Fight for Self-Employment? Or Find an Employer? - The First Since Adulthood

PlutoinCapricorn

I would like to give my opinion of your 'attitude': with an attitude like yours, I would expect you to build a company from nothing and later sell it for millions. There is a big difference between people who are all hype and no substance, and confident people who have a lot to offer and need to sell it.

Although the information about dogs isn't really relevant, it does show that when you take something on, you learn as much as possible. You seem very knowledgeable: you could be mistaken for a professional breeder (I too hate the idea of breeding animals for money).

I also like the idea of trading your work for driving lessons: I am not sure about HMRC's position on this, but I think it shows initiative. Back to barter!

I have thought of another relevant factor: having a job could make it easier for you to get freelance work as you/your associate company could charge less than someone with no job and a lot of overheads would. I saw this mentioned on a website for freelancers/their clients: all the registered freelancers were doing it in the evenings and at weekends, and as their expenses were taken care of could offer very competitive prices.

PlutoinCapricorn

Free courses in enterprise and business skils. It may not be suitable, but seems worth investigating.

http://www.lcvs.org.uk/news/default.phuse

tigeress289

Reading this,you are young but in a rut. I would say employed in your position. You seem to be fighting a losing battle, although I would be doing the same, thinking things would get better. However, there comes a time when you have to decide what to do.
For me its a no brainer, sign on and start looking for employment. You can always go self employed when things pick up, which could be next year or next month? Things can change that quick, you just need to be stable rather than build up more debt. You are young and can try again anytime.

IrishGypsy

As someone who works FT and also runs a - profit making - small company in the evenings and on the weekends, I too would recommend FT work first and do what you can to develop the business in the evenings.

Also, don't be too quick to knock down part-time bar work. It's an amazing job for networking and socialising in (and you're being paid! ). I got a FT job from getting to know some of the pub regulars years ago after just having conversations with them about all sorts. Done some trial work and got a FT job (and new experience and contacts out of it).

And remember that not all the good jobs are advertised, being offered a job without having to do a formal interview because you've built up enough rapport and trust is a great feeling (and a lot less hassle! ).

Best of luck.

jfh7gwa

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

You have done so much entirely by yourself already, overcome a lot of handicaps and met many challenges. You have been out in the world from an early age. This is exactly what is needed to operate independently.

Whilst I don't disagree with you, I would argue that the main focus point of (certainly my suggestions) for employment are to professionalise the OP's attitude, experience, access to training and learning from colleagues... access to a professional network in a new location in the country... but also in terms of soft skills, business savvy (re: what happened with the music stuff he's been involved in), and his career on paper... that sort of thing.

I do agree with you that the OP has an inkling of becoming a force to be reckoned with, he certainly seems to have overcome some severe disadvantages... I am just eager to see that the OP understands what "starting a career on a trajectory" is (and how it can be done) vs. odd jobbing around bits and pieces as a bloke who fell into a bit of work on the side (as he seems to have fell into a lot of his previous jobs).

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that even if he has the right personal qualities - he needs to take this to another level. An employer can help him to get there (aka using your employer to springboard you onto something that you really want to do)

Stability

I would like to give my opinion of your 'attitude': with an attitude like yours, I would expect you to build a company from nothing and later sell it for millions. There is a big difference between people who are all hype and no substance, and confident people who have a lot to offer and need to sell it.

I've been told before that I have a good business attitude, but to say that I am able to build a business from nothing and sell it for huge profit seems extremely out of reach. I hope I do have such an opportunity in the future but it's hard to see from where I'm at :rotfl:

Although the information about dogs isn't really relevant, it does show that when you take something on, you learn as much as possible. You seem very knowledgeable: you could be mistaken for a professional breeder (I too hate the idea of breeding animals for money).

I do pride myself on researching thoroughly and making myself familiar with a situation when it presents itself.

I also like the idea of trading your work for driving lessons: I am not sure about HMRC's position on this, but I think it shows initiative. Back to barter!

There's no money changing hands, it's all legal right?

I have thought of another relevant factor: having a job could make it easier for you to get freelance work as you/your associate company could charge less than someone with no job and a lot of overheads would. I saw this mentioned on a website for freelancers/their clients: all the registered freelancers were doing it in the evenings and at weekends, and as their expenses were taken care of could offer very competitive prices.

