Run my own business. It's a success but I hate it!
Discussion
I left the Marines in 2008 after nearly 10 years enjoying a very outdoors and varied lifestyle. The money was crap back then and the lure of civvy street, planned time off and better pay was enough to tempt me away from being a man of war! I started working for my father in law as an apprentice goldsmith and having been quite handy in the art / design department as a youngster i found quite early on that i had an aptitude for the job. Admittedly I did struggle for a couple of years to adjust to being indoors all day and didn't get on with the 0800 to 1700+ lifestyle. I also hate working with the public (especially women with too much time on their hands) and find my stress levels raised when dealing with time wasters and general numpties!
I did try to keep up with time in the gym and set regular personal physical challenges in order to maintain my previous state of mind and body but health issues built up, probably due to stress and frustration. After 4 1/2 years in the workshop the wife and i took the business over. Then a year later I was diagnosed with bowel cancer (October 2013). Obviously i cannot blame my job for the cancer but the way i felt for the first couple of years after leaving the forces caused me some serious mental issues and at one point I had a breakdown that worried my wife and family. This will not have helped me and many have said the stress was a likely trigger. I have been asked about possible PTSD but have never done anything about it. I have a lot on my mind and very few places to unload it unfortunately.
So, cancer beaten and back to work the missus and I are running the business as it was before. Well, it's actually me running it as I have a 12 month old son and the wife is at home 4 days out of 5 during the week. I do have an employee but at 60 he's set in his ways and i shoulder 70% of the work day to day. We have parted relations with the inlaws due to the mother in-laws mental health (long story) and the strain on my wife and i, and the business was fairly heavy from pretty much the week after my surgery last May to the point when we cut ties in January this year. Then, 10 days ago I had my 1 year CT scan and I've been told there is a 9mm soft tissue mass beside the joint in my bowel where the tumor was removed last year. Luckily a second PET scan has shown it's probably not cancer but ive been put on 6 rounds / 12 weeks of chemo followed by surgery to make sure. Winner!
Prior to leaving the Marines i was always 100% fit, never had a worry and never missed a day of work. I loved the lifestyle and my only concerns were how much money i had for the weekend and what chicks were going to be out in Plymouth from one night to the next. Since i left ive had nothing but niggles and my biggest (bar the cancer) has always been the place i spend most of my time..... the workshop. I hate what i do, despite being bloody good at it. The public do my head in and i never get a break...... ever! Being the boss i have to be there from open to close and can't get away for a walk or lunch. I have 17 independent shops to do work for and a high number of public customers to juggle time with between doing the work and having a family. I can't find new staff to train up and share the load as youngsters don't want to spend time learning a dull trade. I've had 2 apprentices who both left after 12 months due to the stress of the constant concentration. I've had 2 older guys who've been in the trade forever and only one has been worth his wages. People look at my job as an art form and something special but really it's a dirty, stressful, boring, solitary job that i fear will eventually kill me. I think the cancer nightmare is trying to tell me something and i'm not sure how much longer i want to be doing the jewellery thing.
My ideal job would be to run a trout fishery or sell specialist cars to interested customers. But how do i go from earning an 80% profit vs turnover wage under s
t conditions to doing something i'll enjoy whilst keeping my quality of life and standard of living where it is? The business is a very stable income. People always need jewellery repaired or manufactured and despite the problems i've faced I have increased annual turnover by 10% every year since taking it over. It gives me a comfortable living and i have a lovely house, 2 nice cars and my wife and son never want for anything. But as you all know, material things mean nothing if the mind is unwell!
One big downside to this business was that the wife and i had to buy it from the inlaws at full rate (i know!!!!) so most of our money from the past 2 years has been pumped into the parents bank. We have pretty much paid it all now and everything we take from here is ours bar a monthly payment of goodwill (I know!!!) but it annoys me that if i were to shut it down i'd have only stock value and a few months wages to play with. We don't own the property it's in and we have to pay 6 more years rent before being given the option to buy it from the inlaws (i know again!!). Common sense says stick it out a couple of years and pay the mortgage off but i worry i wont make it that far.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as what to do with my life from here? Should i just jack it in and start a fresh in a more enjoyable field? Should i stick it out and try to find staff to do the bread and butter stuff for me? I'm 33 so i'm not old, but with a 1 year old son and bills to pay i'm not young enough to be baggage free!
