Self employed jobs.

[dan_bo]

Brew beer to sell in my tiny bar in which I played bass in my Faith no More cover band.

 

[oldwheels]

When the distillery got taken over by a shower of unspeakables from Yorkshire I left and expanded a fledgling knitwear business and shop which we had started.
Not really wanting to compete in the fashion market we specialised in woolly hats with names and logos which was wide open for exploitation with no real competition.
Trade Fairs for selling were a sort of holiday when my wife came with me and we also had our Head Girl with us who got a kind of paid working holiday from her normal routine so we had freedom to wander round looking for our own shop stock. Evening entertainment was also important and was so memorable that at my wife’s funeral HG had it mentioned as one of the highlights of her working holiday.
Being a bit restless and looking to expand the retail side of the business I become a kind of “Del Boy” which I really enjoyed and it was also profitable.
Mostly I worked 6 days per week but it did not seem to put me off and I still had freedom to do leisure things like cycling during what are regarded as normal working hours.

 

[DCLane]

It needs to be something people are willing to pay for at a rate that covers your costs (premises/equipment/insurance/etc.).

After SWMBO was made redundant from the NHS the first time in 2016 (a nasty illegal process) she tried to go freelance. But companies were still getting a free service from the NHS so wouldn't pay. So she went back into the NHS elsewhere for a couple of years.

But after a second NHS redundancy (re-organisation and end of contract that time) the situation was different as NHS policy towards freebies for companies had changed. But it still took her helping to write government policy and a year of meetings/conference talks to get the contacts and subsequent contracts. The work then flowed in, leaving her too busy.

She now combines NHS, freelance and other work but it took time to get there. How are you going to fund start-up and early operating costs? She was fortunate that we had savings and my income, but those savings were all used up in getting her company going.

 

[slowmotion]

Just keep your overheads down. Premises cost lots of money.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I am already self employed. I work with Jean Reno. We are both assassins.... Our overheads consist of bullets, bags, spades, flowers, cleaning items and Jean insists on driving french cars, so plenty of parts and courtesy car expenses from that...

 

[roubaixtuesday]

You lot lack imagination!

I mean, it's cycle guide, obviously.

Ideally in the Dolomites, changing to ski guide in the winter, and taking advantage of the light in spring and autumn to be a model in fashion shoots with the amazing scenery as backdrop.

Customers strictly optional.

 

[Jameshow]

You lot lack imagination!

I mean, it's cycle guide, obviously.

Ideally in the Dolomites, changing to ski guide in the winter, and taking advantage of the light in spring and autumn to be a model in fashion shoots with the amazing scenery as backdrop.

Customers strictly optional.

How about a Lejog guide?
But I fear the overheads are great and legalities are far from simple.

 

[Slick]

Just keep your overheads down. Premises cost lots of money.

That's a good point.

Every pound saved is pressure off the top line, so kill the costs at every opportunity.

 

[Emanresu]

I'm with @Slick - stick to what you are good at.

My OH has left employment last year when there was a change of owner. She had moaned for years about how much she hated her job and the people (she was in HR). She now hates doing nothing even more and has become a S/E consultant/advisor using her old contacts to find a reasonable amount of work. She can work as little or as much as she wants. It's the skills that count.

 

[Dave7]

Writer.

I tride too be a righter wonce but cudn't make any money from it.
No idea why.

 

[icowden]

Another +1 for @Slick .

My plan will be to play the piano for people. As an accomplished pianist and singer I'm hoping that there will be enough amdram societies, exam accompanying, hotel, church, funeral and wedding work, nursing homes etc that will bung me a bit of cash to play for them.

 

[albal]

I know there are plenty do it self employed on a regular basis, but my suggestion was to be more like an agency to try and get paid as much as possible. My brother isn't looking for anything regular, he has too much cycling he wants to do, but backfilling for top dollar appealed to him.

I run my own agency, i,m a freelance currently working 3 weeks in 4. From experience i work for those that pay the quickest. Late payers don't get another job from me.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I was thinking this recently due to various life events...

What would you do? Any niche areas??

If this is something that you're seriously considering it doesn't matter what I, or anyone else, would do.
It only matters what you do.

I find this very interesting.....

Categorized them into jobs of different responsibilities/ stresses.

Low stress = flooded market = cheap start up costs.

Dog walking, gardening, delivery driver. Many with van.

Medium stress = higher skills = greater rewards

Carpenters, Builders, wood burner installations, sand blasting etc etc.

Higher stress, risks and reward.

Plumbing, sparky, tree surgeons,

Why organised by stress?
We're all different and what I may find stressful may be a fun thing for you.

I know someone who, later in life became a delivery driver. Loves machines, loves driving but the stress is off the scale. Deadlines, traffic, accidents, the interconnections.
Similarly, I once had to hire a tree surgeon to top a tree. As someone terrified of heights I was intrigued by his work. A more laid-back, interesting chap would be hard to find. The amount of time he spent on the ground as opposed to the tree was very interesting. Most of the "work" was expended in planning. The execution was the easy part.

If this is something you're genuinely interested in, there is no shortage of literature out there and services to help us assess what we might be good at, what we'd enjoy and what would fit in with our priorities, new or old. It may also be no harm to consider the "holistic" view, by that I mean the totality of our lives, priorities, habits, relationships, the whole shebang. If not now, when?

There is always the possibility of a whole new direction underpinned by new education and qualification.

For the sake of transparency, I was self employed and an employer for the guts of two decades. I changed direction, retrained and started in a whole new career, in a relatively new (to me) country. It hasn't been easy but I'm thriving and regret not a thing. I tend to always have a few ideas simmering away for what I could do but I'm currently enjoying settling into a new lifestyle and don't feel any urgency to pursue them and enjoy the absence of stress and responsibility of being a boss.

 

[oldwheels]

That's a good point.

Every pound saved is pressure off the top line, so kill the costs at every opportunity.

Good point.
I had an argument with the local council regarding waste collection My point was that the only thing which went into our landfill bin was used teabags. Everything else ,even the scrap was turned into profit which would otherwise have been lost.

 

[Sterlo]

Good point.
I had an argument with the local council regarding waste collection My point was that the only thing which went into our landfill bin was used teabags. Everything else ,even the scrap was turned into profit which would otherwise have been lost.

Couldn't you have recycled the teabags, honestly what a waste.