To not know how to earn more or progress?

[TigerKingQueen]

I should have this figured out by now 🙄
I’m 34 with two dc, one with SN. I work full time for a very small company looking after online inventory / websites and cover the managerial role one week per month earning very little (18,000) I work Monday to Friday, plus every other weekend from home for 2 hours and I’m ‘on call’ to answer enquiries whenever I’m out of the office. I work under the owner so there is nowhere else for me to move up to and I feel exhausted by it. I feel trapped in the rental market, despite having saved a good deposit my wage is too low to get a mortgage in my area. I could retrain but not sure I actually have intelligence to do so, I left school at 15 with no qualifications, I’m terrible at maths and just feel like I’m going nowhere. I’m currently on furlough and it’s all playing on my mind, just wondering if I’m alone in feeing this way.

Could you consider training to be an accounting technician? The early stages are based on work experience rather than exams. Salaries should be around 25k on competition.

Thanks for the reply, wouldn’t that require good maths ability?

I considered going into coding, downloaded a few apps but tbh I think it’s a bit beyond me, I’m definitely an introvert with lifelong anxiety so sales or anything involving travel wouldn’t work for me....

When you say you look after their online inventory and websites, what do you mean?

Web skills are highly valued

Could you look for an apprenticeship somewhere? I'd suggest in a big company where there'd be opportunities for advancement once you've got your qualification.

Can you be more specific about what you currently do? What does looking after the website and online inventory involve?

With more and more business moving to online sales during this lockdown and likely to remain there to provide a safety ney should it return, you may have some very useful skills

First thing I would try is moving to a larger company. into a role similar to what you are doing just now as that would minimise the need to retrain. Big companies invariably pay far better and offer more perks than small businesses.

What exactly do you do - and what does the owner do? Who else is employed and what do they do? When you say 'very small company' - how small? 2 people, 10, 20? Are you in the situation that you are doing all of the technical work (and for one week a month also the management work) and the owner is raking in the cash? Or does the owner also have a hands-on role such as finding new clients, managing client relationships, managing the accounts and ensuring that the company (and therefore the employees) get paid?

If you (and maybe one or two others) are doing all of the work, could you start your own company? Unless there are technical or other barriers, what is to stop you from looking at doing so?

Look at the market rate for your job. Is £18,000 really the going rate for your skills and responsibility? How many other people have your skills and experience - how desirable are these in the job market? What would it cost your employer to replace you and how easy would this be? If there is a discrepancy between what you are being paid and what the market thinks you are worth use this information to negotiate better terms and conditions.

Alternatively, as others have suggested, look for a bigger company if this will provide a higher wage, better prospects, better fringe benefits etc.

How about digital marketing? You could do a remote learning diploma from home if you can afford it, and it's very well suited to an introvert. Or, if you're willing to start at the bottom and work up there are Digital Executive roles on similar to your current pay which would only need the kind of skills you have. You could learn on the job and, over time, work up into a manager type role on 30-50k?

Have you looked at the civil service? There are lots of jobs that would utilise your skills and there’s a clear route of progression in most roles.

Could you also look at t least getting basic qualifications if really do not have anyy as not having English and Maths can screen you out pretty quickly when being shortlisted for jobs? One this current nightmare is passed, there are Functional Skills courses in English and Maths with are usually free to people without level 2 qualifications (equivalent to a a grade C/4 at GCSE. This will also boost you confidence I think and show prospective employers that you are willing to learn.

I would really recommend trying to get a maths and English GSCE in the first instance.

Sounds like you have really great experience. I wouldn't worry too much about your qualifications, just find a similar role in a bigger company that pays better. You are being underpaid for what you do because of the size of the company.

Appreciate you say you are not good at selling, but you need to get better at selling yourself. If you report direct to the owner, then you are clearly entrusted with some decent responsibility. Lots of companies with an online presence would be keen to have you.

A few people have asked what it is I do so just to cover the basics, I manage all the company skus, upload products to the inventory management platform, create listings for online market places and websites using word press / woo commerce and fix any errors. Compile orders for suppliers, deal with repricing software, respond to customer enquiries things like that.

What about becoming a content manager? Specialise in a CMS and understand SEO and how content should sit on a website. Or you could go down the editorial route?
How are your writing skills?

If you worked for a bigger company, you would have the opportunity to apply for better paid internal jobs. Some big companies also offer free training & chance to complete qualifications.

