Who runs their own business?

[Big Dave]

Is that an electric snake?

[crazyhorse]

My ex and I started up a contracting business. We had a ditch witch and a chipper. Made good money, but when you live in a small community, hard to have enough work to make it a thriving business. But gotta try things for sure....

[madmal64]

Best thread on KB at the moment.
Great to hear other peoples stories & advice. My accountant is my best sounding board luckily. He is a typical conservative bean counter but I know him well enough to trust is advice. I would also recommend a business coach such as Action Business coaches. If you are 100% honest & open to these guys they really can work for you. They may ask you some really tough & direct questions on how & why you are doing what you are doing, but they got me thinking about things in a different way & have made a great positive impact on what I/we do.
Its a lot tougher than wages or salary but worth the effort

[LilSel]

4 weeks paid leave a year sound quite good.

Lol, Doesn't it just!!! I haven't seen in my 25 years mum n dad have more than 2 weeks off, they go to Fiji once a year for a much deserved break.
Last time they was October just gone, I took care of the other side of the business, boy was I glad to see them home again!! Was an epic two weeks for me lol!
I am hoping to take a few weeks off in May-June this year to go see Cher in Las Vegas, have to show them how to do my side of things & hope when I get back there isn't a huge mess to clean up! Im the only one that knows how things work/track/invoice etc on my side, will be a fair few days of lessons I'd imagine to get them up to speed.
Would be nice to be able to call in sick when off colour n spend the day in bed getting better too huh! Had a wicked flu back in winter, just had to tough it out, snotty tissues n all lol.
We recently got navmans for the vans, they aren't tracking ones however. The place we bought the vans from was the place the guys used to work n they had aerials for tracking but we took them out. If jobs start taking longer or things dont seem right, will consider putting them back in.
Im hoping there isn't any incidents that lead me to be skeptical of them, time will tell eh. Has been a few speeding tickets/bus lane fines come thru in the mail in the last 9 months, but that isn't a biggie, they get them, they pay them, the vans are unmarked so no need to tell them off as such, their own fault lol

[steve_t]

... 4 weeks paid leave a year sound quite good.

4 weeks? Don't forget anniversary day, waitangi day, good friday, easter monday, anzac day, labour day, queen's birthday....
The employees aren't very happy this year though since waitangi and anzac days fall on the weekend... oh well, a small reprieve for business owners once or twice a decade

[Motu]

A good accountant is important,and there are pit falls.My first accountant was a recommendation,and he seemed to do the required work.But he thought his job as my accountant was to make me pay as little tax as possible.I was a bit concerned at how much I was earning on paper,but we seemed to be doing ok.The problem came when we applied for a mortgage....the bank was a bit concerned about how we were going to repay a loan earning $15,000 a year.So that was the end of him!

[BoristheBiter]

Lol, Doesn't it just!!! I haven't seen in my 25 years mum n dad have more than 2 weeks off, they go to Fiji once a year for a much deserved break.
Last time they was October just gone, I took care of the other side of the business, boy was I glad to see them home again!! Was an epic two weeks for me lol!
I am hoping to take a few weeks off in May-June this year to go see Cher in Las Vegas, have to show them how to do my side of things & hope when I get back there isn't a huge mess to clean up! Im the only one that knows how things work/track/invoice etc on my side, will be a fair few days of lessons I'd imagine to get them up to speed.
Would be nice to be able to call in sick when off colour n spend the day in bed getting better too huh! Had a wicked flu back in winter, just had to tough it out, snotty tissues n all lol.
We recently got navmans for the vans, they aren't tracking ones however. The place we bought the vans from was the place the guys used to work n they had aerials for tracking but we took them out. If jobs start taking longer or things dont seem right, will consider putting them back in.
Im hoping there isn't any incidents that lead me to be skeptical of them, time will tell eh. Has been a few speeding tickets/bus lane fines come thru in the mail in the last 9 months, but that isn't a biggie, they get them, they pay them, the vans are unmarked so no need to tell them off as such, their own fault lol

All of our vans are fully sign written so its had to hide.

I tried to show my dad how to do the banking on the computer and how to pay everyone when i went on holiday a few years back and when i got back everything had been done on bits of paper and all the staff had been paid cash, not even entered in the wages book. it took me a week to sort it out. he knows how to do his work better than most but he won't go near the computer. so now i have a few days off a year.

know anyone looking to buy a small company.

[BoristheBiter]

A good accountant is important,and there are pit falls.My first accountant was a recommendation,and he seemed to do the required work.But he thought his job as my accountant was to make me pay as little tax as possible.I was a bit concerned at how much I was earning on paper,but we seemed to be doing ok.The problem came when we applied for a mortgage....the bank was a bit concerned about how we were going to repay a loan earning $15,000 a year.So that was the end of him!

