looking for advice from shop owner to shop owner

how do you guys deal w/ you personal pay? ive always been curios how other owners do it?do you give yourself a salary? do you pay all the bills and take whats left?do you just starve?how do you other owners do it

i take what's left after all the bills are paid.

I make myself a budget every year, I pay myself that amount. At the end of the each quarter I split the profit (hopefully) 3 ways, 50% back in the shop, 25% shop savings, 25% me. By the same token I try to never spend all the savings or mine just in case.

That depends a lot on how my customers pay me for the work. Typically, I will order the inventory, pay the bills, and then write myself a paycheck. It is easier that way for both business and personal taxes. Of course, we have to slip some cash into the pocket.

I write myself a check when I need it, otherwise, just build the biz kitty.

i am currently in the position of taking on an invetor.he is a good friend and wants to actually work at the counter on a second shift.the problem is there is not enough work to even pay the bills right now andi recieve a weekly check.i havent got paid for 2 weeks now and i also have a partner he also hasnt gotten paid witch i know is part of self employment but usually if we have a week where we can only afford to pay me since i do all the tinting anyway , i get paid and then we pay any bills we can because if i miss a paycheck its puts my family (which is going to be bigger next year) in jeopardy, and the investor is only going to put in money for shop improvements,inventory,and advertising.i was hoping he would give us a little extra money to fall back on in winter until the advertising and promotions kick in so we can pay bills and i can at least get a partial paycheck every week.im really lost right now because i dont know alot about the financial end of our business and niether does my partner, our mom who is basically an accountant does the books. any advice is appreciated.

hey OT u married? if so does your wife work.my wife makes pretty good money but not enough to support us if the shop has a bad month and i cant take anything out for pay.i just dont know if taking on this investor is a good idea

Been there, done that --except for the investor deal which if you want to be indebted for life (or a good portion) then keep him. My advice has been it's too complicated. Rent the thing, run the thing yourself or sell out and work for the owner taking a 30-35% commision for yourself.
Hope is out there. Work a 2nd job, but don't let the kids starve.

if we can just make it over this economic sh$thole the coutry is in now we ll be fine, but noone is tinting.

if you don't mind me asking, what is the deal for the investor, what does he/she get out of it and for how long? Did you sign a contract? What was the investment? Can you use it as you see fit, or do they have say?

I'm not busting your chops, i just am curious.

nothing has been done yet.hes lookingover our numbers and we are putting together numbers for how much money we want for inventory improvements and such.he will have the smallest % of share in the business and doesnt want to change how we do things because weve made a huge mark in this town in tinting for 7 yrs with no advertising except phone book.his payoff will come in the form of end of month bonuses.at the end of the month when all bills are paid and we have plenty of film we take what is in the account and divide it 3 ways on top of what i get for a weekly pay.all he gets is the bonus.could be 100 bucks could be 100 bucks.the guy has always wanted to be a part of a place like ours.that why he wants to work the counter and help work as much as possible.we are going into everthing we do now 200%.accessories will be pushed and advertised more, in a year we will change location for more frontage, we will be putting a small paintbooth in to paint our own accessories, so once it gets off the ground it could be a huge thing here.lincoln has nothing like that right now.

dude, i don't know much about this kind of thing but it sounds like a disaster in the making.

i just dont know dude.i figure as long as im doing what i love and playing by my rules and getting paid im happy.

so is there a cut off for this guy, or does he get a cut of the profits forever?

till he is bought out by one or both of us. kindof like investing in stocks

I don't know about it either, but the fewest amount of hands digging into the pie, the better is my view. And KIC, yeah, my wife works, she has crappy job with high pay.

You got that right. Plus there's former IT people around here who use to make over 6 figures slapping film on for pennies to feed THEIR kids. All the while we throw 87 billion to Iraq...

