What do you self employed types do then?

thecolourbox · October 2020

Hi all

I'm going nowhere in my current work life and this needs to change as it's causing me a lot of stress and anxiety for no reward, so I've decided to treat myself as an objective exercise in evaluating what I'm better suited to. The general idea being, if I find something I'm interested in doing (as opposed to my current loathing of what I do), I could look to train in it in my spare time with no pressure before looking for a different job, not necessarily in a self employed environment as I'm not sure at present that would suit me, but perhaps ho knows.

One of the things my Mrs has said is to research what type of jobs self employed people actually do as it's a bit of a mystery to us both what other jobs involve outside of our areas (Mrs is accountant, I'm a reluctant Property Management Surveyor). We both kind of fell into our jobs without ever knowing what we wanted to do so have very little idea about alternative careers

So, self-employed types, what is your business? What are your services or products? Enlighten me

Thanks

VimFuego · October 2020

well, I'm kinda between business types at the moment. Before mrs f got ill I was a self employed gardener and did a bit of tree work and handyman type stuff. I was thinking of moving on from that though as I'm starting to get a bit long in the tooth for the more physical work and had some ideas about what to transition into. Before she got ill, Mrs F was a 2nd hand book dealer, and did a bit of dabbling in collectables and vintage clothing. As she left behind a large stock of all 3, that is what I'll be doing after I move (well, not the clothing as I know feck all about that so I got some dealers in to take it all away).

Danny1969 · October 2020

I’m a musician, an electronics repair tech, an inventor and small scale manufacturer, a music teacher, a partner in a PA rental and install firm and a partner in a company that sells IT.

I like to do different things and when your self employed you can.

underdog · October 2020

Danny1969 said:

I’m a musician, an electronics repair tech, an inventor and small scale manufacturer, a music teacher, a partner in a PA rental and install firm and a partner in a company that sells IT.
I like to do different things and when your self employed you can.

Wow that's a lot of things man fair play to you

thecolourbox · October 2020

Interesting, thanks chaps. I suppose already the common theme is adaptability then as you're both doing some quite unrelated jobs at the same time by the looks of it.

The Mrs is obsessed with me somehow becoming a bread baker though every time she mentions it she has forgotten two things - 1, that i'm not that good at it

and 2, that in order to make a decent wage I'd have to sell an absolute tonne of bread products haha. Reason I mention that, is that it seems that maybe a combination of things adds up rather than relying solely on one thing that could fail and leave you up the creek, I suppose

GoldenEraGuitars · October 2020

Guitar painter, ageing specialist and builder

underdog · October 2020

I'm a body piercer, forgot to add that to my post

LightB4sound · October 2020

Gigging guitarist (circa March20), guitar teacher, audio engineering lecturer, media composer, audio editor, writer (book and articles), YouTuber, podcaster, sound designer and release my own music.

All help keep the wolves from the door.

VimFuego · October 2020

thecolourbox said:

Interesting, thanks chaps. I suppose already the common theme is adaptability then as you're both doing some quite unrelated jobs at the same time by the looks of it.

The Mrs is obsessed with me somehow becoming a bread baker though every time she mentions it she has forgotten two things - 1, that i'm not that good at it and 2, that in order to make a decent wage I'd have to sell an absolute tonne of bread products haha. Reason I mention that, is that it seems that maybe a combination of things adds up rather than relying solely on one thing that could fail and leave you up the creek, I suppose

I went through a period of growing fruit and veg to sell. The main issue I found was judging how much to grow to sell at any one time. I usually ended up growing far more than I could sell and having to throw away a lot of produce, or occasionally not growing enough. Whilst there are possibly fewer variables to baking bread (not many bakers I know have to contend with fooking deer eating they product in the night) it's still, to me, the biggest issue. I'm sure with experience I could've over come that, but illness, death etc. got in the way.

Danny1969 · October 2020

thecolourbox said:

Interesting, thanks chaps. I suppose already the common theme is adaptability then as you're both doing some quite unrelated jobs at the same time by the looks of it.

