Just contigency planning for my future, and I've been thinking about whether working for myself might be a better solution to self-determination and ultimately paying off the mortgage.

So, what do you self-employed types do? Or, if you're thinking of running your own business, what would you do?

Cry quite a lot.

Crack cocaine. 8)

fast food franchise looking at majority of people!! remember thinking of starting a subway in sheffield about 6 years ago when there wasn't any, must be at least 6 now !

IT contracting – best of both worlds. Or worst depending on your outlook 🙂

Fast food franchise – the UK needs Taco Bells.

Me and my wife run a PR company although she set it up while I was earning "safe" money in a sales job.

The main thing is market research – so many just think their idea/service will work because they like it but find out no one else is interested. And don't be afraid of non unique ideas – doing something loads already do but better is usually the best route.

If it helps at all, we earn way more than we did in Bristol/London, have loads of flexi time with our boy (and to surf/cycle) and choose our clients; we don't work with ones we don't want to. You are also seeing all the money you make rather than your company taking the majority.

On the downside, holidays are hard to take, you can't just leave it behind at the end of the day and the responsibility can get to you sometimes. You also have to do accounts which is hateful but straightforward.

Proper old school toy shop.

You know Lego, Britians, Airfix and cap guns.

I sit in the corner of a darkened room, rocking back and too and gently sobbing. Occasionally I feel the merciful release as the blade punctures my skin.

DON'T DO IT!!!!! Not in the present climate. You'd have to be insane. If you really feel the need to do something similar, to go through the same joyous emotions – then simply go and draw all the money you have out in bundles of cash, douse in a suitable flammable liquid and apply a match

Oh…. then throw a petrol bomb at your car

open a nursery. Obviously not in a hands on role. A licence to print money imo.

Or I'd really love to open a good chippy. Do it right, in the right area and the hours would be pretty good.

I take a lot of time off when the weather is good to cycle. Never, of course making the time up.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say to a customer who has complained about everything and anything that I did back in May to $**^O+%X:
Ahhh, now that's better.

Go for it. You can always get a job if things don't work out as planned.

Drac – you do that already or plan to do it?

If the former, I want to come and have a nose around! Love that kind of stuff.

Not sure what you want from this. If its ideas for a business you're not going to get people giving out their carefully thought out plans online for free. If its encouragement to do it, then perhaps you might want to rethink your committment to the concept of being self employed.

General advice: In essence you are unlikely to get rich working for someone else. Having said that you are unlikely to be bankrupt either.

Drac – you do that already or plan to do it?

If the former, I want to come and have a nose around! Love that kind of stuff.

Nah! Don't have the balls to risk it. If I did that's what I'd do, maybe should encourage the Mrs as she's had enough of her current job.

I'm in a niche, that I identified whilst in employment over a few years for various employers, I started with low investment to see how it went and when it was going good I decided to make my first big investment which I was prepared to lose completely…

It helps if you can have a back up income ( we have rental houses which pays the basics mortgage and bills) so my business pays for the luxuries.

The majority of successful entrepreneurs start businesses related to their current work.

I know a guy whose Dad made an absolute killing selling light bulbs for instruments & the lights dentists and surgeons use. He'd been doing more or less the same thing as an employee, and realised he could do it better.

I'd agree with Surf Mat's sentiment about not necessarily doing something unique. There are a whole packages of problems with starting out in a new field, and the concept of first mover advantage is rather overblown.

I'd always wanted to set up a business teaching people how to become decent henchmen (or henchwomen) for super-villians.

Given that the vast majority of henching seems to be of a very low quality, there's bound to be a market for a henchperson that will, on catching the hero, either properly immobilise them with a shot to the kneecap, or just kill immediately, rather than locking in a shed with a lot of tools etc, or allowing them to talk their way out of capture in front of the villain.

Of course, there's a limited market for this type of service.

Not sure what you want from this.

Idle curiosity.

And the fact that significant career change may be forced on me in the next year or so. It would make the world my oyster, but I'd lose a decent income and may have to start at the bottom.

Once I would never have considered self employment, preferring the warm embrace of a monthly wage slip. But now it is weighing heavily on my mind.

Oh, and running a (decent) chippy is high up the list.

Ourman' are you talking working as a Ltd company/overseas for a construction/reconstruction contract?

whoops

I was self employed for about 8 years. I had two footwear shops and also did markets etc. WIthout doubt it was the most stressful time of my life and I would never, ever recommend that anybody tries the retail trade.

The risks are just horrendous,I almost lost everything, house, bankruptcy the lot. In the end it just cost me my marriage to the first Mrs B so I suppose every cloud…… 😆

Many people would consider the job I do now to be stressful but, at the end of each month, no matter what I get paid enough money to provide my family with food and a home and if I ever get stressed at work it only takes a second to remind myself of that. If it were me, I would only consider going self employed again if I had a "trade" (which I don't)

hora – no. Fish and chippy. My carpentry skills aren't up to much. Unless, of course, you have an opening I couldn't possibly turn down…. 😉

I sit in the corner of a darkened room, rocking back and too and gently sobbing. Occasionally I feel the merciful release as the blade punctures my skin.

