware that things could collapse at any moment. This time, on the ride down, I made a lot of mistakes. I don't regret them because they were almost all in the category of trying not to lay people off. I didn't want to hurt the employees who had done so much for me. I didn't want them to lose their jobs.
To this day, I feel personally responsible for that. I think anybody who has ever had to look another human being in the eye and let them go, through no fault of their own, knows how utterly unfair it is.
Unfortunately, doing so almost put the whole company under. So, in the future, I'm afraid I'll have to react quicker to downturns. It's regrettable and sad, but it's reality. The best I can do is try to grow the business so that we employ more people, not less.
The thing I always used to say about small business is that if you invest $100,000 in a business, and it fails, you probably don't lose $100,000. Chances are you'll lose two or three times that amount, realistically.
Why? Because businesses hit rough patches. When they do, you do what it takes to keep them afloat. You don't fire-sale off all the assets every time you hit a bad month or two. Most successful businesspeople can name a time or two (or countless times) when they were on the brink of bankruptcy. If you can't, you've either been exceptionally fortunate, or you just don't own much of a business.
I wish I could credit my survival to tenacity or fortitude or something like that. Mostly, I stuck it out because I didn't have any other good options.
Most business owners will double down in hard-times simply because they don't see another realistic way out.
They go all-in because they have no other choice. If you have another choice, then it probably isn't a business. It's probably more like a hobby.
Right now, the business is rolling again. We are as lean and mean as possible. Things are cruising. I can only thank my employees who have been loyal and hard-working. They're really the ones I owe my success to. It's been that way since about my 3rd year in business.
Once you get a business up and off the ground, you should realize quickly that you can't do it all yourself. The people I have in key positions are all better at their jobs than I would be if I were still filling those roles.
This is not to say I'm totally out of the woods, but for the time being, we're very, very healthy. We should be for the next month or two. In this business, anything beyond that is a guess, at best.
So, I'll close out this blog for now. I'm no longer on the brink. At one point, it looked very likely I was going to have to declare bankruptcy, but right now, I am nowhere near that anymore.
Just hope to keep things rolling. I built this business up from $0 in sales to a million in 4 and a half years. I can build it up from where it is now, to a million or more given the right circumstances. Our foundation is strong and it'll be easier the second time.
On the other hand, I also am acutely aware that things could collapse at any moment. This time, on the ride down, I made a lot of mistakes. I don't regret them because they were almost all in the category of trying not to lay people off. I didn't want to hurt the employees who had done so much for me. I didn't want them to lose their jobs.
To this day, I feel personally responsible for that. I think anybody who has ever had to look another human being in the eye and let them go, through no fault of their own, knows how utterly unfair it is.
Unfortunately, doing so almost put the whole company under. So, in the future, I'm afraid I'll have to react quicker to downturns. It's regrettable and sad, but it's reality. The best I can do is try to grow the business so that we employ more people, not less.
Monday, April 25, 2011
It's the Mornings that I'll Miss the Most
One of the favorite parts of my life right now are mornings with my little boy. When he's in school, we still have a little time together before I send him on his way. I cook him a hot breakfast and he watches TV, it's almost always a nice relaxing morning.
Weekends are even better. He never sleeps in on weekends. Weekdays, he'll be sleeping so soundly I feel guilty waking him up. Weekends? He's bounding out of bed at the same hour, ready for the day.
One thing I love about my business is that the hours are flexible. I still work, mostly in the role of financial controller, and I do provide strategic direction. However, I don't need to be at my desk every day at 8:00.
Now I see why so many people would like a flexible work schedule. I used to think they wanted it just to get out of work. "Yeah, boss, I'll work from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. tonight... working on my sleep, that is."
Having a flexible schedule pretty much improves everything about your overall quality of life, especially when you've got little ones.
