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Justin
17-10-2009, 10:44 PM
Do you run your business part/full time? I'd be interested to hear what job you do if not full-time.

I ran my business for a couple of years part-time before taking the plung and going full. I could only give myself a year to see how things went which was never going to be enough. I loved every minute of it but would do things very differently now!
Just before I set-up by myself I was offered a job working for Xpres in Tech. Support. I really wanted to do it but the pull of working for myself was just too hard.

My business was based in Nottingham, my home town. Had a little industrial unit and spent many happy hours tucked away in there.

I had to return to my 'fallback' career which is lorry driving. We moved to Shetland a couple of years ago for a better life. I fell into what I would say was a dream job soon after moving. A local company took me on to run the dye-sub side of the business. I got to use a 60" HP solvent printer amongst other large format equipment and worked on the sign making side as well. It was all going great until my boss pulled the rug from beneath me and announced he was about to make me redundant! That's a very long story, in a nutshell I got pretty much shafted.
I've since been offered a very similar role with the only other sign/print company in Shetland but they can't match the money......so here I am driving lorries again!

I have another idea to get me back into the industry. It'll take some hard graft but may be worth it in the end!

So...what's your story?

Justin http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_jokercolor.png

Stitch Up
22-10-2009, 07:37 PM
X copper now comms technician for the force.

AJLA
23-10-2009, 09:27 AM
I have a photo shop where I have been working for 17 years first employed by my brother and father, I could only work part time back then as a single mum with a poorly daughter.
My brother moved to Spain oooh over 10 years ago now and I then went into partnership with my father, he had much bigger fish to fry and then went his own way.

I enjoyed the shop tremendously for many years but since the digital era began it has become a chore and most of the enjoyment has gone ouut of it for me unfortunately.

About 4 years ago I joined my father with a few shares in his other company (filled my shop with staff) and enjoyed and still do selling and exporting minilabs to other dealers mainly in Eastern Europe etc..

This business has also changed dramatically where we once manufactured our own minilab equipment with a team of our own engineers by taking old and usless analogue minilabs, gutting them and replacing them with digital engines so in a nutshell they were ECO FRIENDLY machines by not going to landfill.
There is no demand for this now as many people are swithching to dry labs so the people needing to find a home the old to upgrade to new equipment ask us to sell it for them, great job but can be slow at certain times of the year.

Then.....I needed to perk up the slow shop had to get rid of some staff and we all moved back into the shop to run the two business from here.
In an odd enlightening moment during a circuit training class I came up with the idea of our Cornish t shirt factory. I first made a few for a local protest regarding Sainsburys coming to town, then got a little website, a big stand for the shop and started doing the fayres and agricultural shows and I must say that this is my new challenge. Very happy with the results. I'm just upgrading the site with Freestart and fingers crossed it will grow even more. We have a lot of tees going all over the world (sounds silly but i'm very proud of that) But it's not really the subli or personalised stuuf that goes for me so I concentrate on that locally. It's a bit slow at the mo but hopefully it will pick up for Christmas.

Anyway Phew!!! Sorry for the epic ...but you did ask :lol:

AJLA
23-10-2009, 10:14 AM
Oooops now I know you are sick of hearing about me me me but I did forget one important thing. I forgot to mention the subli side! Needing to try and pick things up and diversify a little I introduced the photogifts to the shop and although its slower than I would like i'm pleased that I did go that way too.

Ps when I started I had lots of great advice from you guys on the forum which really did help so thanks guys !

Stitch Up
23-10-2009, 06:45 PM
Oooops now I know you are sick of hearing about me me ....

Not at all, made for a very interesting read.

Good luck.

castlegategiftcreations
24-10-2009, 01:06 AM
I have been a swimming teacher for over 9 years now (have always been a swimmer myself and was selected for scotland esso youth swim team when i was 13).

2 years ago my now business partner and I were on a weekend trip to edinburgh and I wanted to buy a nice t shirt for my daughter but everywhere we went only sold t shirts with "scotland" on them - which wasn't needed as i am from scotland. Anyway - found a small shop which did printing and got a lovely kids t shirt with a "not very good" transfer print of greyfriars bobby which cost £10!!!

After we returned home I decided to start researching t shirt printing and came up with sublimation - did a bit more research, took a weekend trip to wales, bought the equipment and started up the business.

I am only doing it part time but would love to be able to do it full time. Have premises in the city centre (partner owns a greeting card shop so set up in there).

Look forward to hearing from more of you.

Justin
24-10-2009, 12:35 PM
It's great finding out more about everyone. We're all doing similar things but from so many different angles.

