I own a couple businesses but am still trapped in a SCRIPTED life. Help me escape!
My wife & I are young 30's and we have three kids under the age of 4.
6 years ago my wife & I opened a b&m retail store. A true tightwad could get pre-tax take home cash of $100k/year. But basically, we don't control spending because it's "re-investing in the business" even though growth flat-lined this year. We do basically no advertising right now, so I believe the store has the potential for another $150k/year in revenue where it would truly be maxed.
I'm a firm believer that the next step is creating our own products to sell in-store & online, but it's outside my wife's comfort zone as she feels overwhelmed with just running the store/our kids.
A year ago, I bought an existing (non-franchise) commercial cleaning company. The plan was for my wife to handle customer service/sales for 3 months until we felt comfortable with it then I would quit my job. A week after buying the business we found out she was pregnant (a big surprise) and she basically didn't have the energy to deal with my business. I planned to go until the end of the year & then quit. In November I lost my biggest account. Quiting got pushed back. The next plan was to wait until this July when some debt would be paid off and quit. I would clean the largest account myself to make enough money. In June I lost that account.
Seeing a trend? This wasn't purely bad luck. It was essentially self-sabotage. Giving a half a$$ effort to my business as I feel tired and trapped in my job. Plus I haven't added any accounts as I have "no time" for sales (in truth, I have 45 minutes/day yet don't use it).
So here we are. I know that every day I stay comfortable in this job and life it gets that much harder to make a change. I know that if I continue doing what I'm doing my soul will whither and die, and worse - my kids will end up the same way. THIS IS MY WHY.
But it's hard to see a way out. And that's where I need you, Fastlaners.
I can't reduce our expenses without drastically altering our life. Even then, I can't cut more than $2k/month in expenses (we don't live extravagantly, kids are expensive). And frankly, I'm not prepared to make that sacrifice YET.
My wife & I are young 30's and we have three kids under the age of 4.
6 years ago my wife & I opened a b&m retail store. A true tightwad could get pre-tax take home cash of $100k/year. But basically, we don't control spending because it's "re-investing in the business" even though growth flat-lined this year. We do basically no advertising right now, so I believe the store has the potential for another $150k/year in revenue where it would truly be maxed.
I'm a firm believer that the next step is creating our own products to sell in-store & online, but it's outside my wife's comfort zone as she feels overwhelmed with just running the store/our kids.
A year ago, I bought an existing (non-franchise) commercial cleaning company. The plan was for my wife to handle customer service/sales for 3 months until we felt comfortable with it then I would quit my job. A week after buying the business we found out she was pregnant (a big surprise) and she basically didn't have the energy to deal with my business. I planned to go until the end of the year & then quit. In November I lost my biggest account. Quiting got pushed back. The next plan was to wait until this July when some debt would be paid off and quit. I would clean the largest account myself to make enough money. In June I lost that account.
Seeing a trend? This wasn't purely bad luck. It was essentially self-sabotage. Giving a half a$$ effort to my business as I feel tired and trapped in my job. Plus I haven't added any accounts as I have "no time" for sales (in truth, I have 45 minutes/day yet don't use it).
So here we are. I know that every day I stay comfortable in this job and life it gets that much harder to make a change. I know that if I continue doing what I'm doing my soul will whither and die, and worse - my kids will end up the same way. THIS IS MY WHY.
But it's hard to see a way out. And that's where I need you, Fastlaners.
I can't reduce our expenses without drastically altering our life. Even then, I can't cut more than $2k/month in expenses (we don't live extravagantly, kids are expensive). And frankly, I'm not prepared to make that sacrifice YET.
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