# Family Business owners or employees Tribe



## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

Okay, Ive been wondering if there was a place for this for a long time and there was another post today that made me aware that we really need a place to talk about businessy stuff.

Do you own a business?

Do you share a business with your DH/DP/DW/ ect?

Are you a part of a family business that already existed before you married in to the family?

Are you business partners with your mom, dad, sis, bro, or child?

Do you own a business with your friend?

Then you probably belong here .

DH and I own two businesses together.

We own a landscaping company that is dedicated to sustainable landscaping (and not so sustainable lawn care, but hey, it pays the bills). We have one employee, who has worked for us for two years. He is 19, and he is awesome to deal with. I run the back end of things with this business. Meaning I do all the invoices, entering stuff into quickbooks, banking, ect. I try really hard, but Im still learning. (I have to file a tax extension for last year....). DH does the manual labor and most of the garden design.

I also WOH for two hours a day cooking for someone. I get to take the baby with me, but its still work.

Our second business is an old General Store. I again, do all the bookeeping and stuff. I also have to be here during the hours of operation to staff it. We dont have an employee, so its just me. Honestly, we've really put this on the back burner until our first business is running strong. We have to focus on that one because the store doesnt really make us any money, except for helping us to not have to pay so many taxes on the other business.

What are you doing? Businesses run between couples can be really awesome and fun, but sometimes they can also be super stressful and make you want to kill the other person. Im hoping this can be a place for discussions about these matters amongst those who can see each other's viewpoint because we are all in a similar situation.

Welcome!


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## june'smom (Nov 8, 2003)

Subbing.

I promise I will post my details later!


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *june'smom*
> 
> Subbing.
> 
> I promise I will post my details later!


me too!


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## june'smom (Nov 8, 2003)

Hey!

I co-own a business with dh. We design and manufacture analog guitar pedals and other effects. We do a lot of business in the states, but we also have a long list of international dealers. Almost all communication is done via email, which we share pretty equally.

I deal with the money and invoicing, etc. for us. Dh does the design and lots of the building, and he sources and orders all the parts. We have one guy who was working on a contract basis and we are in the process of making him a standard employee (which is WAY more expensive than I thought it would be!)

There are a number of things that make it stressful for me. One is just not having anything that doesn't involve my family. I live with them, work with them, everything. The other is that dh was used to making all the decisions in the business for 2 years before I quit my job and joined him. That meant a lot of negotiating what I was actually responsible for and him recognizing that I was better at some stuff than him.

We recently moved into a bigger space, which means that I have my OWN OFFICE!!! I am amazed at how that has helped. Now, if he is having a bad day, or whatever, I can just escape into my office and close the door.

Most days I really like being self-employed, but I still can't get the hang of the variable income. Our income can vary by a ton each month. now that we have been doing it for a while, we know when the busy season is and when it is likely to be slow, but still... I do miss getting a steady paycheck!


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

I was raised in a family business (construction, site development and project management) and used to work with my dad as a teen doing certain tasks. My mom would help him organize his paperwork for tax time but was otherwise not involved.

My DH worked for his father's business when we met but told me from day one he needed to get out. (My ILs are all sorts of crazy, I could write a book.) A couple of years after we were married, DH left his family's business and started another one with a long-time business associated. We are in the process of buying out that owner.

Every job I had since college dealt with family businesses in one way or another. I was a business analyst for a number of years at a bank, which was a fascinating job. For the past 4 years, I have worked with DH doing all things financial for his business.

When I joined DH, I expected to have a fexible schedule but that has turned out not to be the case as my work follows a set schedule. Payroll needs to be done by a certain day, supplies don't want to hear "sorry but I took Friday off because I can" when they are waiting for payment and so on.

Overall I like it. I was actually working towards getting a job just like the one I have now it just so happened that DH's business grew to the point that it needed a full-time accounting person at the same time I was getting ready to leave banking.

We work well together because we each have our area of expertise and those duties don't overlap. I will say the horrible economy has added a layer of stress that did not exist before and that is no fun to deal with.


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## june'smom (Nov 8, 2003)

I wish *I* had a wife that would come and do the accounting so I didn't have too. lol. I HATE that part.

We are in the process of taking out our first business loan. That has added some stress, but also clarified a lot of things. We have been forced to take a closer look at our sales trends and financials, as well as our long term goals.

I have a question for anyone who knows what they are doing...

We just declared as a LLC (we were a sole proprietorship). We decided to change the name a bit, so we could use it as an umbrella for some other smaller, part-time recording that dh was doing. Is the IRS going to see it as a continuation or a brand new business? I guess we weren't really thinking about it when we did it. I have a few books coming on accounting for an LLC and just general operating info, maybe that will help.

I have never felt more in-over-my-head than with this business stuff! The creative side, marketing, sales, etc. - I am fine with. But the financial nitty-gritty is AWFUL for me. I am terrified that I am going to make a big mistake and get audited and owe a million billion dollars.

When you guys started, did you know a lot about business? I was a constitutional law major in college! I avoided business classes like the plague. And now its my job to manage a business that has grown by 150% over the last 2 years. Yikes.


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *june'smom*
> 
> I wish *I* had a wife that would come and do the accounting so I didn't have too. lol. I HATE that part.


Most do!

