I was officially declared bankrupt

[@damiencooper]

Random Plug: Check out my interview course damiencooper.store/b/interviewmasterclass

[@scope_lucas]

Thank you for sharing this story. I had some big stupid struggle like this in France and I'm glad you talked about it because it's a situation where you can quickly feel alone. I'm happy you fix all this and I hope you will feel stronger for the next steps of your career !

[@keith-knittel]

What a pain over nothing! Self employment is rough in the US too. Tried doing my business taxes once.. quickly got an accountant and never looked back, now I just hope their doing their job correctly

[@damiencooper]

I would never even attempt to do my own taxes :D

[@candyartstv]

I recall reading that Bill Gates became wealthy after understanding taxation. Fortunately, the HMRC offers free courses in the UK, and I recommend attending them for any business owner.

[@willemprobst4415]

That must have hurt! Goes to show what ridiculous power and also a little bit of incompetence the Austrian government has. I am very sorry you had to go through this! Keep your head up.

[@BenPhanStudios]

Man that's crazy, glad you're back in business brother!

[@ricardodorame]

Thanks for opening up, glad to hear things are back on track, the show must go on!

[@fps_juvan]

Sounds like something that could easily happen here in your neighbour country Slovenia too... because the govornment employees are there just to push buttons and not to think.

[@damiencooper]

oh 100%

[@davemorphling7432]

Perfect idea for a short film!

[@sundersquare]

wow, can't imagine how stressful that must have been, fair play for keeping going through that!

[@Paulsonjc]

Man hearing this story is like there will be peaks and dips in life. Later the dips will be funny stories. You learned a lot in this process. You will not got through this again. Trust me

[@martinekwall4671]

Things can get quickly crazy with taxes that are delayed. Nowadays in Sweden we all can log in to our tax accounts personal and company, as well as a digital post box for authorities. But it has not always been that way... I had a business relationship with a "web agency-type-of" that sent me a false bill directly to the bailiff and they went on it directly and I got a black mark. It took 6-8 months to clear it and I had to explain the situation to my clients, which was not nice. It's all fine now.

[@tonysluna]

So glad you are ok. yes.. WE do enjoy your "Off Stories"...

[@workingwiththelight3119]

What a story! God bless with new ventures!

[@matt.banton]

Wow, totally crazy! So happy you're ok and managed to bounce back! I know how unfriendly and unhelpful government employees can be in Austria. But you do occasionally get a nice person who cares.

[@csound55]

Dang sounds like an awful experience. Dealing with government departments can be a headache in many countries. Good to hear you finally got it sorted.

[@paulbutenko5347]

The absolute best argument for a personal assistant that I ever heard! Good that you got over the hump and restarted! Best of luck!

[@derherrdirector]

Easy solution - before you leave, go to the post office and fill in a form stating when you are outside the country. RsA and RsB letters will be returned to the sender the proper way, and are not considered "delivered"

[@soundwithsilence]

The story just got crazier as it went along. Glad all’s fine now! Thanks for sharing. Seems like the system needs some improvement.

[@benjaminbryer]

Omg... what an unfortunate event! Glad it got resolved man... wow... Lessons learned tho! Keep it up!

[@KtsheMaifala]

As a filmmaker this stuff can be so annoying to deal with especially when it seams like the accounts & tax stuff keep changing but we learn as we go.

[@damiencooper]

tell me about it.. Especially in my country it's a nightmare

[@gb4639]

Wow, so sorry you had to go through that three ring circus, Damien. I thought the bureaucracy in the U.S. was bad, but that story even beats anything I have experienced. Best of luck repairing all the damage that the Government created as a result of unjustified actions.

[@jaydakid4208]

Wooow that's actually crazy!!! I'm so happy you are back!!

[@zenaanharkness7628]

Champion for sharing your story - kinda funny yet sad all at the same time. Rock on fellow Soul!

[@orbitforcreators]

Thanks for sharing this story. Austrian bureaucracy can conjure up some strange situations like this where nobody knows what to do and just sends you to a different government agency 😅 but on the flipside there are a lot of systems in place that support employers and employees. It's something I'm only starting to understand. I hope you got no more surprises like that and come out better on the other end.

[@fritzgeiger8603]

Damien, so sorry that you went through all that. Glad that you can move forward though. I’ve been in the business for over 36 years in the U.S. I love what I do for my clients. I hate the business part of doing business. Better luck in the future, don’t let it stop you from producing the good work you do.

[@damiencooper]

I can totally agree. The work itself I love. But everything else about it I hate!

[@chainevide]

Oh ! What a shame about what happens to you. This is very sad story. From this video, it seems to me that you recover in a way, and hope all will be fine now for you.... Probably you build back your business but maybe abroad after this bad experience ?

[@damiencooper]

Honestly. I haven’t fully yet. I will make a decision how to proceed by the end of the year

[@kevinkenmoe1605]

Thank you for sharing your story with u🤗 Greatings from Germany

[@EugeneMaynard]

Horrific story! I live and work in Sweden as a freelancer and I can definitely see that kind of situation happening here with those same circumstances!🥺

[@canaldemais]

kinda sounds like the story of Joseph K. in Franz Kafka's The Trial.... You could write a screenplay... it would make a good movie.

