the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

So I’m approaching 40 and hate my job with a passion, I’ve been building a business over the last few years and it’s now or never so I have my notice typed and in hand ready to give in tomorrow. Basically this is a fishing exercise for moral support, I’m terrified so any shouts of ‘you can do it’ will be gratefully received. Or if after reading the brief details below you think it is crazy then it’s not too late to pull the plug.

I’m going from being a data analyst in a hateful corporate machine to doing it self employed working in more ethical industries. I have a small contract to get started on and 3 months wages saved plus I’ve cleared down my debts as much as possible and built up my savings a little.

My employer was charging £165 an hour for my time, I can charge less than half of that, work half the hours and get paid double the money I’m currently on, that’s how much I was getting shit on. Sounds simple but I know it will be hard getting the work and I have a mortgage and a kid. Because of how many hours I’m working I’d basically wound up my personal training work which I now will have time to pursue alongside for extra income. And as I want to largely work for the health industry I hope there will be some good cross pollination.

Any thoughts/experiences gratefully received!

Best of luck to you!
The few friends I have that are wealthy are all self employed.

northern_mantis wrote:Basically this is a fishing exercise for moral support, I’m terrified so any shouts of ‘you can do it’ will be gratefully received.

YOU CAN DO IT!



I'm 42 now and I've been self-employed for 7 years. Finally, after struggling and working hard to get around, the last two years things have started to look better. I would never ever want to work for anyone again. Love being my own boss.

Just GO FOR IT!

And remember the wise words of Donald Trump: "Don't be a quitter. Never ever give up!"

Bill wrote:Best of luck to you!
The few friends I have that are wealthy are all self employed.

Thanks man, I would settle for happy and making ends meet but wealthy sounds good!

Bao wrote:

northern_mantis wrote:Basically this is a fishing exercise for moral support, I’m terrified so any shouts of ‘you can do it’ will be gratefully received.

YOU CAN DO IT!



I'm 42 now and I've been self-employed for 7 years. Finally, after struggling and working hard to get around, the last two years things have started to look better. I would never ever want to work for anyone again. Love being my own boss.

Just GO FOR IT!

And remember the wise words of Donald Trump: "Don't be a quitter. Never ever give up!"

Haha thanks very much. Can I ask what sort of industry you work in?

northern_mantis wrote:Haha thanks very much. Can I ask what sort of industry you work in?

Online marketing, mostly focusing on SEO but I also do SEM, write copy, do content marketing, work with social media and online campaigns, etc.

But I’ve tested a few other things the latest years.... organizing educational courses and helped a few companies with import/export to and from China. But I’ve got so many SEO clients now so that part has taken over, so I don’t have much time for other stuff.

The thing is when you start your own business and keep an open mind, you can meet a whole lot of different people that gives you inspiration or give you opportunities that you would never have guessed would come in your way. If you just keep the boulder rolling, you might need to steer around some obstacles or maybe you need to change your direction slightly, but if you adjust to the roads ahead, you can still keep it rolling.


.....

Edit:

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance."
-Bruce Barton



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northern_mantis wrote:So I’m approaching 40 and hate my job with a passion, I’ve been building a business over the last few years and it’s now or never so I have my notice typed and in hand ready to give in tomorrow. Basically this is a fishing exercise for moral support, I’m terrified so any shouts of ‘you can do it’ will be gratefully received. Or if after reading the brief details below you think it is crazy then it’s not too late to pull the plug.

Its not yes you can, or you can do it,,,,its why not

I’m going from being a data analyst in a hateful corporate machine to doing it self employed working in more ethical industries. I have a small contract to get started on and 3 months wages saved plus I’ve cleared down my debts as much as possible and built up my savings a little.

3 months seems a little tight, 12 would have been better but sometimes one has to go with what has not what they would have liked, Regarding the machine, In the industries I used to work in were and are pretty cutthroat, did meet some good people, sounds like hopefully you'll be able to pick and choose the projects that resonate with you maybe even develop or move into other areas not yet revealed...never know whats out there




My employer was charging £165 an hour for my time, I can charge less than half of that, work half the hours and get paid double the money I’m currently on, that’s how much I was getting shit on. Sounds simple but I know it will be hard getting the work and I have a mortgage and a kid. Because of how many hours I’m working I’d basically wound up my personal training work which I now will have time to pursue alongside for extra income. And as I want to largely work for the health industry I hope there will be some good cross pollination. Cool move, doors should start to revile themselves

Any thoughts/experiences gratefully received!

applaud your effort, takes a lot of courage. Many talk about few do it.
I am doing now what I should have done long ago, its great, and very free feeling.
I hope you find the same

best of luck

Cool, thanks. That’s good advice, one of my friends done the same a couple of years ago to develop her reiki healing business. She ended up supplementing it by doing some pet sitting but never doubted than Self employment was the way forward.

