Attendance is good despite $4 gas

More than 100 attended the West Kendall Business Association after-hours event at On the Border Mexican Restaurant. Among the crowd were Sylvia Pereda, Jimena Ordonez and Anahi Quino from Woolbright Development, Julio Corzo from Comcast and electrician Kent Crook in the hat. photo: Karen Nercess, All Star Event Photography

I was wondering if $4 gas would have an impact on attendance at business networking meetings. So far, things are looking good.

The Pinecrest Business Association luncheon at Fleming overflowed the room with an attendance of about 110. The PBA meets at Fleming during the summer because the regular lunch venue, the community center at Evelyn Greer Park, is used by the village for summer camp programs.

Usually, when the main dining room at Fleming is crowded, the overflow moves to the side room. But this PBA meeting was on a Tuesday, and every Tuesday the Rotary Club of Perrine-Cutler Bay/Palmetto Bay meets in that side room. Fleming owner Andy Hall cooked a lot of chicken that day!

I was going back and forth between the meetings. As always, Lois Neidhart of Curbside Florist & Gifts was at the PBA meeting and, as always, husband Paul Neidhart was at the Rotary luncheon. Same restaurant, same meal, different meetings.

Chamber South had a nice turnout at an after-hours event at Carrabba's Italian Grill in South Miami. Many new faces mixed in with the regulars.

Then at the West Kendall Business Association after-hours event at On The Border Mexican restaurant more than 100 people showed up. It was a great event, with good food and lots of fun. The restaurant and WKBA both made many new friends that night.

I sat out on the patio at On the Border looking at the thousands of gridlocked cars bumper-to-bumper in Kendall Drive rush-hour traffic. Seems that people will pay anything -- give up anything -- to stay in their cars.

When business starts to go bad

A good friend recently sought the advice of a bankruptcy attorney when his business began to fail. I suspect there's a lot of that going on in this economic climate.

I did public relations for a large bankruptcy law firm for 7 years, and I learned a lot about that business. As you can imagine, it's a business that runs counter to the economy. In good times, business is slow. But in hard times like we have today, bankruptcy attorneys are very busy.

Of the lessons I learned from those seven years, there was one central theme: Seek the advice of a bankruptcy expert early in the process. Don't let a business failure ruin your life.

If you have your own business, you know how it becomes your life. We are completely invested. We are so proud of what we have accomplished, and we love the freedom of not working for someone else.

When things start going bad, we will do anything to save it.

But the business is just a name. Losing the business is not the end of your life. Unless you let that happen.

Bankruptcy attorneys see this every day - clients who have emptied their bank accounts, invested their life savings, cashed in life insurance policies, taken a second mortgage on the house, and even spent the children's college funds trying to save a failing business.

Don't do that!

An experienced bankruptcy attorney can give you a cool and impartial assessment of your business. If there is a way to save it, they will point that out. If not, they will help you disengage.

Sometimes you can get court protection from creditors and reorganize the business and come back with a leaner operation that can be profitable. Sometimes the company will continue, but with new management. You are out. Sometimes the company will have to fold operations and sell off the assets.

But your life will go on. Your credit may be awful, but you will still have a house and your kids will still go to college.

Talk to several bankruptcy attorneys. Chemistry is important. Find one who can lay out a strategy that makes sense to you. But do it at the first sign of trouble. Don't wait until it's too late!