Yoda, take his money, run it into the ground, and just before it's neccessary, before you have to file bankruptcy, write yourself a huge paycheck! no worries mate

Think about talking to a bank for cash to make improvements, increase advertising, etc. If you own the building you're in, you can do an equity loan. Or think of using a corporate credit card. This way, you can pay off the cash, with a little interest, and not have another hand in the profits.

We recently added a new flat roof, driveway pavement, etc. It added up to $30k. Instead of doing a mortgage equity loan, we just re-wrote the mortgage with this debt added. It only increased the mortgage payment by about $75/month.

Yeah, I like Exacto's idea for getting a cash infusion better.

Don't like to many partners, if you're doing the work but the profit is split 3 ways then even if you do get a paycheck your losing ground...JMO :booga

ive been in businesses where i had at one time two (3 including me) partners. the only difference was we all worked on the job at the same time doing the same thing. if you missed a days work without a pretty good reason you did not get a cut of what was made that day (it was split two ways instaed of three) ive also had 1 partner (2 including me) and ran it the same way. now im a sole owner business and to me its the only way to go. i pay one guy to keep shop clean and clean windows thats all i ask of him and believe me i profit more by writing checks instead of splitting them.

To offer an opinion on your first question; I run several businesses, one of which is tinting. The pay issue is simple: budget in for a paycheck like every other bill (i.e. electric, phone, water) and pay yourself. If you can't make all the bills, then of course you can let yourself go and keep the others happy. If you let it go, make sure you keep tabs on it. At the end of the year if you are still not paid, it is an expense or debt that was not paid. That = loss. If you don't build in a paycheck then it will be easy not to get paid and not to keep track of what you are owed. Even if it is 100 bucks a week or whatever, start somewhere and build up.

My $0.02 on the investor is not to do it. Get a business loan or line of credit if you are confident enough that the business will be paying the investor... then it will be paying back a loan too and you won't have any ties and you will build some equity. What if the relationship goes south with the investor in a year and you are into him for 10 grand? You might need to sell the business to keep him legally happy. I'd avoid it. If you can't forecast the growth and income - then it won't work no matter who puts up the $. Did you ever write a business plan? There are simple ways to do it (i.e. buy software) but it is a great tool to make you think through all the nitty gritty. Also, if you go to a bank for a loan - they will be more receptive if you are organized and have a biz plan.

Sorry for the LONG reply all....

When you start splittn the money, your just working for someone else, what don't people understand about getting as much money as you can as fast as you can , no matter what it takes, Greed is good when It comes to making money, therfore you dont have to be greedy when it comes to spending the money that your greedy ass made, I don't know why it's like that but for me I see it that way, It takes a funny person to be like that, I guess I'm starting to understand what it really means to be a Republican Conservetive thinking along with living the fine life, going to Greece instead of the Bahamas, Charter aircraft of commercial, that kind of good life, and by the way it is actually better to charter a Gulfstream than it is to fly commercial, the only way I fly.

the problem is i cant let my pay go.my family lives on a paycheck to paycheck basis.i dont get paid for 2 weeks im bouncing checks.where do i find this business plan software?

software? what do you think the guys who started biz's before bill gates did? just get a general plan on how you want to do things, what your expenses are and a budget, live by the rules you make and dont make em to unattainable, take a bonus rather tan a pay check, get a cpa to guide you or a financial adviser, ask for free consultation services, anything, Just remember this..there is a lot more to business than putting on the film.

I can send you a CD of a simple biz plan software to save you the 20 bucks. It will take you through the basics without you having to think of the areas and topics, just answer the questions and in the end you will have learned a lot. I do agree with making some sort of plan even if you don't go through the full exercise - it is better than doing nothing. I think the Federal Gov. has some good stuff on their web sites. Try the SBA too http://www.sba.gov/ they offer grants and low interest loans too but you have to be committed to the process.

keepitcool, I agree with everyone. Bringing in a 3rd person (in my opinion) is a bad idea! I understand your desperation! I know getting a 2nd job at night sounds like a horrible idea, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. My brother works 60 hrs during the week at his business and does hotshots runs from Houston to Louisiana at night and on the weekends. I swear that boy never sleeps! And has a family! (Yes his wife works full time!)