Your input will be most welcome,
Eddie
I did try to keep up with time in the gym and set regular personal physical challenges in order to maintain my previous state of mind and body but health issues built up, probably due to stress and frustration. After 4 1/2 years in the workshop the wife and i took the business over. Then a year later I was diagnosed with bowel cancer (October 2013). Obviously i cannot blame my job for the cancer but the way i felt for the first couple of years after leaving the forces caused me some serious mental issues and at one point I had a breakdown that worried my wife and family. This will not have helped me and many have said the stress was a likely trigger. I have been asked about possible PTSD but have never done anything about it. I have a lot on my mind and very few places to unload it unfortunately.
So, cancer beaten and back to work the missus and I are running the business as it was before. Well, it's actually me running it as I have a 12 month old son and the wife is at home 4 days out of 5 during the week. I do have an employee but at 60 he's set in his ways and i shoulder 70% of the work day to day. We have parted relations with the inlaws due to the mother in-laws mental health (long story) and the strain on my wife and i, and the business was fairly heavy from pretty much the week after my surgery last May to the point when we cut ties in January this year. Then, 10 days ago I had my 1 year CT scan and I've been told there is a 9mm soft tissue mass beside the joint in my bowel where the tumor was removed last year. Luckily a second PET scan has shown it's probably not cancer but ive been put on 6 rounds / 12 weeks of chemo followed by surgery to make sure. Winner!
Prior to leaving the Marines i was always 100% fit, never had a worry and never missed a day of work. I loved the lifestyle and my only concerns were how much money i had for the weekend and what chicks were going to be out in Plymouth from one night to the next. Since i left ive had nothing but niggles and my biggest (bar the cancer) has always been the place i spend most of my time..... the workshop. I hate what i do, despite being bloody good at it. The public do my head in and i never get a break...... ever! Being the boss i have to be there from open to close and can't get away for a walk or lunch. I have 17 independent shops to do work for and a high number of public customers to juggle time with between doing the work and having a family. I can't find new staff to train up and share the load as youngsters don't want to spend time learning a dull trade. I've had 2 apprentices who both left after 12 months due to the stress of the constant concentration. I've had 2 older guys who've been in the trade forever and only one has been worth his wages. People look at my job as an art form and something special but really it's a dirty, stressful, boring, solitary job that i fear will eventually kill me. I think the cancer nightmare is trying to tell me something and i'm not sure how much longer i want to be doing the jewellery thing.
My ideal job would be to run a trout fishery or sell specialist cars to interested customers. But how do i go from earning an 80% profit vs turnover wage under s
t conditions to doing something i'll enjoy whilst keeping my quality of life and standard of living where it is? The business is a very stable income. People always need jewellery repaired or manufactured and despite the problems i've faced I have increased annual turnover by 10% every year since taking it over. It gives me a comfortable living and i have a lovely house, 2 nice cars and my wife and son never want for anything. But as you all know, material things mean nothing if the mind is unwell! One big downside to this business was that the wife and i had to buy it from the inlaws at full rate (i know!!!!) so most of our money from the past 2 years has been pumped into the parents bank. We have pretty much paid it all now and everything we take from here is ours bar a monthly payment of goodwill (I know!!!) but it annoys me that if i were to shut it down i'd have only stock value and a few months wages to play with. We don't own the property it's in and we have to pay 6 more years rent before being given the option to buy it from the inlaws (i know again!!). Common sense says stick it out a couple of years and pay the mortgage off but i worry i wont make it that far.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as what to do with my life from here? Should i just jack it in and start a fresh in a more enjoyable field? Should i stick it out and try to find staff to do the bread and butter stuff for me? I'm 33 so i'm not old, but with a 1 year old son and bills to pay i'm not young enough to be baggage free!
Your input will be most welcome,
Eddie
0000 said:
ecain63 said:
My ideal job would be to run a trout fishery or sell specialist cars to interested customers. But how do i go from earning an 80% profit vs turnover wage under st conditions to doing something i'll enjoy whilst keeping my quality of life and standard of living where it is?