This is sort of a golden age in my life, and it's rapidly coming to an end. In the Fall (August, really), I'll be starting law school, which means most mornings, I'll be heading off to class. I am hoping by the grace of god that the classes don't start too early in the morning.
If I end up deploying to centcom, I think it's these mornings I'll remember most fondly.
In a way, I know this is a golden age that just can't last. In fact, my life is fraying a bit around the edges as is. Still, it's nice while it lasts.
A lot of folks in my shoes are really furious with our franchisor. I've never really thought my franchisor was doing me wrong. It's a business deal. They agree to give you a business method. A lot of the time, it worked.
Ultimately, I'm thankful to them because the past 6 years have absolutely flown. The first year was exhausting. The 2nd year got better. Since then, my life has been pretty great, financies notwithstanding for the past couple of years.
If not for my involvement in this franchise system and being a small business owner, I wouldn't have been able to be so involved with Logan's baseball team. I wouldn't have had so much time with him.
After law school, it's possible I'll get a job in the law. Once that happens, I'll be like everybody else. I remember what it was like to have a job. I know I will seldom be home before 7:00. My time simply won't be my own anymore.
Small business is a wonderful way to live if you can make money at it. I think most people would be so much happier running and owning their own little business. It's a shame more people can't live their lives this way.
Weekends are even better. He never sleeps in on weekends. Weekdays, he'll be sleeping so soundly I feel guilty waking him up. Weekends? He's bounding out of bed at the same hour, ready for the day.
One thing I love about my business is that the hours are flexible. I still work, mostly in the role of financial controller, and I do provide strategic direction. However, I don't need to be at my desk every day at 8:00.
Now I see why so many people would like a flexible work schedule. I used to think they wanted it just to get out of work. "Yeah, boss, I'll work from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. tonight... working on my sleep, that is."
Having a flexible schedule pretty much improves everything about your overall quality of life, especially when you've got little ones.
This is sort of a golden age in my life, and it's rapidly coming to an end. In the Fall (August, really), I'll be starting law school, which means most mornings, I'll be heading off to class. I am hoping by the grace of god that the classes don't start too early in the morning.
If I end up deploying to centcom, I think it's these mornings I'll remember most fondly.
In a way, I know this is a golden age that just can't last. In fact, my life is fraying a bit around the edges as is. Still, it's nice while it lasts.
A lot of folks in my shoes are really furious with our franchisor. I've never really thought my franchisor was doing me wrong. It's a business deal. They agree to give you a business method. A lot of the time, it worked.
Ultimately, I'm thankful to them because the past 6 years have absolutely flown. The first year was exhausting. The 2nd year got better. Since then, my life has been pretty great, financies notwithstanding for the past couple of years.
If not for my involvement in this franchise system and being a small business owner, I wouldn't have been able to be so involved with Logan's baseball team. I wouldn't have had so much time with him.
After law school, it's possible I'll get a job in the law. Once that happens, I'll be like everybody else. I remember what it was like to have a job. I know I will seldom be home before 7:00. My time simply won't be my own anymore.
Small business is a wonderful way to live if you can make money at it. I think most people would be so much happier running and owning their own little business. It's a shame more people can't live their lives this way.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Breathing... for the moment
Enough things have gone right in the biz that we have reason for hope. There's still a lot of ways this could end badly, but the odds are that things will work out for our short-term survival. In small business, that's about as far out as you can make an educated guess.
It rained a little, but probably not enough. We'll see if it gives us a job or two next week.
Personally, I sold off a bunch of stuff. Both of the four wheelers are gone. Logan's pitching machine. A radar gun I bought last year. These are all things that largely just collected dust. Because of that, I'm good on the personal finances for a few more weeks.
I need to get into the gun cabinet and start selling off some more firearms. One way or another I think I'll be thinning out that herd, soon. It's not like I don't think I'll want them sometime in the future, but I don't shoot much at all these days. No need to keep storing this stuff when its my short-term financial health that's the issue.
