There is a padlock on the delivery gate. Most of the manufactured pre-cast products formerly stored on pallets in the back lot are gone. The building has a huge "For Lease" sign attached to the front. Janelle, the former owner, drives by in a Rent-a-Lemon car. She had registered both her automobile and delivery truck in the name of her business; and, like everything else she had worked for years to build up, they are gone.

How did it all happen? She had run this business successfully for over twenty years. When events turned sour, everything happened at once. First, a powerful and wealthy client sued her for nearly a half-million dollars. Then, other clients, sensing the distress, started using one of her competitors. Her financial problems soon followed. Eventually she couldn't make payroll, so she decided to file business bankruptcy.

Unfortunately Janelle didn't do her homework. Instead of seeking out an experienced bankruptcy attorney, she used a small law firm that she knew about through a friend of a friend. Her selection of representation was bargain-basement. She never went to the website of the state bar association. Only later would she discover that her attorney had his license suspended not once, but twice in recent years.

Doing a Reality Check

In this case, Janelle suffered from a sense of invincibility. Clients had threatened lawsuits before and she had successfully handled them through mediation. This time, however, it was different. At the first sign of trouble, she should have done a serious reality check. When everything first started, she just had a troubled business. After she let it linger, it turned into a liquidation business bankruptcy with the loss of the personal property securing her business loans.

Business Bankruptcy: Know What You Are Getting Into

Small business owners across the country turn to business bankruptcy when they get into trouble. Often they discover, only too late, that going to an attorney to file business bankruptcy only makes their situation worse. Janelle made the fatal mistake of using a cheap attorney. When the lawyer looked at her, he did not see a businesswoman in need of sound advice, but an expense paid trip to the Orient.

To make matters worse, this attorney didn't even specialize in bankruptcy proceedings. Therefore, he couldn't prepare her for what could happen to her and her business. The incompetence of her bankruptcy lawyer left her with no legal alternative when the bankruptcy trustee decided it was time to liquidate her business.

An honest bankruptcy attorney would have explained the process and given Janelle other options. Why? Business bankruptcy is not usually the best choice for small businesses. Most do not survive and eventually must liquidate their assets. The process is expensive costing anywhere from $50,000 on up. Your company must have at least that much in the bank to emerge successfully.

As with any other large investment, Janelle should have shopped around for an attorney. If she decided that bankruptcy was right for her business, she should have interviewed several lawyers. A bankruptcy can take up to five years to complete. This means you should plan to have a long-term relationship with your bankruptcy attorney. Make sure you trust this person and have good communication with him or her.

Janelle's is a classic case of doing too little, too late. Her story didn't have to end this way. When your business gets into trouble, make sure you explore all your options. Find out what it takes to turnaround your business or simply shut the doors before deciding that business bankruptcy is right for you. While filing Chapter 11 can save some businesses, going into the process unprepared and with the wrong lawyer can destroy it.