Starting out while working.

[jklondon]

Just curious - anyone else here working full time while trying to start out a business. If so what are you doing? Hows it going? Finding it pretty difficult, frustrating but highly enjoyable!

[fastfences]

Hi JK.
I did it and it was tough going!!

I was in a factory and changed my job to night shift to enable me to start up with the 'security blanket' of a steady wage. From April til end of August last year I worked 10pm til 6am in the factory, went home, had a shower and started fencing at 7am (getting materials etc) and working through til 5pm. Went home and slept from 6pm to 9pm. Sometimes I even fronted up for 'overtime' on Saturdays.

This is a true but extreme scenario. Most will tell you of endless hours, or working a second job. Unless you're highly 'cashed up' it's what we have to do. But it's worth it! :wink:
Cheers, Nigel

[ink4-u]

well, i work 7am till 7pm mon to fri as well as trying to do everything else. i also work markets and carboots Sundays and antique fairs some saturdays. i not complaining though i like it!

[Cornish Steve]

I work for a multinational company during the day - usually from 8am - 6:30pm. I spend about 50 percent of my weekdays travelling around the world with them. As a matter of conscience, I won't short-change them. Anyway, they're a great company to work for.

I work on my own stuff from 7pm to 12:30am on weekdays and from 8am to midnight at weekends. I've done this for 18 months now, and it will probably continue for a while. Still, with a large family, I can't afford to take undue financial risks. It will be worth it in the long run. I've never been afraid of hard work.

[Networkology]

I work nights 6pm to 6am and I have an hours drive too and from work either side. I work up to midday everyday on my own stuff then sleep. And yes Im very tired!

[easyasit]

i am quite poss joining the police force, but i will def continue with business outside of this.
And you know the hours a copper can work!

Al

[bwglaw]

i am quite poss joining the police force, but i will def continue with business outside of this.
And you know the hours a copper can work!

Al

Ah, you will find it standard in civil servant employment contracts that you are not allowed to run a business, and/or have more than 5% vested in a business. The Police Force may be more relaxed but I know this applies for the Ministry of Defence civilians.

Worth checking out...

[Coding Monkey]

I was in a factory and changed my job to night shift to enable me to start up with the 'security blanket' of a steady wage. From April til end of August last year I worked 10pm til 6am in the factory, went home, had a shower and started fencing at 7am (getting materials etc) and working through til 5pm. Went home and slept from 6pm to 9pm. Sometimes I even fronted up for 'overtime' on Saturdays.


Yikes. Before setting up my business, my job involved almost exactly the same thing - programming from home. It was purely the marketing side that I had to adjust to, as I already had to talk to clients and prepare quotes.

Do you work fulltime for yourself now?

[bwglaw]

If you ask me, I don't work full-time but am paid full-time! I sometimes do odd hours and have a busy spell hence 'enjoying' 4-months overseas.

I had to work every weekend, day/night to get my business off the ground. I was also working for a charity as a Director and passed work my own way!

[thekitchendesigner]

i started out by keeping my full time job for 6 months before taking the plunge. My full time job was in the same field as the business so this helped. My full time job was in London, which involved commuting but also some home working, which also helped!

It got difficult towards the end as my full time work started to suffer, so this helped me decide to go for it alone before i was found out! I would have like to stay on longer but it just couldnt happen!

i now have an evening job twice a week whilst i'm building the business up to help pay the bills and wont give it up for a while yet. Its really helped and like others say, got to be done! tough & tiring, but well worth it.

[fastfences]

Do you work fulltime for yourself now?
Yep, very full time. I can't do the overseas thing like Jonathan! Best wishes to him, he's earn't it, though most would say he's 'lucky', which is an insult because it neglects to acknowledge the hard work that's been put in to get to that stage!
Cheers, Nigel

[jmds]

I work in a college during the day, I am hoping to relocate to the Bristol area in the next few months, so I am either going to be going full time on my own or looking for a another job that will enable to carry on my own business as well. It can be hard to keep on top of things, but I enjoy it.

