It is difficult to know when when is when; especially with a small business.

Very often they say that if you're not making money by your fifth year that you aren't doing something wrong.

It's much easier, I think to look at what your hubby may be doing that is wrong.

For example... Why is he only billing half the hours he works? I just had someone come in to run a snake with a camera down one of my pipes to see why the system was backing up.

It took 15 minutes.

I paid the 15 minutes travel each way and a minimum of 1 hour's time for the benefit of a visual to learn that the pipe was broken. He didn't even give me a quote for fixing the broken pipe at that price.

If the numbers are consistently going up, then it bodes well. One thing that you should look into is setting up a slush account, credit line with the bank that your hubby can use to pay his monthly income in months when the money is low.

Have you had a business consultant examine your business? Many local small business centers offer this service for free. If not, you can contact your local community college, MBA program, sometimes they offer it as well.

If you feel like sharing some details, maybe the members of IC can help you brainstorm and figure out how to improve the business.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!