When Do You Call It Quits

Posted on April 4, 2008
Filed Under survival |

A comment on yesterday’s post gave me pause to really think about my plans for the future. It also made me stop and take stock of what I have invested in the business and what I need to do to fix my financial situation. I posted several days ago about my decision to look for a job and the negative effect that would have on my business. The comment was questioning my plans for both finding a job and saving up my emergency fund by saving a small amount through the business.

My answer to that question was that until I find a job, I still need to be saving an emergency fund. The business is my only income presently and until it is either supplemented or replaced, I will have to do the best I can. While that is the only answer I can give right now, the comment did cause me to take a look at the last year and what my prospects are for the coming year.

While I still believe that the business could eventually grow into a profitable endeavor, the growth has been very slow. Part of that is the area, part of it is the economy and part of it is my own lack of funds to invest in marketing it. In order to live off the income from the business I need to increase my gross income by at least 50%. The hard, cold fact is that even if I had the money to invest it would take another 6 to 8 months to build the customer base to the level needed to accomplish that goal.

My choices are somewhat limited in the job market. This is a very rural area and there are few if any part time positions available and with a couple of large factory closings in the area, competition for those jobs is high. The closest large towns that might offer part time work are at least 25 miles away and the nearest city is over 60 miles. This increases both the cost of commuting for a part time position and the time involved.

It would cost me over a $100 a month to commute to the closest large town and over $300 to commute to the city. I have pretty much eliminated the thought of driving to the city for anything but a full time position. Part time work would be a nice supplement to what I am earning now but even working 20 hours a week would not be enough to make up the difference between my expenses and what I am earning now.

It is a difficult decision to make as I have invested quite a bit of time and money into the business and I hate to just quit. The fact remains that I can’t go on living the way I have been for the past few months. So I am stuck trying to decide if I expand my search for a part time job, knowing that it still isn’t going to make up the difference in the short term or do I just call it quits with the business and find a full time job that will pay the bills with some extra to spare for my savings and retirement funds.

I must admit that finding a full time position looks pretty good right now. It would be an end to the constant stress that my financial situation is causing and it would make my life a whole lot easier. On the other hand, it feels like quitting and giving up. Damn, I hate to be a quitter.

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Comments

6 Responses to “When Do You Call It Quits”

bouncing betty on April 4th, 2008 2:33 pm

Nope, you are not being a quitter. You are just changing your game plan for the time being to adapt to the new field. All good generals constantly evaluate the battle and change tactics as needed.

I know this time probably just sucks for you and you are wondering what the hell did I get myself into? Things will perk up, I just have this feeling they will.

And yes I AM being Betty the Pollyanna today!
Lindsay (17 comments.) on April 4th, 2008 9:38 pm

Just think of the job as a temporary way to earn some extra income. Your business will succeed, and then you can quit your job. Knowing you will be able to quit your job will motivate you to find ways to adjust your business for the better. Good luck!
CindyS on April 5th, 2008 5:19 am

Betty, I am glad to see you being Pollyanna. Things will eventually get better… I know they will too. I am just wondering if I am doing the right thing by sticking with it or if I should find a full time job with benefits (sounds like heaven) or not.

Lindsay, That is one way to look at it but if I go back to work full time, it will be hard to grow the business.
Debt Free Revolution (12 comments.) on April 5th, 2008 9:57 am

In the Army we had a saying: “No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.” If you can’t “Change, adapt, and overcome” (another Army saying) then you get steamrolled. You are “adjusting fire” and sometimes plans get put on hold for survival. It took me 13 years to get back into college. Life happens, so adjust fire and keep on going with revised plans.
Kim on April 5th, 2008 7:23 pm

Hi…I’m new here! I have been reading your blog and a few other frugal blogs lately, and I find them very interesting and informative. I felt like I needed to comment on this one because I understand completely what you are going through.
I own my own business too. I started a small newspaper in my area 13 years ago, and I run it out of my house. When I started it, my kids were younger and I wanted to do something that would allow me to spend time with them before they were grown. I also needed something that required very little investment to start. So I started it from scratch. The only thing that has kept me going all these years, while other small papers have cropped up and went under within months or years, is keeping my overhead low, low low. I have none except for my printing cost every two weeks and gas to distribute it. And it has slowly grown throughout the years.
The paper itself is free and consists mostly of classified ads and some articles and I make my money from the business advertisers. I have two independent sales reps. that I pay on a commission basis only - I only pay them when they sell ads, and since they are considered independent they get a 1099 form at the end of the year and file their own taxes.
So here is my suggestion - is there anyway at all possible that you can cut your overhead to the bare, bare minimum until you grow? Is it necessary to have the office right now…could you possibly do this at your house until you build your client base up? I know it is hard to afford to advertise when you are struggling (I deal with tons of small businesses struggling with that)…have you ever considered making up flyers and taking them around to put on doors, or handing to people as they come out of a busy shopping area? Have you ever thought of branching off and doing something else to supplement your income? Possibly something else along the same lines? We always say here that it is easier to try to get more money out of our existing clients than to get brand new ones. People that are already happy with your service might be interested in more of your services.
CindyS on April 5th, 2008 7:34 pm

Kim, Welcome! Thanks for your suggestions and for commenting. You have some great ideas and I will have to think about it for awhile. Maybe I can come up with something. I have flyers out and am going to go to the local festivals to pass them out. It’s what passes for shopping out here.