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B.D.A. Debting Signals

 

As business owners, we knew we where heading for problems:

• When we paid invoices prematurely instead of according to agreed-upon terms.


• When payments were not made within agreed-upon terms.


• When we borrowed from personal funds for business expenses.


• When financial commitments were made on anticipated sales.


• When we held on to clients who were slow or bad payers.


• when a reasonable and comfortable profit margin was not factored into our pricing


• When we did not know the exact costs of our overhead and running expenses.


• When we cut our salaries in order to save the business money.


• When we operated without a comprehensive business plan.


• When we started missing B.D.A. meetings and lost contact with our business Pressure Relief Group.

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B.D.A. Beginner's Tool Kit

 

We have found the following suggestions helpful in recovery through Business Debtors Anonymous:

• Create a personal spending plan via Debtors Anonymous


• Work out a 12 month business plan: include all costs, projected revenue, and payroll—be sure to include you own salary.


• Review the Business Plan with a Business Pressure Relief Group meeting.


• Open and maintain a separate business checking account. Separate personal from business finances.


• Create an action plan to ensure the business bookkeeping records are clean, orderly and accurate.


• Be willing to be both in charge and responsible for all aspects of your business. Professional help—accountants, lawyers and consultants—are working for you and are not your business' higher power


• Show up for your business and keep your focus on generating revenue. Your business collars and time spent should generate revenue.


• Be very clear about your profit. Know your profit margins on each and every business transaction whether it involves a product or service. Write it down, use your calculator, run a tape, double check the numbers.


• Detach from difficult personalities: clients, partners, employees, and your own DIS-ease. Remember in all your business transactions its principles before personalities.


• If you have a problem with record keeping, billing or collections: BOOKEND. Bookending is a very valuable tool for you and the person you call. It's a form of service and commitment to recovery for all parties involved.


• Be aware of the competition, but don't worry about it. There is enough for everybody. It is and abundant universe. Consider your competition as a valuable teacher. Don't compare your business insides with your competitor's outside.


• If you feel either high or low when closing "deals" or financial commitments: BOOKEND. Try not to dramatize!


• Pay bills promptly and get payments due to you promptly.


• Put all your business agreements in writing. To save money and confusion, write your own letters of agreement before seeking legal advise.


• Take care of yourself. Remember HALT: don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.


• Begin building cash reserves—no matter how humble.


• Compare prices before contracting, giving an order, or signing a check. When it's time write a check, stop all other activities and THINK.


• Don't debt "one day at a time" and keep coming back to D.A. and B.D.A.

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B.D.A. Recovery Issues

 

Our goal is to be willing and able to build a prosperous, debt-free and solvent business using the principles of the program in all our business and personal affairs. To accomplish this, we took the following actions:

• We detached from the business with a renewed commitment to the business.


• We surrendered to the idea that we are neither our business nor our debts.


• We made a commitment to ourselves, to God and our pressure Relief Groups to repay all our creditors.


• We maintained a prosperous cash flow to meet our business needs.


• We took charge of all our business affairs and obligations.


• We structured a supportive and reasonable overhead for the business, sufficient to meet our needs.


• We monitored all our business expenses with clarity, being in charge of all our accountants, bookkeepers and other financial and legal advisors.


• Over time, we built and maintained prudent cash reserves.


• We took the salaries, benefits and vacation time due us on a regular basis, just as we expected our employees to do.


• We took responsibility for maintenance of our business records.


• We worked spiritually with other people—employees, vendors, clients, and competitors—remembering that it is principles before personalities.


• We came to know that through business highs and business lows, we were going nowhere unless we were on our spiritual track.

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