Got a notice in the mail today. My formerly free business checking account is now going to be $10 (ok, ok, $9.95) a month. Wow! The notice said. Look at all these cool new features! What a bargain!
I'll grant you (as my parents can attest), I've never been the best with money but I'm pretty sure that paying money for features you don't need or want isn't a bargain. (The cable company never believes me on that one but I, still, firmly believe it to be true.)
It's a small thing, I know, in the grand scheme of things. It's not cancer. It's not a stroke. It could be, though, the death blow to my little jewelry design business. Some (most, even, maybe) would say that a business that can't afford $120 a year probably should be allowed to go out of business. In theory, I agree with them. In practice... oh, in practice... I am having such a hard time letting go.
You see, I've been clutching at the tattered strings of my business by my fingertips, hoping to just hold on until the kids are all in school and I can devote more time and energy to it. I'm halfway there. The business is 4 years old and I've another 4 years until Matthew is in school. I'm at the peak of the mountain... or, rather, what should be the peak.
Forget Sisyphus's stone rolling down, I swear there are bulldozers coming up the other side of the mountain, shoving ever larger piles of rubble atop the zenith. The annual LLC fee to the state was supposed to a temporary thing that's now permanent - $250/yr. (and, yes, the multimillion dollar real estate LLC conglomerates pay the same fee that my micro business does). Web hosting - $180/yr. I gave up the second website, couldn't afford it anymore. Credit card processing - $96/yr. Now another $120 to the bank? How much longer can I afford the luxury of maintaining a business I don't have the time to market?
The truth is that I should let it go. But I just can't seem to let go of the dream that went with it. Still, no matter how nice I think my jewelry is, I suppose that doesn't really matter if it doesn't sell, does it?
I really should let it go, shouldn't I?
~~~
"How To Succeed", Opening song from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
2 comments:
Are there ways to save money? Switching banks? Is there a credit union near you that supports small business? What about Paypal instead of credit cards? Or somehow scale back? The small business license seems like a crock, but I don't know how you'd get around that.
Hmm... I'd definitely consider a bank switch, at the very least. Shop around; if I can get a car loan, you can get a better business checking account deal.
Personally, I'd say hang on as long as humanly possible without donating organs on the black market. Scale it back, if you have to. If you do end up having to let go of the business, do not - I repeat, do NOT - let go of the hobby! Besides, someday, those kids will all be in school. Finances will turn around. Opportunities will open up... and you don't want to be caught flat-footed when they do.
Just MHUndereducatedO, as usual...
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