Getting over the loss

If you are the lucky businessman who had it good and business was plain sailing from day one, I congratulate you. However, there are many that goes down due to various factors which are out of their control. Some could not make it back to their feet after natural disasters like a big flood that ruined their business premises and whatever stocks they had. Some suffered from fires. Then there are some that got cheated by their trusted partners. All these events are something that is beyond their expectations, and when faced with such situation, those who could not accept the fact they they are ruined simply go and kill themselves.

Getting over the Loss

The first thing that all those who intend to venture into business is to brainwash themselves that they might fail. Always strive for the best and hope for the worst. If you have braced yourself for the ultimate, the loss will not be so painful.

Of course no one wants to fail and failure should never be in the dictionary of any successful businessman, but applying this fact is not by saying you cannot fail at all. You should take it to mean that after failing you should get up and go again. You should not treat failure as a friend and keep him by your side after you have met him. You don’t know a guy named failure. There is no failure in your life. After meeting with failure, you kick him out and start all over again. That is what makes a businessman successful. He does not know failure.

Recoup and Re-engineer

After suffering a terrible loss and badly in debt, take a week or two to calm down. Everyone who has met with this situation will tell you that they feel like dying for the first few days. As long as you don’t go ahead with that plan, there is hope yet to see another successful day.

After that initial frustration, get up and start thinking. Think about these things.

Your Present Commitments

The most common commitment is your family and bread on the table. I think no matter how bad, food will still be on the table. Maybe there won’t be lobsters, but there will still be bread. So that can be ruled out as a major commitment.

Mortgages

List it down. How much you are required to pay per month. Banks just don’t auction off your house just because you defaulted for two or three months will give you notices and reminders. They will charge you interest for late payments. They will blacklist you. That’s about it. You won’t go to jail for the defaults. So list out how much you have to pay. If you know you won’t be able to cope anymore with the payments in the long term, SELL.

Car loans

Trade that expensive car for a second hand one. You have to bite the dirt. There is no time for face saving here.

Insurance

How many policies are you servicing when times were good? Surrender all those that you were planning for your retirement. There will be no retirement for you if you are in the pit. Surrendering part of your insurance policies will bring you some much needed cash. Keep just your medical Insurance.

Entertainment

I don’t have to tell you this. There won’t be anymore late nights and golf for quite sometime for you.

Other expenses

List out all those not crucial expenses and dump them. Satellite TV can be the first to go. The extra phone line can go also. Keep everyday expenses to the bare minimum.

After listing out what you can save and I think it is quite considerable after the above list, you will now have a clearer picture of your true commitments. Now you recoup. See where you can scrap out some much needed cash for you to start over again. You will have to be very cruel but hopefully, it will turn things around for you.

Your Family Savings

Hopefully you haven’t dried that out. Open your bank book and see what you have in reserve. Open your children’s bank book and see how much they have. Pool them together. It might seem low down to use your children’s money, but think of it this way, it is your money after all.

Family Heirloom

Don’t feel bad. Sell of all the jewelry and antiques.This can be bought back after you revive.

Surrendering Your Insurance Policy

Like I said just now. Keep only your medical Insurance and surrender all the rest, even if it means the policy you bought for your children’s education.

Look at other area where you can lay hands on some cash

Anything that is worth something but of no immediate use can be turned into hard cash. Anything at all.

After doing away with all your extra commitments and recouping all your available cash, if you think you have enough, go for it again. It takes at least 3 months for all these to realise, but once you get things going, you will see i little light at the end of the tunnel. You will now have a clearer direction of where you are heading.

If the money you recouped is not enough to re start what you have lost, go for other things that need less starting capital. If that is still not enough, get a job first. With your expenses greatly cut down, you will survive.

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