Justin :-)

AJLA
26-10-2009, 08:58 AM
Isn't it quite amazing how we all come up with various things to diversify, I often say i'll probably end up being a supermarket or something.

Is there anyone on here who relies on this only for a living or does it full time and its is your living. Would be very interested to hear your story.

castlegategiftcreations
26-10-2009, 11:33 PM
I only manage to do this part time at the moment but hopefully in the future will be able to stop teaching full time and concentrate on the business.

JSR
28-10-2009, 11:30 PM
I would like enough work to come in to make this full time but, in truth, I also do consultancy work which keeps me going through the lean weeks.

Before this, I worked in a factory for about 15 years - constantly getting ground down while those with less talent got the promotions and the increased salaries. I left due to disillusionment. Today, I have no one to moan at except myself! :D

AJLA
29-10-2009, 08:54 AM
A good thing maybe to moan at yourself, Joe public can be such a chore and unfortunately I have a lot of strange ones. Oh well they've kept me going all these years.

Karen.
07-11-2009, 07:41 PM
I started in the promotional stuff back in the early 90s while working as a band manager. Started off just designing the stuff for the bands I worked with. I then moved 180 miles north and started working with a small film production company as well as a large party plan company. I ended up do a lot of the promotional stuff for the film company and for myself in the party plan field. More and more of the company's reps heard about our stuff and we grew and grew. This then went on to other companies (at this time it was keyrings, vinyl T shirts etc). By this time I had risen to one of the top managers in the company and I was 'head hunted' by another company. Once there I started meeting with the owners and the other top staff and they got wind of my 'second business'. Again it grew rapidly and this is when we looked into the sublimation side of things as they were interested in expanding the ranges. Within a year I had left the company as the printing business had grown so much that something had to go. Last year was a slower year for us so I decided to return to my 'career' or nursing, so now am just running the business alongside that again.
Although at the moment the business is changing direction again and going back to the flock etc being the biggest seller.
The problem I find atm is that to offer the wide ranges we offer we either need to work full time to make the postage from the suppliers worth while or drop the sublimation. I know that I could build it straight back up to where it was and have the huge orders through again, but I with working full time, doing a degree and running around after 5 children I suppose I am at the point where I would like to start getting some sleep at night again.

Karen.
07-11-2009, 07:42 PM
Sorry - to add - AJLA - I did it full ime for around 3 years. Loved it and it paid the bills.

GoldRapt
07-11-2009, 08:31 PM
X copper

Your not alone there.
Started my own business in mid 2006, bit of the old MCSO for old bill whilst doing signs on the side mainly for motor sport affiliate people.
Went sort of like broke, but without creditors after me, mid 2008.
Wrapped my newly bought gear up and put it in the rafters.
Eventually managed to get a little job in July 2009 and that got the taste buds back for what I really want to do, running and owning my own promo print business.
Fingers crossed
:D

accdave
07-11-2009, 10:46 PM
I've always had a fascination with personalised products, no idea why. I started dabbling with sublimation about 2 years, buying bits and bats off e-bay. Produced a few bits for people I knew but as I was working full time it didn't get further than that.

I've been working in IT for 20 odd years and for the last seven years,to fit in with my role as a single parent at the time I worked as a contractor. My last contract ended in October 2008, and when you reach the antique age of 50 in the IT industry your past it.

Rather than drag myself through the misery of going to the jobseekers I decided to try the printing part time on a market stall. First week on we took £18, and the rent was £34 :shock: Since then things have built up and in July we had to leave the market stall and rent a shop to cope with the work. Thank god for chav hoodies :D

It's still a struggle to make ends meet but we are surviving. Main work is vinyl ( t-shirts and hoodies), subli stuff, mainly mugs has just started to pick up this past week or so. Our main objective is to be as diverse as possible, hopefully canvas and sign stuff will come on board soon, but it all takes time

The Phoenix
19-12-2009, 11:25 AM
Hi all - I'm a Maintenance Technician working on the automated link between Birmingham International Airport and the NEC. It's not so much of a day job as a night job. Previously I had worked in the steel industry.

I used to work 15 shifts out of 16, 12 hours, and as my work entails fault finding and repairing broken down equipment, which in a factory could be quite intensive. This used to give me adrenaline rushes and I could not sleep: I was on a permanent high. In 1998 I wanted a vinyl logo cutting for my car. Seeing how it was done, I invested in my own cutter and took to vinyl cutting pretty well. Gradually I improved my techniques, bought professional software, and did quite a bit of work for a local car tuning centre.

