21 years self employed, and everytime I hit a slow spell, I go to the same place.

[fastfredracing]

Any of you have this problem? 99% of the year, I am so overbooked, I can barely stand it. I piss and moan every night about how busy I am , and how I will never get it all done, then I get one slow day, and I'm going out of business, the sky is falling, I start checking my account balances , thinking about selling off some porsche parts, cold calling people who I have made recent quotes for etc.
When will I ever learn?

[matt f]

You make hay while the sun shines.
When raining, whitewash the inside of the barn.
The sun always returns.

Matt

[Don Ro]

That's the geometry of self-employment.
BTDT for 34 yrs. Glad to be retired and having peace of mind.
Good luck.

[aschen]

its human nature. Remember 2008-2010 when you could get stocks for 25% of what they cost now and you could buy a mint 930 for 30K?

We all knew the market would come back. Yet some simple minded dolts like myself hoarded all their pennies just in case the ski was actually falling.

[2porscheguy]

Me too! I've been self-employed in the health care sector for 30 years as of October 1st!

I'm pissed when I'm too busy and I'm pissed when things are slow!

I, too, haven't caught on after all this time....if I can just hang in there for another 6 years, I'll be in Don Ro's envious situation.

[WPOZZZ]

I have a lot of rental properties and when it gets busy with showings/check outs/repairs, I get a little frazzled and frustrated. I think I should sell all the properties and take it easy. When everything is humming along, I have nothing to do, and think I should find a real job. lol

[Schrup]

We caught a construction project manager round filing bids when we were too busy. Word got out & he was the first to go when things slowed back down.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by matt f

When raining, whitewash the inside of the barn.
Matt

You saw the sperm bank death thread, right?

[matt f]

Originally Posted by pavulon

You saw the sperm bank death thread, right?

I had 2 brothers to help me!

[Baz]

I wouldn't know what to do if things ever slowed down!

Except get some dang sleep!!!

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by matt f

I had 2 brothers to help me!

Dude...that just don't sound right...lol.

[stealthn]

Just remember to try to keep 6 months in reserve for a rainy day and you'll be fine. I was so happy to be able to take a year off work when my twins were born to help the wife, it took a lot of planning to do.

[LWJ]

On the topic of the OP. 2013 was the worst year of my career. I stressed myself out waaaay to much over trying to hit some goals. The stress reduced my effectiveness. Mind you I still made more $$ that previous years.

I started 2014 with some simple goals. Staying sane being #1. Have stayed the course nicely. I expect to hit my goal that drove me crazy last year.

Perspective. It really is what is needed.

Good luck.
Larry

[slodave]

Originally Posted by pavulon

You saw the sperm bank death thread, right?

Originally Posted by matt f

I had 2 brothers to help me!

Originally Posted by dewolf

Dude...that just don't sound right...lol.

Tears of laughter streaming down face.

[KFC911]

FastFred and SloDave....ya'll should be in bidness together to balance things out a bit

[911SauCy]

My dad has been self employed (finish carpentry) for 32 years and gets crazy every time he slows down. To overcome the slump season, he and I used to plow residential, which kept him busy and the $ flowing.

He no longer plows, so when things get slow, he's driving himself and my mother up the walls with "the phone isn't ringing, what am i going to do?" And everything always turns out well...

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by 911SauCy

My dad has been self employed (finish carpentry) for 32 years and gets crazy every time he slows down. To overcome the slump season, he and I used to plow residential, which kept him busy and the $ flowing.

He no longer plows, so when things get slow, he's driving himself and my mother up the walls with "the phone isn't ringing, what am i going to do?" And everything always turns out well...

Yes, this is me. All year long, I whine and cry about the phone constantly ringing, then one day with only a few calls, and I am climbing up the walls wondering what I have done wrong .
I did not even make it through half the day, and I am booked full solid again, so all is well, and I can get back to complaining about those pesky customers getting in the way of me getting my work done once again.

[Christien]

Same cycle here, though over long periods. I don't stress a slow day, week or even month, it's a longer look. But late 2013/early 2014 was really slow and I started to really get worried a few months ago. But as soon as I saw it as being part of an up/down cycle, I stopped stressing. Sure enough, it's bounced back, and in a big way.

Originally Posted by matt f

You make hay while the sun shines.
When raining, whitewash the inside of the barn.
The sun always returns.

Matt

This should be every self-employed person's mantra!

[petrolhead611]

When we are busy, I try looking for even more work to avoid the slow periods from happenning.

[onlycafe]

just observed the 28 year mark here at the cafe on labor day.
feast or famine, i am always at the same place.