Millionaire Challenge

Listerbelle

The next installment of my blog is up. It's very basic, but it is a useful and interesting project for me.

Kayalana99

Love your blog - well honestly the top article didn't really capture me but the one about a second income did hit home.

I'm not really sure why I am here to post today, I am so busy now xmas is here it's only going to get worse, I am actually leant over a pile of items to post / make as I write but I guess I have a lot on my mind.

My business has got me down lately (my main one) because I had to lower prices to keep up with the competition I was making 25pish per item. By time you take making the item, dealing with customers, packing it, posting it and doing the admin / book keeping side it's a kick in teeth.

Saying that, as I keep telling myself despite working for perhaps less then min wage if I was out working I would be paying childcare which would eat near all (if not all) of my wages. So it works for me.

Had a thought a couple days ago, I normally sell buy 3 get 4th free, not so many people actually take this offer up but when I sell a pack of 4 I make say £2.50 instead of that 25p. So I changed the offer 2 days ago to buy 1, get 50% off...well it's worked. I've gone from 8/10 orders being single orders to around 3/10 orders being singles....so whilst I make slightly less if someone buys two, if it stops me selling as many singles which are pointless it kind of makes it a bit more worthwhile.

~ I do want to close it down though, I am fed up of all the hours I put in for not much in return.

Mind is twirling right now, I do have an idea for a business but *cough* it would be exactly same as what my Dad did. It's the only thing I really know - Printing, and my photoshop skills are not far behind that the learning curve to set this up and get it running wouldn't be that steep - I could start it from home so no problems there and I would have a *real* business and not just some eBay business...I swear people ask what I do and I say self employed they look impressed but when they here eBay it's a bit like...oh right (that said I'm a photographer these days haha)

Is it stupid to start up a new business when I have just done photography one? Probably...it's just an idea running round my head for now but I need something I can do M-F really from home and do the photography on the side. I'd LOVE to own a studio but little one won't be at school till Sept 2018 full time, that's a looong time and I don't think I'd want to send them off to childcare to do it earlier..

To the above I don't really think my Dad would care (actually I think he would care that I didn't take him up on his offer to run his can't be bothered right now to explain all my reasons although this is possible as well I just think it would be easier to start with my own and keep it within my control rather then taking on an existing business in short)

Well...I'll think about it. I think I've come to the point where I want to move onto bigger and better things..a real business, I suppose I could push all my efforts into photography but part of me wants to keep this as a side hobby business until I am older and have more weekend time for the weddings or more weekday time for studio work...we will see.

Cogs are turning...

cazmanian_minx

No harm in thinking it through, Kaya - whenever I get the urge to start a new business, 99% of the time I work it out of my system by roughing out a business plan and looking at the costings/time involved/hourly rate I'd be earning and then conclude it's not worth it!

The solicitors have cashed my cheque, so we're nearly, nearly there with the house purchase. I have my first bit of income from this project lined up; a neighbour has asked if he can rent one of the fields off me for his ewes over winter, so I'm asking around to find out what a fair rate for a 5-acre field in this area would be. Also going to look at a square baler and hay turner at the weekend (I hope, haven't got an address yet!) - the guy selling them says he'll accept £700 if I take both. I'll have 3 acres of fields I can cut for hay in 2016 and once I sort the bigger field out (it's poached and has lots of ragwort in), probably another 2 acres before it gets too steep to have a tractor on, so that'll be 4-500 bales of hay. I need under 100 for my horses, probably another 100 or so for the sheep when I'm up to a full flock, and I can sell the rest at £3 a bale.

Karmacat

Kaya - I can understand getting frustrated at the low hourly income from what you're currently doing - and I don't think its stupid to start up a second/third business when you've just started up the photography. The photography, thats one weekend a month, more or less, is that right? Its a great income for much less work than your ebay thing, so thats fine, but there's other hours too that you want to work, and you want a higher rate of pay? Go for it! Cost it out, yes, but you know its a winner, and you know its long lasting, because your dad does it.

Caz - wow! Just wow! This is properly amazing for you! When you say that field is poached, what do you mean? I'm not sure if its the obvious, that a poacher intrudes, sorry ....

Listerbelle - love the look of your blog! Intresting posts too, I'll have a read of that this evening, thank you. As I'm wittering just below, my tax statement is the priority financially, but I'm always on the lookout

My stuff - my current work is expanding a little, as more and more people think about my retirement date and realise they want to do a bit more work with me. Three people still to tell ... I'm down in the dumps a bit because of one piece of work, but I've rabbited about it on my diary thread, so I won't go on about it on here.

The two blogs are going okay, nothing stands out on clickbank that I'm desperate to put onto them, but right now my health, my taxes and Christmas are the priorities.

