Lost my business, I have no money, and I couldn't be happier.

Hey all,
I don't frequent ATS as much as I used to pre-2012. I never really believed in the Mayan end date but it was always entertaining to see how people handled the date and the events surrounding it.

Anyway, I'm here to share my experience with you people which I've been going through and I think could be beneficial for perhaps some of you to hear. I'm going to leave specific business details out of the story because they aren't the reason I'm writing.

In 2009, after 9 years of 9-5 work days, I decided to take a risk and I began a venture into the world of entrepreneurship. The wife and I decided it was time to utilize our fine tuned skills and started a small business that wasn't my specialty, but hers. We did so jointly and with equal enthusiasm we dove in head first into our business efforts, and it grew, then fell, we got back up and fought our way to the top again, eventually opening up a store on a popular avenue here in Houston. We acquired some real nice clients, made a name for ourselves, made some good money, and got a sense of success that we always wished for. The only down side, as we both knew would happen, was the stress, the long hours, and the sacrifice we'd put our 3 children through.

It is our personal belief that children shouldn't be put in other people's care (not passing judgement on people who do, we just really love our girls near us, always), so they would spend a lot of time in the family business, bored. Sometimes, we couldn't spend as much time as we wanted with them, and after long long hours at work, we'd all get home to our family dog at 7pm or sometimes even 9pm if we had to stop by the grocery store on the way home. It really took a toll but we were making money and had a comfortable living so we guessed it was ok. However, the stress always ran high, my blood pressure went up, and in the middle of all of this, the wife and I decided to have another baby, so "we" became pregnant

Things started going sour when, by luck, good or bad, business started to decrease, some of our good clients just didn't need our service as much, or went out of business for other reasons. Revenue decreased, money went south, and in a few short months we had to close. We rented a moving truck, moved everything out of our location and into storage, some equipment into our garage. Bills and fees piled up to the ceiling, my wife was 8 months pregnant. I didn't know what to do, so I did a little soul searching and decided I'd follow my heart and after talking it over with my wife, we decided I'd pursue my life long dream of working from home.

5 months into it, I'm broke, we make enough money to pay the bills and food but little else, but I gotta tell you, we've never been happier. These days, I take the girls to school then come back home to my wife and new baby. She doesn't work and we live a fairly stress free life. Sure we don't have the extra income we had before, but I've come to reaffirm that there is far more to life than money. I'm chasing a dream now and am trying to feed my family with my work from home, my 2 month old baby gets all the attention she needs from both mom and dad, my kids come home at 3pm to a house and a home cooked meal, not a one room boring business and a happy meal. My blood pressure is down, my wife and I don't fight, we have come to love each other even more here at the house all day.

After 13 years of working in small rooms from 9-5, these days I go outside at 10am, at 1pm, whenever and breath in the world and everything is oddly perfect. I'm a young guy and I hope things stay on this path from now on and we could feel as we do now, always.

Just thought I'd share. There is much much more to find satisfaction in when you put your real priorities straight, when you put what you most love close to your heart, be it work, or family.

Cheers.

If your happy doing things that way then congratulations mate.. All it shows is that money cannot buy everything and that includes your health, family and well being.. I hope things continue to work out and good luck to your family

reply to post by SpaceCowboy78


Good for you and your family !

As I've always thought, money,, and the pursuit of it, do not necessarily equate to happiness.

A very well written post, too....good to see.

All the best for you and your family for the future....

Two steps forward,ten million back....I'm dirt poor and I love It.Nothing can get worse...maybe that smoked venison

I agree money isn't everything I make enough for my stay at home wife and two children I am perfectly happy with I have and have a little left over for us to enjoy life . I make 25 an hour and work 12 to 16 hour days 8 months of the year . We don't go with out nor do we live in excessive , I enjoy the piece of mind of my wife raising our children and I enjoy all the time I have with my family with the slow season.

Nice to see others with the same mind set

reply to post by freedomSlave


Very enlightening Freedom..Sound's like comfortable in gear....love ya...keep up the great work

I feel sorry for the people who live to work. As in, they spend their entire lives working a job that pays well, only to go to sleep, wake up and repeat the same thing. Maybe sleep in on a saturday, but sunday is all about thinking of monday.

I'm absolutely dirt poor. Couldn't buy a cup of coffee right now if I wanted to. I have loads of coffee beans if the instant runs out, ha. And a cheap turkish grinder I purchased years ago, which makes the perfect cup of mud.

But I don't really miss having money. I never had a lot, always had just enough to cover my vices and get petrol - petrol which I used to drive to and from work, and all the places in between For work. I never used my car just for me.

I almost had a life once. Damn it was hard work being 'something' that was supposed to fit in. For a pay packet and the joy of having no expectations of anything apart from more work.

