career advice??!!

[conaero]

If I had my time again Dem I would try to do something that I have a passion for, that way you enjoy going to work everyday, problem is that not many of us get that lucky. How about starting an events management business based around cars......

Andrew, I have always thought this, until talking to a mate of mine. He had a passion for classic cars, so he started a restoration company and a very good one too. Anyway, he said he enjoys the work but its the customers that p!ss him off and as a result, his passion for classic cars has all but gone, something to think about.

 

[NickP]

Renewable energy and green things are the area where money can be made. Recycling, creating energy, conserving energy and so on seem good areas to be in now, especially with prices on the rise. I guess this is also a cut throat area with people fighting for business but there are emerging tecnologies and so on that you could look into, to be an early adopter of one of these would be ideal, picking the right one is key.

The government announced a number of incentives today for staring up a business, worth having a look.

 

[dem maser]

Thanx nick worth looking into.....

 

[dem maser]

Mind you Dem...a McDonalds franchise is a goldmine......know a guy over her who has three.......hes now sleeping on a 6 mattress high bed!!!


P

Looked i to mcds when i went for subway.....
400k is the start up for a small restaurant....

 

[Easyplan66]

Dem do a bit of research on becoming a Party Wall Surveyor it's not hard to get qualified and about £1k per job for about a days work sorting out neighbours when they do building work on the boundary, loads of work in London area, one of my franchisees is training up to do it.

 

[conaero]

Something online retail aimed at kids....there parents always buy them stuff.

Dem, you come up with the idea, Ill build, host and run the website, you market it as you have the degree, split the profits, simples!

Can all be run from your house, so no overheads, stuff it in an envelope, 1 trip to the post office once a day, jobs a good'n

 

[dem maser]

Something online retail aimed at kids....there parents always buy them stuff.

Dem, you come up with the idea, Ill build, host and run the website, you market it as you have the degree, split the profits, simples!

that could work......lets see now..............

 

[Easyplan66]

Something online retail aimed at kids....there parents always buy them stuff.

Dem, you come up with the idea, Ill build, host and run the website, you market it as you have the degree, split the profits, simples!

Can all be run from your house, so no overheads, stuff it in an envelope, 1 trip to the post office once a day, jobs a good'n

Matt have you had any experience in making money from website content

 

[Andyk]

Dem, didn't get to see Chris at the weekend as he is on hols ... Will catch him when he is back next week.

 

[Maser Sod]

The money-for-old-rope job I see at the moment is recruitment consulting. Again, got to be specialised, but we've recently had some people placed at our office on silly day rates with silly money to the recruiters. They're just a body shop, cold calls all day to every oil compnay in the ohone book but they get a bite if the timing is right. Not a nice way to make a living, but if you have a highly motivated team, you can stay out of the donkey work and do the nicer stuff. Like taking people to lunch, or in my case, Take That in the summer!

I'll second that. I've just started a business in the same area. I placed a guy last Friday into a well known mobile phone company, the lad is over the moon with the rate I got him, however what I skim off the top pays my mortgage every month! I also hire myself out, so even if my guys decide to go elsewhere then I am still earning - thus there's no real risk in the venture. V little capital investment either - it's dead easy to find companies for invoicing, managing tax issues, etc.

Don't be afraid to try something new, I used to be a Spanish teacher!

 

[conaero]

Matt have you had any experience in making money from website content

Andrew, not directly, but I own and run a graphic design and web company so I build them for other people. I probably have 100 websites now.

I dont confess to be a Marketing guru, but on the other hand, I build many so alot of it has rubbed off.

With anything, its all about getting seen. Now to do this online it can cost a lot of money, word of mouth and offline marketing are the most cost effective avenues IMHO.

If you have a great product at a great price, beleive me, they will find you.

Launch is critical and its not bad idea to sell at cost in the first 6 months, then as the numbers build, so can your margin.

 

[Woody]

Interesting thread, this.

I too am after something new so I'll watch with interest, see what you end up doing.

Maser Sod, thats good to read - used to be a Spanish teacher and now in recruitment! I had to deal with recruitment consultants (I do interim work as an accountant) and they earn a mint off me. What grates is whether I do a 3 month contract or a 12 month one, they still take 30% on top of what i earn! I reckon its a good game if you're good at networking.

 

[dem maser]

the recruitment does seem to be a good one.....will look into a few of these things and keep you posted.....

 

[Maser Sod]

Maser Sod, thats good to read - used to be a Spanish teacher and now in recruitment.

I should mention that first and foremost I am a telecoms IT consultant. It cost me about 15K to retrain (about 12 years ago). Having spent a good while in the industry now, I know the quality of the people that I place, and I am also able to manage it mostly by word of mouth or through e-mails to ex-colleagues. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is my saviour.

Telcos spend billions per annum, so it's fairly easy to get them to part with big money for the right people. By way of illustration, a few years ago a company I worked for charged me out to a European carrier for 1500 euros a day! I saw about a tenth of that, unfortunately.

 

[PRG123]

I'm a freelance IT consultant, specialising in business intelligence and data warehousing. I also worked for vodafone in the past on there billing systems. If you need any of my skills let me know....

Pete

 

[dem maser]

Going to college or uni doing a part time course to get relevant qualifications is something im willing to do for the right job and in the meantime ill get any job to pay bills till im ready if thats how it has to be....
Thanx for all your input guys....beers on me, after i get a job though hahahahaha

 

[DaveT]

Dem

Even on the road to something more permanent, in the short term there is still money to be made selling cars.
My company spends most of its time in the industry, particularly with salesmen and for every 10 I see I'd probably buy a car off two of them. It's that poor.

If you do the basics with a bit of common civility you'll stand out from most of the crowd. There are still some guys making money - most of the sales guys we see however have very little motivation and want their backsides wiping for them, sadly.

Oh - and you've done it before and proved you can sell. I know the hours tend to be cr@p but it might give you the breathing space while you look at your options.

In any case good luck whatever you choose to do.

 

[dem maser]

Yes dicky i did vw car sales for main dealer and was good at it and always believe that i could sell water to a well so my sales ability im confide t in and thats an option to get me through a course or till something else comes up....its the working weekends that kill it for me as thats what annoyed me bout the restaurant....will get my cv in order and get cracking....

 

[Woody]

In the last few years, the best lesson I've leant is "its not what you know, its who you know".

I did a degree in business and am a qualified accountant.....at the end of the day, if you dont know the right people, none of that counts. My last couple of contracts have come from people I know, so Dem, speak to mates, family etc see if the have anything going. A CV might get your foot in the door, but it wont get you a job - knowng the right people will.

I've got a mate that has a HNC in Horticulture and not a lot else....he recently got a cracking sales job with a great basic, comdey OTE and a brand new 11 plate BMW. Was he qualified for the job? Nope. How did he get it? He knows the bloke who runs the company and gets on well with him.

 

[dem maser]

its who you know, i know this, its hard though as most people i know run their own business and wont let me in, why should they??

they have market stalls in fish markets, they own restaurants, all jobs that they do well on their own....
will bug people and see if anything comes up and again if anything comes up with you guys that you think ill fit the bill let me know...........