Just heard that Jimboomba campers have gone bust

[DannyG]

This is not defending them but I think you would be surprised by the amount of companies that run this close to the wire. All it takes is one of debts being juggled To go pear shaped and the whole thing comes crashing down.

many of these people aren't dodgy or Gerald or whatever, just businesses caught in a bad position trying to get out of it.

Of course others are as dodgy as the day is long

I agree whole heartedly. Many many businesses are techniqually trading insolvent if you want to pry. Especially a small business that has to carry debtors for 30-45-60 or even 90 days....chances are they are playing a rob Peter to pay Paul act.

But there comes a point where you know it is getting beyond salvage and that is the point where you DO NOT rob the little man. Sure its one thing to bow out owing the tax department and big banks money but a decent person would see to it that the fellow small business down the road was sorted and the general public was not ripped off before surrendering all hope. Thats how I think anyway.

[McGirr]

The hard thing is most of us would not know what it is like to run a business and struggle. Trying to survive and pay bills.

I think what has happened is wrong but it is happening all the time we just don't hear about it unless someone we know is affected.

Mark

[nbd73]

The hard thing is most of us would not know what it is like to run a business and struggle. Trying to survive and pay bills.

I think what has happened is wrong but it is happening all the time we just don't hear about it unless someone we know is affected.

Mark

I am wondering how different it is to running your own household. Finance is pretty simple when reduced to its simplest form: spend less than you earn. Unfortunately its a concept that many, many people still fail to grasp. It's why pay rises don't solve financial crises.
As stated by others, this situation would have been well known by the owners for a long time, and it would have taken a freakish number of sales at the recent show to save them. The only conclusion, based on what has been posted here, is that they were delusional.
When considering the CT industry, unless buying from a national chain (for eg Jayco) then any purchase could carry the same or similar risk. How many others are getting close to the edge?. It would be a fair bet there are others in very similar predicaments.

[D4D]

I am wondering how different it is to running your own household. Finance is pretty simple when reduced to its simplest form: spend less than you earn.

Typically your boss pays you on time, not the same with debtors...

[klx_dude]

Isn't if funny how the administrators come in to these kind of company windups, charge $600/hr and then walk away at the end leaving everyone with nothing and them with a nice big payday.

That's got to be immoral too.  I've seen this happen too

My work is in this situation at the moment. Ai automotive, the recievers are getting 1k an hour. All our entitlements are frozen and the only chance we have of getting them is from the government gear s scheme if the company winds up. Ssounds like we might go into liquidation next week....the management walked away with there nice bonuses and entitlements....

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2

[nbd73]

Typically your boss pays you on time, not the same with debtors...

True, but as a business owner you are already aware of this. With great risk comes great reward. Like playing the stock market. Any business with minimal assets has only one option: maintain a healthy cash float. And therein lies the problem. Small market, smaller piece of this market for individual sellers, require large profit margin per sale and lose just 1 sale a month due to GFC or whatever and hey presto they are screwed.

[DannyG]

True, but as a business owner you are already aware of this. With great risk comes great reward. Like playing the stock market. Any business with minimal assets has only one option: maintain a healthy cash float. And therein lies the problem. Small market, smaller piece of this market for individual sellers, require large profit margin per sale and lose just 1 sale a month due to GFC or whatever and hey presto they are screwed.

Sadly in most cases the small business owner who has to carry debtors is doing it by way of overdraft and/or off setting it by extending terms with creditors. As someone already pointed out, it only takes one major creditor to clamp down and it can spell the end when your trading on the brink of insolvency.

I am not condoning what has happened in this case, just pointing out the reality as I have seen it in my experience.

[Offroad 4x4 Accessories]

The hard thing is most of us would not know what it is like to run a business and struggle. Trying to survive and pay bills.

I think what has happened is wrong but it is happening all the time we just don't hear about it unless someone we know is affected.

