Who does something they actually love or enjoy?

[daud]

Hi peeps,

Just sitting here going through these threads on the forum and noticing the different fields that the forum members work in and businesses they own.

I was thinking to myself some i would never of thought exists, too saturated of a market and wow that must be cool to do!

So this lead onto who actually does something they enjoy? Does the business you own just kind of fell into it? Is it something you dread doing each day but puts the dinner on the table? Or you started to hate it as you carried on down the line?

Because reading through advice from entreprenuers, business owners etc that the one piece of advice they always seem to give is "do something you enjoy" im thinking surely not everyone falls into that category?:|

 

[ludwig]

I Produce plants for sale to garden centres and I love it. I like the production aspect because over the years I have become expert at certain parts of it and yet still learn something all the time. I love the sales bit because my product is pretty good and it gives me confidence when customers get quite excited about it. I love this time of year because although I've done this all my working life I'm still surprised when the plants start to grow lin the spring. It's very seasonal and that is one of the biggest challenges but for me there is nothing I like more than cranking up the stereo and piling into a load of potting or seed sowing. I like training people and some of the time I do that quite well. I wish it paid a bit better and I am completely knackered by the summer but it beats working for someone else by a mile.

 

[Jackie606]

I do property refurbisment and sourcing and I love it... was a hobby originally
Jackie

 

[Bizzi]

I've work for myself for 9years now, trying out various businesses and wouldn't change a thing.

Although tough at the best of times, not having to answer to somebody, working on your own time outweighs any bad points.. The beauty is that you learn so much in the real world of business rather than reading from books, listening to teachers etc..

What I've learned is.. Find something that interests you, that people need, create it/re brand if necessary...delegate to experienced people who can help grow your dream, make key decisions at the right time and enjoy doing it!

If it doesn't work out? Dust yourself down and off you go again! This time, with even greater knowledge!

 

[the Chocolate]

Not a chocolatier by trade, had the idea, researched, researched, researched.
Then formed a team,12 months later Harrods class us as 'the worlds most luxurious chocolate experience'
Love pushing the Chocolate onto the next level.

 

[Duncan Cheslett]

I'm a cabinetmaker - I make bespoke pieces of furniture for clients. I have a great little workshop fully equipped with every woodworking tool and machine you could think of which I share with two other cabinetmakers, meaning that my overheads are minimal. I'm paid to potter.

I absolutely love it. If I won the lottery I'd carry on woodworking - the only difference being that I'd be able to play more golf!

 

[S-Marketing]

I'm a cabinetmaker - I make bespoke pieces of furniture for clients. I have a great little workshop fully equipped with every woodworking tool and machine you could think of which I share with two other cabinetmakers, meaning that my overheads are minimal. I'm paid to potter.

I absolutely love it. If I won the lottery I'd carry on woodworking - the only difference being that I'd be able to play more golf!

Pottering in a fully kitted out workshop. Now that's a job.

Only problem I would have is everything I produced would be rubbish so I'd be skint.

 

[E Storey]

I love my job, I love numbers but also love going to work at a different place, with different people each day, I like seeing how much I can help their business and I love the feeling of smuggness when I see how rubbish they are at managing their own finances.

I check one clients bank account each morning in my PJs - just because the chaeos makes me laugh!

 

[Haversham67]

I love what I do. That doesn't mean the business side of things can't be tough or frustrating sometimes, but it's a price worth paying.

 

[tony84]

Ive worked in the financial services for around 10 years, i always wanted to be a mortgage advisor but just never managed it. I was made redundant last year and it gave me the cash and the push i needed to give it a try.

I love it... im just gutted ive wasted the last 5 years finding reasons to not do what ive always wanted to do. But hey ho, im doing it now and can make the most of it.
I have so much more enthusiasm working for myself than i ever did cooped up in an office all day.

 

[Spudded]

Sadly I hate what I do. I started a Ltd company back in June 2010 as a pole dancing school.

