Full time or Sideline? - UK Business Labs

**Mark** · #1 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 07:32 AM

Is your business a full time job or a sideline in addition to your '9 to 5' job?

AboveParr · #2 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 09:02 AM

I haven't got time for a proper job as well!!!

**Kay** · #3 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 09:57 AM

I haven't got a proper job either. I'm pretty well unemployable.

**AdamW** · #4 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 12:07 PM

I have a proper job too - although I really class that as the sideline job!

**Kay** · #5 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 12:55 PM

Go for it, Adam! Once you can be your own boss, you'll never look back. Like Alan Sugar says a lot in The Apprentice, "Why would I want to go and work for someone else?"

**AdamW** · #6 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 01:30 PM

I'm certainly working on it Kay!

**matt.chatterley** · #7 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 05:12 PM

Very full-time!

Started out part-time/side-line, though, about 3-4 years ago. Whats holding you up, Adam?

**AdamW** · #8 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 05:22 PM

Good question Matt - DomainDonkey is very automated so that needs little involvement on a day to day basis and we've made it simple enough that we rarely get any support tickets. (Saying that an overhaul is on the cards mainly for SEO purposes but a bit of a summer trim too).

Dev work side is that the required workload isn't there yet. I have enough to keep me busy but not enough to relinquish my full time secure salary. Although I do work on contract rather than permanent as that overs me a degree of flexibility.

I've worked for myself before and it wasn't quite as successful as planned and that also ensure I don't jack in the day job before I really need to but then that experience properly means I'm a little more nervous of jumping into the void again!

**whistle ink** · #9 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 07:50 PM

God it sounds like Nandoos this - Whistle Ink is a sideline!

**Mark** · #10 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 01:32 AM

A side-order?

**NikkiPilkington** · #11 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 07:44 AM

Full time - I gave up my job in 1994 to start my first business, took a great leap of faith (although at 21 I had a lot less fear than I have these days LOL) and haven't really looked back!

**Majjie** · #12 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 10:18 AM

Full time (extremely full time) work ... part-time pay! But it's improving.

**whistle ink** · #13 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark

A side-order?

Yeah they call them sidelines! yummy yummy

am:pm graphics · #14 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 12:15 PM

Both full time here but started off doing a bit of teaching alongside at the beginning.

Couldn't do both now.
Pauline

**openmind** · #15 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 03:41 PM

Very full time, so much so I have learned to cope with just 30 seconds sleep per night

Paul Norman · #16 (**permalink**) 25-06-2009, 08:19 AM

This has been how I have earned my living for 5 years now.

**Mark** · #17 (**permalink**) 25-06-2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by openmind

Very full time, so much so I have learned to cope with just 30 seconds sleep per night

And I always aim to hassle you during that 30 seconds!

**openmind** · #18 (**permalink**) 25-06-2009, 10:05 PM

It could be worse. I'm not sure how but I'm sure it could be

**matt.chatterley** · #19 (**permalink**) 26-06-2009, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by openmind

It could be worse. I'm not sure how but I'm sure it could be

It can always be worse!

**B_Cal** · #20 (**permalink**) 27-06-2009, 09:05 PM

Currently part time on AV8Services / CrewDatabase.com

Will be leaving the airport full time by year end, then both of these will be 100% fulltime

Roy

**hlsbs** · #21 (**permalink**) 11-08-2009, 11:24 PM

Started as one day a week when hours cut in "full time" role, now two days a week but "work" want me back to full hours so having to make some tough decisions. Business is too new to risk full time yet, but is growing nicely. If I was single I would say what the hell and take the gamble but I am not and have a young daughter so need the business to prove itself a bit more first. Looks like it will be a lot of evening and weekend work till I can find something else part time for now. The good news is that all but one of my Clients came from word of mouth and the one that didnt was from networking at a Business Link event.

**Kay** · #22 (**permalink**) 12-08-2009, 09:17 AM

Hi Helen (hope I've got the name right

)

I was just looking at your site - very nice. I like the way you have your prices very clearly stated. I'm seeing a lot more VA services around these days and I can see how useful they could be for people.

I don't know if I could benefit from such a service, though. I kinda feel that by the time I explained what had to be done and why then I could've just done the thing myself.

Please can you explain how you get a feel for someone else's business and can then take some the work-load off them? I used to be fine about delegating when I had a real job, but with my own business it all has to be done my way and I'm sceptical that anyone else could do things the way I want them to be done.

This isn't any kind of attack on you and what you do. It's more of an opportunity for you to explain how VAs can benefit other people's businesses.

(Gotta be careful sometimes in case people take things the wrong way.)

**matt.chatterley** · #23 (**permalink**) 12-08-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kay

I don't know if I could benefit from such a service, though. I kinda feel that by the time I explained what had to be done and why then I could've just done the thing myself.

