I need a new career/job/something to do so I don't get bored

[MarkF]

Could you put your skills on a tutorial DVD and sell it?

I have tutorial DVD that I have given to potential customers for free for years, I'd ring prospective customers and often they'd say things like "Not interested, I don't want your friggin DVD, bugger off". After a decade of this I put them on Ebay with a lot of information about how to get started, zero interest & no bids. Then I listed them at £50 and the same customer base has started to buy them.

 

[annedonnelly]

He makes a bit, not a lot as he is not great on the marketing front (or the web building front come to think). I have 150 customers on my books to mailshot and give samples too. In fact I have bought a ton of biccies off him lately to give to my customer's dogs are crimbo pressies. All gluten free (just in case) and the biccies are yummy.

I can't see me building a doggy biscuit/gourmet meal empire but you never know and it might be a nice stop gap in between grooming and deciding what I want to be when I grow up. It has piqued my interest a bit though as I can cook and mix with stupid wrist. I have an electric mixer! I have nothing to lose anyway.

There was an article in one of the weekend Telegraph magazines a couple of weeks ago about someone running birthday parties for dogs - you could do similar as an add-on to baking biscuits. I think they were charging something like £150 for an afternoon.

Definitely try volunteering if you have time - it's a great way to try out different roles and gain skills that you don't already have.

And if you're still interested in studying there are free courses at FutureLearn

I don't think there's any excuse for sitting about watching Sky if you don't want to

 

[Saluki]

Can you not build the business up and take on some youngsters to do the handling of the dogs. You obviously have some nouse so why not put that to use by managing others ?

I have thought of taking on a trainee to teach them to groom. I used to take on trainees when I had a salon, back in the the bad old days of stress and terror. I find that the majority of people who think "being a dog groomer would be lovely" change their mind at the first sniff of hard work. As soon as a dog gives them a nip they vanish never to be seen again. Its a hard job really, people think its just playing with fluffy puppies but its not. We are professional business women who just happen to be artists and get bitten for our pains. Its been a great career though in lots of ways, very satisfying and creative. I would have died working full time in an office. Working, as I do, in my client's homes would make for a tricky training environment though as the owners are there, watching my every move. They would not take kindly to a trainee working on their beloved pooches. Can't say I blame them either, especially when I think back so some of the horrendous cock ups I made when I was a kid and learning.
I have a bit of a reputation for being a great groomer (tricky, moody but genius with nervy or narky dogs) and it would take years to train someone up to my standard. Nowadays I am not as good as I was however, I have seen much of the competition so I'm not worried about the decline in my skills.
If I worked from a van I would have given serious thought to franchising it. I did look at getting those Aussie dog shaped grooming trailers and franchising those out but trying to get any sort of finance in place in the current climate was, and is a nightmare. A grooming buddy of mine had 4 vans that she rented out to other groomers but had such a high turnover of 'wannabees' that she ended up bankrupt and now lives on a small boat as the bank got her house. (lesson there, always be a limited business). Funny job, dog grooming.

@MarkF skills on DVD. That's an idea. Although I have grooming quals, I don't have the quals to teach grooming so this would bypass the need to take a training course in something that I now have problems doing.

@screenman £40 an hour was great but don't forget, I only do about 3 or 4 dogs a week nowadays as my wrist is too bad for full time also, over the last year or two I have had to drop my prices as people just cannot afford me. I preferred to charge less than stay on the dole. Norfolk just has too many groomers. The Highlands however had virtually none and we could charge proper money for proper skills. Groomers up there are like hens teeth but you need be be prepared to do some serious travelling about to get to the customers. A 4x4 was a must in the winter. When I was flat out busy life was a bit different but my nest egg has dwindled to virtually nothing nowadays as hubby is on dialysis and nobody will give him a job. I single handedly pay the rent (used to be mortgage but sold up when wrist broke and housing market was way down. only got £70k for house), all bills, all the food etc. When we left Scotland I discovered a few credit cards that I had no idea about so sorted them out while I could as I didn't want to get stung with a ton of interest by paying off in installments. Its scary how fast a nest egg shrinks when unknown things come out of the woodwork or when you are the sole breadwinner. Luckily no kids to pay for and hubby now gets a bit of benefit. Not a lot of money left for training courses or I would have retrained a couple of years ago.

@annedonnelly I saw that article about birthday parties for dogs. Up to £350 for a dog party. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Great idea for places like London but not sure that Norfolk is ready for such frivolity yet. Also premises needed. Can you imagine the insurance costs of such a venture Fluffy-frou-frou gets bitten by Fifi-trixibelle and litigation hell breaks out. Its one of the reasons we looked at and then dismissed doggy daycare.

 

[Saluki]

Just looked at legislation, rules and regs on making treats for pets Each recipe has to be tested and analysed by a lab costing about £60 plus VAT per recipe

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

FYI, post graduate social worker masters offer a good bursary whilst you retrain for two years. This'll give you the chance to give back as you say and earn a good living.