I am due for some tax money to be refunded. So, that'll carry me through another month or two. Plus, the Servpro convention is coming up. I'll get my convention check, which should be another couple of thousand.
About 3 weeks ago, I would have put my odds of bankruptcy at about 70%. I was preparing for the "end of days". Since then, a few things have gone our way. I'd say that we're talking less than a 30% chance, now.
So, to make the breakdown:
30% chance of bankruptcy
50% chance of just continuing to muddle through
20% chance of taking off and thriving
In early August, I pay off one more business note that will free up a little over $300 a month. After that, though, no notes will be retired until Summer of 2013. It's gonna be a slog.
I'm glad I'm doing the law school thing. Should have done it years ago. With any luck, it'll set up a second income stream and maybe even out the bumps a little bit.
Thing is, that's going to take a few years to come to fruition as well.
It's still hard to stay encouraged, but it's good to remind myself that this business can be a helluva profitable thing when it's working right. I think it'll work right again, someday. Lord only knows when, though.
Not out of the woods, but at least I can sleep at night without waking up at 3:00 a.m. wondering how I'm gonna pay my bills. For the moment, everything is current.
If we can just get some adjusters to pay some bills (we've got one that's 2 months overdue), we could be in solid shape, here.
Life is just this way sometimes. Nobody said it had to be easy. A lot of folks are hurting pretty bad. Just gotta get through this and it'll be like all the other wierd stuff that makes for a colorful life.
It rained a little, but probably not enough. We'll see if it gives us a job or two next week.
Personally, I sold off a bunch of stuff. Both of the four wheelers are gone. Logan's pitching machine. A radar gun I bought last year. These are all things that largely just collected dust. Because of that, I'm good on the personal finances for a few more weeks.
I need to get into the gun cabinet and start selling off some more firearms. One way or another I think I'll be thinning out that herd, soon. It's not like I don't think I'll want them sometime in the future, but I don't shoot much at all these days. No need to keep storing this stuff when its my short-term financial health that's the issue.
I am due for some tax money to be refunded. So, that'll carry me through another month or two. Plus, the Servpro convention is coming up. I'll get my convention check, which should be another couple of thousand.
About 3 weeks ago, I would have put my odds of bankruptcy at about 70%. I was preparing for the "end of days". Since then, a few things have gone our way. I'd say that we're talking less than a 30% chance, now.
So, to make the breakdown:
30% chance of bankruptcy
50% chance of just continuing to muddle through
20% chance of taking off and thriving
In early August, I pay off one more business note that will free up a little over $300 a month. After that, though, no notes will be retired until Summer of 2013. It's gonna be a slog.
I'm glad I'm doing the law school thing. Should have done it years ago. With any luck, it'll set up a second income stream and maybe even out the bumps a little bit.
Thing is, that's going to take a few years to come to fruition as well.
It's still hard to stay encouraged, but it's good to remind myself that this business can be a helluva profitable thing when it's working right. I think it'll work right again, someday. Lord only knows when, though.
Not out of the woods, but at least I can sleep at night without waking up at 3:00 a.m. wondering how I'm gonna pay my bills. For the moment, everything is current.
If we can just get some adjusters to pay some bills (we've got one that's 2 months overdue), we could be in solid shape, here.
Life is just this way sometimes. Nobody said it had to be easy. A lot of folks are hurting pretty bad. Just gotta get through this and it'll be like all the other wierd stuff that makes for a colorful life.
Monday, April 18, 2011
When I See a Little Light
Things are still pretty bleak in the short-term. However, I'm seeing a little light on the horizon.
Things aren't good, mind you, but they show some signs that they may be survivable. We have over $20K in A/R at the moment. Historically speaking, that's a frighteningly low amount, but our overhead is lower now than any other time in the past 4 or 5 years. So, we can do a lot with $20K.
Everything is slow pay right now, though. In the past, I'd expect that money this week. The way things go these days, it's more like it could show up anytime between now and three months from now.
