Self Employment

A question about : Self Employment

Hello,

For the last few years I've been unable to work (on benefits) due to suffering from an anxiety related illness which means I find it difficult being in a work based environment around other people. I've been stuck in a rut and have begun to realise that in order to get a 'career' I'm going to have to look at self employment. I love fashion, buying clothes and have a great eye for bargains etc. I've sold a few personal items through Ebay and have been considering starting selling on Ebay as a business. I was hoping that someone might be able to give me a few tips on how to make a success of it, how you find wholesalers etc (I have researched on the internet but don't think I'm looking in the right places!). Thanks

Best answers:

• As you have been on benefits for quite a while I would suggest you would contact one of these Pathways to Work type agencies. They are fabulous, when you contact them you are allocated a consultnat to help with your cv, help you research the type of business you want to work in ensure your benefits are kept in such that if work does not work out you can reapply and get back on the same benefit rate etc.
  I live in Dorset and one that works in that area is a company called ENHAM. If you contact the DWP you will be given the name of a (usually these are registered charities) company in your area
  Good Luck
• Have you tried Mystery Shopping?
  The company I work for does Mystery Sopping and Advertising Audits - (checking billboards, bus stop poster etc) you'll need a car, digi camera & telphone
  They are www.srl-online.com You can apply online they need people all over the uk, work is variable, flexible and self employed
  Good luck
• I didn't have much luck with that company. I rarely got any work near home, and the routes I was given were at least 20 mins travelling from home. There are no allowances paid for travel or parking fees, which I had to pay to access some of the posters as the city centre is pedestrian only so I couldn't park near the posters.
  I found it difficult concetrating on driving and looking around for posters, especially in busy suburban high streets. I was also wary of parking in bus stops and on double yellows to take the pictures, in case the traffic warden pounced.
  I thought the actual work was low paid compared to other companies. By the time you added up my travel time and petrol costs, I was often working for less than the minimum wage, which I didn't think was acceptable.
  I didn't work out for me, but good luck if you try it and it works.
• Selling on eBay is a good way for someone to start make a living. It won't make you rich - more likely eBay will make more money in fees than you do, but it's a living and it could lead to bigger things.
  Finding wholesalers on the Internet is next to impossible. The easiest way to do it is to go directly the manufacturers of the products you want to sell, and ask them who distributes their products. They are always happy to give this information out, and they're probably the only ones who are.
  Or if you have a bit of capital you could go the other route - import your own products. www.globalsources.com is a good web site where mostly Chinese manufacturers advertise products that can be imported in bulk at a low price. There are shipping considerations - it can take 3 months for sea shipping, and importing hassles, but the profits are there to be made.
  You could also look into whether there's any trade magazines in the industry you're looking at, these are often good ways to find new contacts.
  Also, being self employed will help you with your anxiety problem, as you will learn to deal with people in the course of your business. You will become more confident over time as a result of this.
  I suppose the main downside is financial. You will need a good control of your finances and your credit score will probably go to pot if you're using credit cards to buy stock etc.
• If you do a search on here, there's loads of mystery shopping threads.
  Every company has different clients and different styles of reporting. It's hard to recommend one company in particular as what suits me, might not suit you. eg - the company posted above works for deecy, but I didn't like it.
  Best advice is to register with a few and see if you enjoy working for them.
• hi, hav you thought of trying an MLM company - I work for one and I would recommend it to anyone, plus it may help you, if you are interested -pm me if you want.
• hi all
  I am a self employed and I found it so difficult to get a job that pays well as a self employed
  If anyoane has any links pls post them
  thank you
• My quick tips for self employment ideas are:
  - If it sounds too easy to get into and start making money through your friends and family, then maybe it's too good to be true. (Be very suspicious of multi level marketing schemes. Some are genuine and ethical, but some are just ponzi schemes)
  - Ideas need not be ground-breaking but should be your own. Aim high and not just jump on the bandwagon. It'll take a bit of time. Have a notebook with you all the time for that lightbulb moment.
  - "If money holds out, luck will follow". If you are in this forum, you've probably absorbed Martin's advice and your financials should be in good order. Most poeple I know give up the idea of self employment because they have too many outgoings and cannot risk not having an income for even a month.
  - Look to trends and capitalise on growing industries for your self-employment idea. Examples include a growing aging population, environmentalism, healthy living, obesity, the net, etc...
  All the best,
  Sophonomics
  self-employment-ideas.blogspot.com