I was on maternity leave and has some lessons for a laugh, thanks to 10 years of gymnastics as a kid I was very good at the big moves very quickly.

After a couple of weeks my teacher said she had to stop teaching due to pregnancy and offered to teach me how to be a pole dancing instructor. The rest is history.

I have been desperate to run a company since I was a teenager and I grabbed the opportinity with both hands.

My company is doing well, but I dread it everytime a student is due to come for a lesson.

I'm a thinker not a manual worker, I love numbers, strategy and networking. I hate spending 6-10 hours a day dangling 12ft in the air on a pole! If I could fold the company tomorrow I would, but I'm stuck with 2 years left on the studio lease

 

[tony84]

Sadly I hate what I do. I started a Ltd company back in June 2010 as a pole dancing school.

I was on maternity leave and has some lessons for a laugh, thanks to 10 years of gymnastics as a kid I was very good at the big moves very quickly.

After a couple of weeks my teacher said she had to stop teaching due to pregnancy and offered to teach me how to be a pole dancing instructor. The rest is history.

I have been desperate to run a company since I was a teenager and I grabbed the opportinity with both hands.

My company is doing well, but I dread it everytime a student is due to come for a lesson.

I'm a thinker not a manual worker, I love numbers, strategy and networking. I hate spending 6-10 hours a day dangling 12ft in the air on a pole! If I could fold the company tomorrow I would, but I'm stuck with 2 years left on the studio lease

I would LOVE that job...but being a bloke im probably a bit biased.

Could you not get one of your students to become the teacher? Maybe get a few places on the go?

 

[TotallySport]

Sadly I hate what I do. I started a Ltd company back in June 2010 as a pole dancing school.

I was on maternity leave and has some lessons for a laugh, thanks to 10 years of gymnastics as a kid I was very good at the big moves very quickly.

After a couple of weeks my teacher said she had to stop teaching due to pregnancy and offered to teach me how to be a pole dancing instructor. The rest is history.

I have been desperate to run a company since I was a teenager and I grabbed the opportinity with both hands.

My company is doing well, but I dread it everytime a student is due to come for a lesson.

I'm a thinker not a manual worker, I love numbers, strategy and networking. I hate spending 6-10 hours a day dangling 12ft in the air on a pole! If I could fold the company tomorrow I would, but I'm stuck with 2 years left on the studio lease

then develope it, bring in pole dancers to teach, and move onto running the business and building it up.

 

[edmondscommerce]

Yes love what I do most of the time.. Coding etc is great fun. Running a business is never 100% fun though, lots of cons that go with the pros but as long as the pros come out on top that's the main thing!

 

[christella]

I sell high end cosmetics and skincare and i love it, days of the boring office job are long gone. I don't work for anyone else and I can work my own hours and still be around to collect the children from school and profits are good. It does help to love the job you are doing then you can give it 100%.

 

[BustersDogs]

I was doing my job now (kind of) for free for two years while I was on a career break for family responsibilities (it was supposed to be 6 months!). By the time I was ready to go back the length of my time off meant I wasn't entitled to anything except being able to apply for internal jobs, so as I enjoyed volunteering with dogs so much I thought I'd see if I could make a living doing it. 3 1/2 years later I still love it, but there are aspects of running a business I don't like very much.

 

[Sobie]

I Produce plants for sale to garden centres and I love it. I like the production aspect because over the years I have become expert at certain parts of it and yet still learn something all the time. I love the sales bit because my product is pretty good and it gives me confidence when customers get quite excited about it. I love this time of year because although I've done this all my working life I'm still surprised when the plants start to grow lin the spring. It's very seasonal and that is one of the biggest challenges but for me there is nothing I like more than cranking up the stereo and piling into a load of potting or seed sowing. I like training people and some of the time I do that quite well. I wish it paid a bit better and I am completely knackered by the summer but it beats working for someone else by a mile.