We also have some larger jobs that should be finished in June. Figure they'll get paid out in July. Maybe August. In August, we retire one of our equipment notes and that will free up $300 a month.
It truly is a game where every month we survive brings us a step closer to salvation.
It's been an adjustment for me, too. A couple years ago, I was on the golf course at the country club. If I kept my luxury spending below about $3,000 a month, life was fine. Purchases under $1,000? I didn't even flinch. Not for that kind of money.
Now, I'm back to having to think twice about spending $40 for a book. It was like this for pretty much the first two years I had my business. I still remember buying ice skates for $500 and an iPod for $500. Those were major purchases that were guilty indulgences that involved a stretch.
Didn't take me long to get spoiled, though. I'll tell ya, life sure is good when you're doing well financially.
Things are still very tense. We need to bring in some of that A/R. We're just sorta squeaking along, but that's better than shutting the doors for good.
I've been selling stuff on e-bay and will soon start getting rid of guns on gunbroker. I'll regret it when the zombie apocalypse happens, but if not, it's a good move.
I'm looking for opportunities to serve in the reserves. It's not a great paycheck, and it takes me away from my son, but a few thousand bucks here or there makes a big difference.
Things will get easier when that note is paid off. Also, I think I can get a much better rate (like 50% less) on my business general liability insurance. That's pretty much all the cost savings I'm likely to muster, though. The business has to get up off the mat and start paying its own way, soon.
So, no good news in the very short-term. However, if we can hang on a few more weeks, there's every indication that there'll be good news in the not too distant future.
Even so, although it sounds like debt is the problem, it really isn't. Lack of sales is the problem. Even if we didn't have any of these debt payments, we'd still have trouble. They're a small part of our operating budget. (They're about 1/3 the size of our payroll, even in our current skeleton-crew phase.) It'll help when the debt is gone, but we need sales to make this whole thing work.
Things aren't good, mind you, but they show some signs that they may be survivable. We have over $20K in A/R at the moment. Historically speaking, that's a frighteningly low amount, but our overhead is lower now than any other time in the past 4 or 5 years. So, we can do a lot with $20K.
Everything is slow pay right now, though. In the past, I'd expect that money this week. The way things go these days, it's more like it could show up anytime between now and three months from now.
We also have some larger jobs that should be finished in June. Figure they'll get paid out in July. Maybe August. In August, we retire one of our equipment notes and that will free up $300 a month.
It truly is a game where every month we survive brings us a step closer to salvation.
It's been an adjustment for me, too. A couple years ago, I was on the golf course at the country club. If I kept my luxury spending below about $3,000 a month, life was fine. Purchases under $1,000? I didn't even flinch. Not for that kind of money.
Now, I'm back to having to think twice about spending $40 for a book. It was like this for pretty much the first two years I had my business. I still remember buying ice skates for $500 and an iPod for $500. Those were major purchases that were guilty indulgences that involved a stretch.
Didn't take me long to get spoiled, though. I'll tell ya, life sure is good when you're doing well financially.
Things are still very tense. We need to bring in some of that A/R. We're just sorta squeaking along, but that's better than shutting the doors for good.
I've been selling stuff on e-bay and will soon start getting rid of guns on gunbroker. I'll regret it when the zombie apocalypse happens, but if not, it's a good move.
I'm looking for opportunities to serve in the reserves. It's not a great paycheck, and it takes me away from my son, but a few thousand bucks here or there makes a big difference.
Things will get easier when that note is paid off. Also, I think I can get a much better rate (like 50% less) on my business general liability insurance. That's pretty much all the cost savings I'm likely to muster, though. The business has to get up off the mat and start paying its own way, soon.
So, no good news in the very short-term. However, if we can hang on a few more weeks, there's every indication that there'll be good news in the not too distant future.