Work's a big chunk of your quality of life. It sounds as though you need to figure out what you actually want to do for a living first before you can plan how to transition there. Any scope for hiring someone else to take on some of your hours in the business? I've found taking time out from my own business, spending time out running, cleaning the house and little else, is a good way of figuring out what else to do.t conditions to doing something i'll enjoy whilst keeping my quality of life and standard of living where it is?No great insights here, good luck though.
AndStilliRise said:
Sounds like your in-laws have ripped you off. It looks like you are working for their retirement and the fact they are enjoying their lives whilst you, your wife and son are miserable. If there is one thing the cancer should have told you is that life is to short.
Get out whilst you can and tell your in-laws to stick it.
You are right i feel. I am convinced the father in law has stitched me up financially with the purchase, despite offering me a profitable business that would provide for me and my family for many years. There is no way he could have sold it as a business to anyone else as it would have zero value regarding 'staying' customers. It only had a value when we bought it because customers knew who'd be running it once the old man had gone. Get out whilst you can and tell your in-laws to stick it.
Cancer has shown me that life is short, no doubt about it. Since completing my treatment last year ive done 13 hours of PPL lessons, run the London Marathon and broken a Guinness World Record in the process. I've attended Vmax and run at 168mph in my little A45. These are all things that I live for and are funded by my work, but work is a huge percentage of my life and I'm sure i can be doing all those other things yet be enjoying work a bit more than i am now. Just need to find a way.
cheddar said:
I've been exactly where you are, from HM forces to my own successful business which I grew to dislike. I sold up and now do what I love for much less money but far greater richness and satisfaction.
Sell it or just walk away from it.
Be bold, visionary, savvy and aware - make a better life for yourself, you won't look back.
That's the spirit I normally possess. The question is what to do after walking away that needs answering. Sell it or just walk away from it.
Be bold, visionary, savvy and aware - make a better life for yourself, you won't look back.
jammy_basturd said:
Talk to your in-laws, tell them how miserable you are, try to negotiate a new deal.
If they realise you might be able to walk away then they'd be stupid not to enter into a dialogue with you.
Then hire someone part time to give you some work life balance.
I've attempted this. The problem is that the mother in law is unwell upstairs and the father in law won't do anything to rectify it. She gets over excited in times of stress (house not tidy, people not doing what she says, daughters exams / wedding / pregnancy / birth of grandson......) or when events are approaching (holiday, Christmas etc) and takes her confusion out on her daughter. Violently and vindictively so! We put up with it for years but when my son came along last May she lost the plot and we drew the line. The father in law is scared of her. Scared to get hung out to dry. he couldn't survive a week on his own. He'd starve and be naked with no clean clothes! As a result he says nothing and has lost his grandson in the process. They still receive payments from the business and holiday as per normal. Life is complicated! If they realise you might be able to walk away then they'd be stupid not to enter into a dialogue with you.
Then hire someone part time to give you some work life balance.
16plates said:
Are you profitable enough to hire someone part-time? The way the world is now, i bet there are experienced goldsmiths sitting out of work near you.
Offer them 2 days a week or 16 hours or whatever to start with, if they prove good, then you have the luxury of getting them in more often and taking more time for yourself.
Either way, I agree you'd be mad to sack it off now, when it's making you money!
Yeah, more than profitable to hire and pay a decent wage for quality work. It's finding quality that is the problem. Any goldsmith worth his / her salt will be running their own workshop and I don't want to bring somebody in who will poach my customers! That's how my father in law got started! You can see a picture being painted here can't you? lolOffer them 2 days a week or 16 hours or whatever to start with, if they prove good, then you have the luxury of getting them in more often and taking more time for yourself.
Either way, I agree you'd be mad to sack it off now, when it's making you money!
Grumfutock said:
Let me offer a view from the other side. I retired from the Army in 2008 after 22 years and was going to start my own business as a surveyor. Sadly the arse fell out of the world economy and so I pulled the plug before I had sunk to much of my money into retraining etc. Resettlement didn't even come close to covering it so i was out of pocket by a fair whack but glad I didn't waste more.
