Found a franchise I like the sound of, what do you think?

Dunroamin

MoominMama wrote: »

I appreciate your advice

As for dressmaking, I am at a very basic level, I do it just for me and my kids, it doesn't matter if the hems are wonky and a sleeve badly set if it's just for us, I could never charge money for it and I certainly can't do alterations, that is something on a whole different level, my partner's mother does alterations and she is extremely talented and it's taking her a good while to get established. I couldn't compete with her.

I get the feeling there aren't many options left for me really are there? Maybe I just have to resign myself to the fact that at 41 and a lone parent I am in fact completely unemployable.

I rue the day I ever decided to do the 'right thing' and become a stay at home mum, I should have packed my kids off to day care and built myself an amazing career because raising a family on £72 a week Widowed Parents Allowance for the rest of my life doesn't seem like much of a reward for deciding to raise my children myself.

That's rather an insult to all the working mothers who work hard to support their families, don't you think?

Why can't you take this time to train for a career - you have a 25 years of working life ahead of you so it really is worthwhile.

MoominMama

Dunroamin wrote: »

That's rather an insult to all the working mothers who work hard to support their families, don't you think?

Why can't you take this time to train for a career - you have a 25 years of working life ahead of you so it really is worthwhile.

No I don't think. I was being facetious.

I could train for a career if I could think of a career I could actually do, find somewhere local to train, could actually afford the course fees.

Also using this time to train means spending this time still not working or bringing any money in when I need it most, when I have children at home to support.

Honestly, single mothers get blamed for everything wrong with society, for sitting around on benefits scrounging off the state, making the tax payer raise their children, and here I am, trying to work and I'm not entitled to any help at all and I'm constantly turned away from interviews for not having any experience in anything.

I really am running out of steam now, there's only so long you can bang your head against the wall before you give yourself brain damage.

globetraveller

you are not unemployable! You just haven't found what is right for you and are just fed up. What about a classroom assistant? I know we are short of them in Scotland:)
Keep looking at situations vacant to see if anything might suit there. Perhaps its a case of taking a job of any kind to begin with- just to get your confidence back.

MoominMama

Classroom assistant jobs are like hens teeth, they don't even get advertised where I live, they go to Vera's cousin's best friends' aunt's daughter.

I don't have any problems with confidence, none at all, I probably have too much if anything, I don't ever approach anything thinking I can't do it or that I'd be out of my depth because I know I can do it, it's just nobody else thinks I can.

I have to rely on someone giving me a chance, I can't change that, that's out of my control and I can't do anything about it, so when I go for a job, even stacking shelves in Tesco, and 50 other people have applied for it and they have their pick of the crop, are they going to give it to the 23yr old with previous experience and no kids or the 41 yr old who hasn't worked for 16 yrs, is a single parent and needs but doesn't have, childcare every 6 weeks for the school holidays? It's virtually pointless even applying.

MoominMama

Well, I just did a search on the Jobcentre site and a grand total of 18 jobs came up in my area most of them care home workers or HGV drivers, and because I live on an isolated peninsular it assumes I can walk on water and classes places that are 20 miles away as being only 2 miles away because somehow I am supposed to walk across the sea rather than take the very long road to the end of the river, round, and back down again.

Looked into doing a book illustrating course, which is the only 'career' I've ever been interested in and guess what? None anywhere near me, but then I'm not exactly local to a university so that doesn't surprise me, but the one that is 25 miles away doesn't do that course anyway.

There's a home study course but it's £350 and not sure my WPA will stretch that far and as it's private and isn't an official qualification I can't get help with the cost.

So I suppose I'll carry on sitting here, letting the state raise my kids and just get into the swing of being a benefit scrounging single mother and hope that one day, I might suddenly get struck with a flash of insight and inspiration and have my talents and skills suddenly revealed to me, maybe my career is in rocket science, or microbiology or toilet cleaning...who knows, I sure as hell don't.

keith1950

As others have said , run away from this as fast as you can.

It is like a pyramid scheme in that the more successfully she is at selling franchises the less chance you have of succeeding due to market saturation.

If people are actually signing up to this she must be laughing all the way to the bank.

harrys_dad

If you "live on an isolated peninsula" how on earth are you going to get sufficient people coming to your "networking meetings" to make any money? I admire your commitment to try to get some sort of employment, but this is not it. Have you looked on the "Up your income" board here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=145 for ideas?

Dunroamin

MoominMama wrote: »

No I don't think. I was being facetious.

I could train for a career if I could think of a career I could actually do, find somewhere local to train, could actually afford the course fees.

Also using this time to train means spending this time still not working or bringing any money in when I need it most, when I have children at home to support.

Honestly, single mothers get blamed for everything wrong with society, for sitting around on benefits scrounging off the state, making the tax payer raise their children, and here I am, trying to work and I'm not entitled to any help at all and I'm constantly turned away from interviews for not having any experience in anything.

I really am running out of steam now, there's only so long you can bang your head against the wall before you give yourself brain damage.

I think it's rather shortsighted to say that you need money most when your children are at home, rather than training for the future. In a few years, when they grow up, all your current benefits will stop and you'll be left with nothing except JSA to live on and no pension to look forward to.

You need to invest time in yourself, either by doing voluntary work or education, preferably both. You need to also consider that there's a middle way in choosing a career between your ideal (but unrealistic) choice of book illustrating and shelf stacking in Tesco.

ETA
You've said several times that there's no childcare in your area so why not consider childminding?

googler

If you buy a franchise, you should be buying into an established brand, so that even though you haven't established yourself, you operate as an established brand, with support from the brand owner.

Is she an established brand?

Once you've paid the money, what support will you get from this 'brand owner'? Sounds to me like she'll be too busy.

oldharryrocks

keith1950 wrote: »

As others have said , run away from this as fast as you can.

It is like a pyramid scheme.

The lady has already said she is very unlikely to do it given the feedback.:D

And its nothing like a pyramid scheme,which are illegal in the UK anyway.;)