Free Standing Shelving - Crunch time....business hanging in the balance.....?

Crunch time....business hanging in the balance.....?

My business seems to be hanging in the balance at the moment......one client owes me £6000 (total owed £7000 roughly)...I have to pay £600 VAT this month (which hints at how little money has been coming in lately)..I have an £8000 debt outstanding...I have 10,000 items waiting in a dock in China but the client who wants them can't pay the second half of the fee...so I can't send it off to get the goods released. The deadline is days away. I actually have the money in the bank (I loaned my busness the last of my personal savings to clear the overdraft and to provide some working capital) but my wife (Company Secretary) is strongly against me using my funds to get the goods released since it will put us overdrawn again and will risk our last bit of dosh. I need to think hard before doing it anyway. Several expected jobs haven't matrerialised because some of my clients are builders and they haven't got any money at the moment. Tomorrow I am meeting with my biggest client to review a new lump of work. If they give the nod then I am out of immediate danger but if not : if they shelve the work or only commission a part of it then I won't have the cash flow to continue. I'll have to let my industrial unit go and sack my secretary etc i.e., drastically cut my costs. If I do get the big contract that creates a whole new set of problems which there isnt space here to explain but its work I feel challenged by. The big problem though is my own motivation: I just don't have the motivation at the moment. After 8 years of pushing and living on peanuts and investing everything I just don't have the energy for another big push...I have a lot to do to be ready for tomorrow's meeting but almost can't be bothered..it seems so pointless.....I know that must sound pathetic but the years of struggle have battered my resilience...Any thoughts!?

Public Comments

Bad debt is the reason for this recession we are in at the moment. Recession,s are not a bad thing it gets rid of all the greed and stupid high house prices and overpriced "junk" on the market, It even gets rid of rubbish retail shops like Woolworth's etc. The "system" has a good clean-out. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!!
There are no easy answers all I can say is when stuck like you are at present I ask myself 'can I afford not to'. We always think we cant necessarily afford something but sometimes it is more expensive not to. As for motivation. I can truly understand how you feel. Sometimes it is a case of wanting to stay in bed with the covers over your head. It is very difficult to get back motivation. I can tell you to try and be positive etc in your meetings but it is easier said than done. I feel for you but would suggest you take one day at a time and remember things have to get better. Good Luck to you x
If it was me right now, my strategy would be thinking how I'm going to come back if this business goes under. 1. Ring fence all your important personal assets now. Transfer the ownership of your car/house to a family member. Empty any savings you've got and stick them somewhere invisible. If you've got any personal debt..get your company to buy it off you. 1a) Create a new limited company (about £70 to do) and transfer any machinery/assets/stock into this one. If you havent got time, Ive got a dormant ltd, you can have for £100. This is a precaution in case the £8000 debt comes banging on your door. You want to make your current ltd company as asset free as possible so theres nothing there for them to take. If the 8k debt comes calling, you should be able to make them see that if they wait a little longer they'll get it back, but if they petition for your bankruptcy they'll get sod all! 2. Sack your secretary anyway. Even if you get the new order. Can you really live without a secretary?? you know you can. I'm also presuming you mean you have a normal secretary (as opposed to your wife who is Company Secretary) 3. Can you use invoice discounting (factoring) to release the value of the invoice your waiting on? It might be difficult in these times, but even if the invoice discounting company could release 40-50% of your invoice value then you'll be ok. 4. Start looking for a cheaper, more modern industrial unit. 5. YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! You are a self made man with a business. The thing that drives you is your independance and your ability to work through things... Yeh things are very bad now, but thats your challenge. This sounds really really corny, but it works for loads of businessmen ... go for a very long walk over hills, fields, old railway lines (disused of course!) etc or go jogging until you are knackered. Personally I prefer the walking, it really clears my head some of the best idea's and fighting plans have been when i've been out walking. You might even start finding the odd brainwave. I know it sounds stupid - but just try it - walk for a few miles somewhere quiet. 6. If you can't find a way to release the cash in your invoice - then I would bite the bullet and offer the client a chance to buy out the other half of the invoice at a massively reduced priced. Just so you get some cashflow going. 7. Have a long bath, pamper yourself, get your best suit ready and listen to your favourite music.. another corny sounding idea but it works trust me. Get up early tommorow. (if you can sleep lol!) i've been there! 8. At the end of the day, if you can try and protect your important assets, then really you can let the business go and reopen with your second ltd company. easy to say but try not to worry too much about the 8k debt - they will have to wait, we're all in the same boat. I really wanna know how your meeting goes tommorow, keep us updated.
It does seem like it'd be so much easier just to throw in your towel, join some huge company, and just file in for a steady paycheck, doesn't it? The only reason we start businesses, the only reason we put up with all the crap, is that a steady paycheck isn't an asset. And it isn't a future, either. Owning the business isn't about survival today; it's about knowing where you want to be 5, 10, 20 years from now, and doing what you have to do to get there. Whatever you have to do. Where DO you want to be in 20 years? If you want to be secure, then be secure. But seeking security will compromise your freedom, and vice-versa. I'm sorry that there are no easy answers, and every question breeds more questions. I wish it didn't. Hope this helps.
Over 11 years in business and facing some similar problems to yourself. It's not easy! I understand so well what you're saying about the years of battling on to make some money and here you are not a lot better off than when you started. Today's the day of your meeting. Go in there full of confidence and positivity. They're going to give you the business and you can rise to the challenge of fulfilling it. Your biggest issue at present is cashflow. You don't have in all the money you should have for going out. Ask your client for an instalment payment up front. That will give you a bit of liquid to pay the VAT man and make a small payment towards your outstanding debt. Are you committed to having the goods from China? If the client can't pay, cancel the order and tell them that they've lost what they've paid you so far. Threaten small claims court procedure for the money owed to you. It usually persuades them to pay up. Just make sure you file the papers against the right name. (We had a case some years ago where the client used a number of trading names - which we didn't know until we'd filed the papers in the wrong company name!) The other thing is to do as much marketing as you possibly can as economically as possible. Let people know you're still in business and ready to take on more work. Not all your competitors will be doing so. There's not a lot of point in starting another limited company (as has been suggested elsewere) if you're going under. Being bankrupt bars you from being the director of a limited company. We've been through really tough times in the past but we've found that the best thing to do is hold your nerve. If you can be successful once, you can do it again. I'd be tempted to look seriously at using some of your savings to get you over the present hurdle. Just use them wisely. Consider what way of using them will give you the best chance of return. There's something about money attracting money. We've found when we've injected a bit of cash in that it seems to attract more. Even at this stage, it's worth speaking to your local Business Link. They can give you an outside perspective that those of us running our own businesses don't have. We're just too close to it. Ask them for a free business review. We had one early last year and it was very enlightening. Gave us some pointers that we'd missed. I wish you all the best for a successful outcome to today's meeting and for an upturn in your business.