Most of the people who take a "business management course " intend to be employed by a big company. They don't usually start their own business.
Being self employed has it good and bad points, such as being able to set your own hours, and deciding things by your self..............BUT it also means that you are going to SINK or SWIM, on your own, too.
Try this............Look around the area where you live, and try to find a small business owner who is willing to talk ( after hours of course ) about how they got started and what they LIKE about their type of business. A second idea is to read up at the local library, about "how to start your own small business ". There are many books on that subject on the market.
I live in Canada, and over the past 40 years I have had a number of small business operations, such as a wholesale lobster dealer, a long distance expedite courier owner operator with my own one ton cargo van, delivering aircraft engine parts to aircraft that were "stuck on the ground " all over Canada and the USA. Paid me three dollars a mile, when I was loaded, and it was not unusual for me to drive two thousand miles from Toronto to western Canada with a 2000 lbs crate in th back of my van in three days. Some months I made more than $12,000 CDN less my costs.
Even being a window cleaner can be a good side line business. Doing ground floor shop windows takes little in the way of equpment, and there is litteraly NO overhead cost, except for white vinegar, rags and a set of rubber squeeges, a water bucket and a extension pole. Most window guys here in Toronto do their rounds on a pedal bike, with a little trailer for their gear behind the bike. Standard rate is 20 dollars for a medium size store with 30 feet of glass windows, more if it is bigger than that. Do 10 jobs in a day and you have about 140 UK pounds for the day. Repeat business is the key, and doing the store windows every two weeks here is normal.
My old Mum used to say that .........."Where there is muck, there is money " and that means that doing dirty jobs that others don't want to do, will make YOU money. Examples, cleaning out houses that are being put up for sale, and also putting up , and taking down the "for sale " signs for the real estate agents, who hate to get their hands dirty. Rubbish removal, scrap metal removal, putting metal wire chimmney caps on to keep raccoons out of the house. Cutting grass and raking leaves for older people, power washing driveways and removing grafitti from private property, which is my current business. I'm busy most days, and I charge what would be 50 UK pounds per hour, to get rid of sprayed grafitti, and to remove chewing gum from sidewalks in front of business locations. My machine cost about 3,500 UK pounds to buy, but it made that much back in the first two months of work. Now my only daily cost is the cleaning solution that I use, which is $60 a gallon, but I cut it 10 to 1 , as it is highly concentrated.
So, try s small sideline venture, to see how you like it. Part time, or week ends at first.
Jim B. Toronto.
Answered By: Jim B - 8/4/2010 |