bankruptcy at 27 years of age

realwildone

You also have the bankruptcy on your file for 6 years which will prevent or hamper you in your running of the business. Ie setting up a bank account etc.

You also have to disclose when asked if you have ever been bankrupt which may hamper you for life.

Lara44

I am a design graduate also living in London - it is one of the most difficult professions to get into, especially product design. Unfortunately the majority of people who train as designers don't work in that field - I read that in a study by Blueprint magazine. How sad I myself decided it was too difficult and am studying for an MA in a related field, although I currently work for a very successful lighting and ceramics designer, which has been a real insight.

My main advice for your daughter would be to try to get a job in the area she's interested in. The job I have has been a real eye-opener and has taught me all about running a small business, getting products out there in the world of product design, and I have made so many useful contacts with manufacturers etc. I earn just above minimum wage but I have a fantastic time.

There are loads and loads of ways that your daughter could begin her business, lots of shows for young designers that she could enter her products for and loads of bursaries for showing at exhibitions such as 100% design. However as with any industry and London 'scene' there's a real insider circuit. Cracking this and getting some all important press attention is in my opinion the best way to get products out there. There are quite a few start-up grants from people such as the crafts council, and lots of very cheap studio space one that springs to mind is cockpit arts in deptford for designer-makers.

I work part-time for my employer, bringing home just £600 after tax but still manage to have a great life AND pay back debts. I think bancruptcy at such as young age is really difficult, and I owe £14000 too. It's not too hard to pay back the cc's and in my opinion your daughter could do it all.

Its the London design festival this month and the perfect time for meeting people. Something like the 100% design catalogue although it's £10 is a perfect list of designers to approach for work. Also lots of studios have open days to meet the people involved, and there are usually some seminars for young designers.

It's so easy to be downhearted but I think it's all out there. But there are no easy options as I well know too

mountainofdebt

misscampbell wrote:

I am 27 years old, £23,0000 in debt and in a position where I am wanting to be able to start up my own business.

I am considering going bankrupt to alleviate an increasing or unmoving debt. This would allow me to break a cycle unfulfilling administration jobs that have no relevance to my training, and will subsequently allow me to pursue a career in my field of design.

Any one who has been in a similar position, or knows of anyone who has; feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Please don't think I am being nasty but setting up your own business, regardless of location or profession is not as simple as "thinking right I want my own business so I will".

There are so many things to think of - how are you going to finance basic living whilst setting up a client basis? Many experts would recommend that you have savings of at least 6 months even if you are employed so this would be a good starting point.

Secondly, do you have any contacts in your choosen area? Any work lined up?

I'm speaking from experience here as OH set up his own business 6 YEARS ago and to be honest, on occasions we're STILL living from hand to mouth, relying on my salary to keep the wolves from the door and I think I can honestly say most of our debts have occured from this period

And this was starting off from a position where he had a ready made customer base and had work constantly coming in.

Is your choosen field something that can be done on the sidelines so to speak so that you can build up a reputation, a contact list before taking the plunge?

mountainofdebt

misscampbell wrote:

I am very new to this site. The person above has posted 2 messages and both have been negative. Is this the "help" you give? Some people are very quick to judge, this person has have managed to depress me all day.

Sometimes we have to be told things for our good, however much we don't want to hear it.

misscampbell wrote:

A big thank you to all the positive people who have posted. I discovered this site and thought it would help my daughter who is visiting me this weekend.

It may help your daughter more if she can have a proper look at this site and take in all its advice, and even better of she can post a list of her outgoings and income so that the people on here can just ways of helping her get out of debt without resorting to bankruptacy. Is this possible?

We are a friendly bunch (honest) but at the same time is it fair to someone to say "yes go ahead and do this" when there are blindly obvious pitfalls? What I have learnt is that people are willing to tell you when you are doing something so obviously wrong and/or stupid (in a nice way of course) - I think its called tough love??????

Mrs_Sparkle

Jane, you sound like a lovely mum and your daughter is lucky to have your support. Please encourage her to come here and explore some of the options available to her so she can make the right decision.

Yes, London can be outrageously expensive- I've lived in London most of my adult life. But it can also be one of the best cities for living cheaply. I get free newspapers morning and evening, cycle and walk along the Thames at weekends and use the fantastic parks to meet friends. There are many cheap restaurants- I meet my friends in a pizza place which is £6 for a pizza, salad + garlic bread for example- and always lots of happy hours to get a cheap cocktails if you absolutely have to get out on a Friday night.

Hope this helps- C

MinnieSpender

You've already had some very good advice on this thread - I'd say both the "positive" and the "negative". People who come on this thread are well experienced in debt, the getting of it and the getting out of it.

I understand your DD's worry about her debt and her ambition to get ahead (personal experience on both counts). The sad reality is that more than half of small business fail within their first year. You'll find 65 reasons for that here:

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/ltd-companies/common-reasons-for-business-failure.htm

Sobering stuff.

However, I have no wish to pour cold water on her ideas. I echo Lara's excellent advice - your DD would be well advised to take those ideas on board. Research, research and research again and then network like crazy.