I own a garden centre.

Gardeners are the most optomistic people in the world and are always willing to share tips and experiences with others. The fact that I am with likeminded people all day is fantastic, you have something in common with every single person that enters the shop.

Agree the seasonality is unbelievable, every year we try to eek out the season a bit longer. its definately an all or nothing business and that is the biggest negative, you have to be so organised and financialy aware to ensure you get through another winter.

I love the hours before opening watering the plants, tiding, deadheading, potting up baskets etc its just so peaceful, then having a coffee on the veranda viewing the empire before the mad rush of the day begins!

I don't know about being completely knackered by the summer ... Im feeling that way already

 

[adventurelife]

I get to do what others pay lots of money to do so I cannot be anything other than happy. Travel and adventure has always been my passion and I have been lucky enough to introduce over 100 thousand people to my lifestyle.

Never, easy but beats working for a living

 

[Abu A]

I certainly do not love it, but i don't dread it.

 

[J.D. Landscaping]

I now love what I do after almost 20 years of self employment, It took me a long time and a few aborted efforts to get here, but I can now say I'm doing what I was born to do, I had a childhood interest in these machines. So I have gone back to being that child.

I hate the business side of it by the way, as so many others probably do. But I can choose my working days and see my son grow up at the same time. So, If you don't enjoy it, and have the will to move on, go for it.

 

[newstart]

so JD landscaping are you not landscaping but operating some sort of machines?

 

Most of the time its a laugh and the money is excellent.

But the responsibility can be awesome.

Earl

 

[crphillips]

I build fireplaces and install wood burning stoves and I love it. 99% of the time we start with something old and out of fashion and create something that the customer loves and I get paid well for it too.

Sometimes the property has no chimney at all so we build a false chimney breast that you couldn't tell apart from a real one and install a flue and a stove. Really satisfying and I love the feedback from our clients. Many happy customers.

We're now moving into manufacturing our own stoves which I'm really looking forward to.

 

[bigeasy]

I'm loving what I'm doing at the moment! I've just opened a small independent carpet and flooring shop. I was a fitter for 8 years so I know the products inside-out, which makes me stand out from most other carpet salesmen. I really like the face to face customer interaction and love helping people find a carpet they like at a good price (I'm a lot cheaper than most shops in the area too!). Feb was a slow month as usual but this month has been a lot busier and I've been asked to quote on some big jobs for a local school as well as ongoing work for various local landlords.

 

[J.D. Landscaping]

so JD landscaping are you not landscaping but operating some sort of machines?

Its mainly small plant, excavators etc.

 

[captaincloser]

Most of the time its a laugh and the money is excellent.

But the responsibility can be awesome.

Earl

What, holding the lollipop straight ?

 

What, holding the lollipop straight ?

I eat the lollipops.

Its the 50 millions worth of business that goes through me senile old brain that I worry about keeping straight.

Earl

 

[Business Friend UK]

i do.

it helps people and i love it

 

[Mattlock]

Hi Guys, I like what i do, wouldn't say i love it but its challenging running a business and i prefer the hands on side of things (Carpenter & Locksmith)
,i still find the books a bit boring but it gets easier the more you keep on top of it. If i won the lottery i'd wouldn't just fold the business ,i'd have more time for music though

 

[Moneyman]

I just do it for the fun of it now.
might need more for the mansion tax though. You make the money you pay the tax and then some ba$%@*%d thinks he should tax a non profit making asset regardless of the mortgage or whatever. should have bought a yacht instead.

 

[captaincloser]

I just do it for the fun of it now.
might need more for the mansion tax though. You make the money you pay the tax and then some ba$%@*%d thinks he should tax a non profit making asset regardless of the mortgage or whatever. should have bought a yacht instead.

Its a bizarre attempt at vote catching applied by all governments ..red or blue..... tell the masses that you plan to tax the rich till they squeek.

