Business fail rate

[Blurock]

Ian the examples that you have given are similar to so many I have seen. The founder of the business gets complacent after making some profit. Buy a new car, house & boat and compete with the Jones's. When hard times come, staff gets retrenched and he keeps his high salary. I have seen this so many times!

To be a successful entrepreneur one must have a passion for the business. You must believe in yourself and you have to trust a few people (not many!). Learn as much as you can and follow the paper trail; understand where the money goes. Stick to the rules and do not take short cuts. It may come back to bite you.

I've learnt from Richard Branson to be kind, even to your enemies, you never know when you may need that person again.
People do not remember much of what you have said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. So treat people with respect and dignity, even if you feel that you want to bash his head in.

[ians]

One of the biggest down falls in business over the years is the loss of trust ...the good ol hand shake.

People i deal with know one thing about me...my word is more valuable than any signed piece of paper... i have learnt over the years that a signed piece of paper is not worth the paper it is written on... generally the cost to recover the debt is drowned out by the legal costs.

The simple things in life are normally the most important... sticking to your word is an asset which many people brush off.

I have learnt over the years that there are very few people who are good for their word.

[Blurock]

One of the biggest down falls in business over is the loss of trust ...the good ol hand shake.

People i deal with know one thing about me...my word is more valuable than any signed piece of paper... i have learnt over the years that a signed piece of paper is not worth paper it is written on... generally the cost to recover the debt is drowned out by the legal costs.

The simple things in life are normally the most important... sticking to your word is an asset which many people brush off.

I have learnt over the years that there are very few people who are good for their word.

A written contract is an opportunity for an attorney to find loopholes and discrepancies as soon as there is a dispute and one party wants to screw the other. Most business people do not have a legal background and find it difficult to understand legal jargon. How often do we see people just signing a document without reading and studying its content.

I have also been burnt by greedy investors in the past. My current business is run on different terms: no shareholders, no contracts. You buy from me or I buy from you. We pay on delivery and there is no disputes or misunderstanding. If the product does not work, we replace it or give a refund. The handshake and eye to eye contact is worth more than a piece of paper.

If you do have to sign an agreement, make sure that it includes a description of its purpose and the intent of the parties (easier to prove in court) and that you understand fully the content of the contract. Take your time and get advice if all is not clear.

[Justloadit]

I pay myself a market related wage for the job I do. A number of reasons
1) I get a steady income from the business, and can provide payslips when getting credit.
2) Due to this it forces me to ensure that it is a cost in my business, and use it as an expense accordingly when working out running costs.
3) I am forced to ensure that there is sufficient funds in the account to pay wages
4) If I am away or get sick, I can hire someone to temporarily take over and am sure that there is sufficient funds to pay this person, as this is part of the business costs.
5) It makes it easier to expand, where you can use this as a temporary finance. Be diligent to return to the payment of the wage!
6) If the business can not pay this regular wage, then you doing something wrong. You have time to correct before it is too late
7) Any extra money in the account after paying creditors is then your dividends/profit to use as you see fit.

When ever I pay wages, I take 14% of the value of the wages and stick it away in my salaries account, and use this for year end bonuses and leave pay. Saves you scrounging around for cash at this time of year when there is a short December and January month.

[ians]

A written contract is an opportunity for an attorney to find loopholes and discrepancies as soon as there is a dispute and one party wants to screw the other. Most business people do not have a legal background and find it difficult to understand legal jargon. How often do we see people just signing a document without reading and studying its content.

I have also been burnt by greedy investors in the past. My current business is run on different terms: no shareholders, no contracts. You buy from me or I buy from you. We pay on delivery and there is no disputes or misunderstanding. If the product does not work, we replace it or give a refund. The handshake and eye to eye contact is worth more than a piece of paper.

If you do have to sign an agreement, make sure that it includes a description of its purpose and the intent of the parties (easier to prove in court) and that you understand fully the content of the contract. Take your time and get advice if all is not clear.

I lost around R2 million because i trusted someone... signed the documents without understanding the content ...you get this sales pitch ...its for your family ...you have to look after them if something happens to you and all that bullshyte ...what i didnt know at the time was how the commission worked for life insurance brokers and that it was the way the brokers ripped your backside wide open (apparently there have been new laws introduced since I was conned.)

That dreaded day happened ...i had an accident ...thinking i had all the policies ...including disability ...within months ...the life cover attached to every single policy chewed up those policies faster than i could say help me... you live and learn.

Let this be a lesson you dont have to learn... "never ever put life cover on any policy... rather have 1 separate life policy... my family would have been F$%^& well off if i had died ...considering all the life cover attached to each policy ...man that broker made a fortune...(by the way their commission come out of the first 5 years of your policy)... i had the cheque from Sanlam for R14.00 with the letter mounted in my pub for years (never cashed it) The letter stated ...due to your qualifications and years of experience ...the loss of use of your right arm will not prevent you from earning an income as a supervisor or lecturer... anyway we have moved on from that.

[ians]

Got some good news today ...looks like my Christmas is gona be a busy one again...time to move a factory.. I love these jobs ... the staff go on shutdown ...i have the entire factory to myself and i can start work at 2 am in the morning if i feel like it and work till whatever time i feel like ...I get to setup the site trailer ...pump the tunes and just do my thing... which means a good start to 2020