What have I done..

[AllThisBatshitteryAndMore]

I gave up my office job, and tried to start my own business. Ive just done my books and the past 6 months have generated £44 after taking out all my supplies and mileage etc. I am so embarassed after all my talk of working for myself, I have absolutely stuffed it. I am living off savings and another PT job, but wow, I feel so stupid. So what do I do now? Admit to everyone its awful and throw in the towel or suck it up?

That's fine. At least you gave it a go. If you hadn't you'd always have wondered if you missed out on a better life. You've done great to set it up. See if you can flog the equipment as a package (maybe even include the name and sell it as a whole business) and move onto your next thing.

Children's entertainers can charge an absolute fortune because they are doing a job that many parents find intimidating or difficult. There is absolutely no shame in admitting you don't like it either. "Fail soon" is a positive attribute with start ups and work projects generally. That's all that's happened, it doesn't t mean you can't be very successful in something else. And it doesn't mean you have to stick with paid employment.

Just maybe don't go into teaching as your next career move!

Cut your losses and get a job - try to sell all the stuff you’ve bought too. At least you gave it a go, some people would be terrified of starting a new business….. and statistically most fail.

An enormous number of small businesses just don't work out for many reasons. You gave it a go and it didn't work out. And you don't even like it. Being in business for yourself is hard, very hard. You have to get clients, get them to pay and deal with any complaints no matter how unjustified. You may end up working far longer hours than you would as an employee - whether it is hot, freezing or you are not very well. Putting up with the people in the office is probably much easier. Also what you are doing is essentially creating a job for yourself rather than building a business that you can sell on - I just can't see a business with a troupe of children's entertainers that you employ. Just tell people it didn't work out and look for a fulltime job or another part-time job. People won't care. Don't do something you hate for no money. Nobody is going to give you a medal for keeping going with this money sucking venture.

Other people are mostly too busy with their own problems to care. The few that do care want you to be happy. So pack it in or keep it as an occasional side hustle that you only do when it's less hot. I assume its the costumes making you hot,

A more sustainable strategy would be to either work p/t or f/t in a salaried job while building up your business. Then when demand grew & profits increased, you could reduce hours in your other job. The child entertainment sector is hard to solely make a living from, most entertainers have day jobs.

You have tried it. You don't like it. Move on.

Charging £20 an hour is not enough for self-employment. I used to reckon on double that just to come out with something like the minimum wage (and that was over 10 years ago). Obviously, it depends what the business is, but you have to allow for time between jobs, sick pay, holidays, capital expenses, admin time etc. It's easy to overlook these when you're excited about a new venture.

Pack it in and get a job you do like or at least pays a living wage.
And if you ever want to start your own business again then get some business financial education including a proper business plan. Charging £20 an hour was far too little for even the most impoverished area.
The really poor will not be having Children’s parties anyway. It doesn’t cost significantly less to get your car fixed in a poor area than say Knightsbridge (or Sandbanks).
A low charge would be £10 per child per hour, and that would work out at £100 an hour for a party with 10 children.

And if anyone asks why you have given it up - they will be quite satisfied with stories of nightmare parents and children.

I filtered remote jobs and this list came up, you have lots of transferable skills that works well in other sectors.
https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Remote&UserHasGrantedBrowserGeoLocationPermission=No&page=2

Education related support jobs in the higher education sector could be an option for someone with your skill set. I think you're too fixed in your outlook of what you can or can't do, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. There is an in between area of hybrid working that can blend the security of a job with the freedom of working alone.

Higer education none teaching allied careers

My husband works with a lot people who have set up very successful brands. All of these people have had failures, nearly lost the business, lost a business worked for free etc. It happens. If it’s not working for you, don’t dwell on it, move on. It’s not embarrassing to try, but it is pointless to try and continue with a business model that isn’t working.

There aren't many jobs which are easy - especially not starting up your own business. There is always going to be stress and days when you don't feel like it, even if it's something you love.

You tried it, you don't like it and your heart is no longer in it, so you should go back to an office job (or something that pays the bills whilst you work out what you DO want to do).

You didn't make it clear in your OP that you hated the work, which is why people are advising you that £44 might be an anomaly if you bought supplies upfront but for a long period of time etc. If you hate the work, obviously you should pack it in - there's nothing embarrassing about knowing when to quit.

What I would say is that £20p/h seems very low. We hired an entertainer for my 5y/o DS birthday a few months ago and it cost £350. It was a 2 hour party, and it took him 30 minutes each side to set up and pack up. He did make a fair journey (about an hour each way) but even factoring all that in, significantly more than £20p/h.

Anyone else thinking of the grumpy Punch and Judy man from Hi-de-Hi?

Well done for giving it a go, OP. It wasn’t right for you - so what’s next?

Why shouldn't she give up, she's hating it. Again, being blunt, 'businesses is a very loose term for a newbie children entertainer!!

The jobs you've linked to here include: delivering trauma-informed training on sexual violence; qualified counsellor; head of governance; caseworker for vulnerable people; finance manager.

Most of them want qualifications or experience directly relevant to the job. OP is a children's entertainer who previously had an office job (we don't know what...)

Not sure that any of these link to what we know about OP's skill set!

If you don’t like what you have set up, then why continue with it. It’s not making you a living, you don’t enjoy it. Who cares what anyone thinks, businesses fail often for a whole multitude of reasons. Most businesses don’t turn a profit in the first year. Do you have a diary of advance bookings? If so do you know anyone that would want to take the business over? And pay you atleast the set-up cost? If not then shutdown the business and get a job elsewhere. I have worked in offices, in the past, just keep out of the ridiculous politics, do your job and go home. Good luck OP.

Most of us are not missing the point, but are responding to your OP which was focused on feeling like a failure and an embarrassment. It was only later you emphasised how much you hate the work.

May be even show a little gratitude to the posters who are trying to help?

You tried it and didn’t like it.
Thats fine, now move on and find something that you do like.

Working for yourself or wfh is not for everyone and there are a lot of negatives that come with it.

If you enjoyed the work of your previous role but not the people, then look for a similar role somewhere different.

Or try something completely different.

You should never be embarrassed about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and trying something new.
Thats the only way we grow.

Could you change it up and do more children’s party hire? Soft play etc? Or add that as an extra

So get an office job then?

Tell people ‘not doing this anymore as I hate it!’

You hate it and it doesn’t pay…
so why would you carry on? Dont see the issue!

I'm not missing the point at all.
You started the thread saying that you'd only made £44 profit which was understandably a concern. People tried to advise/request more info but nobody gave you a magic wand so you eventually admit you are reluctant to take on jobs - which will definitely affect your earnings - and now you openly state you don't like the work. So really the £44 was a red herring. However, you now state that the office you worked in was full of difficult people.
Possibly best to ask yourself if you actually just don't want to work?

That’s what I wondered. We were hearing. Lot of excuses today.

I once had a boss who frequently reminded us that:"We are not children's entertainers", so maybe that wouldn't be so bad!

Did you have any experience? It’s a bit of a switch from an office job. Do you wear a clown suit or something to be too hot? You could take it off.

You sound to me as if you're confusing your start up money spending with your run rate.

Has the business supported you or have you been dipping into savings? If you have been able to pay your bills, live, then having £44 at the end isn't that bad. Add back all the equipment you have purchased.
As you don't have any more equipment to buy, anything from.now on can be used to be either saved for your tax return etc.

You need to sort out a Facebook page, learn social media, get booked up for Christmas. Get hired onto a cruise ship.

Or find a job somewhere nice.

It doesn't matter what people think.