Page 33 - Paulisms: Gold Nuggets for Small Business

into debt, and when the cash dries up you have to sell things. I was asked a few times whether I wanted to buy the contractor’s flash ute or Harley Davidson that they couldn’t afford any more. Good debt is capital to grow; bad debt is for excesses that you have to cash up one day.
I am not a fan of leased vehicles, as you are tied in for at least three years and you have to guarantee payments and the lease. And you have to give it back in the same condition as it was. That’s expensive at times, especially with staff vehicles. And there are kilometre quotas that get expensive if you run over them. Lease vehicles cannot be turned into money. That is why I liked buying my cars. Cars came and went, often depending on circumstance. For new vehicles, I preferred paying 50% up front, and then paying the vehicles off over 12 months. I was also a fan of buying second-hand vehicles and paying cash.
1.15 Holidays
If you cannot go away from your business on holiday you haven’t got one. It’s true. I have heard people say, ‘I haven’t had a holiday in years, as I am too busy in my business.’ Well, if that’s the case, you haven’t got a business. From early on in my business, especially when I had a young family, we would go away overseas for weeks at a time. Firstly, to give back to the family, and secondly to test the business. Nothing too bad went wrong while I was away. I had put in place Michael Gerber’s E-Myth principles of systemising things, and let the system run the people. You must be able to get away from your business.