Mooloo's "Making my future, one stitch at a time"?

duchy

I'm thinking a good accountant who works with small businesses as a speciality might be a really good investment Mooloo.

I'm thinking your accounts may not be a clear reflection especially when it comes to how assets like equipment are handled with regards to spreading capital costs and depreciation which could be significant.

Savvy_sewing

I was supposed to be using an accountant that has been recommended to me but dispite a discussion that was about as far as it went. I will seek a new one this week as a matter of urgenc.

mrmechanic

I think your next move is to seek some professional advice about moving your business forward.
This would include looking at all aspects that generate income and list them in order of best earner.
This would more than likely mean your alterations/repairs at the top with your accessory sales last.
You then need to concentrate on the alterations/repairs
If you have enough work to be able to employ staff for the sewing side, then you need to spend less time yourself doing other things like teaching(as you probably only do this once a week) and concentrate only on the sewing yourself without staff as that is what is generating the income.
I will say it again, you need to concentrate on making your wage first and do whatever is needed to get your wage first. This will mean offloading staff you cannot afford.And you cannot afford staff if you are into a years trading and not generating a wage because you are paying everyone else.
Paying of one part time girl is not going to help you.
You need to cut out all staff and start again.
Not an easy thing to do but better than you loosing everything you have worked hard for.This is not sustainable but can easily turned around if you take some action now.
You will never be able to please customers expectations all the time and you loosing money paying staff you don't need because someone wants a pair of jeans they have had sitting in a drawer for years shortened and ready for picking up the next day because they will be passing is not really your problem.
Set realistic times that you will be able to meet, if this isn't any good to them then perhaps they would be better finding someone who can meet their timescale.
You need to toughen up and sort this out while you still have a chance.
Or stay at home without all the stress of what you are doing and not make a wage.
You would be in a better position with housing benefits etc.
Again I apologise if I seem blunt but you have had the same advice from a few other posters over staff and wages for a while now but still not acted on it.

Savvy_sewing

If I cut out all staff then I doubt I would survive either. As the customers want to talk to me about everything and anything it eats into my sewing time, and abilities to concentrate on the important work. I could not keep the shop open on my own unless I stopped everything I do.
I believe that the shop will improve week on week as it becomes know what I do. I think closing my doors to sew would be a mistake. I think that the retail side is necessary to help with the service side of the business. The overhead of the shop means that I could not physically sew enough alterations to just do that.
I know that it would not be viable. The business needs to have a few strings to its bow to survive.
The teaching takes up Tuesday afternoons, Thursday Evenings and most of Saturday. While I do that the shop needs attention. So I need staff then.
We will see what I can achieve and I hope that I have a chance to succeed.
I have not borrowed any money to build up the business, and I have a good amount of stock too.
No I didn't take a wage, as the money was reinvested in the stock.
Yes I may have been a little too nieve in thinking that I would be OK. That Family issues would demand my attention still, and my funds.
Hopefully now that I am aware of the problem I will be able too sort it out.
I have not posted on the other boards as I suppose this thread has been my 'diary of events' for the last 8 years or so. So it was the natural place for me to tell it how I see it still.
I don't want to be on benefits for ever, and I don't intend to. But for now I do need a little help until I am able too do it all by myself.

duchy

I was wondering if these people might be helpful http://www.oxonbe.co.uk/cms/

Brighton_belle

It's not just money to family though Mooloo, it appears while needing benefits to live on (not having a go) you've been giving away £43 a month to charity. I find this a bit astonishing.
Is it time to have another look at your outgoings to see where you might be doing things you really can't justify?


I agree with your logic you can't get rid of staff - if you do, you will be able to do less work and therefore have less money coming in. But I do think any future staff should be potentially taken on, on a self employed basis, (if this is a legit way to operate).
Also, you're first year of building up a business will have meant a lot more initial outlay.
As others have suggested, now is the time for profession small business advice.
I hope you can sort out the sudden benefit cut soon.