Anyway, I ended up getting a job as an Operations Manager which, as an ex SNCO, I can do standing on my head and whilst it isn't for huge money it is good enough. I also went through the mental health bit and thankfully came out the other side, although I still have the odd moment and I hate firework night.
So to the main bit. I work for somebody else. It is easy and the money is ok. But it is so boring. No challenge at all and I find myself on places like this during work time
.
What I am trying to say mate is that the grass is not always greener. I now live for the family and weekends.
Sure, i hear what you are saying. There is always a risk that i'd throw away a perfectly good business to hunt for a better life and only find myself worse off. My job is dirty, it's bad for my health, it's antisocial and it's stressful. It's all the things I didn't want in my life. I crave the freedom to go for a walk and get some fresh air at lunch time. I hate being Mr Nice-Guy to the public when they are blatantly taking the mick. I hate that my eyes are deteriorating with every hour that i'm staring at an object 6 inches from my face! I hate the lack of exercise! I hate being alone with my thoughts for 9 hours a day. I need access to the world, not just cooped up in a concrete box staring at metal and rocks.Anyway, I ended up getting a job as an Operations Manager which, as an ex SNCO, I can do standing on my head and whilst it isn't for huge money it is good enough. I also went through the mental health bit and thankfully came out the other side, although I still have the odd moment and I hate firework night.
So to the main bit. I work for somebody else. It is easy and the money is ok. But it is so boring. No challenge at all and I find myself on places like this during work time
.What I am trying to say mate is that the grass is not always greener. I now live for the family and weekends.
I love the income and the flexibility and confidence it gives to my family. I love the small perks that go with being a jeweller: Access to watches and other things that i can enjoy at the weekend. But, i'd give the material things up right now if it meant i could find something that would pay the bills and have me happy, healthy and content with my lot.
trickywoo said:
Is there any option for just doing the highest end jobs? i.e. do 40% of the work you are now for 75% of the money.
This is an option I have looked at briefly. I have thought about maybe bringing the workshop home, thus saving on the rent payments to the inlaws. The plan would involve building a workshop on the rear of the house and concentrating solely on the trade customers rather than the public work. Currently the trade work is 60 to 70% of my income, but is 80% of my workload. The public stuff can range from 25% to 40% of the income depending on what i take in / sell in a month but is much lower volume. I'd happily just do the public work but how do i get the footfall at home? I'd need to stick to the trade customers and have them deliver / post as they do now at the shop. But then i'd be down on income, down on staff but still doing 80% of the original load that was shared between 2. Or, i could really scale back and concentrate on my 7 or 8 best shops. That would just about cover us but we'd be saving nothing for a rainy day! Tough one eh!!SpeckledJim said:
If your customers think you are the best, and you are too busy, then you are too cheap.
Whack your prices up, some of the work will evaporate, and what is left will make more money.
The major reason to be self employed is to be able to determine your own work-load, and price will let you do that overnight.
You speak great sense! I'll look into this i think.Whack your prices up, some of the work will evaporate, and what is left will make more money.
The major reason to be self employed is to be able to determine your own work-load, and price will let you do that overnight.
Grumfutock said:
ecain63 said:
Sure, i hear what you are saying. There is always a risk that i'd throw away a perfectly good business to hunt for a better life and only find myself worse off. My job is dirty, it's bad for my health, it's antisocial and it's stressful. It's all the things I didn't want in my life. I crave the freedom to go for a walk and get some fresh air at lunch time. I hate being Mr Nice-Guy to the public when they are blatantly taking the mick. I hate that my eyes are deteriorating with every hour that i'm staring at an object 6 inches from my face! I hate the lack of exercise! I hate being alone with my thoughts for 9 hours a day. I need access to the world, not just cooped up in a concrete box staring at metal and rocks.
I love the income and the flexibility and confidence it gives to my family. I love the small perks that go with being a jeweller: Access to watches and other things that i can enjoy at the weekend. But, i'd give the material things up right now if it meant i could find something that would pay the bills and have me happy, healthy and content with my lot.
