The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

Max_Headroom_3

SingleSue wrote: »

Writing a blog doesn't take much time out of a day, hell, I could probably think one up and form the wording of it in my mind whilst in the loo!

Being out of work is soul destroying (and financially rather trying) and any divertion, no matter how small, can be the difference between keeping that hope and self respect there enough to carry on searching and thinking outside of the box or just completely giving up.

I have my site to distract me, it keeps my skills honed, builds up the contacts but has never and will never detract from my search for gainful employment and progression in my life.

Most of us think that if we lost our job, that we can just walk straight into another one or we could just utilise one of our skills to go it on our own but the reality is rather different and rather more difficult to create, no matter how hard you try.

Max's blog is serving a purpose of keeping his enthuasiasm going in a trying time.

Thank you Sue, that's absolutely it.

It seems that some people (who doubtless have never experienced it) see unemployment like a prison sentence, all "privileges" revoked. No TV, no games, no writing, no nothing just the hard graft of job seeking till you've paid your debt to society.

It isn't like that. I look for work every day. I spend a considerable amount of time at it. But it's not actually physically possible to spend every waking moment at it from the instant one wakes up till five minutes before bed, and I should imagine it'd be pretty blimmin soul destroying if you tried.

I can't help but feel that sometimes that there's maybe just a hint of envy involved, especially when advice from the same corner includes getting rid of absoutely anything nice that I own and even the home that I live in, despite almost no knowledge of my circumstances or financial position.

Max_Headroom_3

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yeah dopester ... how?
Give us a list
How?

I certainly don't have any skills or talents that would earn me money, to be honest. Max does and he's pursuing those job adverts when they appear ... but not everybody can actually do things that produce instant money.

So how?

hmmm?

It does seem odd that one so ready with advice has gone so quiet on this subject despite repeated asking doesn't it?

PasturesNew

carolt wrote: »

Out of interest, PN, how much do your various internet ventures earn you? More than JSA, I take it? Is there any money to be made doing what you do (not that I'm very clear what that is....) or blogging as Max is, for those many who are not lucky enough to turn into the next Liz Jones and get book deals/newspaper columns etc?

It pays more than rent/CT/JSA... just. But that is because I am not focussed on doing ONE thing... if I had focussed and specialised I could be making a lot more ... but I get distracted so never end up doing anything completely/to the end. I am more ideas/planning/setup than "finisher".

I am now trying to focus ... (honest). But I have many things to focus on

carolt wrote: »

Re the dopester thing, I'm kind of with him - whilst I'm not knocking Max for what he's doing, as he obviously enjoys it and it may take him where he wants to go - there are probably more profitable ways of earning money. Till I'd taken the leap to being self-employed, I'd never have believed people would hand over cash for my skills, but they do - still find it very unnerving and uncomfortable, but I'm sure there are so many niches out there waiting to be filled - if only we spotted them - that the world is as hole-y as fc's fishnet dresses.

But what if one doesn't have any skills, or doesn't have the skill of networking to the right people, or is geographically challenged?

The other thing I found when "between jobs", or "resting" as actors call it, is you don't want to start something you can't finish and let people down. Say Max started a window cleaning round... and in 4 months' time had built up a round that took him 3 hours/day, 5 days/week on a regular 4-weekly cycle. That's successful, but then along comes "a proper job" ... and he'd have to let those people down.

That is one of the reasons I'm always in two minds which way to go: commit to your own thing , or plump for "the proper job". There's nothing worse than promising people you'll do work for them, then not because you went off to do something else.

dopester

Max_Headroom wrote: »

It does seem odd that one so ready with advice has gone so quiet on this subject despite repeated asking doesn't it?

Haha. I'm thinking aren't I.

I'm deciding whether to throw in one on my whackier self-employed income supporting ideas.

I've decided which one I might float on this thread (busy/tired atm) which I believe stands a good chance of decently beating JSA/benefits/council-tax-relief for anyone with a little bit of honest know-how and willing to apply themselves a bit, with minimal outlay/risk to start-up... even if it might get some open ridicule or genuine criticism... but I'm not likely to share my very best ideas. Maybe I might need them myself.

