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My mum started a business last year in hopes of building generational wealth but she got diagnosed with cancer whilst we were setting up the shop. With this new impending news she was more insistent on setting up the business in hopes it’s something along to us (3 kids) if something was to happen. My mum’s initial plan of funding the shop equipment with her income was slated due to her newfound condition and meant we had to improvise with second hand equipment and sub par decor. It’s been a year since business started, and it has been a crutch in our lives the entire time and the landlord has taken away the shop. Although, she still hasn’t fell off and instead talking about dissolving the business and starting a new one in my name and is already looking for new shops. I feel stuck because she really smart and business minded but she’s also an old-head and with very limited finances to play around with. she started the business because she to provide for us and has always wanted to start a business. If she wasn’t so stubborn when it comes to nicheing down and decorating I feel like we’d have a chance but I wanted to be a business owner at some point as well and if this doesn’t work out I don’t want it to ruin my future chances
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Oh boy, this one resonates with me in many ways.
I started an online retail shop several years ago and, long story short, it failed. I got it off the ground by taking out some credit. The startup costs were not super high but still nearly double what I had estimated. Once open, it was an exiting time but I was working full time and trying to run this business as a side gig that I had hoped would one day bring in enough money to allow me to quit my regular job. I lived and breathed for this store but, unfortunately, I had a business partner who did not. He did almost none of the work, he had nearly zero for an initial investment, he made decisions that cost us greatly, and he failed to commit to tasks that could have turned things around for us. The business could not sustain itself so I kept, month after month, dumping my own money into it to keep it alive. I should have let it go but I had so, so much love for it and I really believed we were going to pull through this and make it work. Well, we didn't. I wound up shutting it down and walked away with a massive amount of debt. I'm still paying on some of that to this day and not a month goes by where I make a payment to those jokers and get a little angry about how it all played out.
A few years later, my wife decided on a whim that she wanted a career change. A friend of hers owned a shop that offers specialty services for people and she assured my wife that she'd be making big money. She was told an amount that was a little more than double her current salary. We dropped thousands of dollars for her to attend a school to learn this special skill. To attend, she had to quit her job. Thousands went out to pay for the school and supplies and now, now that she's quit her job, we no longer had her salary coming in. She would be in this class for months and I knew things were going to get tight for us, especially since this was going to overlap all of the major holidays, but I knew we'd find a way to squeak by and, if we could survive that, she would start work and things would turn around for us. Her new checks would be massive and we'd be able to afford more luxuries in life for entertainment, date nights, etc. I could feel the walls closing in around us but she wouldn't start work for months out. We started calling on credit again digging ourselves into even more debt. The borrowed money stash was getting very low and I wasn't sure if we were actually going to survive this. She finally started working and, once inside, she quite quickly discovered that she didn't care much for the work. My heart sank. Because the money was to be so good, she said she would work the job to get the large paychecks and would continue to do that until we could get back on our feet. This was for a tipping position, I should add, but she was to get a portion of the earnings from each job. The problem, she quickly learned, is that there weren't many jobs to be had so the paychecks were much, much lower than what she was promised. In fact, her paychecks were actually lower than her old ones. Things went from bad to worse for us. She wound up getting back into her original field and we slowly climbed our way back to a "financial normal" for us. She regrets her decision. I was upset at the situation but certainly not angry at her. She took a stab and something that would have put more money on the table; it just didn't work out that way.
I think it's really nice that your mom has so much business sense about her. What may be important right now, though, is for her to focus her attention on taking care of herself. In that, I'm suggesting that if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't be trying to create a business when you are physically and emotionally drained. If she currently has limited finances, there may be better things she can be doing with those funds now.
For yourself, it is entirely possible that you could start a business down the road. You mentioned that you'd like to be a business owner and not sure if this would ruin your future changes. I can't imagine that would the case here. It sounds like your mom knows a lot about these kinds of things. Brainstorm the type of business you'd like to start and try getting information from her. It's a good way for you two to spend more time together and gives her a chance to flex those business muscles of hers. You can take the information, then, and do with it what you will and only at a time that you feel comfortable starting such an adventure.
My wife and I aren't poor - we have a nice house, we drive nice cars, we take our children on vacation every year, etc. We felt financially secure enough to take these chances and, both times, we fell on our faces. Ha. I just know, after the bridges we've crossed, I wouldn't attempt such a thing if I couldn't afford to take the risk. Not sure what your situation is currently regarding time, money, and space but, if you aren't ready right now, it doesn't mean you can't be ready later.
No matter what happens, we're wishing you the best of luck and hopefully your mom will recover. I've not had cancer myself but I have lost a few relatives to it and am friends with a few survivors. The survivors all made it sound like a very terrible and painful thing to deal with. Wishing the best for her.
Good Luck!!
ReplyThis is such a motivating story! My mum started a business writing books, 5 years ago, but recently may have to quit. I know she won’t let her stop this though because she is thinking about getting a new job in phsycolgy. I hope that one day she will be able to do her business again, but she is really happy with all the progress that she made, and the people she helped on the way.
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