tough tactics for tough times

I know the real pros will be ok. This post is for the majority of us who have the habit of flying by the seat of their pants.

Time to get real, and honest, with your self. I know because I have lived that way for over 50 years. Listen or quit now and save weeks of labor and money.

You don't have a real business plan, a budget and, you most likely live out of the cash register (your pocket).

You need to get handle on profit. How much is it REALY, WHERE DOES IT GO.

You need to at least divide your take into 3 equal categories. 1/3 or less expenses
1/3 household, 1/3 operating capital. Every penny you shave off of each category goes directly into savings for that Rainey day or emergency situations. If you don't do this you most likely won't be here next year. Thousands of fly by nighters and get rich quick guys have already disappeared. Don't be one of them. buy that lunch, cigarettes, or beer out of a Dailey allowance from household budget, not out of operating capital or savings.

Hopefully some of the real pros will chime in here with better iinfo and tips listen to them. To those who don't, Ill see you at the next get rich game mcw.

this would be a good place and time to discuss spread sheets, what they are and how to use them.

Everyone in my area is doing it on the side as a way of bringing in a little extra money. (Too many people and not enough material coming in to make a go of it full time.)

If somebody was doing it as a full time business i would say plan for taxes. Take 1/4 to 1/3 of every check and set that aside to pay your income tax at the end of the year.

The other thing i would strongly recommend is having zero debt. If you can't pay cash then you can't afford it.

Here's a tip that put $1000 in my pocket in 2014. It's not for everyone. I have two credit cards. One for business, one for personal use. Both pay cash back on accumulated points.

All the fuel, lunch on the road, truck repairs, maintainence, tools, everything that has anything to do with business goes on my business credit card. Now the common sense part...you must pay it off every month and never be late with a payment. Don't do those two things and you are going backwards.

This isn't something that happens overnight. Took me years to accumulate $1000 worth of points, but I am currently working on my second thousand.

Again this isn't for everyone. If you are not anal about paying bills on time, or like to roll a credit card balance month to month get that sucker paid off.


Edit: I re-read your original post olddude. You wanted tips from the real pros. I don't consider myself a real pro lol., Just another guy trying to get by from one month to the next.
Take my tip for what it's worth.

I think it's situational. Depends on your business environment & cash flow.

I was reading an article in Forbes a few years back and it was saying that Maine & Louisiana were the two worst states in the union in which to run a business. Add to that .... these are some of the very worst of economic times.

< Gentle laughter > Tough times and tough tactics are the norm here. About 90 - 95 percent of our new business startups fail within the first five years. Your business approach has to be very conservative or you won't survive.

This is a hard time of year here. There's a saying that after Christmas everyone is poor. That's true for businesses as well. Operating expenses run above normal but there's little or nothing coming in. You run in the red till things pick back up in the spring. You want to build enough of a capital reserve fund during the spring,summer, and fall, to carry you through the winter.

I had a credit account with my local building materials supplier for over fifteen years but when things got tough i shut it down. It's bothered the boss there to no end ever since. He keeps trying to get me to start charging things again and i don't quite know why. I explained very tactfully that it had nothing to do with him. It was simply that i felt that it was the responsible thing to do given the circumstance.

It's had a strange effect : Every time i go in, he gives me a discount on the things i buy. If it's something vital for the business the discounts are even deeper.

This is my opinion on bank loans & general credit: Imagine if you went swimming in a pond and came up covered in leeches. You would be disgusted and appalled. You wouldn't be able to get them off you fast enough because those nasty things have attached themselves and are draining your life blood.

It's the same with banking & finance. If you allow it .... these parasitic entities will suck the lifeblood from your business and maybe even kill it. They have all these schemes and have ONLY their self interest in mind. They are not your friend no matter how nice they may be.

It's something to be avoided if at all possible.

Later edited to add an afterthought :

I do have two different debit cards for the business. ( different banks ) They are convenient and the banks offer points programs for those who are interested. The thing with a debit card is that you're on a more solid financial footing. You're not spending money that you don't have and there's no bill to pay at the end of the month.

there is a good reason the real name for lending is usury.

The number one this is to know your goals. If you want to make $250K a year your plan will be different than someone hoping to make $50k. The first thing is to sate your goal. In writing. You don't have to computerize it, or have it leather bound. A notebook will work. If you are serious about this as a business then you must run it like one.

I have recently become a scrap at home dad. My wife is pulling down some serious cash so I am taking time off from working 40, 80, 100 hours a week and hanging with my boys, 17, 10, 3. If I can help anyone with a business pan I will.