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Another One Bites the Dust #2
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When in doubt I always return to the age old entreprenuerial expression: “It ain’t what you make, it’s what you keep.”
I am anti-overhead nowadays and fortunately when the meltdown hit (The Lehmann’s weekend) my office lease was up. This is a good time to for us turtles to keep one’s head in the shell. If people have the cash to buy and expand God bless em. But I’d keep it in the mattress. I don’t trust that the clients we rely on may be there for the long run. As a freelancer I work for companies that are humming along and then WHAM!
But if you get it in writing and can financially project for several years you are extremely fortunate. Just don’t guarantee personally is my opinion.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
http://www.bizvideo.com -
[Nick Hasson] ”
Kudos to Walter! You will never have to ask “What if”. Thats the way life is meant to be lived. No one every got anywhere by playing it safe all the time!”Thanks Nick! It’s funny my wife and I were talking about this thread tonight while waiting for Conan O’Brien to take the stage (AWESOME show btw) and she noted that companies who grow the largest are those who build up and move forward during a down market. So when the market starts to come back, you’re already ahead of the competition who now has to move forward paying 2 to 3 times the costs.
Again, I have no idea where this will lead, but we’ve been fortunate to really build our company slowly to be in a position to take advantage of the down market. At the end of the day we’re going to own almost 2 acres of land and a 6,000 square foot building with a huge kitchen, big wooded backyard for Molly and indoor / outdoor basketball courts. If the shop doesn’t work out, we’ll just turn it into our new home….. 🙂
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“Foul Water, Fiery Serpent” featuring Sigourney Weaver coming soon.
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Hi Grin,
You must be living in some alternate universe if
you think that everybody in this industry who has lost their job
has been able to just get another one with a 10,000 dollar raise.
I know of a few really, really experienced, Emmy award winners
who have been asked to take a 5 figure cut. This greatly affects
their lives and families. I am not happy when anyone loses
their job, But it seems that there are those who still believe
that those that can’t afford bread, should buy cake.
I for one can’t understand why the 10% of unemployed simply
don’t go out and get jobs with a 5 figure increase over their last
position? Can you?
I ask again, Where is your humanity? Or maybe there isn’t any
on your planet.Neil Hurwitz
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Hi Walter,
You should consult with your Tax Accountant about the
different ways to charge off or capitalize your cash out
for your upcoming build. The way things are intially set up
will have long range consequences on you financial reporting
and Taxes. As an example, The building might have to be depreciated
of 39 years, so if you spend 390,000 on it, you could claim a
depreciation expense of only 10,000 per year. However
if you can legally reclassify 100,000 of that as an Equipment
purchase then you could depreciate it (the 100,000) over 5 years
and get an extra 20,000 in yearly expense.
This might be important because after the build out
you might find that it’s difficult to run as lean as you would like, There might be unforseen expenses and that extra
depreciation which would leave more cash in your
pocket would be handy. I suppose my point being that if
you don’t know what the various Local, State, Federal laws
presently are regarding Depreciation and Build Out expenses
It’s better to investigate now than after the fact.
Best of LuckNeil Hurwitz
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I don’t see that. No less video is being made than last year or ten years ago. Quite the opposite. Yes, they’ll all go on to start their own companies or partner up to do it. I still see multiplying income and gaining creative freedoms as a good thing.
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Maybe I take strive for granted. Every job I’ve ever left, be it due to boredom or being laid off by a company that lost focus, resulted in a five figure raise. I gave myself a six figure raise when the last company I staffed for folded. Again, I’m happy for those moving onward and upward and I don’t mind seeing 80s mentality post houses make more room for those of us who evolve with the industry.
Cakes are for celebrations. Yes, most of the ones you are worried about, or pretending to be, had cake last night. -
I think uncertainty is the name of the ghost here. The false difference between clear hope and dark realism. The ultimate true is that nobody know whats next, we can only be sure to do our best each time.
In Mexico we read everyday in the newspapers that the government is very proud of our progress, but the streets are burning in violence and people are still loosing jobs. But I still see people celebrating life, eating well and watching football. A local tragedy transforms in a joke in a couple of days, sometimes a couple of hours. And while many friends are closing his business gates, others are opening champaign. Nobody is really starving to death, it’s just that the money is changing hands. Hard for some, luck for others. Let’s just open our eyes and adapt.
*Always share a link to your site and rate the posts. This is a free service for you and for us.
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[Neil Hurwitz] “As an example, The building might have to be depreciated of 39 years, so if you spend 390,000 on it, you could claim a depreciation expense of only 10,000 per year. However if you can legally reclassify 100,000 of that as an Equipment purchase then you could depreciate it (the 100,000) over 5 years and get an extra 20,000 in yearly expense.”
I wish there was a way that we could apply this to some of our recent legal expenses. A few years back, a company that tried to highjack our name in this arena precipitated a lengthy legal battle that cost us $140,000 by the time it was done. The IRS told us we could only write it off over a 15 year period. Say freaking what?$#@!? 15 years? You have to be kidding, right? The accountants told us they weren’t and so that is what we are doing.
I told our lawyers that they and their colleagues need to get off their duffs and do some lobbying in their own self interests because we will be far less likely to spend a bunch of money in a legal fight knowing that we can expect a 15 year amortization schedule.
But hey, at least the IRS always wants their money right now. Now that’s something you can always count on…
Ron Lindeboom
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I have to agree with Walter. We bought a 9200 square building last year, did a 5000 sq. foot build out and populated the rest with tenants. Our diversification was into commercial real estate, away from media production. I have other people to help pay my mortgage payment.
Like Walter, the bubble burst allowed us to look at properties that we couldn’t even think about toughing before.
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As always, I will wind up offending certain people when I make this comment. My business is building new facilities, and upgrading existing facilties. I certainly see companies going out of business all the time, and these guys say “the business is over”. But somehow, I am employed, because there are NEW COMPANIES that have new business, and existing companies that are doing VERY WELL, and are growing their companies. I just wired up a NEW AVID NITRIS DX system for Ko-Mar Productions in West Palm Beach, FL today – their FIFTH AVID system, and they are booked solid, and cannot handle the work – yet I see plenty of other companies down here that are collapsing.
It’s very hard for a business owner who is not doing well to see his own business collapse, while somehow, others are making a killing and expanding their business, and buying new equipment. AVID makes millions, Sony makes millions, AJA makes millions, and when you put on your TV at night, there are NEW SHOWS on, and someone is doing this work. Someone is buying this new equipment.
I have said this for years – there could be a literal depression just like in the 1920’s in the US, and you know what, people would come home from the unemployment line, and put on their TV.
Bob Zelin
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