Here is another link to a website that I have found to be very helpful. It also has about 400 sample business plans. Good luck

Small Business Webpage

TTC

keepitcool, email me your address and i'll ups you the software. it was not that expensive, it helped me maybe it will help you. i think my email is in my profile. if not, post and i'll get it to you.

my email is kmay2@neb.rr.com e mail me ill send my address

[QUOTE=Texastintchick,Nov 19 2003, 09:25 AM] [QUOTE=keepitcool,Nov 5 2003, 10:38 PM] I know getting a 2nd job at night sounds like a horrible idea, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Good luck

Small Business Webpage

TTC [/QUOTE]
At one point in my tint career I was working nights for Servicemaster just to make ends meet...

It takes what it takes to do it... courage, ambition, desire, and nothing more important than faith.

Interesting capitalist problem

Honestly... If you have your own shop now, your best bet is to form some sort of a LLC or Corp to separate the business from you. Screw the investor. If you think that you can make it in the business, extend your BUSINESS'S credit and pay for the advertising and such. If it fails, you loose nothing but a business. Your family will be ok, you will still have a car and you can start over on personal credit. If you take on a partner after you are established, he will more than likely make decisions that you disagree with. You run the chance of both being miserable and you loosing your ass. If the investor does this type of thing regularly, he knows a chump when he sees one and may be putting himself into a position of taking your business out from under you. IMHO

On the other hand, he may see a company that could benefit from some investing that may pay out big in the long run. What ever you decide to do with him, get at least one lawyer to look things over. A $400 lawyers bill may be worth several thousands of dollars in the long run.

Hey I have been in business for myself since highschool.
don't give all your hard Work to Someone else, and that is what you are doing by taking on a silent partner. And I agree with the others,A second Job may be tough but it work. I'm currently opening a detail shop, with Graphics, tinting and more. And even with my investment from my Trucking company, I am working nights doing janitorial to give the shop a chance to grow. The monies from the shop goto the shop. And the monies from the night work feed the wife and four kids.

welcome to tintdude.com CROWTINT

Thanx, I've bouncing around the site. And actually enjoying the conversation.

Sucker we hooked another one guys.

I may be another one. But at least I wasn't the first.

Congradulations you passed the test. Your in dude.

Youll like this place..

not telling you what to do but when I was leaving ND there was 2 guys wanting a part of my biz. I was leaving soon so we made a deal with splitting the making keeping inventory and crap like that. They ran it into the ground in 1 year, I worked hard for 7 years and it was a BOOMING place until they HELPED. And these 2 guys left or went to jail cause they owed $10,000 rent for their last shop, when I left I was trying to get it back to where it was brfore they HELPED me out.

Just think hard that is all Im saying

Fastest way of losing a friend is to take him on as a business partner.................
been there ............... done that ..............

There are better ways, I promise.

yep that sucks, keep your friends and don't go in to business together!

I take money if I need it build up the kitty also

Take all the money and run.

I agree totally with these guys....go it on yer own.

Thats me!!

I use a payroll service called paychex that sends me a check like any other employee. They do the taxes and quarterly reports also. That leaves me to do the year end stuff with the accountant. Oh yeah they also do the W2 and 1099 forms also.

Hello,
new to this sight but lots of yrs of experiance.When I make alot of money I save it for those lean times.Like now I have had to cash in retirement funds to meet bills.I only take a paycheck when I absolutly have to.But as a corporation I have collected unemployment in lean times and have worked a second job at nights.I am single so I don't have a spouse to help pay bills which puts all the pressure on myself.I have cut extra phone lines and trim expenses any where possible.Also I have done alot diversifying over the yrs and my business tries to do new things all the time.
NevrL8