I fully understand. I refuse to do stress (had enough of that in the past life) and I refuse to work away from home (otherwise I would be one of those tax dodging swine in Iraq/Stan/etc) but rather I prefer to earn enough to pay the bills, have a tiny bit left to spoil the wife from time to time and be with the family.I love the income and the flexibility and confidence it gives to my family. I love the small perks that go with being a jeweller: Access to watches and other things that i can enjoy at the weekend. But, i'd give the material things up right now if it meant i could find something that would pay the bills and have me happy, healthy and content with my lot.
The great liberty boat in the sky will arrive soon enough and it will be time for the big sleep. So my advice to you is go for it. Do what makes you and the family happy, bugger the rest of the world and enjoy! Just remember it can go pete tong but you ain't the sort to want to live without trying or worry about regrets I suspect.
TBH I suspect you have already decided. Good luck to you mate.
One question, did you do enough for the pension? That is a nice cushion if you do jump.
0a said:
Just a thought, but something I have experienced (so please ignore as nonsense).
You have clearly been through a lot of stressful and changing situations. Cancer, a young child and running your own business can all be considered life changing on their own.
Could you be depressed (or stressed), with your focus on a dislike for your job being too narrow an assessment of what is wrong? I've been there myself and with hindsight it wasn't really all about the job at all.
It's a possibility. I'm in tomorrow for pre-chemo and i have already planned to ask my oncologist if they have any good head doctors to hand. Both the wife and I have had a really heavy past 18 months and have had no time to process it. I've still got baggage from my time in the forces and I feel it would be of benefit to get that thrashed out at the same time. Work is still my issue i reckon and if i can get that balanced the rest will fall into place im sure.You have clearly been through a lot of stressful and changing situations. Cancer, a young child and running your own business can all be considered life changing on their own.
Could you be depressed (or stressed), with your focus on a dislike for your job being too narrow an assessment of what is wrong? I've been there myself and with hindsight it wasn't really all about the job at all.
Edd
Grumfutock said:
ecain63 said:
Grumfutock said:
Your not in Bournemouth are you? I nearly went for a gold based thing there in 2008 and recall chatting to somebody from PH about it and i am sure they were an ex Marine.
Yup! All me And you lot call us hats stupid?
Ok, update.
Today i went in hospital to discuss my next couple of months on the chemo. I start 2nd week of June and will have 8 or 9 weeks of some pretty heavy drugs before another ct scan to see if the little blighter has fooked off! If it has I'll have 8 more weeks of treatment just to be sure! Then i'll be done and dusted! So, that puts me under some reasonable pressure for a good 4 or 5 months from here in, so long as it goes as planned.
I had a chat with the missus and she has decided to put my son into nursery 2 days a week instead of the current 1 as it'll help me out with the public side of the job having her in for an extra day. Also, the treatment means that every 2nd friday will be lost to chemotherapy being administered so potentially, so long as i'm not dying from the side effects i'll have to find the time to make up the lost hours on the bench. Sounding rosey!!!
We are going to look at possibly downsizing / upping prices and also look at moving the workshop to the house and doing mainly trade work at a higher rate with lower overheads. We could still advertise for bespoke stuff, offering a personal service and i'd be happy to have my current good customers come to me at home if they need stuff doing. This should free up time and keep income at a suitable level. As an upside I think i'd be able to offer a better service to those shops that stay with me as i'd be able to dedicate more time to them rather than just squeezing them in, thus justifying the price hike.
One major issue I have with changing jobs at the moment is my health issues. Who will employ somebody on chemo? I bet nobody! Not in a decent job anyway. I had fancied the police or the medical services but they will not employ anyone in my situation i'm sure! As for doing anything drastic, maybe this minute is not the time to do it. Maybe i should see how the reshuffle / downsize goes, wait til the chemo is over and then see where we are with it.
The idea that somebody had about employing enough people for me to not be on the bench sounds ideal and it is the business model that i had always intended. The problem with anything that requires such anal quality control is that i'd be hard pressed to find somebody(s) who i could trust to achieve the same level of finish that is expected by my customers. It goes out wrong then it's me that carries the can. If it's a trade shop that got repeated sub standard or below the usual standard work then i'd have my work cut out convincing them that i'm worth the premium over the couple of other (routinely crap), cheaper workshops in the area. Some of my shops give me £30k+ per year and i can't risk losing them for anything other than a calculated change to proceedings. If the right people came to me for work then i'd hire without question. There just aren't that many of them looking for work in the area because it's not one of those jobs that people train for in the UK any more.
