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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to get a bit depressed at the 'woman beats recession' stories that are about really shit businesses that haven't even started

179 replies

Heroine · 22/01/2011 00:03

I an getting a bit bored of the 'I was made reduntant and now I am starting my own recession beating bead-selling/ironing/wardrobe consultancy/dating agency business that hasn't even started, is doomed to fail and only possible because a) I can pump my large redundancy payout into it and b) because my husband is not redundant, but somehow I providing hope for any women who is not a lazy arse to make a fortune out of 'doing something she loves'

They really are patronising in the extreme and I am sure only there because you can get a nice pretty made-up shot of someone runnning a crap home-made dreamweaver business.

Ihate the way these articles are written as though any daft woman silly enough to work in something as unfeminine as a real job is a silly thing who just isn't as clever as the golddigging sponge and her fantasy business..
oh it makes me fume there are so many at this time of the year... nhmph

OP posts:

lololizzy · 22/01/2011 00:58

yanbu..for example, too many cupcake enterprise stories at the moment..lovely they are, but i was making them aged 5, hardly new thing, suddenly there's courses springing up for Selling Cupcakes??!

igetmorelovefromthecat · 22/01/2011 01:15

Well I run a business kind of like you are describing.

Have been for 5 years. And it's successful.

Would you like to hear my story?

libelulle · 22/01/2011 06:16

*igetmorelovefromthecat? yes please! I just look at those features and go green with envy. OP yanbu i'm sure most of them crash and burn, but would love to hear that some people do successfully make a go of that kind of thing!

Original poster

Heroine · 22/01/2011 09:36

re 'the cat' you mean you have started a business that is only going because of your redundancy money and your husband?

OP posts:

Bumperlicious · 22/01/2011 09:49

They have been going on for years. They are known as buntingcupcake businesses on here, there was a backlash thread against all the magazine articles a few years ago. Does make you feel inadquate though. I don't really wantva cupcake business though, I just want to eat cupcakes all day for free!

countstropular · 22/01/2011 09:51

I would love to hear the story

StuffingGoldBrass · 22/01/2011 09:54

Another thing to cheer yourself with is that in the current recession most of these wankola fake 'businesses' will crash and burn even faster, as fewer people have spare cash to spend on luxury cupcakes or twiggy gingham hearts.
(I do sort of run own novelty-making business, however I support it and myself by doing other work).

Changeisagoodthing · 22/01/2011 09:54

Well I registered my new business this week. Scary. Being made redundant in march as gvt contract has ended. I am a specialist (bit too probably) in my field and not a cupcake in sight but it is a big step to take and more than a bit scary.

DuplicitousBitch · 22/01/2011 09:57

you are prob. a wee bitty jealous. even if they do crash and burn at least they tried.

Original poster

Heroine · 22/01/2011 10:06

sort of - as in 'if I had spare cash maybe i would start a fantasy business' but also it seems a bit 'look at the clever girl' - I don't pick up the paper often to hear that 'jo, an electrician laid off has started a new business in domestic electrical repairs to help people make the most out of last legs washing machines and dishwashers' - its always 'Mandy has started a new business selling fluffy bunny rabbits and pink hats' - and in five years the money runs out and the shop folds and makes it look like no woman can start a business that genuinely works. it makes me

OP posts:

StuffingGoldBrass · 22/01/2011 11:54

There is nothing at all wrong with starting one's own business: as Heroine says, the point with these sort of articles is that the 'businesses' are just hobbies, and they are always fluffy pointless things that only survive a short time and seem to be more about giving bored silly bitches something to do.

ivykaty44 · 22/01/2011 11:57

I saw one in my local paper this week - I did wonder who she was going to sell these services to as no body has any money to buy as they are all being made reduntant.

It is all very well starting an ironing business but you do need someone to be able to afford this type of service and a lot of people are cutting back.

it needs to be robust and in a niche so it doesn't waste all your money.

woollyideas · 22/01/2011 12:16

One of these sticks in my mind (it was in Eve magazine years ago).

