I need inspiration what I can do / be please!

[Pinkette12345]

I have ended up with some extra money and want to make the most of this - I don’t have to keep doing my usual job and can retrain / start something new…but I have absolutely no idea what job it is that I’d like to do!

If I was going to sum myself up:

• art degree (conceptual, cannot paint or draw)
• teaching degree and have taught early years / primary for years.
• love the actual classroom and planning side of teaching - love the autonomy and creativity, the busyness/ buzz and working on a million things at once, love how hands on it is, love the variety of things I do every day and that I basically plan my whole day myself and getting to make stuff like role play areas and displays, and love having a classroom to organise and move around, love seeing how much the children progress.
• hate the toxicness of schools, hate the constant guilt (not doing enough at school vs not doing enough at home with my own child), hate being so exhausted, hate the expectation on teachers, hate the endless paperwork and meetings and how it takes over your life (have tried different schools and part time, so changing that isn’t the answer).
• love organising, crafting, teaching myself stuff (how to diy something, how to make a website etc), working hard, being independent and capable, love working in small teams, love being involved in everything and having ownership / say over what happens, actually loved working in a small shop when I was younger, love researching ideas / products etc.
• hate boring / pointless meetings (really hate meetings full stop), anything corporate, large teams, brash annoying people, anything remotely medical / body linked, am terrible at managing adults, hate not being busy or doing 12 things at once, being told “this is how we do it” and hate public speaking, sales and not really a fan of talking on the phone!

I had a small company years ago with my husband (company wouldn’t work now as times have changed) and I really loved doing that and figuring it all out - but I just don’t know what I’d do as a business! Having my own nursery would be the dream but that would be a big outlay to start it up / risk / even more exhausting than teaching.

Need to earn around £25k+ish really - would ideally like wfh / flexibility (unicorn job I know!).

What shall I do?! Another degree / qualification?! Own business (in what?!) or something completely different I haven’t thought of?!

Thanks!

Professional chaperone in the film industry? It's not WFH but it would certainly be interesting and combine a lot of your skills.

Tutoring?

You could set up a community interest company, art based activities for people who would benefit from them but otherwise not have access. Children in alternative provision education, asylum seekers, young offenders, care leavers, people with severe mental illness or other conditions etc etc

Look at arts council funding (a pretty full time job in itself).

Play therapist?

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/play-therapist

Have you looked at opportunities in private independent schools. As an employee you would have a steady income and probably some band width to figure out what you really want to do.

Could you do some sort of art/craft/sewing school group that you could take into schools - like poets and authors do.

And into residential homes too.

I have no idea why but thought you'd maybe make a great interiors person who goes in a stages house, or something to do with interior design, maybe helping people source and find items.

As your own business.

Otherwise I was going to say nursery, as your dream business that's lucrative, hard work but you sound like you'd be fab.

Could you run a holiday club? Like an arty / kids themed one in a wealthy area? People pay £50 a day for this where I am for that - you could rent schools for use during the holidays so less of an initial outlay. Or run a wrap around care kids club? Could contact local schools and ask what their provision is and whether there would be a market for it if you could get use of premises? Again, local churches or halls or schools likely to have space.

Term time you could do birthday party entertainment ? Face painting ?
Run a baby class franchise ?

There are lots of groups around my way run by ex teachers focussing on creative writing, pottery, fashion, design etc. I'm not sure any of them can make a full ti

There is also a lovely pre-school learning group/class. It focuses on play -based learning between parent/carer and child and is facilitated by an ex-primary teacher. She runs these classes a couple of times a day for different groups. She used to visit lots of different community based locations but now she has her own premises. Kind of like Gymboree but less physical and more learning based.

Museum and art gallery education programmes for either / or school kids or adults. Set up your own company and tendering for museums to hire you to run programmes for them. Think of creative ways to deliver the national curriculum using museum collections. Or think about a cause you’re passionate about that you’d like to share with others. Check out the Arts Council website for inspiration.