Even so, although it sounds like debt is the problem, it really isn't. Lack of sales is the problem. Even if we didn't have any of these debt payments, we'd still have trouble. They're a small part of our operating budget. (They're about 1/3 the size of our payroll, even in our current skeleton-crew phase.) It'll help when the debt is gone, but we need sales to make this whole thing work.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Every Month I Survive is a Victory
Taxes are done. I forgot that I should be getting a new homebuyer tax credit, here. That should be enough to help me get through maybe two more months.
I just sold off two of my son's toys. One was a pitching machine. The other is a four wheeler. He hardly ever rode the four wheeler. In the years since I bought it, maybe a dozen times. The pitching machine? Sits in the basement gathering dust.
So, I don't need them, but it still feels strange selling off stuff I bought for my boy. Name of the game at this point is survival, though.
Every month I survive brings me closer to getting out of the woods. A lot of my debt is term debt, most at very favorable interest. In August of this year, I pay off one of my business notes. That'll free up over $300 a month.
After that, it's a bit of a slog until 2013. Once that year rolls around, though, I'll have reached the end of three more notes. Monthly payments on the three of them, combined, is almost $2,000.
In 2014, I pay off three trucks, which frees up another $1,500 a month. So, all told, if I can somehow manage to survive until the end of 2014, I will have almost $4,000 more free dollars a month due to retired debt payments.
Granted, that still leaves a lot of credit card debt, but if I simply apply the $4,000 to credit cards, they'd all be paid off in a couple of years, too. I'm also chipping away at the credit card debt in the mean time. It's not impossible that they would all be paid off before the term loans are finished.
The trick is, of course, to stay alive (without declaring bankruptcy) for that amount of time.
I'm literally maybe 3 years away from being completely debt-free, if I can just survive month to month.
Trouble is, I am not sure I can keep treading water between now and then. I'm doing everything I can, but quickly reaching the end of the road.
I may have to start hoping for a Navy deployment. If I got sent to a combat zone, the combination of tax-free status and combat pay, etc. would probably make this the biggest take-home pay I've ever had. I wish I could hold on until I make O-3, though. The difference in pay is pretty big.
Plus, if I'm involuntarily deployed that lowers all my outstanding debt to no more than 6% interest and no real adverse collection action can take place until I get home.
I thought managing my business was tough, but frankly, now that I'm managing my business and my personal finances, life is pretty hard. This is gut-wrenching stuff.
I wish I could be more help to Tessa, but she seems to be surviving. I don't think she's in great shape, but she's not in as bad shape as I am. I need to finish law school and get to where I make real money. I can help us both, then.
The proverbial salvation of my business is always right around the corner. Just because we haven't been busy in two years doesn't mean we'll never be busy again. However there's nothing preventing the business from taking off again if the weather conditions are right.
The uncertainty is a killer, but these are tough times. Tough times require tough people.
Everything gets better the further down the road I get. My military pay goes up. Debt gets retired. Every month I survive is a minor victory.
Not much left to talk about. Just hanging on. I lived through one bad recession when I got out of high school and it shaped me forever. I don't think I've ever gotten over the feeling of going to a Burger King for a job and being told they ran out of applications.
I hate recession. This one blows. Someday, when I survive this, all this will be just a colorful story. But in the mean time, yeah, this blows.
Oh, and I'm going to take a more active role in trying to get Navy stuff. It doesn't pay that great if you're not deployed, but a thousand here, a thousand there, it all helps. Might be spending a month in Japan.
I just sold off two of my son's toys. One was a pitching machine. The other is a four wheeler. He hardly ever rode the four wheeler. In the years since I bought it, maybe a dozen times. The pitching machine? Sits in the basement gathering dust.
So, I don't need them, but it still feels strange selling off stuff I bought for my boy. Name of the game at this point is survival, though.
Every month I survive brings me closer to getting out of the woods. A lot of my debt is term debt, most at very favorable interest. In August of this year, I pay off one of my business notes. That'll free up over $300 a month.