Poor Binners. All that and he has to put up with Hora, too. 😥

D'you want a hug Binners?

Agree with not taking the risk in present economic climate. Depends on the business though I spose. Recycling stuff seems to big big atm. And I'd imagine businesses that repair stuff people can't afford to replace.

Charity shops seem to be doing well atm.

Manchesters crying out for a decent Fish and Chip shop. Bloody kebab/shitty friend chicken shops.

Serious? You'd (possibly) be rolling in it if you chose the area right (Dids etc).

Whats happening with the alternative fish stocks?

What do you do at the minute, OMITN?

I'd personally look to do something I had experience in, and something I could sell on easily when I'd had enough. It's difficult to scale something like a chip shop (ie, you can only open whole shops, whereas with other businesses you can just move to bigger premises). And you need to get scale to get a saleable business – most sole traders ARE the business, and it's worthless without them.

Dids is getting a good one (the award winning one from ALderley). West Dids has just got one, and it's doing roaring trade.

But plenty of other places could do with something similarly upmarket.

Don't want to go into reasons for this change of direction…!

double post

ourmaninthenorth – its not always the 'trendiest' paths that make the money or are the most rewarding.

I was thinking a decent one would clean up here in the right area however I could never open one as I have a weakness for alcohol or food ontap 🙁

A hug would be great thanks

The thing is with your own business is that you have absolutely no insulation from the vagaries of the market. There's no 'trickle-down effect' at all. When times get hard, you're the very first to feel it. And it was like a Tsunami when it all went tits up the other year. We went from virtually coasting with stable clients and steady work to staring down the barrel of bankruptcy within a couple of months. It was breathtaking how quickly it happened

One of your clients hits hard times, you lose your contract.
Someone goes bust, you write off thousands (possibly tens of thousands)

Once it starts snowballing. You're doomed. And it hurts!

tron – good advice.

binners – I do recall your tales of woe. Any better these days?

Geotechnical / Contaminated Land Consultant. Set up last year in the middle of the recession. Plenty of contacts from employment by earlier companies and with low overhead I have managed to stay very busy since day 1. As has been said before though you have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth and you get huge highs and massive lows. be warned, once you've made the leap you will never go back to work for someone else.

I ran an IT consultancy for five years. Ended up being about 20 of us. When it was good, it was fantastic, when it was bad, it was pretty horrible. As technical people, we weren't always good at asking for money, but we got a lot better at it!

I really enjoyed working with the customers and being able to shape the company to do the stuff we really believed we could do better than anyone. I didn't enjoy the people management and sleepless nights!

Glad I did it, but if I did it again it'd just be me!

Binners – same happened to my dad in the late 80s. One minute worth a fair wad of cash running a commercial interior design business, the next minute two plcs went bust owing him sh1t loads and his company went into liquidation. Us kids went from well off at a posh school in Surrey to skint at a comp in Cornwall.

If you run a chippy, avoid eating too much of what you sell…!

Alex, how did you go from being a drone to actually selling services? I wouldn't mind making the jump.

And another thing, go Ltd if you can. You stand more chance of keeping your house!

benefits claimant ?

or do I misunderstand the concept of self employed ?

Today I'm very happy we've got £xxx,xxxs of pounds in the bank and there is no worry about wages for the 25+ staff.

Then again 5 months ago I posted this.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-just-cant-be-fing-bothered-anymore

tron – that I know all about. Saw my father nearly lose the family home as a result of not doing that.

Chippy sprung to mind as they tend to have reasonable (gross) profit ratios – often c.50%. Then it's just down to turnover….

I run a Ltd co. with the missus. Stresses are: staff, customers, banks, taxes…the usual stuff. You do need to learn to switch off, otherwise the stress will kill you (and your relationship) at 6 I just stop, otherwise, you wouldn't…ever. Saw a drop in disposable income, but gained time with children, no boss to watch over your shoulder.

I'd struggle to go back to being employed now I reckon

Chippy sprung to mind as they tend to have reasonable (gross) profit ratios – often c.50%. Then it's just down to turnover….

Fair enough. If you're thinking of doing it, you probably know rather more about it than I do. 😆

I reckon quality and consistency will see you ahead of much of the pack in the food trade. The consistency is the difficult bit – everyone knows a takeaway or restaurant that goes downhill for 2 weeks of the year when the owner's on holiday – I'd try and study how the big chains and franchises go about it.

Don't open a bikeshop though, you'll have to feign poverty to avoid questions about expensive/overpricing 😆