I've been self employed since I was 18 (started out in the building trade) so I've always been comfortable with it. Being able to do different things is vital I think because you never know what's coming. When covid hit all the years gigs were wiped off ... pub gigs, theatre gigs, corporate, wedding etc. All the PA hire gone, Oh and half the teaching BUT sales of my own products increased by around 40% and the IT work and sales was deemed an essential service so I've actually fared better than a lot of other people.
All in all I just prefer to work for myself and like the freedom to go down the pub in the afternoon or the beach if I want to. The downside is no paid holidays, no pension or sick pay but you can set aside money from the good times to pay towards that.

thecolourbox · October 2020

Interesting stuff. I don't really think I have the mentality to do self employed but there seems to be a lot of jobs out there that might give me different ideas if that makes sense.

I've no real skills or specific abilities, which is a hindrance. In a corporate world, being able to bluff and BS your way through things is a skill but sadly not in the real world. But you never know, if you don't look for it, I guess

Budgie · October 2020

Mainly as an artist

Also, and when I have time from painting - picture framing (I make all of my own picture frames but also for other people when I can spare the time), a bit of mid-century furniture restoration (although this is waning due to the ridiculous prices the eBay crowd are asking for stuff that needs work). Also a bit of buying and selling of post-war design stuff.. ceramics, glass, jewellery, furniture, lighting, art etc.

I’m mainly too busy painting nowadays though, so the other stuff is becoming less.

I think you have to have a few strings to your bow when being self-employed, or at least it helps to have a back-up for quieter days, plus it’s more interesting having multi skills.

kin · October 2020

Is it the job itself you hate or working for /with the people you work with?
Could you perhaps start your own venture within the area your currently working in or an offshoot of it , if you were in charge of things.
Try and think of something in your current job that could be done differently/ better and go and do that.

EricTheWeary · October 2020

Budgie said:

Mainly as an artist

Also, and when I have time from painting - picture framing (I make all of my own picture frames but also for other people when I can spare the time), a bit of mid-century furniture restoration (although this is waning due to the ridiculous prices the eBay crowd are asking for stuff that needs work). Also a bit of buying and selling of post-war design stuff.. ceramics, glass, jewellery, furniture, lighting, art etc.

I’m mainly too busy painting nowadays though, so the other stuff is becoming less.

I think you have to have a few strings to your bow when being self-employed, or at least it helps to have a back-up for quieter days, plus it’s more interesting having multi skills.

My late brother was self employed from his early twenties onward. Basically he’s do anything as long as he could make a profit. He’d been very good at carpentry at school and his last business was picture framing. Certainly his longest lived business venture and I think the one he enjoyed the most. Just had a premises within a craft centre. I think the only problem was that the centre was open Tuesday to Sunday so he struggled to ever get any time off. He also did a bit of property development ( he owned several flats including the one he lived in) so that would have been Monday busy as well.

It also meant we knew what we were getting for birthdays - something framed!

thecolourbox · October 2020

kin said:

Is it the job itself you hate or working for /with the people you work with?
Could you perhaps start your own venture within the area your currently working in or an offshoot of it , if you were in charge of things.
Try and think of something in your current job that could be done differently/ better and go and do that.

Oh it's absolutely the job and the industry I dislike, the people I work with are great, lovely people. There's very little point, in my perception, to changing to something else within the same scene as it will just be the same shit on a different desk

WiresDreamDisasters · October 2020

I'm not self employed but here was my job journey after uni:

- 2007 I graduated. Needed a job so I went for a job interview as a stocks clerk at Asda. After a day of absolute toss team building exercise type crap they make you do, I got the job. Turned up the following Monday morning. Shook my new bosses hand as I arrived and said "actually... I don't want to do this. Sorry!" and walked off. I couldn't stand the idea of being trapped at Asda for the rest of my life.