Max_Headroom_3

Why not just tell us the ones that you've actually tried and succeeded with?

Rather than the usual airy fairy theories.

lostinrates

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Naah, no strech marks.

She luuurves the cake!

My mother had two babies and got no stretch marks. who can blame someone for loving cake though.

ETA: come to think of it my sister didn't get them either. where as I got them just from purberty!

carolt

PasturesNew wrote: »

But what if one doesn't have any skills, or doesn't have the skill of networking to the right people, or is geographically challenged?

I don't believe there is anyone who has no skills, and one man's geographical challenge is another man's opportunity. I'm with you about networking; the bit I hate most about being self-employed is the networking/selling side - if I could be bothered to exploit existing connections/develop new ones I'd be making much more money, but I loathe doing it.

The other thing I found when "between jobs", or "resting" as actors call it, is you don't want to start something you can't finish and let people down. Say Max started a window cleaning round... and in 4 months' time had built up a round that took him 3 hours/day, 5 days/week on a regular 4-weekly cycle. That's successful, but then along comes "a proper job" ... and he'd have to let those people down.

He might; but would they either mind or have a right to mind? After all, they can find another window cleaner; or if they can't ,he'll still have helped them out for a few months, which is better than nothing. I've had to let people down, and had people plead with me to continue offering the work I was doing, when I reduced hours - but at the end of the day, the whole point of being your own boss is you can set your own hours and decide what business you want to accept/reject; even if someone's prepared to pay you, it doesn't mean they have rights over what you do. I don't think that's being unnecessarily selfish; it's just the way the world works.

That is one of the reasons I'm always in two minds which way to go: commit to your own thing , or plump for "the proper job". There's nothing worse than promising people you'll do work for them, then not because you went off to do something else.

Obviously, I agree you shouldn't make long-term commitments you can't keep, but not all self-employed work need involve making long-term commitments. Just a thought.

But no, I'm not with dopester re Max doing a blog - I can't see why it should be one or the other.

The blog idea sounds good - afraid I haven't trawled back through this thread to peruse the reality, yet - and so do other forms of self-employment. Presumably if Max is unemployed, he has enough time to try lots of possible avenues.

PS I like writing in purple.

Max_Headroom_3

Purple suits you, it matches your toenails.

(Wouldn't it be spooky if you actually did have purple toenails!? )

Have you had a look at the blog yet? Just wondered what you thought?

Be honest, rather than nice (although hopefully you'll be able to be both)

carolt

Thanks for the link.

No, I don't have purple toenails, unless I've just shut them in a door or something. :rolleyes:

As I just started reading at random, I was a bit confused as to the general situation, what the jobs were etc. Read a couple of posts back. Nice style, don't know if I just happened on an uneventful couple of days, but there is the danger that writing about being unemployed could be as slightly depressing as being unemployed.

Interesting to see male perspective on the world. Do all men notice women in the same way (eg identified by hair colour and general attractiveness)? Quite possibly they do - I certainly don't notice most men/women at all and I'm sure I'd never describe a male recptionist, say, as "atractive blond" or something, even if he was. Not a criticism - just interesting.

Does more "stuff" happen? I'm sure there is lots of comedy/pathos potential in being unemployed. Or hard-hitting political narrative. Not really read enough to get a feel for which direction you're going in.

Have you seen the 'unemployed blog' in the Telegraph, I think it was? Don't know if it's still there - I last saw it a few months back, when it first started - the woman I think it was concerned may have got a job since, or the paper may have decided that with all those green shoots knocking around, it was a bit less zeitgeisty than before?

Might be worth checking out - competition and all that.

Good luck, Max. With the blog and the job....

Max_Headroom_3

I think that men are definitely more visual than women when it comes to the opposite sex, yes.

Agree about the rest, although I don't have an actual "style" as such, I just write it as I write it and it turns out how it turns out.