I could live in a shanty hut by the beach, and make use of the things I've acquired over the years in preparation of any day it becomes an inevitability. But so far health and circumstances keep me tied to this place.

And the fact that the government simply criminalises anyone not paying taxes or being a drone worker, which sickens me, leaves me no choice but to participate to some extent in this criminally insane world.

And then I read about people going off the grid, and they show pictures of their underground cave-house, or the shipping containers they've converted into a plush roomy two story home.. and I think, how many years of work did they have to suffer through to get to that stage.

Reminds me of that old adage, which I can't remember properly but goes along the lines of a white man speaking to an Indian and telling him he needs to work. The Indian says "Why?" and the white man says "So you can buy a boat to fish." and the Indian says "and?" and the white man says "Then you can buy a house and live in it." and the Indian says "and?" and the white man says "And then when you're old you can retire." and the Indian says "and?" and the white man says "Then you can enjoy life." and the Indian says "But we have all the fish we need and we have a hut to live in and we already enjoy life, right now."

Having said all that if I won the lotto tomorrow, I'd not complain.

They say that money doesn't buy happiness.... but as Alan from Two and a half men says "Well I wouldn't know, as I don't have either." lol

reply to post by SpaceCowboy78


They always say love what you do, and you never have to work a day in your life.

Sounds like someone is truly living the dream as they say. Well done to you for working out the important stuff in life.

Sometimes I wonder what a kid might do, to get some free space & time away from smothering. By kid I mean 15-18 years old. Not a kid, but not an adult. It would have driven me crazy to never get time at home alone when I was that age. Sometimes people sound so self-righteous when they say "Well, do what you want but WE dont feel it's right to.... (fill in blank related to parenting). It doesnt automatically make your kids awesome responsible little nuggets of well-adjusted future success stories because 2 parents are home all the time. Nor does it not. Im just sayin olderkids (not that you have any, yet) probably need some alone time not JUST in their rooms; raising kids well IS sometimes a bit not controllable; & it seems there's some convincing of yourself you're tryin to do here.
My guess based on the writing is that wife may not be 100% cool w/ her S.O. present 100% of the time.
Even though OP says it's so.
If it IS so, kudos to self-actualization?
People are in charge of their own actualization. Can't do it for anyone but yourself.

Apologies for coming off like a jerk. Feel like a jerk sometimes. It's a positive thing, to be happy with less money & stress.

i've spent the last ten years in a field that i love, recieving very little in the way of recognition and financial reward but gaining a lot in the way of self fulfilment and theoretical good karma, though as a single father the money issue has been tricky - not really from the point of view of my own desires but more from the angle of connecting with distant family who can all afford to meet up and gather in places that i find difficult or near impossible to budget for.
then i finally fought my way to a promotion in the same field, one i felt should have been mine a long time previously.... i was ace-ing the role and earning what was for me an excellent wage. However the accumulated stress of my field over the last decade began to reach a head as my work hours increased to a point that i could no longer manage; and i noticed my tolerance for others, my preciousness over my own time and my normally mild temper and open attitude begin to change... however i felt a determination to carry on with something i had fought hard for so persisted... and then my health really started to suffer to the point where i was actually afraid to look after my boy lest he wake up to a nightmare.
needless to say i'm now making changes - it was exceptionally hard to divorce myself from an organisation and field of work that had meant so much to me for a long time and i made plenty mistakes along this "divorce" for precisely those reasons, but i'm happy i did things for the right reason, and me and my boy share the best of times and i have lots of time to spend with him and in the right frame of mind too.
i'm still working on the next chapter of the work thing but some other positive life changes that myself and partner (who lives a long way away from me) are trying to realise should pay dividends for all of us when we can eventually iron out some creases.
thanks for sharing your experience - i wish you and your family all the best

reply to post by SpaceCowboy78


Great story and your right, that you are in are better position that stick in a workplace that is destroying your moral.

As each week goes by like quitting my job, i can get by without it. Wont be as wealthy but the stress and bs of the workplace will be gone. One thing i have realised at work is they need me more than i need them, and yet they act as if its other way around. My house and car are paid off im feeling like phoning up and saying im not coming in anymore.

I enjoyed reading about your life. It is my hope that since we have seen greed and the results of it up close, and are disgusted by it, more of us will rethink chasing the almighty dollar. There is much to be said for having what you need in terms of material things, and putting your family and living life first. Congratulations on your choices.

reply to post by SpaceCowboy78


Very nice post. Glad for you and your little family !!

Congrats on your new-found freedom from work. I stopped by here yesterday when it was freshly posted and I raised my teacup to salute ya.