Not everything could be done in vinyl so I bought a printer and equipment to produce number plates, which after seeing an adverty for an exorbitantly priced house number, also doubled for making house numbers/signs, and various other hard signs not suitable for vinyl cutting.

Continuing with the idea of being able to supply just about anything personalised or corporate I bought an embroiderer and dye sublimation equipment. Embroidery has not been quite so easy and straight forward as I expected so I have not done so much with it. I have my logo on a shirt and a tie! The dye sublimation has taken off reasonably well, with mugs being quite popular, and recently my brother has been interested in some t-shirts for his rock-it-ball team. Another team is also expressing interest.

As well as all of this, I am attending university part time studying for a degree in Web Computing so that I can upgrade my own site from a static one to a much more professional dynamic one. For that, the appropriate knowledge was needed.

I am rapidly approaching retirement and I am hoping that my endeavours will ultimately help me financially into really old age.

mrs maggot
19-12-2009, 12:38 PM
still working in the big corporate world, hating every min of it -even teh paycheques - as theya re what keeps me tied to it. hubby has his own motorbike workshop - which pays for itself - but with nothing left over, not even for a wage.

we are starting the process of downsizing, im lucky i have a small mortgage, and this year, i hope to leave all the corporate bs behind me and do what i love, selling to the public, at shows and events and markets

Flash
19-12-2009, 10:49 PM
This is it! This is what I do! I guess i'm a professional 8)

Phil

steve dee
07-01-2010, 11:05 PM
hi there - ive been running my own karaoke/disco buisness for 13 years from big holiday camps to little corner pubs they all paid the bills but a couple of years ago i was sick & tired in paying out every week for posters & got into that side of it printing then i started to supply pubs/clubs with there posters then moved onto the vinyl side making money from the pubs doing etched vinyl windows & vinyl signs which i still do,then went onto selling car signs at bootys made a few bob out of that,also still work on karaoke three nights a week so i can still have a pint (or two ) & work at the same time, (brilliant in one way,but you can only hear "i will survive" so many times ).ill try anything really.anyway off to work to hear another cat squeeling version of angels...& hopelessly devoted to you...bye for now.

R.Prints
08-01-2010, 10:58 AM
Hi folks,
Ex forces myself, 27 years in the RAF upto Jan 2007. Needed a job which can fit around me, so a friend of mine suggested sublimation from home. Bought the kit required and started advertising June 2006 but had to move Nov 2007 so back to square one in a new place, takes time for locals to know about your products but there's plenty of interest around. Well I think that's enough about me.
Cheers
Ray

Traynor26
21-01-2010, 03:34 PM
Hi all,

still serving in the military at the moment, have about 9 years left to serve so thought i had better start dipping my toe into different things to see what is out there, last year i bought a number plate business and had a really good year.

Still going to do the number plates, but have just bought all the kit to do mugs, simple design for my soldier friends, Cap badge on one side, rank and name on the other with how they take thier tea and coffee..........so far going really well.

looking at a flat press in the summer to do coasters and mouse matts as i also have coasts of arms software,

Cheers

Lee

Andrew
21-01-2010, 06:11 PM
I work full-time in Sublimation amongst a few other processes but mainly subli. Actually employ 4 others so subli pays quite a few bills. The last year has got harder but printed for many big brands like Rolls-Royce, BMW, BAE and so on. I also supply another niche industry with our products which was where we started but I'll keep that one close to my chest for now ;)

We do a lot of trade work these days to try and cut down the number of customers we deal with as customers are annoying.

AJLA
21-01-2010, 06:29 PM
Ha Ha !!!Tell me about it I have a constant stream of annoying ones in the shop (shouldn't really moan as they have kept me in business for 18 years)

purpledragon
21-01-2010, 08:00 PM
Was working for our local authority as Supervisor for the refuse/recycling,
A neck and shoulder injury has put me out of work for the past 18 months and then at the end of that i had a bloody heart attack (it never rains but it pours) ive since found out that im not getting my job back so it looks like what was pocket money is now going to be my main income and to be honest im bloody worried so any tips you guys got much appreciate it
Brett

Justin
21-01-2010, 09:14 PM
Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck Brett.

If we can help with any ideas and suggestions I'm sure we will.

Justin :-)

AJLA
22-01-2010, 09:47 AM
Oh my god!
That is awful, something you don't expect at that age, how frightening.
I hope you're feeling fit and well now.

