Hi all, I’m 31 years old and have been self employed for 7 years. The business is primarily e-commerce (automotive accessories), however we did have (2) locations - 1 in Florida and 1 in California.

The Florida office was very small and for our employees who handle sales, service, and web design. Our California location was a warehouse for inventory.

The 5 years we saw great success and were doing $500k a month in revenue (roughy $20k profit). However, 2 years ago our site got hacked, Google tanked our rankings and we have never recovered.

At that time, I had to let go of my employees, I completely wiped out my own salary, and when my leases ran up I didn’t resign them.

For the last two years, my business partner and I have worked tirelessly to get the company back on track and despite our efforts, there is no improvement.

We are averaging $60k a month in sales, which doesn’t even cover our expenses so we are slowly taking on more debt.

Which brings me to my next point.

We have $140k owed on a loan and $20k owed on a tax payment plan. This accounts for roughly $6k a month in expenses. We also have some outstanding orders that need to be submitted ($10k worth).

So current day, we are looking at roughly $170k - $175k debt.

I’m to the point that I do not think it is viable to continue operating. My mental health has been run into the ground, I’m working 100+ hours a week(I picked up a full time job to supplement my income), it has taken valuable time from me as a parent to a young child, and I have lost all priorities.

The loans we have are not eligible for bankruptcy (not that I want to go that route but my back is against the wall). Ideally, the business would generate enough to pay down the debt but I think I’m being overly optimistic.

If I cease operations, I will have to have a monthly payment plan to pay back the $175k, which would likely hinder my personal life for the next 10+ years.

Does anyone have any advice? I do not have any business line of credit. Perhaps I should obtain that and pay down as much debt as I can, then if determined I would file Chapter 7 to at least free myself personally?

Thank you,