After that, it's a bit of a slog until 2013. Once that year rolls around, though, I'll have reached the end of three more notes. Monthly payments on the three of them, combined, is almost $2,000.
In 2014, I pay off three trucks, which frees up another $1,500 a month. So, all told, if I can somehow manage to survive until the end of 2014, I will have almost $4,000 more free dollars a month due to retired debt payments.
Granted, that still leaves a lot of credit card debt, but if I simply apply the $4,000 to credit cards, they'd all be paid off in a couple of years, too. I'm also chipping away at the credit card debt in the mean time. It's not impossible that they would all be paid off before the term loans are finished.
The trick is, of course, to stay alive (without declaring bankruptcy) for that amount of time.
I'm literally maybe 3 years away from being completely debt-free, if I can just survive month to month.
Trouble is, I am not sure I can keep treading water between now and then. I'm doing everything I can, but quickly reaching the end of the road.
I may have to start hoping for a Navy deployment. If I got sent to a combat zone, the combination of tax-free status and combat pay, etc. would probably make this the biggest take-home pay I've ever had. I wish I could hold on until I make O-3, though. The difference in pay is pretty big.
Plus, if I'm involuntarily deployed that lowers all my outstanding debt to no more than 6% interest and no real adverse collection action can take place until I get home.
I thought managing my business was tough, but frankly, now that I'm managing my business and my personal finances, life is pretty hard. This is gut-wrenching stuff.
I wish I could be more help to Tessa, but she seems to be surviving. I don't think she's in great shape, but she's not in as bad shape as I am. I need to finish law school and get to where I make real money. I can help us both, then.
The proverbial salvation of my business is always right around the corner. Just because we haven't been busy in two years doesn't mean we'll never be busy again. However there's nothing preventing the business from taking off again if the weather conditions are right.
The uncertainty is a killer, but these are tough times. Tough times require tough people.
Everything gets better the further down the road I get. My military pay goes up. Debt gets retired. Every month I survive is a minor victory.
Not much left to talk about. Just hanging on. I lived through one bad recession when I got out of high school and it shaped me forever. I don't think I've ever gotten over the feeling of going to a Burger King for a job and being told they ran out of applications.
I hate recession. This one blows. Someday, when I survive this, all this will be just a colorful story. But in the mean time, yeah, this blows.
Oh, and I'm going to take a more active role in trying to get Navy stuff. It doesn't pay that great if you're not deployed, but a thousand here, a thousand there, it all helps. Might be spending a month in Japan.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
One of them paid off...
While my situation is dire, it's not desperate, yet. I still have all my credit cards open. If I can thread the needle, I can foresee being able to pay them all off. Today, I paid one of them off. Now, it'll be the one I use, and I'll be paying it off every month.
There's one other that could, feasibly, be paid off in the next few weeks. After that, things get problematic and harder. In the past, I handled those types of debts by applying the occassional windfalls that came through my business. That could happen, too. It just hasn't happened in a while.
In the mean time, I'll keep making payments for as long as I possibly can. Every month is progress, if only just a little. I've got a ton of debt, both personal and business, but a lot of the business debt is term loans. In fact, in 2013, I will have a lot less debt to deal with.
The trick will be hanging on for that long. I am going back to school in the Fall, and when I finish in 2014, I'll have all my term-loans paid off. That includes both my personal and busines loans. As of today's balances, that's about $120,000 worth of debt.
If I can get past that, retiring the credit card debt may be uncomfortable, but it'll be eminently do-able.
There's one other that could, feasibly, be paid off in the next few weeks. After that, things get problematic and harder. In the past, I handled those types of debts by applying the occassional windfalls that came through my business. That could happen, too. It just hasn't happened in a while.
In the mean time, I'll keep making payments for as long as I possibly can. Every month is progress, if only just a little. I've got a ton of debt, both personal and business, but a lot of the business debt is term loans. In fact, in 2013, I will have a lot less debt to deal with.
