I Cannot Afford To Keep My Home Business: What Should I Do? Dance The Night Away?

Your bank account looks like a ghost town lately. This small venture in your spare bedroom needs to end today. You feel the weight of every lost cent on your shoulders. Instead of tears, you should reach for your finest party clothes.

A business failure marks a transition rather than a full stop. Money is merely paper that comes and goes throughout your life. You have the right to throw a massive party for this demise. Most people cry over spreadsheets and unpaid invoices. 

You will choose a different path tonight. Every rhythm you feel helps push the stress away from your mind. Lights will flash across your face as you move through the dark room. Silence the phone and forget about the creditors for a few hours.

This situation calls for a loud stereo and plenty of glitter. Your future starts once the music stops. Let the bass rattle your very bones. Move your feet.

The Funeral For Your Inventory

The cardboard boxes in your hallway represent a life you must now leave behind forever. You will find a heavy black marker and write jokes on every single package. Humor is a shield against the sharp edges of a failing dream. These items failed to sell because the world was not ready for your strange vision. You will stack the boxes in the shape of a pyramid in the center of your living room.

Light a few scented candles to mask the smell of old glue and dust. You should wear a tuxedo or a ball gown while you disassemble the shelving units. Every screw you turn counter-clockwise unscrews a piece of your former stress. Music should blast from the speakers until the floorboards begin to vibrate. You are able to find a new rhythm in the silence that follows a loud crash.

Neighbors will wonder about the thumping bass and the screams of laughter. You do not owe them an explanation for your midnight business wake. Liquidation is just a fancy word for a garage sale with higher stakes. Your soul requires this weird ritual to purge the ghost of the entrepreneur. Tomorrow will bring a new sun and a much lighter load to carry.

• Spray paint your unsold stock with bright neon colors and hang them from the ceiling. This creates a gallery of your efforts that mocks the concept of profit.

• Throw a handful of glitter into every box before you tape it shut for the thrift store. You will leave a trail of sparkle for the next person who buys your mistakes.

• Tear up your business plan and use the scraps to line the cage of a local hamster. This ensures your failed strategy will at least assist a small rodent with its comfort.

Dress For The Financial Void

Silk shirts and sequins are the only appropriate attire for a total economic collapse. You must look like a million dollars even if you have zero dollars in your pocket. Clothing has the ability to trick your brain into feeling like a winner. Your mirror will reflect a person who is ready for a party rather than a bankruptcy hearing. Sequins catch the light and distract you from the red numbers on your screen.

High heels or polished boots will give you the height you need to look down on your troubles. You shall walk through your empty office as if you own the entire city block. Fabric should be soft and expensive to the touch to remind you of luxury. Poverty is a temporary state of the bank, not a state of the wardrobe. Style remains your strongest asset when the cash flow dries up like a desert.

Colors should be loud and obnoxious to drown out the quiet whispers of doubt. You will avoid beige and gray because those are the shades of boredom and tax forms. Bright pinks and deep purples will signal to the universe that you are still alive. Your outfit is a costume for the person you are about to become. Confidence grows when you dress like the main character of a high - stakes film.

• Wear every piece of jewelry you own at the same time to feel heavy with wealth. Gold and silver will clink together to create a melody of fake prosperity.
• Glue fake gemstones to your old business laptop before you sell it for parts. This transforms a piece of electronic junk into a shimmering relic of your past.
• Tie a long velvet cape around your neck and run through your house at full speed. You will feel the wind of change catching the fabric as you move.

The Last Supper Of Your Startup

Breakfast cereal served on fine china is the perfect meal for this occasion. You will pour the cheapest milk into a crystal bowl and eat with a silver spoon. This meal marks the end of your era as a home business owner. Fine dining is a mindset that does not require a reservation or a large tip. Every crunch of the cornflakes is a salute to your bravery for trying.

Toast your failure with a glass of tap water served in a vintage goblet. You are able to find elegance in the most basic forms of sustenance. Food tastes better when you no longer have to worry about the cost of the ingredients. You will sit at the head of the table and address the empty chairs. These empty seats represent the employees you never actually hired during your tenure.

Candles should flicker as you finish the last crumbs of your cereal. You will wash the dishes with a sense of finality and grace. The kitchen is no longer a break room for a stressed - out worker. This space returns to being a place of nourishment and late - night snacks. You are the chef of your own destiny regardless of your credit score.

• Arrange your remaining dry pasta into a map of the places you will visit once you are rich again. This turns a simple pantry staple into a vision for your future.

• Dip a crust of bread into a bowl of expensive salt to symbolize the tears you refuse to cry. You will find that the saltiness is actually quite delicious when paired with defiance.

