kolwdwrkr
New Contributor
To start this off, this is a topic of failure. I've worked very hard at becoming wealthy with poor end results. We begin in July 2004 when I started a woodworking shop. My "expertise" if you will is in woodworking and that is the extent of it. I have no business skill what-so-ever and that is why you should NOT do the following.
As stated I started in 2004. The reason I started was because I was supposed to be a partner, and the guy basically screwed me. So I told him that I would be his sub contractor and I would start my own business. He started slacking in payment so I stopped working for him. He went out of business and I took his designers. Business is business. I was the one who was doing the work for the designers, he was reeping the rewards. Now, at this point I now had a shop, tools, and clients. This is within about a month after I started. We started getting very busy and ended up getting a second shop in early 2006.
In 2007 we got out of those two shops and got into one. My sales were up from 150k the first year to a soring 700k. Then in April of 2008 my wife left me. She was the accountant, secretary, salesperson, tax preparer, etc. Basically she did everything but design and build the work. So there I was with this business and no way to run it. She left at the end of a very large job, a job that we stopped advertising for because we were to busy to take on new work. By the end of the project there was no work. Remember she stopped advertising, and I was to busy producing to know about the office. That was mistake #1. If you start a business, KNOW the business. DO NOT rely on someone else. If they leave you will be in a bad situation.
Now, remember we were doing very well. I was making a lot of money, had a little girl, and then bought a house. Now I had a mortgage, shop, employees, etc. Basically I had to much overhead. When I ran out of work the bills kept coming. I was paying them with credit cards, etc. Mistake #2 Create a NEST EGG for when things go south. Basically create a "get out" strategy that will allow you to continue living without being at the end of your rope.
She also left me with 20k in tax debt from 2007, as well as all the tax responsibilities of 2008 which remain unpaid. Mistake #3 ALWAYS hire a tax person or Accountant to do the taxes. This person or company should take care of your business on a regular basis and won't leave you when you need them.
In August of 2008 my business shut down and I haven't had work since. I have been trying to market my artwork but cannot afford "payed for" advertising. Here I sit, looking for ways out of this mess. No money, no way of paying for bankruptcy or taxes, etc. House is in foreclosure, am behind on car payments, and have child support.
I am here now to offer the advice. I hope that it finds everyone well, and that if you have made some of the same errors I have that you have the chance to change things for the future before things go to hell like they have for me. So to re-examin the Don'ts:
DO NOT rely on someone else to run your business. It is your business. KNOW it!
ALWAYS have a nest egg reserved, or a "get out" plan if things go wrong.
ALWAYS have an outside agency take care of your taxes unless you can do this yourself. If your spouse is responsible for the book keeping sit with them and learn it, taking the time to perform the duties from time to time.
NEVER choose to know one aspect of your business. I stated that I was a woodworker. That's what I chose to do. That is fine if I stayed working for someone. However to own a business you MUST be able to be customer service, sales, management, etc.
I am not writing this as a pitty post, nor did I join this site to solicit myself. I want to be able to learn from true successfull people on how I can be successfull. If you'll accept me to the site I will do my best to research, ask questions, etc so that I can improve my way of life based of the proven stragedies. I am not after handouts and will never ask. If I happen to have information that is of use I will most certainly share it. I wish everyone here luck in life.
As stated I started in 2004. The reason I started was because I was supposed to be a partner, and the guy basically screwed me. So I told him that I would be his sub contractor and I would start my own business. He started slacking in payment so I stopped working for him. He went out of business and I took his designers. Business is business. I was the one who was doing the work for the designers, he was reeping the rewards. Now, at this point I now had a shop, tools, and clients. This is within about a month after I started. We started getting very busy and ended up getting a second shop in early 2006.
In 2007 we got out of those two shops and got into one. My sales were up from 150k the first year to a soring 700k. Then in April of 2008 my wife left me. She was the accountant, secretary, salesperson, tax preparer, etc. Basically she did everything but design and build the work. So there I was with this business and no way to run it. She left at the end of a very large job, a job that we stopped advertising for because we were to busy to take on new work. By the end of the project there was no work. Remember she stopped advertising, and I was to busy producing to know about the office. That was mistake #1. If you start a business, KNOW the business. DO NOT rely on someone else. If they leave you will be in a bad situation.
Now, remember we were doing very well. I was making a lot of money, had a little girl, and then bought a house. Now I had a mortgage, shop, employees, etc. Basically I had to much overhead. When I ran out of work the bills kept coming. I was paying them with credit cards, etc. Mistake #2 Create a NEST EGG for when things go south. Basically create a "get out" strategy that will allow you to continue living without being at the end of your rope.
She also left me with 20k in tax debt from 2007, as well as all the tax responsibilities of 2008 which remain unpaid. Mistake #3 ALWAYS hire a tax person or Accountant to do the taxes. This person or company should take care of your business on a regular basis and won't leave you when you need them.
In August of 2008 my business shut down and I haven't had work since. I have been trying to market my artwork but cannot afford "payed for" advertising. Here I sit, looking for ways out of this mess. No money, no way of paying for bankruptcy or taxes, etc. House is in foreclosure, am behind on car payments, and have child support.
I am here now to offer the advice. I hope that it finds everyone well, and that if you have made some of the same errors I have that you have the chance to change things for the future before things go to hell like they have for me. So to re-examin the Don'ts:
DO NOT rely on someone else to run your business. It is your business. KNOW it!
ALWAYS have a nest egg reserved, or a "get out" plan if things go wrong.
ALWAYS have an outside agency take care of your taxes unless you can do this yourself. If your spouse is responsible for the book keeping sit with them and learn it, taking the time to perform the duties from time to time.
NEVER choose to know one aspect of your business. I stated that I was a woodworker. That's what I chose to do. That is fine if I stayed working for someone. However to own a business you MUST be able to be customer service, sales, management, etc.
I am not writing this as a pitty post, nor did I join this site to solicit myself. I want to be able to learn from true successfull people on how I can be successfull. If you'll accept me to the site I will do my best to research, ask questions, etc so that I can improve my way of life based of the proven stragedies. I am not after handouts and will never ask. If I happen to have information that is of use I will most certainly share it. I wish everyone here luck in life.
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