Recovery from problems with debt

What is Business Debtors Anonymous?
Recovery in Business Debtors Anonymous
Tools for Business Debtors Anonymous
Signs of Compulsively Debting in Business
Download a Suggested B D A Meeting Format (Adobe Acrobat READER required)

What is Business Debtors Anonymous?
Business Debtors Anonymous (B.D.A.) is a distinct and dynamic but not separate part of DA, created to focus on the recovery of members of the fellowship who are business owners. Together, members of BDA support one another in applying the DA principles and tools when owning and running a business.

However, as part of DA, there is no separate membership for attending Business Debtors Anonymous meetings. It is understood that paying bills for goods and services rendered according to agreed upon terms does not constitute debting.

How do you know if you are a compulsively debting business owner? Some of the experiences and behaviors that led to compulsive debting were:

• We neither knew when bills or taxes were due, nor did we remember if and what we had paid or still owed.
• We confused our personal finances with our business finances.   
• We often did not know the exact costs of our overhead, operating expenses or profit margins.
• We had no business plan.
• We lived in a state of deprivation for the sake of  our business.
• We under valued and under priced our goods and services.

In BDA we learn to operate our business along spiritual lines and find that operating in integrity and being of service is profitable. We accumulate cash reserves, pay our bills and employees on time. and build a thriving, prosperous, debt-free and financially solvent business.                     

Additional Tools for Business Debtors Anonymous:

1. We keep separate professional, and personal, financial records and bank accounts.
2. We keep clean, orderly and accurate financial records.
3. We pay ourselves a salary.
4. We promptly pay our bills and invoice our clients.
5. We remain mindful that dollars spent should generate revenue, and compare prices before making purchases.
This material is excerpted from Business Debtors Anonymous, a pamphlet which can be ordered from the General Service Office.
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Recovery in Business Debtors Anonymous
•  We learn to operate our business along spiritual lines and find that operating in integrity and being of service is profitable.

•  We accumulate cash reserves, pay our bills and employees on time, pay ourselves a regular salary with benefits and vacation time and build a thriving, prosperous, debt-free and financially solvent business.

•  We take responsibility for our business commitments and obligations and remember that we are in charge of the professionals who work for us.

•  We maintain clear and orderly financial records and eliminate unnecessary clutter.

•  We have clear knowledge of our overhead, operating expenses, pricing, profit, accounts receivable, accounts payable and all our assets and liabilities.

•  We have a business plan, and goals and visions for ourselves and our businesses.

•  We place all agreements in writing.

•  We budget our time realistically and focus our work time on generating revenue.

•  We value our goods and services and price them accordingly.

•  We maintain contact with our sponsors, pressure relief group and friends in the program, continue to attend DA and BDA meetings, and perform service in our recovery.

•  We are willing and able to ask for help when we need it and trust in the care and guidance of our higher power.

•  We are at peace with ourselves and allow our businesses to grow and expand harmoniously.
                             Reprinted from "Business Debtors Anonymous,"
                                      Debtors Anonymous General Service Board, Inc. © 2001

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Tools for Business Debtors Anonymous

1. We keep separate professional and personal financial records and bank accounts.
    
2. We write annual one-year business plans with definable and accountable goals & targets.
    
3. We keep clean, orderly and accurate financial records, including Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Cash on Hand, Inventory, Assets, and Outstanding Debts, and put all tax and bill due dates on our calendar.
    
4. We pay ourselves a salary including benefits, medical insurance, vacations, and sick days.
    
5. We remain mindful that dollars spent should generate revenue and compare prices before making purchases.
    
6. We maintain clarity about the overhead and profit margins of every product or service we sell.
    
7. We pay our bills and invoice our clients promptly.
    
8. We put all our business agreements in writing and write our own Letters of Agreement.
    
9. We notice the competition, but don’t worry about it. We learn from our competitors and trust that it is an abundant universe with more than enough for everyone.
    
10. We detach from difficult personalities and poor paying clients and put principles before personalities.
     
11. We bookend before and after making commitments and difficult business decisions or actions.
     
12. We are willing to be in charge and responsible for our business. Professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and consultants who work for us are not our higher power.

          "While applying the D.A. Tools provided relief, it was through working the
          Twelve Steps of Debtors Anonymous that we began to see permanent change."
              Page 4, Underearning pamphlet, 2002 Debtors Anonymous General Service Board, Inc.

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Signs of Compulsively Debting in Business
Compulsive debting in business is very similar to compulsive debting with one's personal finances. Many of us were severely lacking in clarity. Some of the experiences and behaviors that led to compulsive debting were:

1. We neither knew when bills or taxes were due, nor did we remember if and what we had paid or still owed.

2. We confused our personal finances with our business finances and drew from one set of funds to cover the other.

3. We often did not know the exact costs of our overhead, our operating expenses, or our profit margins.

4. We had no business plan.

5. We used verbal agreements instead of written ones, which led to disputes later over the terms of the agreement.

6. We overcommitted our time and did not spend enough time generating revenue.

7. Many of us were overwhelmed by clutter.

8. We lived in a state of self-deprivation for the sake of our business.

9. We did not pay ourselves a salary.

10. We did not take vacations, provide ourselves benefits, or grant ourselves any personal and sick days.

11. We undervalued and under priced our goods and services.

12. We allowed professionals who worked for us (e.g. consultants, accountants, lawyers, etc.) to run our business life.

13. In relapse, we missed BDA and/or DA meetings, and lost contact with our sponsors, pressure relief group, and friends in the program.

14. We did not or were unable to ask for help when we needed it most. 
                                            Reprinted from "Business Debtors Anonymous"
                                            Debtors Anonymous General Service Board, Inc. © 2001

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