Self Employed DFW

myeyesropen

Good Evening All,
I thought that all self employed DFW could share stories and problems, since we face a fairly unique challenge with our debts and businesses.
My story is simple I borrowed money through credit cards and unsecured loans to put into my business, simply put we are a retail business and have seen a 45% decrease in turnover from August of last year.
I can honestly say there have been times in the last 7 months when I have hated running my own business for the 1st time in 4 years, normally I love it but this year it has felt like a curse.
I have found it difficult to access good advice, but don't fear there is good advice out there. I am proud to be starting a DMP in April with the CCCS and luckily I believe I have acted in time to save my business.
I have payment plans in place with HMRC for VAT and royal mail for arrears. I also have the following creditors: HSBC, Capital One, Egg, Cahoot, Mint, MBNA,Barclay Card and Alliance & Leicester. I am happy to share my experiences with these creditors for the benefit of any other stuggling self employed peeps out there.
Anyway enough rambling.

TurnaroundSue

Hi and welcome! I am also self employed and thought I would just pop in to say hello.:hello:

Why dont you post your SOA on here and maybe we can see whether there is anything that can be done to reduce some of your outgoings - mind you, if you are on a dmp you most probably have gone through it all with a fine toothcomb anyway.

Is there anyway you could diversify your business, doing e-shopping, maybe take some of your stock to car boots - what type of retail business have you got? It is really tuff for small businesses at the moment, especially retail, and I personally am trying to do my bit by not shopping in Tesco and using the smaller independent businesses for my meat, fruit and veg, pet food etc, so even though my small contribution won't keep them afloat on its own, if more of us did that then it would make a hugh difference in the thousands of little businesses out there.

Good luck.

suzialwaysbroke

Hi there,
Also SE with OH, & like yourselves, in retail. We have had to work harder than ever, but have found that business still ok, have found the internet has been a great boost to business. Like you, we have used CC's over the years to keep ourselves going through the tough times & find them a great burden to pay back.
Also agree that good impartial advice can be hard to come by but Business Link can be useful.
I wish you all the best for the coming year, I think it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Love Suzi xx

PS, get rid of dead stock on ebay - sometimes something is better than nothing!

Pobby

Hi there. Had my own shop for over 13 years and have to say it was the most stressful period of my life. At times we made some good money but we should have closed when we got fed up with it and saw the market changing. However there was the small problem with the lease so we traded up to the bitter end. It was at that point we attracted debt and used credit cards.

That was some years ago and all behind us know. Having said that a bit of me would like another go.

I now work for a supplier who has a lot of retailer as customers. Some of whom seem to be doing OK.

Depending on what you sell there are " bolt ons ". The first that springs to mind is the net. Imo to have a successful web site you do have to throw money at it. I would favour an e-bay shop.

Looking forward to this thread.

lemma1968

Me too, I'm self employed. Not what it is cracked up to be, is it?:mad:

Welcome to the Madhouse.:D

jennyo

Hi me and my husband are both self employed too, and have run into difficulties at times. We are getting on top of things now (at the moment), getting stuff paid of, but you can start to feel trapped by all the debt. Anyway tomorrow is our day off, we have mondays off as weekends are always very busy, so looking forward to that.

Horace

I am also self employed - I started my business in October and I am slowly building it up. I too am diversifying in an attempt to make money and have decided to hire out wedding candles and sell favour boxes. I actually enjoy being self employed and am looking forward to the day when I shall be free of the jobcentre:j I haven't long to go as I finish my test trading on 26 April:j I thoroughly enjoy working for myself but don't want to get into debt either so I am doubly careful.

Seaxwyn

Another self-employed DFW checking in.... Nice to know there are so many of us. I'm a freelance writer so I don't have many business costs, thank goodness. The main problem for me is the unpredictable and variable income, and the tax bills. Let's hope we can all share ideas on this thread.

mary_mungo_+_midge

Hi there!

I'm another SE DFW, been on a self administered DMP since Feb 08 and its been the best thing I ever did. Managed to knock 25k off my debt in last 13 months by paying as much as I can, claiming back charges and mis sold PPI etc.

The very fact that the interest is frozen on a DMP means at least every penny I pay goes straight off my balance rather than being swallowed up in interest charges which is a huge incentive to pay off as much as poss.

Had 17 creditors at the beginning so may be able to offer some advice on who has been easiest/worst to deal with.

Good luck x

Pobby

Tax, yes that`s a biggie. Often had problems with that. In 1989 we had a tax bill for £12k although the books clearly showed that we had only £13k of drawings. We had used the rest to build up our stock. These days, although I am contracted to a company, I am still self employed and make sure I have money put aside. I have been doing this for a good number of years so have a nice cushion to fall back on.

Agreed, it`s not all that it`s cracked up to be. However I`ve been self employed for the last 25 years so I must like some aspects.

Caroline73_2

I'm a self employed DFW too.

I've been retailing for 2 and half years and pretty much broke even last two financial years. I'm just totalling this years figures up and I've made a nice profit.

I'm quite lucky in that I am a qualified nurse so I can do agency shifts too which has helped!