This I suppose is true, however half my downfall has been under-charging for work. Photoshoots for example I've done full sets for £100. It takes a day to shoot, and a week to edit properly. I'm more in the mind set of becoming established so that I have no problem charging fairly for my work.

Free courses in enterprise and business skils. It may not be suitable, but seems worth investigating.

The link to free Enterprising and Business courses for those on benefits seems like it could be very helpful. I know there's another 2 organisations in the area that deal with helping individuals in hard situations gain business knowledge however the Princes Trust did mention that seeking help from other government/council bodies could impede the level of help they can give me. I'm not sure what that entails. I'll have to ask my business advisor in our first meeting.

For me its a no brainer, sign on and start looking for employment. You can always go self employed when things pick up, which could be next year or next month? Things can change that quick, you just need to be stable rather than build up more debt. You are young and can try again anytime.

As someone who works FT and also runs a - profit making - small company in the evenings and on the weekends, I too would recommend FT work first and do what you can to develop the business in the evenings.

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely going to look for full-time employment as soon as I get current situations out the way, since I've got the ball rolling with the PT and other things, I will likely pursue that in my spare time. Bread on the table first definitely makes most sense.

Also, don't be too quick to knock down part-time bar work. It's an amazing job for networking and socialising in (and you're being paid! ). I got a FT job from getting to know some of the pub regulars years ago after just having conversations with them about all sorts. Done some trial work and got a FT job (and new experience and contacts out of it).

It's funny you should say that, every time I've ever been in a job, I've been offered other jobs. A band member of one the bands I was involved with also offered me a job at a Publisher/Printers working on Print Design, I wish I had taken it now, but things were looking good then (before I got ill). If I struggle with finding full-time employment, it will have to be a case of, get a job, any job. That one is unfortunately 150 miles away.

And remember that not all the good jobs are advertised, being offered a job without having to do a formal interview because you've built up enough rapport and trust is a great feeling (and a lot less hassle! ).

I guess that's all down to networking and contacts, something I've unfortunately never put enough time into. I hope I find myself in that situation one day.

Best of luck.

Thank you :beer:

Whilst I don't disagree with you, I would argue that the main focus point of (certainly my suggestions) for employment are to professionalise the OP's attitude, experience, access to training and learning from colleagues... access to a professional network in a new location in the country... but also in terms of soft skills, business savvy (re: what happened with the music stuff he's been involved in), and his career on paper... that sort of thing.

I do agree with you that the OP has an inkling of becoming a force to be reckoned with, he certainly seems to have overcome some severe disadvantages... I am just eager to see that the OP understands what "starting a career on a trajectory" is (and how it can be done) vs. odd jobbing around bits and pieces as a bloke who fell into a bit of work on the side (as he seems to have fell into a lot of his previous jobs).

I couldn't agree more, I've learnt off my own back, worked the way I thought was right and have had very little input from the outside world (I did take a university student on a 8 week work placement for Leeds University which was quite beneficial). The point being, I need to learn how others function, what it's like working in a team, and building up the best practices in my line of work. The internet guides me, but hands on input would make a lot of difference.

On the music front, I ran about 10 shows in total, and promoted a few more for others. When I became ill, my main venue had to find someone to take over, so it wasn't hard for me to leave that alone. As far as bands are concerned, I built up a good network between the bands I worked with, and when I left gave them access to my contacts, promoters/venues/agents etc. as well as promised to help out again if it was feasible in the future. I've still got 2 bands which I need to photoshoot at somepoint, and a band who want a set of poster designs sorting, but that's just a matter of if/when they get in touch, and if they are motivated enough to make the first move (I grew tired of trying to motivate/stimulate others and putting my back out for them). Thinking about it, there's also a music video that was never finished either, the second set of filming was left, they won't ask pursue it (unfortunately) because they still owe me money.

I worked 7 days a week, wake to sleep, 2/3 gigs every weekend, just to further push myself into debt. A lot of people around me warned me that I needed to slow down, friends/family etc. and low and behold I became seriously ill, I decided enough was enough. I needed to re-evaluate and plan ahead with a different approach.

I need to start my career on a trajectory, I need to figure it all out properly.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that even if he has the right personal qualities - he needs to take this to another level. An employer can help him to get there (aka using your employer to springboard you onto something that you really want to do)

...and that sums it all up really. I know I can make this work, I just need some guidance.