I have lots of other ideas for what to do, but I'm struggling with my energy levels, so I just have to get by for now.

cazmanian_minx

Karmacat wrote: »

Caz - wow! Just wow! This is properly amazing for you! When you say that field is poached, what do you mean? I'm not sure if its the obvious, that a poacher intrudes, sorry ....

Ah, no, sorry - 'poached' is a bit like rutted, but the damage has been done by large animals rather than machinery. Basically it's a wet-ish field that has had cows on it for many years, so in winter their feet sink into the mud and leave deep footprints that then dry hard in the spring and summer. It makes the ground all lumpy and not flat enough to take hay from.

Karmacat wrote: »

My stuff - my current work is expanding a little, as more and more people think about my retirement date and realise they want to do a bit more work with me. Three people still to tell ... I'm down in the dumps a bit because of one piece of work, but I've rabbited about it on my diary thread, so I won't go on about it on here.

The two blogs are going okay, nothing stands out on clickbank that I'm desperate to put onto them, but right now my health, my taxes and Christmas are the priorities.

I have lots of other ideas for what to do, but I'm struggling with my energy levels, so I just have to get by for now.

Always good to be in demand, but yes, make sure you don't run out of spoons.

Karmacat

Thanks for that about the poaching.

**Loving** the spoons image!

Kayalana99

Eek exciting. Hope all goes well. It's so so hard to price things but I would think what could you potentially do with the land and how much you would make if you didn't rent it - decide what the lowest price you'd take and work up from there and it sounds like the sort of thing you'd have for the long haul so that can be a blessing or a curse depending what else you have planned.

I've ordered two note pad's today, one is more of a project one where it was four separate sections and one is more of a notes and squibbles sort - not really one for goal setting (actually I am, but once I've written them I never seem to go back and actually follow the list) but I want to start getting a bit more organised.

*More or less* done for today - I caught up a lot last night to make today easier and it really helped having my son off nursery as it meant I could get up and start work without the school run and getting them all smart...etc do my ironing every morning lol (Son is off because he was sick 4 times yesterday and night before, but overall he has been running round like a lunatic and driving me potty so sure he is fine)

I've thought of a name for my photography business!!! So happy. I've been using my nickname plus the first letter of my last name but I am basically giving myself a middle name and calling myself by my full name and middle name.

Not sure if I am legally going to get my middle name put in, but no one will no the difference for the photography anyway. So people think my middle name is Rose..not the end world and no one will know the difference.

Rose...I thought this suits my business, means I can do something creative with a Rose for my logo to. Always hated my first full name but it has a posh ring to it (which I'm not posh by far. ) but it sounds good for photography.


I've always suffered with energy levels but I think school runs have really helped, I think I was spending to much time at a computer working rather then being out and about but I have a long way to go because my health and energy are important for the photography career.

I applied for a job last night that suited me to the ground - I have a feeling they will at least offer me an interview given the photography interest but thinking about it last night as much as I would love to have a job and come home and be done for the day - child care is the problem again. I was thinking my Mum would have them for a full day but I was really thinking about it last night and I'm not comfortable with my Mum looking after them every week...it's a long story so I think the decision is just to solider on.

This printing idea is a good one - but I will see how I feel about it after Xmas once everything has calmed down, I'm really excited right now that I finally have my photography name - and now I can do my branding knowing this will be my business name 10+ years down the line.

Website, logo and head shot coming up...then portfolio to follow lol.

ms_night_ryder

Hi Millionaires to be.

Kaya the name rose is nice. I know someone else who added rose to their name, different business, I think people do it and nobody is any different. could you tie the printing business in with the photography? That would be cool.

Wonder how LL is, bet she's on a deck somewhere in the ocean, thinking of another master plan.

I can't wait until I'm really active in this thread, the plan is next year to up the anti.

This year I have managed to sort out my finances, my credit rating is very poor due to defaults when I was burying my head in the sand, next year plan is to restart my business attend college and continue to work part time. There are other goals but these are the main 3. I'm scared to look at my credit rating, but my 5 year goal is a btl property, so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and look and fix it. I start training for a new part of the job next year 8th Jan, so that means more money, glad my job is flexible, as I can work college around it .

I made enough in November to pay for my new machine, well £10 short but I can add that, I'm just glad I did it. As soon as the money hits my account I'm ordering it. Can't wait it's the final piece. totally ready to embrace a new year.

Listerbelle

Hello all.

Nothing much to update here...too much going on with my family. I have bought a domain name and am in the middle of "professionalising" it.

Meanwhile I am entering several of the advent comps. Last year we one the main prize in the comp run by littlescandinavian.

I hope everyone is well.

lessonlearned

Hello lovely people

Im on the train on the last leg of my home journey. Disembarked tilbury this morning.

I've had a fab time, and am bursting with ideas, raring to go.

Will read the thread and get back to you in a few days.

Bye for now xx