[jklondon]

good to know theres a few like me out there! Not enough hours in the day I find :)

[easyasit]

i am quite poss joining the police force, but i will def continue with business outside of this.
And you know the hours a copper can work!

Al

Ah, you will find it standard in civil servant employment contracts that you are not allowed to run a business, and/or have more than 5% vested in a business. The Police Force may be more relaxed but I know this applies for the Ministry of Defence civilians.

Worth checking out...

Indeed, well the editor of my magazine, his brother is a policeman and also runs his fathers logistics company.
Also i remember in the application for it asking if you had business interests.
Still at the end of the day what they don;t know won;t hurt them :-)

Al

[Coding Monkey]

They know now. Big Brother is watching you.

[mattk]

Still at the end of the day what they don;t know won;t hurt them :-)

Al
That's the kind of attitude I like to see from a prospective policeman :roll:

[fastfences]

Still at the end of the day what they don;t know won;t hurt them :-)

Al
That's the kind of attitude I like to see from a prospective policeman :roll:

Unbelievable! THAT is my point exactly!
cheers, Nigel

[clairemackaness]

I work full time for the Learning and Skills Council 8.30 - 5.00 and work for myself most evenings and all weekend.

I'm getting there slowly but surely but it will be at least a year before I can go it alone.

[bwglaw]

Indeed, well the editor of my magazine, his brother is a policeman and also runs his fathers logistics company.
Also i remember in the application for it asking if you had business interests.
Still at the end of the day what they don;t know won;t hurt them :-)

Al

Then they cannot expect to entirely succeed on a claim for unfair/constructive dismissal!

Addition: not to mention that he may exceed 48-hours per week and if he has not opted out then the employer is entitled to know what other hours of work he does outside his main employment.

A police force is likely to take its health and safety duties seriously and by exceeding 48-hours may put other colleagues and citizens at risk. Police Officers earn in excess of £25k/year - do they need to earn more?

In some instances, it is a disciplinary offence and may result in summary dismissal

[Mortime Business Software]

Just curious - anyone else here working full time while trying to start out a business. If so what are you doing? Hows it going? Finding it pretty difficult, frustrating but highly enjoyable!

Hello JK.

In 1988 I went to Sydney on a 6 month visitor visa. I easily found work as a finished artist with a large company called Visy Board, a paper recycling company who manufactured paper and cardboard materials.

I overstayed my visa, and a couple of years later was working for another large storage and distribution firm called David's Holdings which had its own advertising department. As an illegal immigrant, I was helping to produce advertising material for various media including national TV and newspapers.

A couple of years later my younger brother phoned me and told me he would like to come over and join me in paradise. I advised him over the phone, and also wrote a letter advising him to bypass the authorities and simply obtain a 6 month visa from Australia house in Manchester, and that if he wanted to stay any longer he could just get lost in the crowd because the unofficial policy of the Aussie immigration department seemed to be that they should overlook white, British illegal immigrants. (Those sheep-shaggers are just sooo corrupt. :))

He applied for a 6 month visitor visa by mail from Manchester. At that time he was living in a flat in Blackpool. During the time he was waiting for his visa to arrive he had a drunken row with his landlord. The next day he was kicked out of his flat.

A few days later my letter, along with all that very good advice, arrived at his old flat. The landlord, being an immoral, dispicable, low-down son of a ***** with no respect for the law ;), intercepted the letter and opened it. He immediately reported me and my brother to the Aussie immigration department in Manchester, whereupon my brother's visa was cancelled.

My brother phoned me in Sydney and notified me of the events. Since my address was in the letter, I had to immediately quit my current abode and pack my job in for fear of the immigration bouncers and the cops picking me up. I just wasn't ready to leave Australia yet because I wanted to complete my water skiing course.

I was down to my last £120, and literally living on a prayer. A friend offered me a place to sleep in the back yard, sharing the kennel with his very smelly dog. I gratefully accepted, and the next day, when I awoke with a very sore arse, headed off to the nearest signwriters supply store. I bought a couple of pots of signwriting paint and some brushes.

For the next three months I dilligently practiced the art of signwriting in my mate's back yard. I took photographs of my later masterpieces, and embarked upon the long and winding road to success.