Firstly it aint going to happen and secondly it's the classic haves V have nots argument and so typically British.

Just the good ole' Green eyed monster.

 

[Funny Business Cartoons]

Hi peeps,

Just sitting here going through these threads on the forum and noticing the different fields that the forum members work in and businesses they own.

I was thinking to myself some i would never of thought exists, too saturated of a market and wow that must be cool to do!

So this lead onto who actually does something they enjoy? Does the business you own just kind of fell into it? Is it something you dread doing each day but puts the dinner on the table? Or you started to hate it as you carried on down the line?

Because reading through advice from entreprenuers, business owners etc that the one piece of advice they always seem to give is "do something you enjoy" im thinking surely not everyone falls into that category?:|

It's good advice.I really do enjoy what I do as a Professional Cartoonist as it's always been my passion but sometimes the Business side takes away that spontaneous creativity side of things and I get very despondent chasing people for money and rejections etc. But I'm still here against all odds mainly because it's the vision I have held so dear throughout the Years and what's kept me going through thick and thin.

If I won the Lottery I'd keep doing exactly the same thing but the only difference is I would be ten times better at what I do what with all that equipment and time. It's a very hard Business to get into but I never take my eyes off that Fool's Gold.

I've done every Job under the sun previous to becoming Self- employed and only got through the darkest hours with the knowledge that I will achieve my ultimate goal (and a lot of practice of course). I'm not out of the woods yet but the work is slowly but surely starting to trickle in.

 

[Websitehandyman]

I've had a few businesses but none of them ever started from the right place I think. I mean perhaps it's best to start of in a business because you know you can make a profit and not because you hope to make a profit.

Thing is I could never do something I don't like for very long no matter what the money was like. I left both jobs I ever had simply because I couldn't stand doing them any longer. Not suggesting other do the same.

I really love what I do now, my main income is from football memorabilia. Not only do I get to see lots of great items from the past but I also help people find special gifts and I sometime get to speak with past footballers or their family. In the last few weeks I been asked to find things for an ex-chelsea player from the 1970s and spoke with the son of a former Arsenal manager.

I supplement my income doing websites both for myself and others. I think the are different type of people. I'm not concerned about making loads of money hence if I don't like doing something you won't persuade me to do it for very long - in fact the last bloke to try got an extra 12 months and salery moved 30% but I still walked in the end.

 

[s.marslight]

I do digital production, gives me enormous satisfaction to see someones dreams and ideas come to life, making people happy makes you happy, simples!

 

[Moneyman]

You cant enjoy all of it all of the time and sometimes it can be a nightmare. But some people fell run as a hobby.

 

[otisselig]

I work in the Legal Sectro and I must say that I love what I do, my days are long and challenging but I always thrive to do my best and come out ahead of others. I know now days the biggest problem in the market is not, as many believe, unemployment, but it is miss-employment, too many people doing something that they don't like.

 

[Working First Aid]

I'm happy to say I enjoy my job, particularly the diversity of each day. Paramedicing is rarely mundane, although it can be frustrating (think Friday/Saturday nights).

Every once in a while I actually get to do some good, though.

 

[HTMLHugo]

I will do when im doing it.

Ive got 2 weeks full time employment left before i leave to run my small collection of websites and supplement my income by hopfully picking up a few IT / Web jobs here and there.

Cannot wait. Wages are awful initially but thankfully my wife will be going back to work to earn the wages and let me live my dream to see if it works if not it will be out of my system either way

 

[S-Marketing]

I will do when im doing it.

Ive got 2 weeks full time employment left before i leave to run my small collection of websites and supplement my income by hopfully picking up a few IT / Web jobs here and there.

Cannot wait. Wages are awful initially but thankfully my wife will be going back to work to earn the wages and let me live my dream to see if it works if not it will be out of my system either way

Now there is a man with a plan. Send the Mrs out to work whilst you stay at home messing about on the internet. Now why does that sound so familiar?