Eddie
Today i went in hospital to discuss my next couple of months on the chemo. I start 2nd week of June and will have 8 or 9 weeks of some pretty heavy drugs before another ct scan to see if the little blighter has fooked off! If it has I'll have 8 more weeks of treatment just to be sure! Then i'll be done and dusted! So, that puts me under some reasonable pressure for a good 4 or 5 months from here in, so long as it goes as planned.
I had a chat with the missus and she has decided to put my son into nursery 2 days a week instead of the current 1 as it'll help me out with the public side of the job having her in for an extra day. Also, the treatment means that every 2nd friday will be lost to chemotherapy being administered so potentially, so long as i'm not dying from the side effects i'll have to find the time to make up the lost hours on the bench. Sounding rosey!!!
We are going to look at possibly downsizing / upping prices and also look at moving the workshop to the house and doing mainly trade work at a higher rate with lower overheads. We could still advertise for bespoke stuff, offering a personal service and i'd be happy to have my current good customers come to me at home if they need stuff doing. This should free up time and keep income at a suitable level. As an upside I think i'd be able to offer a better service to those shops that stay with me as i'd be able to dedicate more time to them rather than just squeezing them in, thus justifying the price hike.
One major issue I have with changing jobs at the moment is my health issues. Who will employ somebody on chemo? I bet nobody! Not in a decent job anyway. I had fancied the police or the medical services but they will not employ anyone in my situation i'm sure! As for doing anything drastic, maybe this minute is not the time to do it. Maybe i should see how the reshuffle / downsize goes, wait til the chemo is over and then see where we are with it.
The idea that somebody had about employing enough people for me to not be on the bench sounds ideal and it is the business model that i had always intended. The problem with anything that requires such anal quality control is that i'd be hard pressed to find somebody(s) who i could trust to achieve the same level of finish that is expected by my customers. It goes out wrong then it's me that carries the can. If it's a trade shop that got repeated sub standard or below the usual standard work then i'd have my work cut out convincing them that i'm worth the premium over the couple of other (routinely crap), cheaper workshops in the area. Some of my shops give me £30k+ per year and i can't risk losing them for anything other than a calculated change to proceedings. If the right people came to me for work then i'd hire without question. There just aren't that many of them looking for work in the area because it's not one of those jobs that people train for in the UK any more.
Eddie
slow_poke said:
ecain63 said:
There just aren't that many of them looking for work in the area because it's not one of those jobs that people train for in the UK any more.
Can't find quality, trained, qualified staff locally? Have you tried recruiting nationally?or, just import a foreign national goldsmith. Bound to be suitably skilled goldsmiths in India or Thailand.
His mum came in the following week and apologised for her son not doing so well. And then she told me why: He was drinking all night after work and also drinking in the morning before work. She wanted him to get the job just to give him something to do, rather than just piss it up all the time. Tragic case but i'm glad i found out when i did.
BGARK said:
How about taking on an apprentice, the government are throwing money at this at the moment, including helping with the recruitment process.
We did this twice when my father in law was running the business. We'd take it in turns to teach and supervise the new guy, but they got bored after a year or found they didnt have the aptitude for anything more than the basics. Now it's just me and my one employee i don't have the time to train anyone up from scratch. I'm happy to adjust the skills of an already trained goldsmith but not to get somebody from xbox hero to high end quality goldsmith. Even if i did, the risk of a young thruster being really good and then going off to start his own around the corner is a bit too much to deal with at this point.Eddie
Magog said:
Have you considered train driving, or working on the railway in some form. The ability to concentrate for long periods of time, which you clearly have, is one of the core competencies of train driving, and I believe applicants who are ex-military are still looked on fairly kindly.