That s what happened to our first accountant, he was just doing it as a favor to my dad. when he said we had to pay 40k in back taxes i went and found a new one, and try also do business planning.

[Edbear]

That s what happened to our first accountant, he was just doing it as a favor to my dad. when he said we had to pay 40k in back taxes i went and found a new one, and try also do business planning.

Good point and crucial to success. You must have a plan and do a cash-flow forecast. All the banks have a free cash-flow form you can use and it is an eye-opener. You will be surprised at how much you spend on things you never give a thought! Yet it all comes off your bottom line and makes a difference.

If you're selling, immediately transfer the GST + 5% into a separate account and don't touch it! Each GST period you will have more than enough to cover your GST and if you are due a GST refund for the period, put that into the account too.

Let the account build up and do the same with PAYE if you pay wages, including any Kiwisaver contributions and Student Loans. DO NOT SPEND THIS MONEY!!!!

Keep and properly file ALL receipts. At some point you will be audited by IRD and if they get a whiff of fraud they will be very upset.... They are the last people you want to have upset with you...!

I keep closely in touch with the IRD and they appreciate honesty and will bend over backwards to assist you if you are trying to get it right. They never criticise for silly questions, but cross them and it'll be you doing the bending over...

If you like your acountant, as has been said, listen to him. I didn't once and it cost me dearly, I thought I knew better what my business needed, I was wrong...

In your second year of trading you will be required to pay Provisional Tax, that is tax in advance to offset any shocks at the end of the year. This is the really tough year for most businesses. That extra 5% you have been putting aside will help pay this.

[Swampdonkey]

16 years so far... not easy. Used to employ staff back in the ninetys .Had to let them go after a 5 month closure stopped all income.
Also dealing with Osh and Maritime authority made things impossible.
Also all other Government leechs MAF ,MOF, DoC ,northland health. FOOD HEALTH N SAFETY ..Seafic...FNDC, Nthland regional council
Dont get me started ....i wake up screaming sometimes...and i havent even gone to sleep....
wouldnt give it up for quids

[BoristheBiter]

In your second year of trading you will be required to pay Provisional Tax, that is tax in advance to offset any shocks at the end of the year. This is the really tough year for most businesses. That extra 5% you have been putting aside will help pay this.

the worst thing is if you make more money than you had planned you get charged" use of money" intrest, but if you have a refund it takes up to six months and you get nothing back.
we had to put off billing out one client for builing 3 new cranes as it was done in March and it was a last minute thing so had not been allowed for (that was a tight few months).
tipical goverment department, no thanks for making money.

[ynot slow]

Both mum and dad have had business',mum and dad had a 7day dairy back in early 70's,6am-9pm 7 days(before indians did the same)they split the day into mums or dads time off,then mum bought a coffee lounge 5 days a week,then into byo restaurant.Dad was starting in the travel industry in 76 with a friend,they ran it 24/7,as in those days a call at midnight for a person to get to Sydney for a funeral meant having to go to shop,phone the airlines and book then,well before faxes and internet.Also as dad was into racing he would often get the call to fly a local jockey from NZ-Aussie on Friday to get to Sydney the next day,made for fun when he had xmas piss ups and having to go to work half pissed,never happen today with check points.

[Naki Rat]

.... But I also think we suffer from "Warehouse Syndrome" here - same as USofA's "Walmart Syndrome". Basically it goes "if it's cheap we buy it and fuck quality".

......

And the very people who are happiest to buy that crap are the ones whose jobs are most at risk (if not already gone) due to the flood of cheap manufactured goods. I've seen it both here and in Canada and it's so infuriating to see the masses unable to see beyond a cheap price tag.

[Edbear]

And the very people who are happiest to buy that crap are the ones whose jobs are most at risk (if not already gone) due to the flood of cheap manufactured goods. I've seen it both here and in Canada and it's so infuriating to see the masses unable to see beyond a cheap price tag.

Sounds to me lke you're saying that buying cheap *imported* goods at the expense of local manufacturers who employ them is putting those local manufacturers out of business, who then have to lay off their employees...

[george formby]

I've had a restaurant which was successful according to the bean counters but nearly killed me due to stress & hours. I also ended up being a single husband. After a stint getting paid a good salary & having great holidays I am now the concerned owner of a coffee/ juice bar. Small business is tough but I still love the feeling of making customers happy & being responsible, win or lose. I have grown as a person from taking the plunge into business & learnt a huge amount. The money sucks though. Never mind, onward & upward.