This may not suit your lifestyle, but jobs working anti social hours often pay better eg shift work on a rota, evening or night shifts

Most people that I know who have changed employer have gained a pay rise
However, you have to take costs into account like transport, clothing, parking, food etc

Some companies offer a "refer a friend" do you know someone who can recommend you into their company

Time for a re-brand, TigerKingQueen..!

Assuming that you actually like your current job, make a list of the positive aspects.

You are an expert in your field, with X years experience, working for a company with an approx. turnover of [£X] responsible for:

• Inventory management of x-thousand skus, using [Insert name] software,
• Managing online sales platforms using Wordpress (and presumably other e-shop software),
• Content management? Do you write the product descriptions? Do you write and send marketing emails/this week's offers etc?
• Supplier management (or at least supplier order management),
• Advanced user of [re-pricing software],
• Handling customer queries.
• Deputising for manager [list tasks and skills required]

Now go and find out what someone with these skills is worth. I know the situation is a bit difficult just now, but look at recruitment websites, perhaps call an agency or two and see what you can find out. Don't worry about your lack of GCSEs or whatever - that was half a lifetime ago and since then you have developed into the skilled employee that you are today. Good luck!

Rebrand - I agree

A well paid new job is not going to magically appear

You need to sell yourself & your skills

It isn't necessarily bling term goal but I had a side hustle doing basic websites for small businesses while I was on maternity leave :) I did a basic site and taught them how to manage and maintain it :)

Havanananana

Thank you for writing that, I read it as if it was someone else with those skills but it’s actually me!

espoleta
I have looked into SEO / marketing before, I completed the Google digital garage certificate about a year ago but tbh I found it rather boring, it just didn’t seem like me.

I have had a few good ideas from this thread though and will be considering them all 😊

@TigerKingQueen

Yes - it's you!

I'd add a couple of other items if they are relevant:

• Sales analysis and reporting - do you produce reports that show which lines are selling well, which are not, results of email/flash campaigns etc and which channels are producing most sales (ebay/Amazon/Own sites etc)? If not, can you start to do this - many e-commerce software packages allow you to do this.
• Supplier management - at some point this become supply chain management. Are you responsible for updating orders, predicting demand, chasing deliveries etc? If not, could you get more involved in this?

Now go look at Reed or Indeed, and type in 'e-commerce admin / management' or similar and see what comes up. (Hint - there won't be many jobs only paying £18k )

It's been my experience that if you present yourself at an agency as a good candidate, they do an awful lot of the legwork for you. My DD(24) needed a new job after travelling, spoke to an agency and they lined her up with interviews. And she didn't have half your skills, just made the ones she did have sound good.

Of the skills and experience you've got, which bits actually interest you the most OP? I think you've actually got a very marketable skill set already and should be able to find a better paying job with more opportunities as is but there's a lot to be said for developing in areas you would enjoy specialising in more.

@TigerKingQueen

Your OP was (aibu) To not know how to earn more or progress?

Hopefully we've convinced you that Part 1 - re-branding of your skills - has shown that you have lots to offer and plenty of potential to both earn more and to progress.

Now for Part Two - do you like the company that you work for? In particular, do you get on with the owner, are you trusted (which you must be as you are the manager one week in four) and would they be open to you suggesting ways in which you could progress?

If the answer is no, then the next action is pretty clear - get on the internet and start looking for something else.

If the answer is yes, or even a strong 'maybe,' then you can take control of your next steps in order to progress.

Assuming that the company is an online retailer or wholesaler.
Are there different categories of products - for example, an online clothes shop might have menswear, womenswear, childrenswear etc. in which case could you ask to be in charge of one particular category? This would mean taking over some areas that you might not currently do, for example doing more of the purchasing or sourcing rather than just adding products that the owner has found. Is there a customer segment or product segment that you could add to the current range (e.g. stock more for teenagers, or expand the range of lingerie or maternity wear) that you could be responsible for?
Obviously, you can adapt this to whichever business you work in.
The benefits are that you expand your skills and experience, make yourself more knowledgeable and more valuable to the company, (hopefully) increase the turnover and profit, take some of the weight off the owner's shoulders etc. >>> all of which puts you in a position to negotiate for more reward. You probably cannot easily ask directly for a, say, £4,000 pay rise, but you could try phrasing it differently:
£1k for taking on more responsibility, £1k bonus if you add £x to the turnover within 6 months, £2k bonus if you add £x to the profits in category X, and so on.

If the owner says yes, then the rest is up to you - but remember to ask for support from the boss in areas that are new to you.
If they say no, then at least you know where you stand regarding earning more or progressing in the company.