Self Employment V Employment

As I sit here in my cold industrial unit, did I say cold, I actually meant BALTIC! I wonder, is there more to life? I have decided that yes there is, there must be.



Setting up in business was a great idea, it not only got me out of working in a call centre where I hated working, mainly due to one individual. I had been there for nearly 11 years and that was long enough, it also meant working during school hours and that suits my family just nicely. It is a small business but I have built up many contacts and a good customer base. In year one I made a loss, year 2 broke even, year 3 made a profit, year 4 I still have to put together the account and year 5, well I don't need accounts to work out that I have not made a profit. There are years when you have to lay out more money and don't get it back quickly, things like ties and special striped knitwear all have to be bought in bulk but can take years to sell. This year has been one of those years. I also noticed a cut back with the spending in parents, people who normally buy 3 polo shirts and 3 sweatshirts only bought two of each, that doesn't sound like much but that is an average cut back of £16.50 and you times that by 100 + customers and you are talking £1650 or so.



How long do you carry on without earnings before you admit defeat, let your loyal customers down. I am not ready to give up and I think that next year will be better on account of the fact I will have paid off a loan and binned some major advertising costs making me £400 a month better off. However, that does not help my current financial situation. Normally by now I have pre-ordered all my summer stock to arrive embroidered with the school logo's at the beginning of June, this year I have not, if I continue it will be an ordering service like it was at the beginning, I will carry no stock, apart from socks, tights, skirts etc which I sell on eBay anyway.



I am hoping to put the business on a back burner and get a part time job where it is warm, you get paid and you have the company of other people. I used to think there would be nothing worse than going back to work for other people but I am quickly changing my view.