A bit off topic

[Rebel1012]

Sigh just so depressed about the whole thing and unsure of where to go

Thought a bit of a moan here would help

I am getting made redundant from my day job as a council worker and i expect to pick up a tidy sum, the same as i would get in a year after tax at current wages......

Now i also work self employed part time and i normally bring in £200 a week from purely part time work in the security sector......this job is on contract and i have been told as long as i can do it the contract is mine as i have been loyal and stood by them when others have let them down....plus the quality of work is high for the area and they pay one of the lowest rates in the area......so that is fairly secure guarenteed work

I have looked around and i can easily be a wage slave for a new day job as i am over qualified for the cleaning work i do now and can get another security sector job or office job fairly easy because of my experience and training.

But me being me and having this nice bit of cash coming my way i have done some research and found that if i up my game and go self employed in the deep cleaning and insurance work arena i could literally make a killing or at minimum make at least as much as i do now as a wage slave but i would be the one calling the shots etc.

I have looked into the costs of getting the equptment needed and to get middle of the range gear it would take a third of my redundancy, to buy a good van to get me and my gear mobile would take around another third....leaving me a third as a nest egg.....or to let the mrs use to pay her debts.

Now the mrs wants me to go into wage slave again just so that i can guarentee a monthly wage rather than risking on a uncertain market. Now if i can get the work im thinking of we are talking £15 to £25 an hour before material costs...but if i own all my equiptment and i can get the chemicals cheaply enough i will be getting at least £10 an hour in labour costs for each and every hour i work.

I am also thinking i have 2 young kids a 5 year old boy and a soon to be 4 year old girl.... i want to have the time at home to show them a good childhood whilst also in my mind working up a decent business that they can inherit or work for when they are of age, my 5 year old boy loves coming to work with me now and helping out or following me around on my days off doing daddy jobs. Im thinking he would love to help out in his days off school as long as i dont let him near any dangerous chemicals or situations (and trust me im over the top with his safety) it would be a nice experience for him and teach him of the world etc.

I have been offered contracts that would bring in at least a small income now and im only thinking through this venture, and i am certain i can bring it off and earn a decent living out of it.

The problem is the mrs, she would rather have something that will bring in a steady amount month after month working for someone else rather than take the risk, also she wants to get her hands on my pay off to pay for things she owes. She is demanding and complains often that i have to go to work now but she never complains about the pay. And to be honest i am wondering if i do go self employed entirely would i ever be allowed to work due to her complaints and expectations.

Its something in my mind i can do and do well, but it may be a case of having to leave her and the kids to get it done as she is so negative and seems to feel that the pay off i am getting should be hers as i mostly pay for everything now.

Rant over but im sort of an outsider in this country as i moved here for her...so i dont have many friends other than work to discuss it with and all my family are in a different country

[telecom_goddess]

tough call.....I can see her side, wanting a guaranteed paycheck rather than something uncertain. But if you go for the uncertain thing it COULD pay off well.

I guess it would depend on whether you really think it could take off, and have done thorough research.

[MoonCat]

One thing I would suggest is sitting down with the Mrs., without the kids so there are no distractions, and having a serious heart-to-heart talk with her. Being your own boss has its good points and its bad points, so you want to be sure you can lay out the good things and bad things clearly for both of you to talk about. In her defense, having a guaranteed income is a good thing, and as for the bills maybe she just wants to get everything paid off so you guys don't have a lot of debt. There may be a way to do that without giving up your dream of owning your own business, for example, taking another job with a plan set up to pay off the bills (without racking up new ones, so no credit card purchases unless necessary, etc.), while planning to quit and start your own business in, say, a year...you get the idea. Details up to you, of course. Just some things to think about.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

[Mikkel]

I think MoonCat is right. At least your wife need to know how you feel.
I owned my own shop for sixteen years and was part-owner of another for some years before that.
It's nice to be your own boss. The downside is that you never know how much you'll make next month and unexpected illness can wipe you out.

[Geek King]

Why not both? For a little bit, at least.

Get a part-time wage slave job, and start building your personal buisness in the off time. As your business grows, you can request fewer hours at the wage slave job. The only thing is that the wage slave job will have to be outside of what you want to do as your own company, as nobody will want to hire someone who will be competing with them.

You get some monthly income, and have a fallback in case your new business starts slow.

[Rebel1012]

Ok guys, an update to this one. Sort of told the mrs its what i want to do and i am going to do it with or without her support.

Shes decided to sort of support me whilst stuill being doubtfull, though i have explained my idea to her and how i plan to make it work etc and she does agree we wont be any worse off probibly than we are now, and the chance it really takes off well is quite good as i will be able to cover 3 large markets which are largely undersupported around here.

Im at the stage where i have my end date and payoff amount (after much ado...they put us on hold while they made all management re-apply for their own jobs) i have had a small loan off the bank to get me started with equipment, and i also qualify for a government grant which will pay a third of my start up costs. Im just waiting for my uniform to be delivered and 2 key peices of equipment then i will spend the next few weeks working jobs for friends to get my skills down and explore if i can do everything i think i can professionally (doing for yourself, asd charging money from others to do simular jobs...is not at all alike trust me)

Only obsticle at the moment is i cant really afford a van yet, im trading in my little sport car for a deposit on one, but with the loan to start up and i have some finance on a 4x4 i am scared to apply for credit to get a new van. Mrs is pushing me to get a small second hand one which wont cost me very much after the trade in, but i may not get my stuff into it...its a car derived van. But it has its advantages...a small very efficiant engine for a start....also loaded i wouldent be able to overtake the most senile of grandmothers out for a half the speed limit cruise....well not without a half mile run up......

But yeah, im going for it. I am having a site made up by one of the members on here who has some lovely work in their portfolio.....im leaving the site design to their artistic wants so im looking forward to seeing what i get, and the price is in the range i planning on spending ne ways...so win win.

[Mytical]

Keep in mind, owning your own business is much harder then people think. You are going to work more hours, and at first you will be 'in the red' so to speak (with the loan, rent, insurance, etc). So you will be losing money hourly (at least at first) but if you are willing to put in the hard hours to get it started up..you can do it.

[Rebel1012]

Bear in mind i normally worl over 50 hours a well now so i am quite willing to put the hours in....

[Mytical]

Of that I have no doubt . Hard work and dedication will go far, which I am sure you have.

There is a lot of things that people do not understand about owning their own business, and just putting up a cautionary message. . While I know you don't think this way, too many have a false idea how owning their own business will go.