Your tax fears aren't silly. Do you have an accountant? With growth like that, you really should. Also, if you start getting loans from a bank, the bank will want accountant prepared statements and such.

Bank scrutiny can be intense. I used to be the person behind the scenes coming up with those headache inducing questions you have likely been asked.


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## june'smom (Nov 8, 2003)

We are getting the loan through a Regional Business Fund. It is a low interest rate, subsidized loan, I think. They are allowing financial statements that I put together that are checked out by our business counselor.

I am wondering if I would be better off with an accountant or a book-keeper, or both?


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *june'smom*
> 
> We are getting the loan through a Regional Business Fund. It is a low interest rate, subsidized loan, I think. They are allowing financial statements that I put together that are checked out by our business counselor.
> 
> I am wondering if I would be better off with an accountant or a book-keeper, or both?


I have worked (when I was in banking) with fantastic book keepers who were not CPAs, people who really understood accounting, did all the quarterly tax filings (but not tax returns) for business, etc. I also worked with CPAs who were not very good at their jobs. Maybe an CPA that offers book keeping services is what you need if you don't want to do the financial stuff yourself.

Friends of ours also own a business together with their siblings and spouses and the best solution for them is to outsource all the financial stuff to their accountant's office. In their situation, the personal that was willing to do the books really wasn't qualified for the job. (failed at it more than once, causing tons of stress for everyone) The two that were qualified didn't want to do the books. The CPA isn't doing the daily books and billing, an accounting clerk in the office does that. They pay a fee for it.

As businesses grow, the less fun tasks take up more and more of the owner's time. Pretty soon, if you are lucky enough to experience growth, the passion that lead you to a business needs to take a backseat to the immediate needs of billing (to keep cash flowing), paying the bills, filing the taxes (payroll, sales, etc.) and doing payroll. Getting jammed up with back taxes because there isn't the time or energy to do these things is pretty common in small businesses.


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## june'smom (Nov 8, 2003)

Thanks for the reply. That is exactly what we are going through. We have thought about trying to slow down the growth somehow, just so we can keep our heads above water, so to speak.

And I know I am making mistakes on our books. I can add and subtract, but that is not the same as know how to categorize your expenses : ) I just haven't liked most of the accountants we have met. They don't want to mess with my general questions. And I really can't afford to pay someone $100/hr to add up my receipts.

I will ask around and see if I can get a good book-keeper to help me out. I think it would be well worth it.

Has anyone else dealt with rapid growth? It is caused a lot of stress, especially between dh and I. This is largely his baby, so he has been reluctant to let go of some control.

Also, how do you guys deal with child-care? Do you try to bring the kids along to work or get regular daycare set up? We have the kids with us a lot and it is so hard to work on cash flow projections with an almost three year old singing Mary Poppins songs. lol.


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *june'smom*
> 
> I wish *I* had a wife that would come and do the accounting so I didn't have too. lol. I HATE that part.
> 
> ...


We've grown about 150% in the past two years too, so I feel ya.

About your LLC question, I am pretty sure that the IRS will view you as a brand new business, because you will be. You will be newly incorporated to an LLC, which is something entirely different than a SP. As far as getting audited goes, try to remember that the IRS is really really good about working with small businesses to fix their tax issues. Its really likely that if you were to get audited, youd be assigned a worker, and he or she would help you go through your stuff and explain to you where you went wrong. Even if you owe a billion dollars, they will set up a payment plan with you and talk to you about how to do it better next time. For my safety, I usually call the IRS and talk to someone before I file the return (we file married jointly with two SE forms and two Schedule C's) and ask a question about every single line I have a question about. They love to go through your whole form with you and make sure you did it right 

I didnt go to college, and the whole accounting thing is really difficult for me, but we cant really afford to hire someone to do all the accounting just yet. (I know, I know you have to spend money to make money and all that, but we are spending the extra money on extra trucks for the business so that we can send out landscaping crews even on the days DH is at home. So were spending, just not on an accountant).


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

So, we did our first ever Groupon this week. It has been awesome. Tons of work and information for me to keep up with, but I think we've gotten about 20 new regular clients from it. ByeBye Yellow Pages, viral advertising works!


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *june'smom*
> 
> Thanks for the reply. That is exactly what we are going through. We have thought about trying to slow down the growth somehow, just so we can keep our heads above water, so to speak.
> 
> ...


Check out your local H & R Block/Jackson Hewitt or independent tax prepares. Lots of these people do books for businesses year round and should be considerably cheaper than an accounting office.

We had about four years of very rapid growth but I wasn't working with DH at that time.

I do not bring our son to work with me, I never considered it. I watched two close friends struggle for years with bringing their kids to work at the family business. They were pulled in all directions and couldn't get anything done so they were going back to the office at night to catch up on work they couldn't get done during the day, it was not a good situation for either of them, their kids or their partners.


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Adaline'sMama*
> 
> So, we did our first ever Groupon this week. It has been awesome. Tons of work and information for me to keep up with, but I think we've gotten about 20 new regular clients from it. ByeBye Yellow Pages, viral advertising works!


The only reason we still use the Yellow Pages is because the service side of our business comes from plant managers, maintenance people, property managers and most of them are of a certain age that still picks up the phone book. It is amazing how quickly things change.


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