Eddie Senatore

Survive to Thrive – A journey to business success

business mediation doctor

Fire and Hail

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"What do you do when you’re faced with disaster? Talk, that’s what you do.

I've been working pretty hard and my business is doing well. I have a lot of good clients. I was looking forward to the new year, excited and ready to jump in.

Then disaster.

A spot fire burning in the outer suburbs, it came up to the rear of my workshop yard. It ultimately found itself into the back of my warehouse.

The firefighters were too busy looking after the houses that circled and enclosed the industrial estate. Access was not possible. There I was in the back of my yard with a hose. Hosing down my warehouse and the back fence. I did eventually put out the fire.

It wasn't too bad, but there was some damage.

I'd lost about a quarter of my stock.

All the metal frames I use to fix in my glass frames had buckled and some of the timber had caught on fire itself. I still had plenty of stock left though and I thought I could get on but some of the stock that was burnt was critical to my work program. My clients were understanding when I explained I had to push back jobs.

It did in fact get worse. I didn’t think slowing down my work program would be such a drama, but when you are coming out of the Christmas slow down, money wasn't coming through the door. I still had to pay for overheads somehow.

I was trying to get back into it, then two weeks later the worst hail storm in seven years, hit my area, punched holes in my roof and the water that came through, flooded the back end of the warehouse. So not only did I have steel frames that were warped and some of my timber that was burned, I now had a lot of rain impacted timber.

Now I’m in trouble.

Now I have lost about 60% of my stock. It was either buckled, burnt or swollen.

Yes, I had insurance but that was another problem. I geared-up late last year. I bought a lot of stock at discounted prices. My insurance claim will only partially cover the cost of my stock.

Now I have this situation where the money I'm going to get in from the insurance is not enough to replenish my stock, no money in the bank, my overheads need covering and I have a whole bunch of back orders to fill.

I found someone to help me.

I think it's unfair that I should go bankrupt, when this situation I’m in wasn't my fault.

We formed a plan, talked to my customers and suppliers and most of them were good. Clients were particularly good. They were happy to wait for their projects to start and the Australian Taxation Office was good too. There were a couple of creditors that were getting a bit antsy, but it seemed like they were having some problems themselves. So a bit of communication and some skillful negotiation, I hope that I can stick this out and get back on my feet.

There could be any number of reasons you need help with your business. 

Let's connect for a coffee and discuss your options.

A Builder’s Story

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"It was a good lesson. A hard one to take. I spent 10 years working on my business, being an industry leader, building new homes. Not just any old house; not your rectangular box shaped house; complicated homes. Pushing boundaries with design and adopting new materials. You know it’s one of mine when you drive by. Like each homeowner, it’s unique in its own way.

I have won plenty of awards, the usual awards from industry judges but the awards I really cherish are the people’s choice awards. When I win these, I know I have had an impact. I am part of their lives and the creation of memories. When they are asked about their home, I feel so satisfied and proud that my name gets a mention.

At the height of my business I employed over 20 people and owned my own design company where we would methodically work and rework designs making sure my signature design and construct would show through. Usually my designs were approved by local authorities in a 4 to 6-week wait. Lately the turnaround has blown out the 3 months and I have clients screaming to have their homes built.

The reason - I ran out of money.

The more and more intricate my designs became, the longer it took to design, build and unfortunately, they cost more. I didn’t factor in the additional costs associated with managing these projects.

I was juggling the cash.

I would take a deposit from one homeowner and use it to pay the bills for another. I took some advice and the choice was stark. I would have to file for bankruptcy and put together a plan to work out my financial situation.

While the advice was that there would be some short-term pain associated with this choice, the long-run would work out. I thought to myself that’s not really a choice. My reputation, my homes, my design, would all be mud. I couldn’t possibly risk all that. I decided to keep going and be more diligent with how I managed the cash and also I would try and sign-up as many new clients as possible.

I lost control. Money coming in here and there, but it was going out just as quick there and here. The more I tried, the more the merry go round picked up speed. Phone calls, delays, anger and stress. I just wasn’t thinking straight.

It all came to an end when someone I owed money to filed for my compulsory bankruptcy. It wasn’t me, it was someone else who forced my business to be closed down. I thought I had a relationship with them. I had lost touch.

My business collapsed. I owed over $4 million in debts, not to mention half built houses.

Now families will have a different memory of my designs and construction. I discovered when you are under pressure you don’t see things as you should. You simply can’t do it on your own. You need help and that’s okay.

There could be any number of reasons you need help with your business. 

Let's connect for a coffee and discuss your options.

Fighting a Losing Business | Tobacconist and Gaming business

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​"I was educated at Trinity and Knox Grammar schools and spent time in the defence forces. At 50, I wanted to own and operate my own business; not only to secure my financial independence, but also bring some flexibility to my lifestyle.

It was not so crazy at the time, but I bought a profitable tobacconist and Tattersalls gaming business. I made some money from that business and had a lot of time to myself and my family. The business was doing well until the Victorian Government decided to change the game and open up competition, they removed the monopoly held by Tattersalls. I literally lost one third of my revenue overnight.

Now that's not on me. But how do I manage that? I did believe Tattersalls when they told me new gaming options would be made available to me soon, and that this would lift my trading back to normal. I continued to operate my business…. and I continued to lose money. The only way I could pay my bills was to borrow money on the house and dip into my superannuation fund.

And that's what I did.

I then tried to negotiate new lease terms with my landlord, and that didn't go down so well either. There are two factors which influenced my decision to stay in business. The first is failure, I considered a decision to close my business would be the signature of my failure as a business person and because of this my family would think I'm a failure also. After all, the business employed my kids. The I'm not failing syndrome is all persuasive and blinding to the reality around you. The perception of whether any decision can be made against an existing structure is so confusing. Trinity and Knox Grammar were institutions where rewards followed effort. In my mind, results would follow from my hard work. Failure was not an outcome. In the defense forces failure was not an option. So why wasn't I warned about failure as an outcome in my business. No one told me. I felt guilty I was using my family wealth to keep a loss-making business afloat it was stupid. My wife told me to stop, she was tired of using her money to pay for my business expenses. She made me face the reality, Tattersalls aren't going to look after you she said and they aren't paying your bills and the landlord still wants his rent.

So I took a decision, I met a specialist in managing difficult business situations. He helped me sell out and to wind up. And yes, I should have done it years ago." - A tabacconist and gaming business owner.

There could be any number of reasons you would want to exit your business.  It could be:

  • part of a succession plan
  • you’re received an offer to good to be true
  • a dispute between participants
  • changing market conditions
  • poor performance
  • solvency or crisis issues
  • or it’s just time

Let's connect for a coffee a discuss your exit strategy.

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