Mark

Mark i agree with what you have said. I am not condoning what they have done at all. Do we know if they appointed the administrator or did a creditor call them in? Anyone that says it's easy to run a small business should try it one day. There are alot of small business's that fail within the first 3 years and alot of business owners that really struggle to make ends meet when you are carrying accounts for are 90-120 days over due but they still have to pay suppliers on time or it's stop credit.
Tim

[Tassie devils]

The hard thing is most of us would not know what it is like to run a business and struggle. Trying to survive and pay bills.

I think what has happened is wrong but it is happening all the time we just don't hear about it unless someone we know is affected.

Mark

Well said Mark you are spot on

[kevb]

Mark i agree with what you have said. I am not condoning what they have done at all. Do we know if they appointed the administrator or did a creditor call them in? Anyone that says it's easy to run a small business should try it one day. There are alot of small business's that fail within the first 3 years and alot of business owners that really struggle to make ends meet when you are carrying accounts for are 90-120 days over due but they still have to pay suppliers on time or it's stop credit.
Tim

Difference here was they were an established business (longer then 3 years) and what has ben been pointed out many times was that they weren't waiting on payment for an account (e.g. customers were asked to make "progress" payments) yet one person has chimed into to say as a supplier they were owed money, that is the difference between being told "the cheque is in the mail" as oppossed to saying "the cheque is in the mail".

[Paul (SA)]

Well said Mark you are spot on

Too bad that is the risk you take. I think it is irresponsible to act they way they did and for anyone to go into self employment and not understand the financial risks is just plain ludicrous.

Many (not all) business owners are the first to brag about their lot in life, gloat about the tax right offs they get and impress you with their shiny toys they get tax free.

If you wanna roll the dice in business for yourself and lose, then man up and take it flush on the jaw.

A good business was taken over by a couple of clowns who had little idea or backbone - they deserve whatever comes their way.

[Tassie devils]

Too bad that is the risk you take. I think it is irresponsible to act they way they did and for anyone to go into self employment and not understand the financial risks is just plain ludicrous.

Many (not all) business owners are the first to brag about their lot in life, gloat about the tax right offs they get and impress you with their shiny toys they get tax free.

If you wanna roll the dice in business for yourself and lose, then man up and take it flush on the jaw.

A good business was taken over by a couple of clowns who had little idea or backbone - they deserve whatever comes their way.

so I take this that your having a personal dig at me Paul and because I agreed with mark comments or do you know something about me I don't?

[Paul (SA)]

No Taz. Not having a dig at anyone on here. I respect everyone's right to an opinion.

What I am construing is you should never go into business unless you have your eyes wide open and understand the risks. Too many people do without realising how bloody hard it is. You do well then good on you. But if you don't you man up and take responsibility.

I think the same happened recently with property where young people mortgaged themselves to the hilt while interest rates were low. As soon as rates went up many were up in arms, citing mortgage stress and some were even looking to governments for a bailout.

[Tassie devils]

No Taz. Not having a dig at anyone on here. I respect everyone's right to an opinion.

What I am construing is you should never go into business unless you have your eyes wide open and understand the risks. Too many people do without realising how bloody hard it is. You do well then good on you. But if you don't you man up and take responsibility.

I think the same happened recently with property where young people mortgaged themselves to the hilt while interest rates were low. As soon as rates went up many were up in arms, citing mortgage stress and some were even looking to governments for a bailout.

I just found it strange you highlighted my comment and you never replied to Marks.
Young or old I cringe how first home buyers can afford to even purchase a house. Mortgage stress  Try telling that to the poor staff from jimboomba campers who have no job and still have a mortgage to pay.

[Kit_e_kat9]

I can certainly believe that business's go bust often due to the lack of understanding of the business owners - not saying this is the case here at all.  They may have the passion for what they "want" to do, but it's the rest of it that is hard for them to get their heads around.  In the business I'm in ... a lot of clients don't even understand what it is that we do or why we have to do it so often even though it's a requirement for their business.  A lot of our clients go bust in under a year and leave us with their unpaid bills due to a "dream" that isn't quite what they expected.

Just saying is all ...

Kit_e

[camlisa]

As a licenced sub contractor i am required to do a business management course as part of my licence requirement just to employ myself. Anyone can buy or start a business  with no training or business skills at all .