The trick will be hanging on for that long. I am going back to school in the Fall, and when I finish in 2014, I'll have all my term-loans paid off. That includes both my personal and busines loans. As of today's balances, that's about $120,000 worth of debt.
If I can get past that, retiring the credit card debt may be uncomfortable, but it'll be eminently do-able.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Threading the Needle
My situation is nearly hopeless, but not completely so. There are realistic, foreseeable scenarios where I could pull out of all this. I just need some things to go my way. Lately, I haven't had much luck. In the past, we've had things turn out better.
One thing I may need to try and do, though, is sell one of the trucks. These industrial trucks retain their value pretty well. I might be able to make a little bit on the sale, versus what I owe on it. That would give me both a little bit of cash, but would also free up the $399 payment I make every month. It would also let me avoid maintenance and insurance costs on it. All told, it'd be maybe $450 or so in terms of monthly cash flow.
We can handle our business with two production trucks. It's very hard to rationalize having more trucks than people. If I didn't have the note on the truck, I'd sell it, now. Not sure how problematic this will be, but there are ways to get it done.
Beyond that, I don't see many ways to come up with substantial cost avoidance, here. We're down to 4 employees. We haven't been this small since year two.
Breaking the company down much below its current level is something I will really be loathe to do. If it gets much worse, it will probably be time to liquidate the assets and call it quits. I hope it doesn't come to that, but frankly, business reality doesn't run on hope.
One thing I may need to try and do, though, is sell one of the trucks. These industrial trucks retain their value pretty well. I might be able to make a little bit on the sale, versus what I owe on it. That would give me both a little bit of cash, but would also free up the $399 payment I make every month. It would also let me avoid maintenance and insurance costs on it. All told, it'd be maybe $450 or so in terms of monthly cash flow.
We can handle our business with two production trucks. It's very hard to rationalize having more trucks than people. If I didn't have the note on the truck, I'd sell it, now. Not sure how problematic this will be, but there are ways to get it done.
Beyond that, I don't see many ways to come up with substantial cost avoidance, here. We're down to 4 employees. We haven't been this small since year two.
Breaking the company down much below its current level is something I will really be loathe to do. If it gets much worse, it will probably be time to liquidate the assets and call it quits. I hope it doesn't come to that, but frankly, business reality doesn't run on hope.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Introduction
I'm a middle aged guy who is trying like the dickens not to become financial roadkill during this recession. Life isn't exactly good right now, financially.
I have a wife, but we're separated, living in separate homes. We'll be getting divorced as soon as one or the other of us can afford to do all the legal stuff involved. Until then, we're still married.
I have a little boy and I'm really trying not to make him suffer for any of this.
I own my own business and since about mid 2009, it's been completely dead in the water. It's a franchise, which brings its own set of problems. I don't blame the franchisor for my predicament, though. They've been great and the things that have happened to me have been outside of anybody's control.
I do have a pretty good education, but I find myself wondering what good it is, now and then. Suffice to say, it's hard to jump back into employment when your degree is almost two decades old and the last job you had paid twice what an entry level job pays. To boot, I've been self-employed for six years.
As I said, things are bad. I've been out of money for a while, now and I'm getting close to being out of credit. This past week, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks that I may have to declare bankruptcy. Really, if it craters my finances, so be it. I took my chances. I'll take the hit.
I do want it not to affect my soon to be ex wife, though. She's a good person who worked hard her whole life. She doesn't deserve any of this.
Lately, I've been considering the possibility of calling my credit card companies, telling them that I'll be declaring bankruptcy, and seeing if they'll accept an offer of settlement. I have no idea if they will or won't, but it's getting to the point to where it may be worth a try.
In the best of all worlds (other than the best-case, where my biz starts making enough money that none of these problems exist), I could keep my car, house and business. The business has a lot of debt, but I think if I could get rid of my personal debt and the credit card debt of the business, that may give me enough breathing room to survive a little longer.
