Pressure To Go Bankrupt

Red_Doe

I`m self employed, and have been for almost ten years. A couple of years ago, the recession bit hard and since then it`s been a struggle. Add in to that a prolonged illness (that I`m still recovering from) and well, it`s still a struggle.
But...I love my work, and I worked so hard, against a lot of odds, to set my business up. It`s survived the recession so far, plus a couple of so called friends trying to screw me over by stealing business from me, and other things. Right now, it`s surviving isolation since I live in one of the most remote areas in Britain.
I`ve had quite a few friends who have advised me to go bankrupt.
I`m in a Debt Managament Plan and the advisor in that also says I should go bankrupt.
I don`t want to!
Yes, I`m struggling, and yes it can get me down at times but behind it all is the fierce fact that I like my work and fought so hard to get it up and running, and the faith that things will get better, in fact there are finally tiny signs that that is happening.
But, people still pressure me to go bankrupt.
What would you do if you were me? Would you give in to the pressure? Going bankrupt would take care of my debts, yes? But even though I`m paying the lowest amount, I`m still repaying them.
They also say going bankrupt would take a great weight off my shoulders.
But realistically, there is no work here for me, I`m literally miles away from even the nearest tiny village, no transport, public or private. All the work here is shared out between locals and it`s the usual case where most of them have two or three jobs to keep heads above water.
So that makes me lucky, to have one trade that I can work from home.
Am I being romantically unrealistic, to cling onto the fact that I fought so damn hard to get going, that when times get tough I should hang on for dear life until things pick up again?
I`m fighting, too, the pressure to go bankrupt, every part of me just feels it`s wrong for me.
I do wish they`d quit though....

Emmzi

if EVERYONE reccomends bankruptcy doesnt that tell you anything?

Great, you enjoy work, but you aren't making money. That makes it just a very expensive hobby.

mazinmouse

Two options:

Tell your 'friends' to stop advising you to go bankrupt. Tell them it is adding unnecessary pressure. If they're friends they'll listen. If /when the time comes for you to go bankrupt you'll know that yourself.

Perhaps your friends feel you have been banging on about the pressures of business in your life, they 'hear' that things are difficult for you and have been difficult for some time so they naturally start to assume that quitting your business would be a way to end the situation. Maybe keep quiet about how things are and see whether they change their tune. Sames goes for any professionals you are involved with.

Red_Doe

Emmzi wrote: »

if EVERYONE reccomends bankruptcy doesnt that tell you anything?

Great, you enjoy work, but you aren't making money. That makes it just a very expensive hobby.

My work is very much more than a `hobby`....
I think that is what`s wrong with a lot of things today..too many people give up too easily.

Emmzi

Red Doe, have you jusst posted wanting people to agree with you? That is not how forums work.

Ok, for an unbiased opinion, ask a) your accountant and b) your bank manager. We can't advise fully without seing your profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow forecast.

Red_Doe

No, I didn`t just post for people to agree with me, but nor did I post for people to be dismissive over something so important as my livelihood.
Thanks for your input.

Emmzi

Red Doe,

you are in a debt management plan.
financial advisers say "go bankrupt"
friends saay "go bankrupt"

Things are obviously tough.

Based on this evidence to tell you to keep struggling on would be folly. Yes, it sucks when thingss you have worked har for don't work through, but part of being a businessman is knowing when to quit. I used to be a business banking maanager, I've seen people in your position time and time again. The debts get bigger, the hole gets bigger, mainly down to pride. Sometimes it isn't about You though, it is the market changing, your skills no longer being valued, being replaced by machinery, etc etc. Happens all the time, and sometimes the worst thing you can do is try to hang on.

So excuse me if I am blunt, but if everyone's calling you a horse, it's time to buy a saddle.

Now if you want, you can post up some financial details, you can tell us what line of work you are in. And then you will get a more full opinion.

Killer questions - would anyone employ you to do what you do, and if so, why not try that? If not -there's no real demand for the service.
- if you sold our business tomorrow, what would you get for it?

NorthernLas

RedDoe - You have posed an impossible question. Only you know the detail of your situation, so asking 'what would you do?' is likely to get a full range or yes / no / can't say as not enough information ...

Does your business make money? Do you have any assets? Have you taken advice from CCCS or National Debtline or CAB or CAP?

Red_Doe

Thanks, guys, for your feedback. I`m going to bow out of this now though, as I think I shouldn`t have posted it in the first place. That isn`t disgruntlement and no, I`m not throwing my dummy out the pram.
Just, I can see what`s happened...I get more pressure, get hit by doubts and have a moment of `should I?`..but in the end, silly pride or not, all my instincts are screaming at me not to give in.
So, thanks again for your comments, much appreciated.

fermi

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

debtinfo

Hi red doe

As the others have said it is very hard to give you any help if you dont give any information

Some questions that i think you need to ask your self are these

Is the business making any money, if it is, is it just your personal finances that are holding you back.

Is the business something that you continue with if you did go bankrupt.

If the business returned to former glory how long would it take you to pay your debts, (remember to include all the interest in the calculation)

I think that answering those questions will help you decide ehat if anything is best to do

hope that helps