Any idea on salaries?Eddie
Ok! Me and the missus have done some thinking and here is the conclusion of our efforts:
We have put our prices up to the trade by 10% to 15% and the same to the public. The real world difference in cost to the customer is negligible at the trade end so this should not impact badly on our income. In fact, as has been suggested here it should up our annuals by up to 10% whilst losing some of the low end chaff! If we lose some of the crap jobs from the public I don't mind. Good public customers still see that we are cheaper than the other shops as we don't have the huge mark-ups, and many know that we do the work for the other shops anyway!
My wife is now booked in to run the shop front 2 days a week. This will help me over the coming months when I have chemo and be a real help long term when i'm back 5 days a week. Also, we have agreed that when she is in the office I should be able to go out for an hour at lunch to get some daylight.
Hopefully this will be a help to me, we can only give it a go. If not, we'll have to look at getting her back to work with me looking at something new. She was a director at an accountancy firm until 2 years ago so she won't struggle for work.
Eddie
We have put our prices up to the trade by 10% to 15% and the same to the public. The real world difference in cost to the customer is negligible at the trade end so this should not impact badly on our income. In fact, as has been suggested here it should up our annuals by up to 10% whilst losing some of the low end chaff! If we lose some of the crap jobs from the public I don't mind. Good public customers still see that we are cheaper than the other shops as we don't have the huge mark-ups, and many know that we do the work for the other shops anyway!
My wife is now booked in to run the shop front 2 days a week. This will help me over the coming months when I have chemo and be a real help long term when i'm back 5 days a week. Also, we have agreed that when she is in the office I should be able to go out for an hour at lunch to get some daylight.
Hopefully this will be a help to me, we can only give it a go. If not, we'll have to look at getting her back to work with me looking at something new. She was a director at an accountancy firm until 2 years ago so she won't struggle for work.
Eddie
CAPP0 said:
ecain63 said:
I should be able to go out for an hour at lunch to get some daylight.
Get a dog. Seriously. I imagine in your line of work it could be with you most of not all the time, and at lunchtime it will need a walk and you will HAVE to stop and take it out. I have worked at home for several years and at times tbh it's the dog, and stopping to take it out, that keeps me sane. Plus, when you do take it out, you have a legitimate reason to talk to people (rather than just shuffling up to them as some random and scaring them stless!).I have since considered getting a less nose / food orientated 'shop' dog such as a Belgian Shepherd or similar. But having 2 dogs already means this is a daft idea!
I like you chain of thought though,
swerni said:
Deal with one thing at a time.
Get the chemo out the way first. Assuming you had chemo last year, you know how it's can make you feel.
Life's too short to do something that doesn't make you happy ( I learnt that through having cancer)
First work out what's causing the real problem, is it the job or the thought that you're trapped in something you hate?
if it's the thought that you're trapped, work on the exit strategy, it's amazing how having a goal and a light at the end of the tunnel can change your perspective.
Can the business fund the new venture until it's set up?
Is it a business that can be built and sold again to fund a new venture?
You've been given another chance, use it on something that makes you happy!!!
As an aside, when you were diagnosed, did you check to see if you had any critical illness policies?
We used to have a critical illness policy. We ran it for a good few years and then when we took the business over we decided that at 32 years old we were too young to be adding it to the company insurance policy. Literally 6 months later i'm in having an emergency blood transfusion and being told i have a 10cm tumor! If that's not sods law then i don't know what is. Get the chemo out the way first. Assuming you had chemo last year, you know how it's can make you feel.
Life's too short to do something that doesn't make you happy ( I learnt that through having cancer)
First work out what's causing the real problem, is it the job or the thought that you're trapped in something you hate?
if it's the thought that you're trapped, work on the exit strategy, it's amazing how having a goal and a light at the end of the tunnel can change your perspective.
Can the business fund the new venture until it's set up?
Is it a business that can be built and sold again to fund a new venture?
You've been given another chance, use it on something that makes you happy!!!
As an aside, when you were diagnosed, did you check to see if you had any critical illness policies?
We did have a holiday to Cancun booked for the following month which we recovered costs on but nothing else.
I agree that having been given a second chance, and having this scare i probably should do something that will make me happier than i am now. In the short term i will stick with the above and keep my options open to future changes.
Got your email too. Peace made
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