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?

Is this out of character for you? Have you ground it out in a career and decided you want to try this one thing that’s different?

OR secondly are you someone who is constantly bouncing around, never settled and hops from this to that? Do people say your moves seem random to them or make a joke out of your jobs?

If the first option- hey you tried. It failed. No biggie, cut your losses and get a job.

If the second option then you likely have ADHD as the is is absolute classic behaviour. You could think about diagnosis and treatment which may help alongside coaching/ counselling. Otherwise this will just continue to happen over and over.

Well good on you for trying. Actually the fact that you neither enjoy it or make money from it should make it easy to say enough is enough. Doesn't mean you have to go back to the office job either but look around for something that suits you better. What sort of things do you enjoy doing?

OP - £20 an hour is laughably low for childrens party entertainment. As others have said, £200-300 for a 2 hour party is more like it. If your area is not wealthy, advertise yourself in richer areas.

However, you don’t enjoy it, so go look for another job. You tried it, it wasn’t for you. You don’t need permission.

I assume most children’s parties happen on weekends, so you could increase your prices significantly, still get a full time job and do the odd party here and there to make a bit of money on top of the full time job until the insurance runs out. One party a month at £200 rather than several for £20 per hour seems more reasonable.

@Needtosoundoffandbreathe
Thanks, I think the heat was getting to me - have asked MNHQ to delete it.

It doesn't sound like the OP has a clear business model, financial forecast or plan, nor do they have the motivation to run their own business as they've stated they don't want to do it anymore. It isn't for everyone,

i don't think they need advice, they need to get a job that brings in enough to pay the bills.

Op the money is a red herring, you don’t like it, so do something else.

There are a million avenues between office job and child’s entertainment.

Maybe you would like zoo keeper, prision officer, bin person, events planner, 999 call dispatcher, So so many jobs in the world!

Then you are definitely undercharging - where I am it’s a flat rate of £100-200 for a children’s party with the entertainer present for 90mins-2hours! This covers labour, travel time, supplies, fuel/car costs.

I think where you have failed is in not doing your market research and consequently underpricing your service. However, to be good at it, you need to really love it - if you find you don’t, just get a job and leave. There is no shame in starting a business and deciding it isn’t for you. When you do your CV you focus on what you’ve learned from the process so that it is still clear that it was valuable experience. There is no such thing as ‘failure’ if you have learned from the process.

Thete is no point to miss. Stop doing it - you clearly hate it.

What made you decide to go down that direction? Do you enjoy any of the work involved? Are you a performer/creative or just a party organiser? Does your charging model allow for the preparation and time to travel to and attend the party? Maybe the g is not viable bit you can learn lessons and adapt the aspects you do enjoy to other roles. There is no shame in admitting it was not viable and moving on.

I’m guessing cleaning?
initial set up would eat into your profits for sure. Now you’ve got the stuff surely next year you’ll be on the up?

To have a successful business you need to LOVE what you do!

Jack it in OP, it was worth a shot but don't get any further into mayhem.

So, I think it’s absolutely bonkers that you started a business that you didn’t know you’d like! Apart from that though, you are very lucky to actually be in profit, all businesses tend to run at a loss for at least a year. I take it that now you have the equipment, you’ll be able to run future party’s at more of a profit? Did you do a business plan at all?

You hate it and it's barely making you any money. Of course you should quit - it's a total no-brainer. Your office may have been full of difficult people, but that doesn't mean all offices are.

If you hate it, you need to do something else. Having said that, my friend was a children's entertainer for many years and I remember booking him for one of DS party's. It was £195 (I can't remember for how long but I assume a couple of hours) and this was about 16 years ago.

Then give it up! You hate it and it’s not making money - two very good reasons to change

• You are not charging enough
• Remember that most businesses take a while to establish and that you have to make an initial investment
• Are you spending enough time marketing your services?

You have a part-time salaried job to keep you going and that gives you some breathing space to continue to develop your business too.

You tried it, it wasn’t for you. So why not find another job? One with nicer coworkers?

my coworkers are lovely and I enjoy with them. There are enjoyable office environments!! (At least imo)

This is a good opportunity to work out what you do like about it, if anything, what you don't like, what you liked in your office job and what you didn't. Make lists to try and refine what you would like.

Actually OP - what do you want from this thread?

You don’t enjoy the work and you’ve priced it too low to make any money. The job you left you hated, so you didn’t lose anything by quitting and trying, as I assume you’d have been looking for another job anyway.

Do you want permission to give up and go look for another office job with nicer coworkers? Is someone around you telling you to stick at it? Do you want advice how to make it work? (Up your prices, accept you’ll get fewer bookings but if they pay considerably more it’ll work out).

My advice - up your prices significantly for future bookings - charge £50 an hour minimum, more like £100. Honour the bookings you already have. Spend this week updating your cv, look for jobs to apply for. Your other part time job, is there any additional hours going there?

If you like working with children, and already have your crb and insurance in place, could you do craft workshops or advertise yourself as a children’s party craft leader rather than an entertainer. You would still have to provide the resources and have your craft idea well tested but there are lots of ideas on-line.
It might be lucrative over the summer holidays if you work out your budget properly…at least as a stop gap while you look for another salaried position.
Good luck OP.

I admire your bravery for setting up your own business. Most people don't have the guts! You've given it a go, it hasn't worked out but you tried. What have you learnt? Knowing what doesn't work is as important as knowing what does. Wishing you good luck in the future what ever you choose to do.

What about changing to an early years class leader type of thing, I'm not sure what entertainment you were doing but there's lots of baby/toddler class franchises available still the benefits of picking own hours and working for yourself and a long the same lines of working with children but could be less energetic than party entertainer so doesn't matter so much about the heat?

You've taken a risk and it might well pay off.

Well done for trying to live

I don't think people are missing the point, I think you are. You know that answer to this - its not difficult. You don't enjoy the work, you need to do something else. Maybe working in a different office, or a different job. This clearly isn't the job/business for you. Don't waste time feeling embarassed about it not working, focus on deciding what you want to do, and take any work that you can find to support yourself in the meantime.

OP, years ago I attended a course on running your own business. The tutor said typically in the first year, you make a loss, in the second year you break even, in the third, you make z profit.

If your business is truly viable and growing, and if the expenses are initial outlay that doesn't need to be bought again, then don't worry. You need a realistic forecast for income and growth over the next two to five years. Who are your clients? Where can you find them and they find you? What can they afford to pay to make them return and spread word of mouth? What can you expand into? Has this first six months shown you aspects of the business you hadn't considered but are requested?

So much time is spent in start up, research, product or service design. It's bound to cost a lot. You are in profit 6 months in. That's 18 months ahead of the average viable business.

I'm always amazed how many people start a business and expect it to give a salary within weeks. If you still believe in it and can see it working long term, keep going. If not, it's fine to learn that self employment is not for you.