I quit my job 2 years ago, couldn't stand the crap. Fiscally, it was a dumb thing to do. Soul-wise, time-wise, energy-wise, it was the best thing I've done.
Guess which ended up being more important?

Who ever decided a 40-hour workweek was standard - stealing you away from your life for a full one third of your 24 hours, 5 days a week-- was a shammer.
Working from age 16 - 18 til age 65 in this way is the societal norm. Frikin' really?? And when are we supposed to enjoy our lives?

~ fully realizing and not getting in to the horrid lack of labour laws in 2nd & 3rd world countries and that godawful child labour ~ and the new trade laws... won't go there

I raise my cup to those who gained employment in something they love - there should be so much more of that, and I don't see much of it.

Kai Nagata was my final kickstarter to say "I quit". The 24 yr old Cdn CTVBureau Chief who couldn't stand to cover bs anymore:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I raise my cup to you OP!

reply to post by SpaceCowboy78

I am so glad you have found some peace and happiness. IMO, I believe a lot of people are coming to terms with this same philosophy. IMO, we are going to see a paradigm shift in americans what they are spending their money on. I don't know what this will mean for businesses and employment.

OK, I'm gonna point out a couple things.

1. It's not about you, you have 4 children. Provide a future for them, lazy ass. What a great role model you are to give up on trying something hard because it's easier to just sit on your ass. Weak.
2. Working from home was never your dream. Don't give me that. Working from home became an ideal option for you once your laziness took over your work ethic.
3. I'm probably just as poor as you, but I'm still able to enjoy life and take personal time to treat myself and my family by working hard. "Die broke" is something I believe in, but only after you've covered all the bills and loved one's needs. Sometimes that means working more hours or 2 jobs, or looking for a better paying job. It's the game we all have to play. Sitting on your butt and rationalizing it by saying that was your dream all along shows me exactly how you talked yourself out of everything you had. Lazy.

Great story. Most of the time we spend money on things either to please others or to make us look more successful. If you have inner confidence you find that you do not need fair weather friends and you do not need to create an illusion that you are doing well. This is a conditioning that has gone on for a long time.

I have seen many businesses fail through my life, knowing the owners quite well. Almost all of them failed because they expanded or because they started to spend more on themselves leaving little cash in the business's hands to weather through a rough time. Sometimes the business just goes bust because a new place opens and everyone flocks there like the chickens finding a new place to congregate in the yard.

Keeping overhead low is the best way to succeed long term in business. People are always trying to steer a person starting a business into debt, almost making them fail. You need to expand is a farce. You need to upgrade your accounting system is often a farce unless it actually saves you money in the end which is rare. You need new carpeting to draw in customers...another well played sales pitch. You see, people often talk others into doing what they do to justify their wasted expenditures. We drag each other down into poverty.

The saying about the rich man and the eye of the needle was put their by a capitalistic society. It was misinterpreted. We don't have to be poor to be happy, but we will never be truly happy when we are rich. The more you have the more you try to keep up with the people of that class, in the end you find you are worth very little. Just looks good on paper and that paper is not money.

Originally posted by DaTroof
OK, I'm gonna point out a couple things.

1. It's not about you, you have 4 children. Provide a future for them, lazy ass. What a great role model you are to give up on trying something hard because it's easier to just sit on your ass. Weak.
2. Working from home was never your dream. Don't give me that. Working from home became an ideal option for you once your laziness took over your work ethic.
3. I'm probably just as poor as you, but I'm still able to enjoy life and take personal time to treat myself and my family by working hard. "Die broke" is something I believe in, but only after you've covered all the bills and loved one's needs. Sometimes that means working more hours or 2 jobs, or looking for a better paying job. It's the game we all have to play. Sitting on your butt and rationalizing it by saying that was your dream all along shows me exactly how you talked yourself out of everything you had. Lazy.

His story is great...
Obviously YOU are the one who just DOESN'T GET IT!!!

Originally posted by DaTroof
OK, I'm gonna point out a couple things.

1. It's not about you, you have 4 children. Provide a future for them, lazy ass. What a great role model you are to give up on trying something hard because it's easier to just sit on your ass. Weak.
2. Working from home was never your dream. Don't give me that. Working from home became an ideal option for you once your laziness took over your work ethic.
3. I'm probably just as poor as you, but I'm still able to enjoy life and take personal time to treat myself and my family by working hard. "Die broke" is something I believe in, but only after you've covered all the bills and loved one's needs. Sometimes that means working more hours or 2 jobs, or looking for a better paying job. It's the game we all have to play. Sitting on your butt and rationalizing it by saying that was your dream all along shows me exactly how you talked yourself out of everything you had. Lazy.

i've often admired your posts when i have seen them but now i think you are a dick