<prompt> Human: Me and my brother started a construction painting business a couple years back and I had my taxes done last year, but had them extended this year to try and figure them out on my own. Now Im all but panicking, wondering what I did. I can barely afford to keep our head above water, and pay my own bills and dont have the 700 to pay out again. I know how to do the personal taxes, as Ive done my own and others for years now, but the business part is so much more than I had expected. I try really hard to not panic every day and Im finally asking for a little advice or help to set me on the right track. I cant afford to fail at this, because of life choices that stop me from getting a decent job anywhere. So I have to make this work for my family and Im scared to death of letting everyone down. I have the paperwork for everything, all the forms and statements to write off what I can and all, but with it all in front of me, its just overwhelming. I know this is a long shot, but Im desperate and I know there are good people out here who know more than me and everything. Any kind of information or help is so much more than appreciated, its life saving and life debt kind of appreciated. Assistant: Tell me more specifics, namely the following: how are you struggling? Are you having difficulty booking jobs? Are you busy and simply not profitable enough? Are you doing commercial or residential work?Human: We do residential and have a contract with an apartment complex that keeps us busy enough. And we do residential on the side, but splitting our profit and paying my bills and covering our Sherwin-Williams account keeps us pretty well even with everything. I have the ability to do better, but was never taught or bothered to learn how to properly handle finances. Thank god for my wife, who helps however she can, but doesnt know just how much I struggle to maintain everything. Its hard enough on me.  <response>: I did engineering consulting for a while. I did it privately for myself but I hit the same wall that youre at. I assume your struggle is financial; youre not making enough for your trouble. You either need to charge more for your services, or leverage the good name you have now to expand. Get a financial consultant and tax preparer. Hire a couple of part time guys college kids are a good place to start. Book more jobs. Supervise them until they can work alone. Theres a lot of overhead here. The guvmint is going to make your employees cost about twice what your pay them. Follow that path of expansion. With part time workers you have more rights when it comes to laying them off due to financial hardship. You should avoid, at all costs, making long term financial commitments until you are stable. 