Savvy_sewing

No I haven't been giving £43 to charity. I have been doing post code lottery, and charity donations of £15 & £8.50 the total is the combined amount that I realised was an immediate saving.
I can also cut some from the food budget as I have been buying far too many convenience foods of late.
I immediately looked at the SOA the minute the benefit for housing stopped.
I will cope on what I have coming in, just about. But it will be tighter then the proverbial ducks ...
The shop can manage without the addition of more new stock for a while, and I will push to turn the cupboard stock of clothes into cash ASAP. by selling it on car boot sites etc, or worst case scenario cash for clothes.
I have an idea to use the remnants better as well, and hope that I can also sell more of the thermal cooking bags, as winter approaches. Using the fabric that I already have, and the polystyrene balls in stock. I made 3 this week that were ordered, and the makes I had made a long time ago are in the shop again, and starting to sell.
It's acade of not spending money on any thing other than the necessary items.
September was a record total income, and it was only a higher outgoing then I could have as I had purchased a large amount of threads on top of the wages bill.
Anyway, I will contact the Business Advice locally, and see what can be done, along with a new accountant.
And the family will have to fend for themselves.
I have food in the cupboards and we have enough of the necessities in life to get us through this.
I shall challenge myself to do my own Stoptober, on spending and create our Christmas from a handmade Christmas again as I have done when the going was tough several years ago.
This is just a wake up call that has reminded me to get my act together.

Savvy_Sue

Brighton_belle wrote: »

But I do think any future staff should be potentially taken on, on a self employed basis, (if this is a legit way to operate).

For odd bits of sewing, as and when, using people who are self-employed could be justifiable - they can do it in their own time, using their own tools, and as long as the standard is as good as their own they could potentially farm the work out to others. And as Mooloo is aware, you don't have to give holiday pay or a pension to these people.

On the other hand, you might pay an employee NMW but someone who's self-employed would normally charge a higher hourly rate, to reflect the fact that they don't get paid for holidays and need to sort their own pension. So it's not necessarily cheaper that way, but it is more flexible.

For staffing the shop at set hours, I do not think that self-employment can be justified. You want that person there when you need them, not when they feel like it. You also want that person, not their best friend, not their neighbour, not their mother.

You can offer a zero hour contract and vary the hours from week to week, if for example the sewing lessons only take place in term-time or you might want some one-off sessions. But you can't say "be self-employed".

Ultimately, HMRC can rule on whether or not someone is self-employed, and if Mooloo gets this wrong there would be a tax bill heading her way, which wouldn't help at all!

Savvy_sewing

I wouldn't want the shop sales lady to be self employed. I get confused about zero hours contracts, but I will look into it further.
Sewing is often done by piece work, so could be somethings in that to also look into.
Personally I think it's important to keep some staff, as I still need to have flexibility in the equation for family life, comfort breaks, teaching, for when I do fittings, and making the larger items, like the blinds etc.
I cannot leave the shop floor unattended and if the door is locked then the people don't come back.
I still get people thinking I'm closed if the door is only shut, dispite a sign saying open, my swing sign outside the shop and a rail outside!
If I am not seen they go away. ( or someone else in the shop).

As I have said the plan would be to let the young girl go, and offer self employment in the future when the work is in. She already works on a self employed basis in the theatre and juggles her hours for me around that. Really she should have stayed self employed in the beginning.
The staff on the shop floor, has volunteered to drop to 18 hours, and my other seamstress only does 10 hours. She is highly skilled and is an asset to the business and I still learn things from her. The work she does is charged out at a lot more than her wage, so she is making me money.
My time alas is the least productive as I am busy st the top of the heap, with all the aspects of business and customer service being a pull on my time.
People want to talk to me, the owner, the teacher, the buyer, the decision maker. All important things, but my time then is not chargeable.

The clothes side is, as I said changing, and I no longer need to buy in clothes, the customers who want to sell via the "agency", will be bringing the items in, and if not sold within the 8 weeks will be either taking them back or agreeing on their disposal. I will get my 50/50 cut from that. (If it works).
As I have the hanging rails, the hangers, garment bags, and labels already, it is only the terms and conditions that need printing, and the customers file kept. All of which I have.
The shop stockis at a reasonable standard now, that only replacement zips, are necessary purchases, ( and stock replacement when accessories are sold). I don't need to buy more habadashery at the moment.
I will consider dropping the dressmaking pattern books etc as they are slow sellers and cost a lot to replace the books each season.

On the home front, a bit of Stoptober will not do us any harm, there is Approved foods, Muscle Foods, etc for bargains, and a few less trips to Mr T after work wouldn't be a bad thing.
I will have to contact housing and see what they plan to change my DD too, and make sure there is enough in that account for them, and perhaps try to pay a small amount extra to cover the arrears, to get the payments ahead and in credit rather then in arrears two weeks, and credit two weeks.
That will be the toughest thing this month, but should be manageable by November.
Christmas need not cost the earth, and as long as we are warm and fed, we will be fine.

Savvy_sewing

This is all if my appeal doesn't work of course.