I don't know how my business could survive without credit cards, but we'll see. If I can pick and chose which accounts to settle, I may be able to keep a credit card or two. If I could keep one for myself (for things like buying airfare, etc.) and one for the business, that would probably be enough.
As is, I think I can hang on another month. After that, things will get problematic pretty quickly if business doesn't pick up.
So, what went wrong? The weather. My business depends on natural disasters. Not huge ones, but things like hard rains and deep freezes. Used to be, we had about 3 of them a year. They kept us busy enough to stay profitable. At our peak, we had 14 employees. Now, we're down to 4. One of them is part-time.
I feel like a dust bowl farmer. Believing that the weather will get better all the while, one year rolls into the next and I'm deeper and deeper in the hole. It's hard to depend on this. I really need to do something new. When this business is good, it's very, very good. When it's bad, there's nothing worse.
I'm trying to change careers again, but even that is a gamble. I've been accepted to the local law school. Who knows, though. I may be able to start the program, but not finish, if my finances crater. There's just no telling.
I'm at the mercy of so many factors outside my control, it gets discouraging sometimes. I just need to stay as upbeat as I can and do the best I can. That's all I can do.
I have a wife, but we're separated, living in separate homes. We'll be getting divorced as soon as one or the other of us can afford to do all the legal stuff involved. Until then, we're still married.
I have a little boy and I'm really trying not to make him suffer for any of this.
I own my own business and since about mid 2009, it's been completely dead in the water. It's a franchise, which brings its own set of problems. I don't blame the franchisor for my predicament, though. They've been great and the things that have happened to me have been outside of anybody's control.
I do have a pretty good education, but I find myself wondering what good it is, now and then. Suffice to say, it's hard to jump back into employment when your degree is almost two decades old and the last job you had paid twice what an entry level job pays. To boot, I've been self-employed for six years.
As I said, things are bad. I've been out of money for a while, now and I'm getting close to being out of credit. This past week, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks that I may have to declare bankruptcy. Really, if it craters my finances, so be it. I took my chances. I'll take the hit.
I do want it not to affect my soon to be ex wife, though. She's a good person who worked hard her whole life. She doesn't deserve any of this.
Lately, I've been considering the possibility of calling my credit card companies, telling them that I'll be declaring bankruptcy, and seeing if they'll accept an offer of settlement. I have no idea if they will or won't, but it's getting to the point to where it may be worth a try.
In the best of all worlds (other than the best-case, where my biz starts making enough money that none of these problems exist), I could keep my car, house and business. The business has a lot of debt, but I think if I could get rid of my personal debt and the credit card debt of the business, that may give me enough breathing room to survive a little longer.
I don't know how my business could survive without credit cards, but we'll see. If I can pick and chose which accounts to settle, I may be able to keep a credit card or two. If I could keep one for myself (for things like buying airfare, etc.) and one for the business, that would probably be enough.
As is, I think I can hang on another month. After that, things will get problematic pretty quickly if business doesn't pick up.
So, what went wrong? The weather. My business depends on natural disasters. Not huge ones, but things like hard rains and deep freezes. Used to be, we had about 3 of them a year. They kept us busy enough to stay profitable. At our peak, we had 14 employees. Now, we're down to 4. One of them is part-time.
I feel like a dust bowl farmer. Believing that the weather will get better all the while, one year rolls into the next and I'm deeper and deeper in the hole. It's hard to depend on this. I really need to do something new. When this business is good, it's very, very good. When it's bad, there's nothing worse.
I'm trying to change careers again, but even that is a gamble. I've been accepted to the local law school. Who knows, though. I may be able to start the program, but not finish, if my finances crater. There's just no telling.
I'm at the mercy of so many factors outside my control, it gets discouraging sometimes. I just need to stay as upbeat as I can and do the best I can. That's all I can do.
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