I showed my work to small businesses in commercial business districts and industrial estates, and over the next few years built a signmaking business which later competed with the largest in Sydney, and at one stage employed 13 signwriters, 2 computer designers, 1 receptionist and various casual joiners.

During this time I also married Eva, a sweet Aussie bird who bore me a lovely daughter and legitimised my residence in Australia.

The business was sold in 1999 for a handsome wad, and I am now using some of the money to undergo a career change into computer science.

Good luck, and remember, the straightest road is not always the most convenient.

Dave

PS. This is all true except for sleeping in the kennel with my mate's dog. :)

Disclaimer:
DO NOT TAKE THE ABOVE ADVICE. DO THE RIGHT THING AND BE A GOOD, LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN. ;)

[bwglaw]

Interesting story, now you are stuck in Middlesbrough ;)

[Mortime Business Software]

Oh and I forgot to mention. I have since had requests for computer programs, and best wishes from high up beings in companies including Kawasaki motorcycles, Rentokil, TD Waterhouse stockbrokers (the largest stockbroker in the world), Onyx waste management (the inventors of the wheely bin), Betterware, and others.

YOU CAN DO IT.

Dave

[Mortime Business Software]

Interesting story, now you are stuck in Middlesbrough ;)

Aaah Middlesbrough. Where my lovely old Mum's side of the family is embedded, and also, in my opinion, is the reason why they call the North bleak! :)

Lovely people, but the place is very stinky!

Dave

[bwglaw]

My father and sister have now emigrated to Aussie...! Melbourne and Brisbane and they are enjoying the life there! That is where I will be going next Christmas/New Year!

[c4l]

I find it a nightmare.

Especially when i get an email saying 'hi, can you call me sometime today before 5pm re this' etc. If i ring whilst at lunch, so are they and do not answer the call, and otherwise, i have to find a quiet office to call from. Nightmare!

Like Nigel's idea though!! Sounds extreme but do-able!

[Mortime Business Software]

My father and sister have now emigrated to Aussie...! Melbourne and Brisbane and they are enjoying the life there! That is where I will be going next Christmas/New Year!

It's a fantastic place, but it does have its disadvantages.

Now you're making me start to cry. :(

The main reason I'm staying here for the next few years is because I believe our education system is superior, and because I want to try and build some bridges with UK companies who need network programming. Since our population is three times the size of theirs, I figure there is a higher probability of netting some large businesses for my proposed software development business.

Aussies are magic people and unless you are a complete buffoon, you just cannot fail in business. The entire economy from down on the street to the highest heights of their corporate world is, to all intents and purposes, classless. You can rub shoulders with the richest people in the land right there in your local take-away. That's what I love most about the Aussies, apart from their brilliant cricketers of course. :)

They call Australia "Little America", but I would add "without the decadence".

Melbourne is a little smaller than Sydney in population by about half a million. But for me, it would be worth living in Melbourne rather than Sydney because it's a bit cooler. When I go back, I want to buy a house, or a block of land on which I can build a house, on the south coast near Melbourne.

Dave

[clairemackaness]

Ahhhh Australia, fond memories of battered snapper and chips on St kilda prom. Driving down the Great Ocean Road with the wind in my hair. Shopping in the Rocks, Darling Harbour. COld tinnies on the roof of the Nags Head Hostle and Bar in newtown. Diving on the Barrier Reef, Belly Button piercing in Adelaide.

Why did I come back?

[fastfences]

Why did I come back?

Because you couldn't do aboriginal paintings?
:lol: N

[thekitchendesigner]

i am quite poss joining the police force, but i will def continue with business outside of this.
And you know the hours a copper can work!

Al

Ah, you will find it standard in civil servant employment contracts that you are not allowed to run a business, and/or have more than 5% vested in a business. The Police Force may be more relaxed but I know this applies for the Ministry of Defence civilians.

Worth checking out...

Relevant headline on the front of the daily express this morning:

"Scandal of Police with second jobs on the side" !! Wierd!

http://www.express.co.uk/news.html (top right corner)