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View Full Version : what have you had to give up for your business?



huggytree
03-29-2013, 09:20 AM
Friends of ours are going on vacatation(again) for a week....got me to thinking how id like to be able to do that....take 4+ vacations a year....i take 1 large and 1 (3) day vacation a year ....and its always stressful and problematic....my customers ALWAYS need me whatever week i take off

my friends are going to Colorado and going skiing.....thats a hobby id love to do with the family.....problem----if i get injured i could be screwed....i cant do plumbing w/ a broken leg or arm....

i started to think what freedom i have given up to own my business.....ive gained MUCH more than i have lost.......but ive still lost some freedoms

what about you?

Freelancier
03-29-2013, 10:20 AM
I have a brother-in-law who has been out skiing at least once a year for the past 20 years. He's an orthopedic surgeon. You think he'll be able to work if he gets hurt? Nope. But he does it anyway. Why? Because life's too short to sit on the sidelines.

I've had my own business for the past 22 years. got disability insurance years ago, so I don't worry about it. We have vacations scheduled for April, May, July, and December (skiing in Park City!) already this year. Life's too short to sit on the sidelines.

Harold Mansfield
03-29-2013, 01:06 PM
I'm starting my 4th year and for the first 3 I pretty much gave up the social life that I used to have.

KristineS
03-29-2013, 04:26 PM
I don't own the business, but because of my role as the public voice for the business, and as the name that most people associate with the business, I have given up some of my freedom to say what I think. It's lovely to think that people can distinguish between me in my business role and me in my personal life, but that isn't always the case. I chose to do this sort of work, so I can't really complain, but I have to say that is one of the reasons that going out on my own is attractive at times. Being able to say what I want and having it impact only me would be very freeing.

huggytree
03-29-2013, 06:35 PM
[QUOTE=Freelancier;74842]I have a brother-in-law who has been out skiing at least once a year for the past 20 years. He's an orthopedic surgeon. You think he'll be able to work if he gets hurt? Nope. But he does it anyway. Why? Because life's too short to sit on the sidelines.

I've had my own business for the past 22 years. got disability insurance years ago, so I don't worry about it. We have vacations scheduled for April, May, July, and December (skiing in Park City!) already this year. Life's too short to sit on the sidelines.[/QUOTE

i trap shoot with a hand surgeon....he thinks about protecting his hands at all times.......i dont think he will even ride a bicycle

he has a huge house with a huge mortgage....he doesnt want to risk it

i have insurance if i get injured......and i guess i could hire someone.....so id survive a broken leg..

GarryPonus
03-29-2013, 08:43 PM
I guess the question I ask is more to do with what my future will look like if I DON'T do this business. I'm more than happy to forgo some pleasures in the short term to achieve the goal of not having to work in my day job (which is in addition to my business). To me, life is more about experiences rather than stuff.

billbenson
03-29-2013, 10:56 PM
If you are a one man show and can't not be there, you pretty much can't take a more than a day or two of vacation. That is part of why I recently took on a partner. He can run the business if I'm gone for two weeks.

broudie
04-03-2013, 08:53 PM
I've structured my business so it can be run from a laptop, a tablet, or a phone with the corresponding decreasing levels of capacity. All other day-to-day is contracted out.

Steve B
04-04-2013, 05:44 AM
Freelancier - where did you find disability insurance? That's a big thing that I haven't been able to find that is even close to reasonably priced. The only one I could find even the salesman told me not to buy it. I would love to find long and short term disability insurance like what I had in the corporate world.

Other than disability insurance, the things that are most notable that I've given up are long and useless meetings pretending to be interested in the latest initiative that you know is going to be forgotten about in the next few months only to be replaced with the next new initiative that I'll have to pretend to be interested in.

Wozcreative
04-04-2013, 09:26 AM
I give up my nights and weekends most times. However I try to schedule some fun stuff when I can.

Freelancier
04-04-2013, 12:36 PM
Freelancier - where did you find disability insurance? That's a big thing that I haven't been able to find that is even close to reasonably priced.

I got it over 20 years ago, so it's not like I could find that salesperson again (and the company has changed hands a bunch of times, so I don't know if they even sell it any more). I think I might have been pointed in the direction of that particular insurance company by my insurance agent at the time. The problem with most insurance plans is that they go way up as you get older, just because you're... well... older. And more likely to have to use it. So I bought my plan when I was in my late 20's and it cost $81/month every month since for an income stream that would just now cover our mortgage and not much more. Now if I were to try to find a similar plan, it would cost in the hundreds per month, if they would even sell it to me. Just because the odds of become long-term disabled are higher now that I'm 50. But if you're still young, just google "long-term disability insurance" to find some companies selling it.

Steve B
04-04-2013, 07:16 PM
I have done that - it's nearly impossible to find a policy for an individual. The only one I found was basically a "pre-pay" because they weren't able to spread the risk.

huggytree
04-05-2013, 02:16 PM
Freelancier - where did you find disability insurance? That's a big thing that I haven't been able to find that is even close to reasonably priced. The only one I could find even the salesman told me not to buy it. I would love to find long and short term disability insurance like what I had in the corporate world.

Other than disability insurance, the things that are most notable that I've given up are long and useless meetings pretending to be interested in the latest initiative that you know is going to be forgotten about in the next few months only to be replaced with the next new initiative that I'll have to pretend to be interested in.

i didnt have any issues finding dissability insurance...i think i pay $1000-2000 a year for it

i charge my customers for workmans comp and use that $ to pay for my dissability insurance...the big bene is my policy covers me 100% of the time...not just during work hours

Steve B
04-05-2013, 07:49 PM
Please PM me some info on that HT. I'm guessing it's not LTD (Long Term Disability). That's the one that will pay for the longer term issues that go beyone 6 months of disability.

Michael Fied
04-06-2013, 06:58 PM
Im young I give up money and time. Of course if you plan it correctly it's really not a loss.

MyITGuy
04-06-2013, 07:23 PM
Please PM me some info on that HT. I'm guessing it's not LTD (Long Term Disability). That's the one that will pay for the longer term issues that go beyone 6 months of disability.

Have you checked with Aflac? They are always trying to get a hold of me to get their insurance (Short Term, Long Term, Cancer, Dismemberment and etc...).

I'd check with a local insurance broker as well, when I signed up for Medical/Dental I recall discussing some of these options.

Steve B
04-06-2013, 09:37 PM
Aflac didn't have Long Term Disability last time I worked with them. Yes, I checked with several local and non-local insurance brokers.

kevin136
04-07-2013, 11:58 PM
lose some,get some

Harold Mansfield
04-28-2013, 01:47 PM
Was replying to another thread and thought about this one.
I totally forgot that I gave up my car, and moved out of a very nice condo in the begining so that I could use the savings to start up and survive until I started getting work.
I gave up shopping. Drinking. Dating. Pretty much gave up spending any money unless it was on Hardware, Software, a Book, or some kind of marketing.

billbenson
04-28-2013, 03:10 PM
I indirectly did the same thing. I lost my career in the 1998 dot com crash. Went from a house with a live in maid in Panama to a efficiency with drug dealers and prostitutes next door. And I lived like that for years!

glostef
04-29-2013, 12:48 PM
I'm a contractor so when I finish my contract I take a month or two for a good vacation.