Closing doors and opening windows

It was an impossible decision to make.  On one hand, closing our small construction business seemed like a good idea.  We’d been struggling for several years with inconsistent work and dramatically reduced income as a result of the ongoing Recession.  On the other hand, if we closed the business, how would we survive without its income, however sporadic it might be?  It was expensive to keep the business open, but closing it would erase all possibility of any future income.

Neither choice was a good one. 

When faced with difficult decisions, sometimes we tend to make no decision at all until the decision is ultimately made for us. 

That’s what happened with us. 

Our business insurance was renewing in a few days and we didn’t have the money to pay for it.  It had been a while since we’d had work and the bank account was nearly empty.  We simply could not afford to pay for our insurance renewal.  No insurance meant that we couldn’t legally drive our work truck, and no truck meant that we couldn’t take on any construction jobs even if they were to miraculously show up. 

Whether or not we were ready for it, the decision was finally clear:  it was time to close our business.

Closing a business is especially difficult because its very existence is woven into every aspect of your life.  In our case, we’ve never known anything else.  My father-in-law in started the business in 1951 and my husband operated it since the late 1980s – our entire married life.   Our whole family was involved in some way.  Our children grew up in the business, learning at their father’s side how to choose lumber, drive a nail, hang doors, install windows, and frame out walls.  

On the day that our insurance ran out, we stuck our work truck out at the end of our driveway with a For Sale sign on it.  Fifteen minutes later, it was sold.  If we were looking for confirmation from the Universe that we’d made the right decision, selling the truck so quickly was probably it. 

The door has definitely closed on our business.  Hopefully, it won’t be long before a new opportunity comes along and opens a window.