Starting and running a business in Florida involves risk. An individual must put money into the business before he or she can expect to make a profit. Unfortunately, not all ventures will appeal to consumers as planned and other factors such as the economy can affect the success of a business. As a result, some business owners discover that their debts far outweigh their profits. In these cases, a business owner may benefit from filing for bankruptcy protection.
In Florida, Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows an individual or small business owner to liquidate assets in order to pay off debts with creditors. One Tampa business woman recently filed bankruptcy after two of her ventures failed, leaving the woman with millions in debt. Now she hopes to liquidate assets in an attempt to pay off all of her creditors so that she can move forward with her life and devote her time and energy to more important things.
In June 1997, the businesswoman purchased several of Princess Diana’s dresses that were being auctioned off to raise money for charities. The woman spent $670,000 on more than a dozen dresses. However, when Princess Diana tragically died in September 1997, the woman decided that she would tour with the dresses around the world in order to raise money for charities.
The woman started People’s Princess Charitable Foundation and toured Canada, the UK and New Zealand by 2001 with Princess Diana’s dresses. The foundation had earned more than $1.5 million during the tours and the money was donated to Metropolitan Ministries and the Boys and Girls Club.
We will continue this discussion later this week focusing on the financial turmoil that soon struck the woman’s foundation.
Source
Daily Mail Online: “End of a dream: Princess Diana’s dresses up for auction after Florida woman who bought them for charity goes bankrupt,” Fiona Roberts, 24 June 2011