Getting out of debt to myself

summerlady_2

I hope people don't mind if I post here, as I don't owe anyone else any money.


I am doing this in the hope that it will push me to work harder at my small business. I'm not a natural businesswoman, but I am passionate about my complementary therapies.


I have invested a considerable sum in my training and start-up costs and I have on-going costs whether I have clients or not.


I've never been great with money (it's not a big motivator) but I worked hard to get out of debt a while ago and put together some savings. I am now solvent, but at risk of losing my hard-won savings - which I invested in my business - through laziness, apathy and a reluctance to promote myself.


So, I (my business) am in debt to me. I plan to calculate the whole sum from when I first decided to train and give myself a fixed period to pay it back.


(It won't directly relate to my accounts as a lot of it isn't claimable against tax).


As well as sorting out my business, I will be looking at my personal finances too, as I am using up savings and a small bequest.


Not exciting for anyone else, but an overdue kick in the pants for me.

summerlady_2

Okay - so my debt to myself is:


£3000 paid straight into my business bank account to cover costs.
£1000 initial training
£250 exam fee
£50 insurance
£150 equipment
£200 logo, printing and stationery
£120 books and courses.
£250 approx. for travel to my training course
Total - £5020


There are several ongoing costs which will come out of the £3000 I put into my business bank account (I still have most of it in the bank). I am not going to add any more.


The total debt my business owes me is £5020.

summerlady_2

I have now calculated that my business owes me £5020.


In order to be able to repay this to myself I am going to have to earn at least £10,000 (to take account of tax and business costs) .


I can't work full-time as I have caring responsibilities so I am going to give myself until the end of March 2017 to achieve this.


After that, I will consider my business to be a going concern.


Now how to achieve this.


I am very good at my therapies, but not so good at getting clients.

summerlady_2

To achieve my target of £10,000 over two years I need to start with a single treatment in March 2015, then increase this by just one treatment per month until I reach a total of 25 treatments in March 2017. This is only 6 clients a week so it must be achievable - some people manage to run a full-time business.


How to do this?


I need to promote myself - the hardest part as I'm quite a private person.

summerlady_2

Tasks for today:


Advertise my business on a local access site - done


Look at personal finances. I have a small income and some money in the bank which is diminishing.


I live in a leasehold property with no mortgage or rent, but I pay a service charge. If I work at my business without success then I will look for a job in March 2017.


My budget is as follows


service charge £90.00
council tax £100.00
gas/electricity £50.00
water £22.00
phone/broadband £30.00
TV licence £12.00
contents insurance (banked) £10.00
Health plan £10.00
Charity £20.00
Magazine subscription £10.00
Groceries £150.00
General household £50.00
Travel/car costs £200.00
Outings /holiday £200.00
Mobile phone £30.00
Miscellaneous £30.00
Slimming world/exercise classes £50.00
Xmas/birthdays £50.00
Hair & treatments £50.00
Books and hobbies £25.00
Clothes and shoes £50.00


£1239.00

summerlady_2

I've now posted my budget. As we are about to enter a new council tax year, I have estimated what I am likely to pay.

My travel costs are high as I have built in some savings for a new car, outings includes savings for holidays.

I don't take the money from my main savings account , but I do keep a note of what I have so that I won't overspend on holidays and I will replace my car in accordance with my budget in a few years.

Hair and treatments covers chiropody, hair cuts and colour.

I'm not spending on clothes at the moment - I'm saving for when I lose more weight and need new clothes.

hummingbird

Hi summerlady, have just dropped by to wish you well - it's a great idea to aim to pay yourself back this money you have invested in your business.

Are there any local business networking meetings/groups you could attend to promote your business? Or wedding fayres? etc. Social media? Leafleting? (although this is more money, I know!) ads in local press/ supermarkets/ etc etc

I think there should be a lot of info online about effective ways to promote your business which is up-to-date. Things change SO fast these days don't they?

Not sure exactly what your therapies are or who your target market is ? Hopefully someone will be along who knows something about your kind of business area.

Hummingbird x

summerlady_2

hummingbird wrote: »

Are there any local business networking meetings/groups you could attend to promote your business? Or wedding fayres? etc. Social media? Leafleting? (although this is more money, I know!) ads in local press/ supermarkets/ etc etc

Hi Hummingbird - Thank you for your response. I am putting posters up in the local supermarket this weekend and hope to be able to put one up in the GP surgery.
I have a facebook page now, and a website and have left my cards in various places.
I will investigate business networking groups. I also need to check out advertising rates for my local paper.

summerlady_2

I have now joined a couple of networking groups and offered a free treatment as a prize in a summer raffle.




I have more training this weekend, which I hope will add another dimension to my practice. I will advertise that aspect of my treatment in different locations, so I hope it will generate more clients.


I know I am good at what I do, so it is really just finding the clients.