Andrew
22-01-2010, 10:30 AM
Brett - you should be able to find quite a bit of work down where you are. Especially with the Spring/Summer on the way. So many caravan parks and tourist areas about. Get a camera out and take some sample shots of local beaches and attractions relative to the area and print them up. Take the samples out and about to all the small shops and see what interest you can get. Just make it personal to the area you are selling to. You could take several shots around a caravan park of the pool/ clubhouse/ playground etc and stick them on a mug and mousemat with a slogan and easily sell a first order of 24 into the site shop then top-up through the season.

purpledragon
22-01-2010, 10:44 AM
I'll be trying that this year also we have a lot of equestrian products so ill be hitting the riding stables too. I'll be honest i dont hold out a lot of hope on the gist shop side of things, the shop owners area tight bunch round here i used to sell framed photos but the shops wanted 40% of the sold price plus a charge for putting them in the shop .

Yes mandy very frightening not something you expect at the grand old age of 43 i suppose years of smoking didnt help but hey what dont kill ya makes ya strnger or so they say
Brett

Bob700
28-01-2010, 11:44 PM
I'm an insurance underwriter, so I sit at a desk all day long dreaming of escape, by night I play guitar and blurt out tunes in social clubs in Glsgow, I would love to leave my job and get into the printing business full time but a mortgage forbids this at the moment. A few years ago I lived in Tenerife, I had a vinyl cutter and was printing T shirts, I also supplied curry and pakora to local bars and friends and by night I was playing guitar in bars, talk about living the dream. My wife and son could not take to the life there so I came back to the tax ridden UK kicking and screaming

flatcap
29-01-2010, 10:21 PM
started off as a bricklayer until i done my back while waiting to get better, started doodling again and sent of a few cartoons to newspapers and sold them. The drawing started from there and just grew, got asked to do some caricatures from photos which grew in to a stand alone business. And i never went back to a grown ups job
in 2002 sold my house down south and moved to mablethorpe to become a live caricature artist mainly drawing tourists and i now do weddings parties etc as well.
Then i had an idea to print my cartoon designs and found the other forum and the world of subli so now i am trying to build a print business along side the caricature doing mainly photo mugs and t shirts in my shop
just brought a craft robo but struggling with it at the moment.
sorry to hear about your bad luck brett

Justin
29-01-2010, 10:32 PM
What a great idea to put your pictures onto mugs etc. Original one off artwork, you should be able to sell these no problem!
My son had a caricature in Mabelthorpe years ago, it could have been you! LOL.

flatcap
30-01-2010, 04:16 PM
it could well have been me i'm the only caricaturist in town, there was someone quite a few years ago who did a bit of it, but sadly he died
and yes my cartoon mugs do sell quite well and they are a lot of fun to do designing and printing them

bullseye
17-02-2010, 03:43 PM
Currently retraining in Autocad and Solidworks and hope to be re employed very soon. Should do as its costing me over £5K. Looking to buy a subli business to fill time as well!

JSR
17-02-2010, 11:58 PM
Currently retraining in Autocad and Solidworks and hope to be re employed very soon. Should do as its costing me over £5K. Looking to buy a subli business to fill time as well!
I use Autocad in my consultancy work. It's only a very old version of the LT version, though. ;)

frizbee
20-03-2010, 11:11 PM
Full time T Shirt & Mug printing, staff of 3 doing both sublimation and Vinyl Printing.

Always looking for more way to expand, finding the recent downturn in the market hard work as we mainly print trade orders and lots of people have cut their order sizes.

David

Stitch Up
30-04-2010, 07:44 PM
My day job :)

I've never really been fond of heights but when you have to, you just got to do it!!!

Yesterday, I felt rather queazy climbing onto the aerial mast gantry on top of the highest building in Cardiff - had to fix a microwave problem! But when I was there, the views were spectacular :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/datasafe/South%20Wales%20Police/Capitol%20Tower%20Cardiff/P1000410.jpg

This is the Cardiff Civic buildings
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/datasafe/South%20Wales%20Police/Capitol%20Tower%20Cardiff/P1000419.jpg

The Millennium Stadium slap bang in the city centre
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/datasafe/South%20Wales%20Police/Capitol%20Tower%20Cardiff/P1000426.jpg

and of course, Cardiff Castle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/datasafe/South%20Wales%20Police/Capitol%20Tower%20Cardiff/P1000398.jpg


Was nice to get back down!!

Justin
30-04-2010, 08:33 PM
Nice one John, great views but a relief to be back down! All that way to fix a microwave problem, tell them to take a packed lunch next time! ;)

GoldRapt
06-05-2010, 03:18 PM
Just twigged who you are now john.
When do you ge the time to do everything else?

Stitch Up
06-05-2010, 11:26 PM
Just twigged who you are now john.
When do you ge the time to do everything else?

We don't! Constantly flat-out!