need business advice?

Marsha asked:


my business of many years just took a huge hit by a couple of customers that have failed to pay thousands in invoices. i am at the point where i can't afford to get an attorney nor advice of any kind and am at my wits end.

i have held one of the customers equipment (on the premise similiar to a mechanics lien) to urge them to pay and this is in my terms of service, however this deep pocket cust. is digging in with an big money attorney on their side and now accusing me/my company of theft. This is ridiculous, i did not steal anything. If anyone is guilty of theft, it would be them, given that they had us do thousands of dollars in work and then just refused payment. There were no hidden charges or fees, they knew the invoice(s) were coming for work performed. i feel given the losses and everything i face that its time to call it quits on the business. They of course are threatening to sue and I can't afford an attorney.

MY questions are…. do i need to file for business bankruptcy, can i just close the business and what do you do if you cant even afford to file or hire an atty? I run the business from my home, do you just close the doors and what are the downsides to not filing the business bankruptcy given the circumstances of the property i am holding? My company is a corp (not LLC or personal guarantor). I am financially and emotionally crippled at this point, so trying to sort things out is very stressful and not having the money to get advice is even worse. I do not own a house and have just a couple of cars that are not worth much- meaning no assets to speak of. The invoices getting paid would save the business short term and allow us an oppty to turn about and put together a solid business plan, re-diversify clients and not ever do the big egg in small basket concept again. This one client is saying i should turn over their equipment or i am going to jail. Others in my line of work say that it would be civil and go to court. I am not damaging or hurting equipment, they are damaging me by not paying. I am happy to turn this over to them upon payment of the invoices they owe. The threats and damage to my company is much more than little, so I would think reading through my contracts I have a good case for David vs. Goliath and slander against my company at this point.