Awesome quote, I’m trying to take some inspiration every day, seems just as important as brushing your teeth or exercising.

windwalker wrote:

northern_mantis wrote:So I’m approaching 40 and hate my job with a passion, I’ve been building a business over the last few years and it’s now or never so I have my notice typed and in hand ready to give in tomorrow. Basically this is a fishing exercise for moral support, I’m terrified so any shouts of ‘you can do it’ will be gratefully received. Or if after reading the brief details below you think it is crazy then it’s not too late to pull the plug.

Its not yes you can, or you can do it,,,,its why not

I’m going from being a data analyst in a hateful corporate machine to doing it self employed working in more ethical industries. I have a small contract to get started on and 3 months wages saved plus I’ve cleared down my debts as much as possible and built up my savings a little.

3 months seems a little tight, 12 would have been better but sometimes one has to go with what has not what they would have liked, Regarding the machine, In the industries I used to work in were and are pretty cutthroat, did meet some good people, sounds like hopefully you'll be able to pick and choose the projects that resonate with you maybe even develop or move into other areas not yet revealed...never know whats out there




My employer was charging £165 an hour for my time, I can charge less than half of that, work half the hours and get paid double the money I’m currently on, that’s how much I was getting shit on. Sounds simple but I know it will be hard getting the work and I have a mortgage and a kid. Because of how many hours I’m working I’d basically wound up my personal training work which I now will have time to pursue alongside for extra income. And as I want to largely work for the health industry I hope there will be some good cross pollination. Cool move, doors should start to revile themselves

Any thoughts/experiences gratefully received!

applaud your effort, takes a lot of courage. Many talk about few do it.
I am doing now what I should have done long ago, its great, and very free feeling.
I hope you find the same

best of luck

Thanks man. Getting to 40 has hit hard but in a good way, I don’t mind being older, quite like it in fact but life is passing by so time to grab it by the balls!

Good for you man! I am 38 and have been successfully self employed for the last 5 years or so.

Similar situation. I want to start a company (pretty high risk product company). Instead I left a large company to start a product for a small services company. Couldn't be happier so far. I still want to go the start-up route.

A friend of mine who is already starting a start-up at first started a training services company. He said this is a great way to go to get started with lucrative self-employment, assuming you have expertise (everyone has relative expertise). You design one course, and then deliver it multiple times per year (the same course). It seems possible you could do this with data analysis classes as part of your self-employment. Then he would do 2 or 3 consulting gigs mainly to have fresh experience and stories. But the profit center for him was training. Here is a little breakdown:

1. Design course. This is all done on your time, based on your experience in your gigs. No revenue.
2. Rent hotel space for training course. Possibly $1000 (in USA). You can search with sites like hotelplanner.com
3. Charge about $500-1000 for a one day class. Get 10-20 people.
4. Provide lunch (you could hand out prepaid cards for a fast-casual restaurant next to hotel) at about $15 pp.
5. Profit for one class (not including travel) is about $7000 - $15000 or so.
6. Repeat this 10x per year.
7. The students are leads for your gigs, and the gigs provide stories and demand assessment for training.

Go for it, brother.

I-mon wrote:Good for you man! I am 38 and have been successfully self employed for the last 5 years or so.

Thanks. Can I ask what it is you do? It's really good to see so many people are going it alone.

everything wrote:Similar situation. I want to start a company (pretty high risk product company). Instead I left a large company to start a product for a small services company. Couldn't be happier so far. I still want to go the start-up route.

A friend of mine who is already starting a start-up at first started a training services company. He said this is a great way to go to get started with lucrative self-employment, assuming you have expertise (everyone has relative expertise). You design one course, and then deliver it multiple times per year (the same course). It seems possible you could do this with data analysis classes as part of your self-employment. Then he would do 2 or 3 consulting gigs mainly to have fresh experience and stories. But the profit center for him was training. Here is a little breakdown:

1. Design course. This is all done on your time, based on your experience in your gigs. No revenue.
2. Rent hotel space for training course. Possibly $1000 (in USA). You can search with sites like hotelplanner.com
3. Charge about $500-1000 for a one day class. Get 10-20 people.
4. Provide lunch (you could hand out prepaid cards for a fast-casual restaurant next to hotel) at about $15 pp.
5. Profit for one class (not including travel) is about $7000 - $15000 or so.
6. Repeat this 10x per year.
7. The students are leads for your gigs, and the gigs provide stories and demand assessment for training.

That's really interesting, thanks. It definitely seems like services are easier to get working than a product based business especially if you're flexible about what you deliver.

Went out at age 50, had consultancy for 17 years. Advice, have 6 months savings so you can pay rent and eat with no income. Have a business plan, list potential clients and work through them. Don't rent permanent office until income merits it.Be prepared to work hard[80 hr weeks] and give up your previous life. Make sure this is what you want, you are not doing it to impress people or massage your ego.There is an element of luck involved, but there is a way of being lucky[read Wisemans book below]
The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind: Richard .Wiseman
https://www.amazon.com/Luck-Factor-Scie ... 151137683X
... and graphed research data from his eight-year study of luck, Wiseman's book promises to offer "a scientifically proven way to understand, control, and increase your luck." While many believe luck is a mystical force influenced by superstitious rituals, Wiseman, psychology chair at the University of Herfordshire in England,