• Paint a face on a potato and tell it all your secrets about the tax man. This vegetable will listen without judgment and will eventually become a very nice mash.

Soundtrack The Liquidation

Bass should be so loud that it rattles the loose change in your pockets. You will create a list of songs that have absolutely nothing to do with hard work. Music with a fast tempo will keep your heart rate high and your spirits higher. You shall ignore the lyrics and focus only on the heavy thumping of the drums. Melodies have the capacity to wash away the memory of every failed sales pitch.

Pop songs from the eighties provide the perfect backdrop for a financial meltdown. You will find yourself moving to the rhythm before you even realize it. Your feet will lead you away from the desk and toward the center of the room. The air will fill with sound until there is no space left for worry. Every note is a brick in the wall you are building against sadness.

Volume levels must reach the point where you cannot hear your own thoughts. You need to stop thinking and start feeling the vibrations in the floor. Your office chair is a great partner for a quick spin around the rug. The music will tell you that everything is going to be fine in the end. Silence is the enemy of the person who is currently losing their livelihood.

• Record the sound of your office shredder and remix it into a heavy techno beat. This allows you to turn the destruction of your files into a hit song.
• Sing the words of your most recent bank statement to the tune of a nursery rhyme. This makes the terrifying numbers sound like a silly story for children.
• Use two pens as drumsticks and play a solo on your empty filing cabinet. Metal makes a wonderful ringing noise that announces your freedom to the world.

Invite The Ghost Of Your Profits

Shadows on the wall look like the people who promised to buy your products. You will invite these invisible guests to sit on your sofa for a drink. They are much better company now that they do not owe you any money. You are able to tell them exactly what you think of their hesitance. These ghosts are the only ones who truly comprehend the scale of your ambition.

Laughter will fill the room as you tell jokes to the empty air. You will find that the ghosts of your profits are quite humorous when they are not late. They do not care about your overhead or your shipping delays. This gathering is the most successful meeting you have held in years. You are the host of a party that exists only in your brilliant mind.

Drinks should be poured for every ghost that enters the room. You will clink glasses with the air and feel a sense of camaraderie. These imaginary friends are a testament to the fact that you tried your best. You shall toast to the deals that fell through and the checks that bounced. The ghosts will stay until the sun comes up and the party is over.

• Set a place at the table for the billionaire you intended to become by next year. You will serve this version of yourself a very nice glass of air.
• Draw a mustache on the mirror so you look like a wealthy tycoon when you walk past. This simple trick changes your perspective every time you check your hair.
• Talk to your house plants as if they are high - level investors from a foreign land. They will grow better with the attention and they never ask for a refund.

Move Your Body Instead Of Your Stock

Feet should move in patterns that make no sense to a casual observer. You will wiggle your hips as if you are trying to shake off a swarm of bees. Physical movement releases the tension that has lived in your shoulders for months. You are able to reclaim your body from the clutches of the ergonomic office chair. Every movement is a middle finger to the concept of professional decorum.

Sweat will drip down your forehead as the pace of the music increases. You will feel the blood pumping through your veins with a new intensity. The floor is your stage and the audience is simply the furniture. You shall jump as high as you are able to until your head hits the clouds. This is the most active your business has been since the day you started.

Arms should flail wildly like a tube man outside a car dealership. You are a chaotic force of nature in a room full of stationary objects. The rhythm will guide you through the wreckage of your professional life. You will find that your muscles remember how to move even when your brain is tired. Tomorrow you will be sore, but today you are completely free.

• Balance a stapler on your head and try to walk across the room without dropping it. This exercise improves your posture while making you look like a very strange bird.
• Slide across the wooden floor in your socks like a professional athlete on ice. You will gain speed and a sense of thrill that a spreadsheet could never give.
• Do ten jumping jacks for every dollar you currently have in your savings account. This will likely be a very short workout that leaves you feeling refreshed.

Turn Your Office Into A Disco

Fairy lights should be draped over the printer and the desktop monitor. You will find a rotating light that casts colorful spots across the ceiling. Your workspace is no longer a site of labor and recurring stress. It is now a temple of leisure and late - night festivities. The blue light of the screen is replaced by the warm glow of the party.

Disco balls are a necessary addition to any room where a business has died. You will hang one from the ceiling fan and watch the light scatter. Every reflection is a tiny piece of hope that you are throwing into the air. The room will transform into a place where the rules of the market no longer apply. You are the king or queen of this neon kingdom of failure.

Fabric should cover the shelves where the unsold inventory used to sit. You will use old curtains or bedsheets to hide the reminders of your work. The office becomes a lounge where you are able to relax without guilt. You shall spend the night here instead of at your desk. The transition from worker to party animal is now complete.