- After that I worked at a bar. The landlord was a fucking tool. He let racism run rampant in his pub by the clientele, and he allowed one of the rich farmer-wanker regulars to constantly make homophobic slurs at me every fucking Friday night. Hated it so much I quit just before Christmas to deliberately fuck him off. He didn't like it. Job done.

- Went home to visit my mum for Xmas after that. She bought a copy of BFD2 for a prezzie. At the time FXpansion had a deal for new users - buy BFD2 and get the BFD1 content for free. So I messaged one of the developers about this deal and at the same time asked for an internship. He invited me into the office, and it all started from there.

- My first job was as a technical support and QA engineer. But they called it a "gopher" - no literally... that's what I was described as! But I did the job to my utmost. Putting in so many long days, sorting out computer graveyards, learning how music software and operating systems all worked under the hood. I used to ship all of the boxes out by hand too - often carrying 100's of boxes from the lobby to the attic storage space we had in the office.

- This led to opportunities to go to NAMM as a Product Specialist and work on the booth. The first year I went was the first year (to my knowledge) that they allowed the general public to go to the show. Bloody hell it was busy.... 15 hour days followed by massive binge drinking sessions with all of our USA contacts who were at the show. It was so much fun.

- Eventually I became the QA Manager of FXpansion. Managing the QA team and managing our releases. There was a heavy dose of product feedback I managed too. If you ever gave me feedback during those early years, damn sure I brought it up in product meetings.

- Someone quitting culminated in me also becoming the Technical Support Manager. Which was easy enough because there was huge overlap between QA and technical support at FX. It was the same team! And I'd already unofficially been doing the job anyway, because the previous guy was too busy with other things.

- At the same time my mate and I spent a weekend tracking some drum samples for a project that would eventually become BFD Oblivion. This put us both on the path of being in-house sound engineers, audio and video editors, and sound content developers. We were very busy at this point, doing several jobs each.

- Eventually I became what I am today. The product owner for BFD.

Despite my legendary reputation on here (spanning over 12 years at this point!) I really am a nice guy!

So what's my point .... find that dogsbody opportunity, and really turn it into something. I have a mate who interned at the BBC. He didn't push it hard enough, and wasn't kept on as a permanent fixture. You really have to slog your guts out in those first few years.

And listen up - the older you get, the harder this becomes. DO IT. AS. SOON. AS. POSSIBLE.

Find something.

Fretwired · October 2020

Digital marketing, copywriting, web design, journalism, and PR.

webrthomson · October 2020

I'm employed full time now but I used to be a freelance software developer - Microsoft stack so mainly web stuff in ASP.Net - I got out due to IR35 and generally getting older and lazier with regards to finding new work. Being PAYE means I don’t need to find the next contract etc. which was starting to be a pain in the rear.

Whatever you do make sure you have a good accountant, and if applicable insurance

guitars4you · October 2020

Regardless of what you do as a self employed person, a few key details are you need to be flexible and creative - Organised, disciplined and remember no one else will do it for you - You have to do it all - make the coffee, clean the toilet, sweep the pavement outside, and run, plus create the ideas to enable business to succeed

Whilst 9-5 doesn't rarely exist, no use being a busy fool either and earning less than the min wage

fastonebaz · October 2020

I'm a freelance porn historian.

Budgie · October 2020

WiresDreamDisasters said:

And listen up - the older you get, the harder this becomes. DO IT. AS. SOON. AS. POSSIBLE.

Find something.

Yeah, that is the best advice of all.

I decided to have a go at painting professionally about 11 years ago and started putting work on Twitter, trying to attract a gallery to sell my work. In the meantime I continued running a landscaping business and just painted in the evenings and weekends. As I started to get interest from galleries and my work started selling, I finally made the swap to full-time artist in 2015 and haven’t really looked back. I could have stayed doing what I was doing, it was enjoyable and quite profitable and giving it up was a big risk but knew I’d always regret not trying to make a go of painting. I now have a good selection of galleries who represent my work and do plenty of commissions. I’m glad I took the risk!

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What do you self employed types do then?

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