[ozbogwam]

I know a couple of very clever successful businessman who have gone bust not because of their lack of nous but because a bunch of their creditors have gone busy and suddenly many thousands of $$ that they are owed isn't coming in and bang you are in all sorts of trouble , sometimes things out of your control can screw everything up, as shown here, customers and creditors are effected by forces out of their control

[Sixtys Guy]

Wow, I wanted to comment on so many posts from this page, I rolled them into one!
 

I am wondering how different it is to running your own household.

No offence, but the fact that you are suggesting this or at least asking this question, means you are not qualified to answer. If only it were that easy......

Sadly in most cases the small business owner who has to carry debtors is doing it by way of overdraft and/or off setting it by extending terms with creditors.

Agree!

The hard thing is most of us would not know what it is like to run a business and struggle. Trying to survive and pay bills.

Amen!

Anyone that says it's easy to run a small business should try it one day.

Amen!

gloat about the tax right offs they get and impress you with their shiny toys they get tax free.

This idea of 'tax free' is pie in the sky. Business's have to pay tax and they have to pay for their shiny toys' - they are not free.

Anyone can buy or start a business  with no training or business skills at all .

Doing training or having business skills does not make business's immune from going broke.

I know a couple of very clever successful businessman who have gone bust not because of their lack of nous but because a bunch of their creditors have gone busy and suddenly many thousands of $$ that they are owed isn't coming in and bang you are in all sorts of trouble , sometimes things out of your control can screw everything up, as shown here, customers and creditors are effected by forces out of their control

Agree.

[dazzler]

All good stuff sixtys guy.

Yet there comes a point when you goddam know you are struggling and its at this point that a persons true character comes out.

Once at this point you stop taking the little guys money.  I think, based on what has been posted, this point occurred quite some time ago.

Lets face it.  If only part of what has been posted is accurate a person of character would have stopped trading "due to illness" and finished the orders and paid out its creditors, even if this meant selling up the house and whatever else needed. 

If the business can reopen then the 'illness' is okay now and away you go.  No one hurt.  Brand intact.

My view from a not very successful small business person

[jetcrew]

Also not to offend 

But

No matter how far we all want to look into the how's and whys , at the end of the day.

1. They new they were going under

2. They still took money off families right at the end.

3. Excuses about how hard a business is to run is no excuse ..plain old mongrels IMO .


When your ships going down you don,t stand on mums, dads and little kids heads just so you can take another breath, at the cost of theirs.Cowards .....

Jet

[Sixtys Guy]

Yet there comes a point when you goddam know you are struggling and its at this point that a persons true character comes out.

Once at this point you stop taking the little guys money.  I think, based on what has been posted, this point occurred quite some time ago.

Agree with this too Dazzler. I was certainly not defending the owners of Jimboomba Campers, from what I have read on here they probably have should have wound up the business and cut their losses some time ago.

[Sixtys Guy]

1. They new they were going under

2. They still took money off families right at the end.

3. Excuses about how hard a business is to run is no excuse ..plain old mongrels IMO .

I think we can all agree on this......

[Followme1]

Hey Luke and Melissa,

We have some more good news for you, we have had 2 offers made direct to us.

$250 from Earthrite Drilling Co
and an offer of either $250 or frequent flyer points from our customer Troy so you can come over to meet us and take delivery of your new camper in person

[99disco]

It's just shocking that people can be so gutless to take money from others knowing full well they are shutting up shop. But on a great side note its highlighted the great Aussie spirit. It's got me thinking, I wonder if we can somehow get this camper from perth to FNQ? I'd be willing to collected it from perth (I live a couple of hours south in bunbury) and take it say 3-400km in the right direction if someone could do the next leg and the next if you get my drift. I could even donate some tires I have for the trip so that the brand new ones on the camper will still be new when they arrive at Luke's joint.

We could even document the whole trip with pics and a journey plan to make sure the camper doesn't get lost on the way.

Anyway just a thought.



Shane

[Followme1]

Great idea shane the tyres arn't the problem they need a new matress

George