First, the BIG BOX STORE

Have you noticed when things in your life and business is humming along, that's when It strikes?

It can be anything: illness, death, natural disaster, economy, mood shift, market crunch, competition - pick one and it can devastate or otherwise ruin a happy, seemingly secure family business.

It came.

It came in three's this time.

First came the Big Box Store (which will be called BBS from now on). Everyone knows what I'm talking about (without mentioning any names) what the BBS means for small, privately owned business: drop in business for some, financial ruin for others.

The BBS made their announcement that they would be coming into the town which was located about 10 miles to the north of Sarah's town.

At first, her family was not ... too .... concerned. After all, there were a couple of other floor covering stores in the other small towns and each of those served those customers in their own surrounding developments and rural homes. There was a difference however in that the other businesses were the same as her family's business; long time family owned business. There was a friendly competition involved but each business had sort of a invisible boundary line, an unspoken rule that said "We won't put our nose in your business area and you don't put your nose in mine."

However, the Big Box Store's do not know nor do they follow that rule. They have no rules. They build where they want to and they undercut and over sell products and services. They receive huge tax breaks on land that they can afford purchase because of their power and push. Yes, they do have a huge inventory of items that most smaller stores can't keep on stock but customer service is usually lost in the process.

The Beginning

*Sarah (*not her real name) had always planned on running her own business. She didn't like being told what to do, how to do it. She was a leader, not a follower.

Sarah started working in her family's business (floor coverings) from the time she was little. She would go there with her mom, in the mornings to help clean and count inventory; normal business stuff. As she got older, she was able to walk to the store from school and learned from her mom, accounting. Her mother kept the books for the family business while her dad and brothers took care of selling and installation. As she became more proficient with the books, her mother let her have more and more responsibilities in running the office. This is when Sarah decided that running her own business was her long-term goal.

It was a good and thriving business during her youth. It helped pay for her extra-curricular activities while in high school (track team and band) and taught her how to budget her money for the long haul of college. This business also paid the bills for their family home, food, etc. It was their livelihood and the kids knew that it was always going to be part of their lives - for the rest of their lives.

Or so they thought.

January 2009

Okay. So you've found this blog. It may because you're at the end of your rope. It may be because you're curious about Bankruptcy. It may be because you're bored.

Whatever the reason, you're here. And maybe you have concerns or questions.

Perhaps my story will help you in your quest from financial ruin.

Because guess what? Bankruptcy is NOT financial ruin. Bankruptcy saves houses, cars, jobs, and families from being destroyed.

Feel free to voice concerns or stories regarding your own bankruptcy or possible filing.

Let's face it: this economy is killing the working class and although I feel the new administration will do it's very best to rectify the situation, it's going to take awhile to fix what's been badly broken.

THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE; do not expect any sort of legal advice from an attorney.