[@damiencooper]

haha, I actually wrote an essay about it in high school

[@RonaldoMoura]

Gov can check if you are in the country or not. If something is so important that you can be declared bankrupt they must have more than 1 way to reach you. Sue the gov for economics and image damage.

[@damiencooper]

exactly.. they have ALL my contact info. Just give me a call or write an email

[@ShotByCurt]

I’m not sure if it’s the same out there in Austria but I’m in California and I had to get a registered agent to avoid this thing I guess. They have to be available during business hours to receive legal docs and stuff. Glad u got your biz back going!!

[@KN-mi7mh]

My favorite channel right now, you have so much knowledge is crazy. Curious do you have any film school background?

[@majeds74]

I was confused and sad how this talented guy got bankrupted. Happily, it's only the bureaucratic system.

[@tillmannv]

Many entrepreneurs starting production companies often overlook or neglect important aspects such as accounting, legal compliance, and taxation. Your video could serve as a valuable lesson for these individuals. Thank you! P.S. European bureaucracy is real shit

[@damiencooper]

damn right.. There's so much stuff going into it. Balancing the creative with the business is really hard sometimes

[@PBentz28]

Had no idea when we were talking at NAB that you were currently a fugitive running from the law! Really makes me rethink that entire interaction… 😂

[@damiencooper]

haha, I was! :D

[@loudandclearmedia]

I know I'm not the world's best lover, but I've been declared the world's best lover on occasion, so I get it. Really though, you have your skill set, so you could lose it all and still come out of it and thrive. THAT'S a blessing, and one that I sometimes have to remind myself of as well during rough/slow seasons. Not everybody in this world has marketable skills, but we do, regardless of how far out the government's hand is.

[@samireivinen]

omg, that was weird and crazy! hope everything turns out better.

[@damiencooper]

fingers crossed!

[@misfitskw9963]

my advice move to Kuwait lots of money here and we need more cinematographers

[@koshelev_dp]

Дерьмо случается. Для нас творцов порою бывает по странному работают законы, и не всегда мы можем за ними уследить и сделать все правильно, как бы нам этого не хотелось. Но мы не перестанем творить и справляться с разного рода неприятностями

[@hangfire6368]

Time to move. With your skills you can operate from anywhere.

[@JoATTech]

Bureaucracy at it's best ... like Kafka's Castle ...

[@seanmartinflix]

wow that is nuts !

[@IMDABROWN]

Danke

[@andersistbesser]

Register your company in czech. Its only on hour from you, this will cut your taxes in half and they will not do things like this to you.

[@smepable]

Wow, this is the biggest accumulation of Bad luck I Heard in a Long time

[@damiencooper]

go watch my other videos.. HAHA

[@charlyduque8521]

Qué onda con Australia, debería calmarse por Dios. Lo bueno es que estás bien.

[@dimitristsagdis7340]

Change your accountants and sue them for damages.

[@ricorexhd9249]

Might work in the US but not in Austria

[@damiencooper]

according to austrians law accountants are not liable for their mistakes! Which is absurd

[@The_Millionaires_Path]

The sad thing is you can't even open a company somewhere else and work In Austria without having to deal with Austrian taxes. I live in Vienna and wanted to start my own photography business but stuff like this scares me. Much better selbständig

[@Walaby50]

Wo würdest du deine Firma denn hin ziehen wenn du sie in Österreich schließen würdest? Deutschland ist ja auch nicht gerade viel besser 😄

[@VertaSkull]

This scare the $hit out of everyone. BTW, none of this is legal from the extortion stand point. Shoulda sold everything and left to a less tyrannical system.

[@C89productions]

Did you get your money back from the bank account they closed for “suspicious activities”

[@GabrielScindian]

Damien thanks for sharing

[@damiencooper]

Thanks for the comment! The support feels nice!

[@SLfilmBerlin]

and then people wonder why businesses are opened in other countries and grey zones. central europe (geographic) is a shit show and does not enable big income and stability for most. and also: young generations do not want to work ¾ of their lives anymore so everything will collapse anyway...people like us paying the price.

[@Oddleif-DP3]

Hey man, when is RED Komodo X Cinema Rig coming?

[@damiencooper]

End of the year or January. Still waiting for parts 🙄

[@dynamicrangeproductions]

I love this tho, some who is telling us real facts nD NOt ALWAYS THE WINS

[@damiencooper]

Yeah, I think this is really important too! More to come

[@dynamicrangeproductions]

@@damiencooper Yh because some of us get caught up and it can seem that we are just not doing enough

[@onnonugteren2935]

Oh how terrible for you. Yes you'll have to have luck in live, always so if you don;t it can be so hard. Well it's over now. :-)

[@damiencooper]

There's obv some accountability on my part but still...

[@BrianLallyOfficial]

But you have survived the shit show. Keep on going.

[@damiencooper]

It always goes on somehow!

[@shutterrecoil]

Eu is over