• Toss a handful of old receipts into the air and watch them catch the disco light. They look like tiny falling stars that have no power over your future.
• Wrap your desk in aluminum foil to make it look like a piece of space equipment. This turns your boring work surface into a futuristic command center for fun.
• Replace your office chair with a giant bean bag or a pile of soft pillows. You will find that sitting lower to the ground gives you a better perspective on life.

The Philosophy Of The Empty Wallet

Wealth is a concept that people invented to keep others awake at night. You will find that having nothing makes you very difficult to rob. There is a peculiar freedom in knowing that the worst has already happened. You are able to walk down the street with your head held high. An empty wallet is just a wallet that is currently waiting for a better story.

Value is found in the way you spend your time rather than your currency. You will spend your hours moving to the beat of your own internal drum. The market might crash, but your ability to move your feet remains intact. You shall discover that the best things in life are indeed free of charge. Happiness is a choice that you make regardless of your financial status.

Liquidating your assets is just a way of cleaning your room on a large scale. You will feel the space opening up around you as the stuff leaves. Less stuff means less things to worry about when the wind blows. You are the architect of a new life that does not require a heavy ledger. The philosophy of the void is one of absolute and total liberty.

• Carry a single gold - painted rock in your pocket and call it your secret fortune. You will feel the weight of it and remember that value is subjective.

• Look at your bank app and laugh out loud at the zero that stares back at you. Laughter is the only appropriate response to a number that has no meaning.

• Give away your last ten dollars to a street performer who plays the accordion. You will feel like a philanthropist who is funding the arts with your final bits of cash.

A Midnight Rave For Your Unpaid Debts

Debt is a mountain that you will climb with a heavy beat in your ears. You will imagine that every dollar you owe is a tiny dancer on the floor. They are all moving together in a chaotic and wonderful pattern. You are able to lead this group of creditors in a synchronized routine. The fear of the debt disappears when you treat it like a guest at a rave.

Music should be heavy on the bass and light on the consequences. You will feel the air vibrating with the energy of a thousand unpaid bills. This is the most expensive party you have ever thrown in your entire life. You shall enjoy every second of it because you have already paid the price. The night is young and the debt is older than the hills.

Glow sticks will be your only source of illumination during the darkest hours. You will wave them in the air to signal your surrender to the rhythm. The red ink of your accounts will look like pink neon under these lights. You are the master of ceremonies for a financial disaster of epic proportions. Tomorrow the collectors will call, but tonight they are invited to the rave.

• Tape your final notice letters to the wall and use them as targets for a game of darts. This turns your anxiety into a physical sport that you are able to win.

• Wear a headband made of rubber bands from your shipping department. You will feel the stretch and pull of your old life as you move your head.

• Drink a glass of cheap juice and pretend it is a cocktail from a tropical island. The sugar rush will give you the energy you need to keep moving until dawn.

The Dawn Of Your New Financial Chaos

Sunlight will eventually peek through the blinds and hit the disco ball. You will find that the world did not end while you were moving. Your house is still standing even if your business is laying on the floor. You are able to look at the mess with a sense of accomplishment and peace. The chaos of the night has prepared you for the chaos of the future.

Coffee will taste different now that you are no longer an entrepreneur. You will drink it slowly and watch the dust motes move in the light. Your new job is simply to exist and find the next beat to follow. You shall not look back at the boxes with regret or a sense of loss. The party was the bridge that carried you from the old world to the new one.

Freedom is a scary word until you realize it just means you can do anything. You will find a new way to spend your days that does not involve spreadsheets. The rhythm of your life is changing, and you are ready for the new tempo. You are a survivor of the home business wars and a hero of the rave. The future is wide open and full of loud, wonderful noise.

• Walk outside in your party clothes and wave at the neighbors who are going to work. You will look like a person who has already won the day before it started.

• Sit on your front porch and watch the mailman deliver more bills with a smile. You know that those papers are just decorations for your next big celebration.

• Plant a single seed in the soil of your backyard and name it after your failed business. You will watch it grow into something that is much more beautiful than a profit margin.

Failure is a loud and colorful event that deserves more than just a quiet sigh. You have successfully navigated the end of your venture by choosing to celebrate instead of mourn. The music has stopped for now, but the rhythm remains in your very soul. You will find that the void left by your business is actually a space for something better.

Your bank account might be empty, but your spirit is overflowing with the energy of the night. Do not let the world tell you that you should be sad about a closing door. Every end is a loud, bass - heavy beginning that requires a new outfit and a better playlist.

You are the owner of your own happiness, and that is a business that never goes bankrupt. Keep moving your feet until the next opportunity presents itself to you. The dawn is here, and you are ready.