A woman gave up her job as an investment banker (or something else extraordinarily well paid, which enabled her to have lots of lovely start up capital) to fulfil her creative urges, which seemed to involve stringing a bit of quartz on a thong making classy jewellery.

She immediately had a queue of friends willing to pay a hundred quid or so for quartz on a string and voila - successful business.

Now, if I did that I'd have no start up money, no friends stupid enough willing to pay a fortune for a bit of old toot a beautiful necklace and would crash and burn.

Not that I'm jealous or anything.

StuffingGoldBrass · 22/01/2011 12:24

That's very true: the 'make some effort and it could be you too' tone of these articles conveniently ignores the fact that lots of people who would like to start up businesses have no start up capital (ie no rich hubby or fat redundancy payout) and not enough wealthy and indulgent friends.
I have two or three friends who make and sell jewellery, only one of them is making a fulltime living out of it, the other two make money but have to have other jobs in order to keep the bills paid.

countstropular · 22/01/2011 12:26

I often wonder what happens when the friend factor runs out...I have a few friends who have started various jewellery or crafty businesses and they seem to be mostly held afloat by friend buying stuff.

ISNT · 22/01/2011 12:42

YANBU

I have about 50 different consecutive rants in my head but I can't put them down on paper as they will just sound confused and bonkers

TheCrackFox · 22/01/2011 12:47

I think what pisses me off is that the focus of theses type of articles is completely skewed. Yes, the cup cakes look very pretty and we get that but if you were to be lucky enough to have a successful cupcake business this would be more down to the fact that you are good at sales, can keep on top of the invoices etc etc.

BaggedandTagged · 22/01/2011 13:09

The backlash on here was about a DM article about a woman who allegedly made 1000 cupcakes a day in her domestic kitchen and who failed to understand the difference between turnover and profit (i.e. when she got her £3000 electricity bill her business was going to look a bit less successful).

Apparently this stellar business was paying the mortgage on her 7 bedroom house in Su-ray and keeping her 6 children (all called Amelia) in private school

As we say in the south....... Jimmy Reckon!!

JaneS · 22/01/2011 13:12

I'm trying to think when I've ever seen a 'man beats recession with homespun niche business' story. I think that's what's annoying. It's like those crappy books you get millions of copies of in mobile libraries about 'plucky' young girls who really just want to get married but are sadly too poor, so they nobly get into minor commerce/poorly paid employment while waiting for rich Prince Charming to turn up.

But maybe that's just me.

dawntigga · 22/01/2011 13:15

YABU stop comparing your life to other peoples and get on with it.

SlightlyAnnoyedTiggaxx

JaneS · 22/01/2011 13:18

tigga, I don't think comparing my life to someone else's is anything to do with it.

purits · 22/01/2011 13:38

I think it is the nature of the beast. The paper needs something that will hold the attention of its readers. The readers don't want to hear about commercial things widgets or electronic guages. They want to hear about domestic ooh-I'd-love-one-of-those things. Also, there is no story in woman-starts-business-and-all-goes-well. There has to be some drama in it somewhere, some nearly-but-not-quite-disaster or battling-through-adversity. I think we are supposed to feel sisterly solidarity or feel inspired or summat.

We only want to hear about women in ordinary jobs if they have become very rich been extraordinarily sucessful.

maighdlin · 22/01/2011 13:40

YANBU they are very condescending to women, if you believed them women owned business are all cupcakes and jewellery and other twee shite. women are very capable of starting business that don't smack of "bored housewife playing with husbands money" women start all sorts of business from IT to legal, they never get a two page spread of them sitting in their pastel kitchen with their apron. they are not very inspiring, "one day you too could be charging a fortune for a cupcake, isn't that nice?" I'd much rather hear of the women who worked their arses off and started their own business where they compete against men (and win!)

purits · 22/01/2011 13:44

LRD Male version of story: Jimmy's Farm? Or downsizing to start a motorcycle business?

ThisIsANiceCage · 22/01/2011 13:46

YADNBU. I don't mind stories of profitable and sustainable successes which have proved themselves, but holding up as a role model a business which hasn't yet got off the ground - and not following up a year later to show the full story - is deeply misleading.

Aspiration's one thing: fool's gold is another.

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