Does your DD have any knowledge about the help that is available to her in setting up a small business? Maybe a look at the Prince's Trust website would point her in the right direction - they have great success at helping the under 30s in setting up new businesses and they make sure people are properly trained in the basics:

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/Main%20Site%20v2/14-30%20and%20need%20help/start%20up%20in%20business.asp

I would caution her against going for bankruptcy immediately without weighing up all the other options and thinking about the effects of what this could do to her in the long term. She's not alone in this and we will stand by her and help her all we can. You will find many stories of people who have become debt-free on here and some great ideas of how to do it.

misscampbell

LaraHoust wrote:

I am a design graduate also living in London - it is one of the most difficult professions to get into, especially product design. Unfortunately the majority of people who train as designers don't work in that field - I read that in a study by Blueprint magazine. How sad I myself decided it was too difficult and am studying for an MA in a related field, although I currently work for a very successful lighting and ceramics designer, which has been a real insight.

My main advice for your daughter would be to try to get a job in the area she's interested in. The job I have has been a real eye-opener and has taught me all about running a small business, getting products out there in the world of product design, and I have made so many useful contacts with manufacturers etc. I earn just above minimum wage but I have a fantastic time.

There are loads and loads of ways that your daughter could begin her business, lots of shows for young designers that she could enter her products for and loads of bursaries for showing at exhibitions such as 100% design. However as with any industry and London 'scene' there's a real insider circuit. Cracking this and getting some all important press attention is in my opinion the best way to get products out there. There are quite a few start-up grants from people such as the crafts council, and lots of very cheap studio space one that springs to mind is cockpit arts in deptford for designer-makers.

I work part-time for my employer, bringing home just £600 after tax but still manage to have a great life AND pay back debts. I think bancruptcy at such as young age is really difficult, and I owe £14000 too. It's not too hard to pay back the cc's and in my opinion your daughter could do it all.

Its the London design festival this month and the perfect time for meeting people. Something like the 100% design catalogue although it's £10 is a perfect list of designers to approach for work. Also lots of studios have open days to meet the people involved, and there are usually some seminars for young designers.

It's so easy to be downhearted but I think it's all out there. But there are no easy options as I well know too

Thank you for this post I do appreciate it. My daughter is wanting to work in Interior design. She has had a years experience working on designing shop interiors, so she can use that in her CV. I will forward some of these great posts to her and ask her to register on here herself. I am sure she can learn a lot from all your good advice.
kind regards
Jane

misscampbell

Mrs_Sparkle wrote:

Jane, you sound like a lovely mum and your daughter is lucky to have your support. Please encourage her to come here and explore some of the options available to her so she can make the right decision.

Yes, London can be outrageously expensive- I've lived in London most of my adult life. But it can also be one of the best cities for living cheaply. I get free newspapers morning and evening, cycle and walk along the Thames at weekends and use the fantastic parks to meet friends. There are many cheap restaurants- I meet my friends in a pizza place which is £6 for a pizza, salad + garlic bread for example- and always lots of happy hours to get a cheap cocktails if you absolutely have to get out on a Friday night.

Hope this helps- C

That is very kind of you, but I think all mothers would do the same. I am not blind to the reality of running a small business I am self employed myself and my business is tiny but growing. I have experienced the cash flow problems, customers not paying on time or not at all. But I would never swap all the challenges of running my own business to returning to paid employment.

I do have the handicap of being her "mother" I mean that as all children they very rarely listen to their parents or are willing to learn from their experience. I think if she were to have an outsider look over her finances and business plan and give her their informed opinion then she would take the advice on board.
Anyway, many thanks for the support, it has helped.
kind regards
Jane

mrslawrence2003

misscampbell wrote:

I am 27 years old, £23,0000 in debt and in a position where I am wanting to be able to start up my own business.

I am considering going bankrupt to alleviate an increasing or unmoving debt. This would allow me to break a cycle unfulfilling administration jobs that have no relevance to my training, and will subsequently allow me to pursue a career in my field of design.

Any one who has been in a similar position, or knows of anyone who has; feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

i would think extremely carefully before you take this step. i am your age and owe approx £13 K more than you so know what a heavy burden it is, but currently have a reasonable credit history. yes i have also considered going bankrupt and at times that's seemed like the only option but that would destroy that and completely remove any chance of getting a mortgage - at least for the next 6 years. i'd be 33 by then - and tbh if i havent bought a house by then i'd be pretty gutted. also - what if i want to start a family in the next 6 years? i dont at the mo - but who knows what will change?

misscampbell

mrslawrence2003 wrote:

i would think extremely carefully before you take this step. i am your age and owe approx £13 K more than you so know what a heavy burden it is, but currently have a reasonable credit history. yes i have also considered going bankrupt and at times that's seemed like the only option but that would destroy that and completely remove any chance of getting a mortgage - at least for the next 6 years. i'd be 33 by then - and tbh if i havent bought a house by then i'd be pretty gutted. also - what if i want to start a family in the next 6 years? i dont at the mo - but who knows what will change?

thanks for the advice, I will pass it on, good luck,
kind regards
Jane