Mooloo's little tapestry of life, 2016

Savvy_sewing

dktreesea wrote: »

I read in one of your earlier posts that with your staff's retirement coming up in the future, you were deciding whether to renew the shop lease or downsize and return to working from home.


The best thing might be to negotiate a proper longer term lease and then sell the business. For example:


http://www.daltonsbusiness.com/clothes-shops-for-sale/well-established-clothing-repair-and-alt-ramsgate-kent-uk/392166


This particular shop has rent of £10,400 a year and turns over around £1,000 a week, so maybe some similarities to your business.


This would, I think, be a better option than not renewing the shop lease. You may have to pay capital gains tax on the sale price of the shop, but already established businesses set up in a bricks and mortar shop aren't exactly cheap. It could be something to look forward to as a way of compensating yourself for all the time it took to set up and establish the business.

Sounds interesting.
I have over a year left on this lease, but when it comes up for renewal then I shall have to decide what to do anyway.
My current rent is £9,000 a year.
My turnover is a lot less at the moment, on an adverage.
What I have to do is build my profit as the first year it calculated at a loss, and last year only a few thousand, which was all reinvested into the business. But I am now starting to take out the loans I made the business when the cashflow wasn't there.
We are banking around £850 a week at the moment. My target is to get to £1,000 but that means selling more stock really, as I am down on sewing hours now.

Savvy_sewing

I did the wages for staff last night, and paid myself £100!
£25 of which went towards our Emergency Fund, and £25 into the Legoland fund. I'm not used to getting any money so putting it into the savings seems the best idea at the moment.
The extra Guardianship money hasn't reached this weeks payment, but it will be something to look forward to next week. A nice surprise that they have continued to pay it, and that they not only didn't reduce it, but the letter says it's going up by £10.20.
I will probably start to give DGD a little pocket money and a small savings pot. Currently I just buy what she wants when I have the money in the purse. But I think that now is the time to start teaching her about money.
Not just how to add it all up and spend it on sweets.
But how to save, and later how to invest it.

This morning I'm struggling with an upset tummy! Hardly moved from the bathroom. I am sure that I had a day similar not that long ago! So I must see if I am eating/drinking something that irritates me, or watch if my habits are changing. I am usually the constipated type.:(

I'm in the shop on my own again today. Staff and I have worked out a set hours for the week ahead to keep her down to 24 hours a week.
I'm targeting paying myself a little more, and upped it from £75 last week to £100 this week. Baring in mind I don't have the seamstress to pay anymore. But I do have to work smarter, and sew the extra 10-14 hours worth of work myself if I want to pay myself a wage regularily.

dktreesea

Yaay, progress on the "make sure I remember to pay myself, preferably first" front.


Legoland - do you have a WH Smith anywhere near you? Every now and then they have a voucher, a coloured printed one as opposed to one that just comes out of the till, which has special prices for places like Legoland.


Failing that, Money Saving Expert's page on deals looks pretty good:


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/legoland-Windsor


What I thought was expensive when we went is staying in the resort. I booked well ahead and we stayed at a nearby Travelodge that, then, worked out at £19 a night. I think their lowest price these days is £29 a night.

Savvy_sewing

Joined a kids pass via here for £1. Gives reduced prices for lots of places, so I have printed out a code.
Now all I need to do is work out when we can go. Time is limited at the moment.
Watched the Sewing Bee, two of my Sewing Magazines arrived today. Hopefully it will inspire me to get creative. I managed £143 worth of sewing today. Shop was fairly quiet although still had several new jobs and a fitting for another prom dress, and two booked in for fittings tomorrow afternoon.
I think that I will be working late tomorrow. I may need to bring some work home to do, not easy as place is still rather a mess, but I am not sure if I will get enough work done if I don't start to bring things back home.

Savvy_sewing

Oh dear!
Today I am struggling with the black dog. I want to just hide under the duvet. I've taken DGD to school, but I'm about to go to collect her again to take her to her CAMHS appointment in town. I presume I will need to hang around while they chat to her. I will take my diary and see if I can scrawl my thoughts down, try and find what is the matter with me and why I feel I just fell off the cliff.

dktreesea

Hey Mooloo, sorry to hear you are feeling a bit down in the dumps. It's a lot on your shoulders, looking after your Mum, having house rwenovations, bringing up someone else's child, helping your eldest with babysitting, ferrying this one here there and everywhere, especially when you have a full time, full on business to run.


How about getting a couple of close girlfriends together and booking a spa weekend at one of those health places? Something fun to look forward to where you would have no responsibilities other than enjoying yourself and the company of your friends. If you could find a place towards Kent, you could maybe all go together, share petrol costs and drop off/pick up DGD on the way. If you book far enough in advance you can usually get a pretty good price for a couple of nights stay.

Savvy_sewing

Disaster has struck!
The car broke down on the way back from the CAMHS appointment. The AA had to toe the car back to the garage. The initial diagnosis is the Engine had a catastrophic failure. Either the head gasket or the timing belt. It just died, I lost revs and it just stopped in the middle of the A43. In a dangerous spot. Had to have the police out to close the lane. Oh and the rain came in torrential down poor. Just to add to it all.
Staff has taken over the shop, called those she could to cancel fittings, prepared jobs ready for me. But I'm exhausted and decided it would be better to get home as I had DGD with me. I will have to change our times etc about as we will need to walk to and from school and work.
I will have to work tomorrow morning now as some jobs are needed for tomorrow.
I'm trying to find a few positives but failing dismally. The garage believes that it's terminal for the car due to its age.
What's next then?

Savvy_sewing

I think it's time to go to bed.
Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Hopefully the last of the builders for a while anyway.
It's time to turn the negatives into positives some how, but not today.

Savvy_sewing

Morning.
Here is hoping for a better day!
We will be walking for the next few days. ( wish I hadn't put £30 petrol in the car now!).
Biggests BF knows someone selling a car cheaply but it needs money spent on it to get it through an MOT. However I feel that I would like to get a slightly better longer term car. I hope I have not made the wrong decision.
Unfortunately I don't think there is any second handcar sales garages in our town. When I googled it came up with Banbury. I know there are garages in Towcester and that direction.
I will research this afternoon when I am sitting waiting for the builders to do there stuff.
As I didn't get back to work yesterday, it means that I have even more pressure on me to finish some jobs, so I have to go into work this morning, rather then stay at home doing household chores.
( I'm fighting the urge to give up and head under the duvet).

dktreesea

Just a thought, but with the car replacement , if you would like a better car, how about leasing an ex demo car? They usually work out pretty cheap per month for the smaller cars, e.g.
http://www.hippoleasing.co.uk/search?mode=DS&vt=car&minprice=50&maxprice=100


We buy all our cars at the car auction, - if you knew someone familiar with car auctions and how to buy at them, this is a good way to cut out the dealer's profits. But it does mean having the money up front. Having said that, I have bought £400 cars at auction, but they did need a bit of work when it came to MOT time.


But maybe leasing, even at £25 a week, is a better way cash flow wise to go and you would at least get a very reliable car, it being ex demo?


They also had other late model cars which were hire purchase rather than leasing, under a "bad credit" heading, but in a way looked even better cash flow wise. No up front payment, unlimited mileage (because at the end of the term it's your car) and you own the car at the end of the period, with no balloon payment at the end. e.g.


http://www.hippoleasing.co.uk/subprime-cars/peugeot/107-hatchback/107-hatchback-10-urban-5dr-1245


I thought some of these deals were better value than their leasing deals.