Sorry for the long post. As I started typing it just kept coming out.
Its doable. I can attest to that. Since the ***** hit the wall for us in 2009 we have managed to grow every year and thrive in an emerging market.
If you are going to do it, NOW is the time. Unless you have burned every supplier in you region you should be ok to start over.
Start small taking only negotiated work. Customer must pay 50% up front to cover material. Use that 50% to COVER MATERIALS. Not pizza, not the museum, etc. That is CUSTOMER money, not yours! i.e you don't need an account if you have cash in hand. It will take time to build trust with you suppliers.
Our accounts are for large scale commercial and government work only. On large scale negotiated commercial projects we require they pay when the material arrives on the job or it doesn't get unloaded or they can pay our suppliers direct. Government work is a bit different but we require a joint check on anything over 10K, which is every job! The suppliers love joint checks. It gives them the warm happy feeling that they will get paid. They deserve that feeling as they are backing YOUR company and fully deserve to be paid.
As far as insurance... Surety bonding is pretty cheap. Your comp in CA is pretty expensive but can be overcome with proper job pricing. These are the least of your concerns.
Lets face it. You failed the same way we all have failed. Your projects were not priced right to begin with and you mismanaged your money. If you mismanaged your customers money then you really have no business being in business, again. To me, mismanaging your customers money is a mortal sin.
You didn't fail because of a divorce or a bad economy. I was in CA when it all happened and was able to find work everyday and I know lots of contractors who have been divorced and managed to make it through. Business is about MONEY MANAGEMENT. It is not about the work. The work is the easy part.
We have failed in every way possible. But, I have never had a customer that didn't get their project finished.
The real issue is weather or not your wife can pass the qualifier test in CA and be willing to put her credit on the line. If she is willing you should be ready for your wife to be involved with at least the money side of the business. My wife and I are 100% separated when it comes to business. With the exception of picking up the mail and depositing checks from time to time she has no clue what is going on with business affairs and has ZERO authority to manage them.
In the event that I die she is on the account to distribute funds as needed but has no say in day to day operations. Some couples do well with this. We do not! She has her job, I have mine. We live a happy life. The less she knows the less she stresses about stuff. Life is better this way, for us.
If you feel you REALLY have the moral fortitude to try it again then DO IT. Most business owners fail the first 2-3 times before they get it right. I am no exception to this rule. The most successful people I know fail CONSTANTLY. They take it in stride and learn from their DAILY mistakes. To fail is human. To deny your failure or blame it on someone else is a failure in and of itself and belongs to the fools of this world
As Pearl Jam said: "I rise and fall. Let me take credit for both!"
Good luck!
Its doable. I can attest to that. Since the ***** hit the wall for us in 2009 we have managed to grow every year and thrive in an emerging market.
If you are going to do it, NOW is the time. Unless you have burned every supplier in you region you should be ok to start over.
Start small taking only negotiated work. Customer must pay 50% up front to cover material. Use that 50% to COVER MATERIALS. Not pizza, not the museum, etc. That is CUSTOMER money, not yours! i.e you don't need an account if you have cash in hand. It will take time to build trust with you suppliers.
Our accounts are for large scale commercial and government work only. On large scale negotiated commercial projects we require they pay when the material arrives on the job or it doesn't get unloaded or they can pay our suppliers direct. Government work is a bit different but we require a joint check on anything over 10K, which is every job! The suppliers love joint checks. It gives them the warm happy feeling that they will get paid. They deserve that feeling as they are backing YOUR company and fully deserve to be paid.
As far as insurance... Surety bonding is pretty cheap. Your comp in CA is pretty expensive but can be overcome with proper job pricing. These are the least of your concerns.
Lets face it. You failed the same way we all have failed. Your projects were not priced right to begin with and you mismanaged your money. If you mismanaged your customers money then you really have no business being in business, again. To me, mismanaging your customers money is a mortal sin.
You didn't fail because of a divorce or a bad economy. I was in CA when it all happened and was able to find work everyday and I know lots of contractors who have been divorced and managed to make it through. Business is about MONEY MANAGEMENT. It is not about the work. The work is the easy part.
We have failed in every way possible. But, I have never had a customer that didn't get their project finished.
The real issue is weather or not your wife can pass the qualifier test in CA and be willing to put her credit on the line. If she is willing you should be ready for your wife to be involved with at least the money side of the business. My wife and I are 100% separated when it comes to business. With the exception of picking up the mail and depositing checks from time to time she has no clue what is going on with business affairs and has ZERO authority to manage them.
In the event that I die she is on the account to distribute funds as needed but has no say in day to day operations. Some couples do well with this. We do not! She has her job, I have mine. We live a happy life. The less she knows the less she stresses about stuff. Life is better this way, for us.
If you feel you REALLY have the moral fortitude to try it again then DO IT. Most business owners fail the first 2-3 times before they get it right. I am no exception to this rule. The most successful people I know fail CONSTANTLY. They take it in stride and learn from their DAILY mistakes. To fail is human. To deny your failure or blame it on someone else is a failure in and of itself and belongs to the fools of this world
As Pearl Jam said: "I rise and fall. Let me take credit for both!"
Good luck!