I'm quite interested in hearing a bit more about VA services, and the advantages they offer, too. It's not that I'm looking for one at the moment, however, as/when the time does come to expand, it is one of the options available to us...!

**UK Business Network** · #24 (**permalink**) 12-08-2009, 09:58 AM

Full time, after touring SE Asia for 18 months, I realised that we have it very easy over here, I watched peoples houses double as shops, 24 hours a day, I watched street hawkers never give up on a sale, never sleep, I watched 5 year old children selling flowers to taxi's, I watched pride swallowed up as they needed to eat, and I knew when i came back that if I remembered all of this I would be a success.

I gave up giving up & now I keep on keeping on!

money has become a major issue recently, due to the time UKBN has taken up and is taking up, which means Kip FX has been run on current clients, repeat orders etc and a few enquiries. But it is all worth it, when I wake in the morning and the first thoughts in my mind are Inbox, Stats, Enquiries etc, none of the "Oh No's" so many other people endure to pay the rent.

I will never look back, if something didn't work I would find a way for it to work.

**hlsbs** · #25 (**permalink**) 12-08-2009, 09:10 PM

Hi Matt and Kay

Thanks for your comments. Let me see if I can help.

There are different types of VA, as there would be different types of PA in a "proper" office. None of the Managers I worked for have ever needed exactly the same type of assistance as the others. You will find that some VA's specialise in a certain industry, having worked in it for many years. Personally I am more of a Girl Friday, I have worked in the Finance, Automotive and Architecture and Interior Design fields, so have experience of them. That being said it doesnt mean that I couldn't operate in other areas.

I guess the key skill any VA has is being organised and having excellent admin skills. The majority of the tasks given to us will require these at their most basic level.

One Client I work for does Web Design (yep, did my site for me). For him I do bookkeeping, cash flow, credit control, but we also discuss other aspects of the business. He tends to bounce ideas off me, and sometimes I am able to suggest a solution he has not seen because he is too close to the problem. Obviously the bookkeeping etc are pretty transferable skills so it is just a case of me adapting to his software and his MAC, as I have previously only used PC's before.

Another Client is an Independent Financial Adviser. The tasks he is giving me are the ones that take time and are admin based. Sending forms to suppliers, chasing for information etc. Each week he shows me something new. Whilst it takes him a short time to show me, the up side is that it then takes that task away from him. Last week I did five hours for him, this week it will be ten or fifteen, and will grow as he shows me more areas. To be fair, it is more a case of him giving me a quick brief and me bringing the work away and just working through it. We haven't come across problems yet, and as with any new job, I am learning his business as I go along.

The advantage to this variety is that we can then transfer skills we have learned in one business and use them to assist another. I find that every week I am finding new, more streamlined ways of carrying out various tasks, saving my Clients money, and increasing my own knowledge as I go along.

Where needed VA's can study so that they understand a business more, for example I am taking my Bookkeeping exams in order to improve the service that I offer. I have over the years learnt different software packages such as Microsoft Office, Photoshop, basic Dreamweaver etc. Because I use these on a daily basis it is second nature to me, whereas with some Clients they simply do not know where to start.

The easiest way I ever saw described for working out what you need a VA to do is to keep a list each day of what you have done. Look at it at the end of the day. What jobs on their could you have given to someone else, or are there jobs on there that you really dont like (like me and the ironing!! I pay someone to do it as this means I can work while she is doing it and even after paying her I am still better off!).

A VA can do so much the list can be pretty endless. We can manage your email, your diary, your invoicing, your phone calls, book your appointments, carry out internet research, type minutes, create PowerPoint presentations, update websites, compile reports, even do your Christmas shopping or write your Christmas cards if needed!!

At the end of the day, a VA is your personal assistant. You give them what you feel comfortable with to start with and as the relationship grows, and the trust grows you will feel more able to delegate other tasks. Often the only thing stopping you is the fact you would have to show someone your system, your way of doing things, but make time for that half hour now and you could save yourself hours of time further down the line.

I think the best thing is to ask a prospective VA for testimonials from their other Clients. So far all my Clients have been referrals, bar one which came from networking.

A lot of people have never heard of VA's, when I did the survey for my business plan this was very apparent. A lot would like to use one but like yourselves were not sure what they could do for them.

The main benefit of a VA is that they are not an employee. You use them when you need them and dont use them if they are not needed. You have no tax or national insurance to pay, no holiday pay, no sickness pay and no equipment to supply.

If you are thinking of hiring a member of staff, fine, but perhaps it is worth using a VA in the short term just to prove the workload is really there for them.

If you have any questions I would be more than happy to help, I appreciate this is something you are just thinking about right now. There is a very strong support network with VA's and if this is a route you would like to go down I would be happy to help you locate one in your area.

Helen