 

[Spinney]

Just looked at legislation, rules and regs on making treats for pets Each recipe has to be tested and analysed by a lab costing about £60 plus VAT per recipe

Hasn't your mate already done that? Or is he operating a bit on the shady side...

But if you can sell to the seriously rich, that amount would probably be peanuts compared to the profits from a few luxury boxes of gourmet doggy treats!

 

[Saluki]

Hasn't your mate already done that? Or is he operating a bit on the shady side...

But if you can sell to the seriously rich, that amount would probably be peanuts compared to the profits from a few luxury boxes of gourmet doggy treats!

He has never mentioned the analysis nor is it anywhere in the business plan that he emailed over to me for a peruse.
I'll get on to trading standards in the morning and have a chat with them. I might have hubby ring one of the other small dog biccy making business and ask awkward questions about analysis. After all, I always know if its a competitor ringing me as they ask who carries my key cover or my groomers policy. Clients never ask such things.

 

[Herbie]

Bsc (Hons) Archaeology
BA (Hons) Modern British & European History
HND computing
A levels in English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science & History
O levels in English, Maths, Chem, Bio, Phys, History, Economics, Music and a couple of others I'd have to look up
Pitmans: Typing
A few CSEs too: English, Maths, Biology, Music (Teachers put me in for CSEs in case I ploughed the O level)

I had considered dog training and dog psychology but have dismissed them as many of my dog trainer friends are getting out of the business and they are fed up being sued by owners who don' t do any training in between classes and then sue because their dogs are as disobedient as ever. A similar story with pet psychologists I know.

Very glad it wasn't a heart attack. I had thought it was a pulled muscle but was nagged and nagged to ring GP and the earache was outweighing the chest pain
Getting back out on digs is out of the question as I am out of practice and its too much use of the hand really. It crossed my mind to do a PGCE and teach but its not something that I think that I could do. I simply don't have the patience to teach kids. Also I see the frazzled wrecks of some of my friends and relatives when they get home with stacks of marking.

I have a friend who has a wrist problem, not as painful as mine, and she hasn't worked for 13 years. I don't know how she stands the boredom of watching bloomin' SKY all the day. Friend had her tendons done (Carpel tunnel) at the end of '99 and hasn't worked since. I have learned from her, just how I don't want to be.

Well...as Ian Dury once sang......"There ain't half been some clever B##tards"......lu

Bsc (Hons) Archaeology
BA (Hons) Modern British & European History
HND computing
A levels in English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science & History
O levels in English, Maths, Chem, Bio, Phys, History, Economics, Music and a couple of others I'd have to look up
Pitmans: Typing
A few CSEs too: English, Maths, Biology, Music (Teachers put me in for CSEs in case I ploughed the O level)

I had considered dog training and dog psychology but have dismissed them as many of my dog trainer friends are getting out of the business and they are fed up being sued by owners who don' t do any training in between classes and then sue because their dogs are as disobedient as ever. A similar story with pet psychologists I know.

Very glad it wasn't a heart attack. I had thought it was a pulled muscle but was nagged and nagged to ring GP and the earache was outweighing the chest pain
Getting back out on digs is out of the question as I am out of practice and its too much use of the hand really. It crossed my mind to do a PGCE and teach but its not something that I think that I could do. I simply don't have the patience to teach kids. Also I see the frazzled wrecks of some of my friends and relatives when they get home with stacks of marking.

I have a friend who has a wrist problem, not as painful as mine, and she hasn't worked for 13 years. I don't know how she stands the boredom of watching bloomin' SKY all the day. Friend had her tendons done (Carpel tunnel) at the end of '99 and hasn't worked since. I have learned from her, just how I don't want to be.

 

[Spinney]

You know how the stupidly rich often have those faddy diets - you could cater for the stupidly rich wanting to put their pooches onto fad diets.
You already mentioned gluten free - I wonder what other 'free' dog biscuits you could make?
And charge a fortune for organic, gluten free, etc, etc.

 

[swee'pea99]

40 quid an hour? Blimey. Someone pass me a hound & a pair of scissors...

 

[Glow worm]

RSPB Norfolk are taking on interns in conservation volunteering (6 month stretches). Heard about it on Radio Norfolk the other day. They provide free accomodation too. Might be an idea if you like the outdoors and could lead to something full time. Whatever you decide - good luck!
Link Here

 

[sheddy]

Assume that the wrist issue rules out dog walking for busy owners ?

 

[classic33]

Sometimes I think that I would like to use my brains in a job, sometimes I think that I am hopelessly over qualified and its easier not too.
Hubby just suggested politician I would have to go on a course and learn some tact first though.

See Australian Cyclist Party thread, if your interested!

 

[02GF74]

. Lifting dogs I guess.

he said that the wrist is well and truly shot to hell and that I really really shouldn't be using it if .

liftingdogs? never heard it called that before. it sends you blind too so adivsable to get an eyetest.

 

[ASC1951]

liftingdogs? never heard it called that before. it sends you blind too so adivsable to get an eyetest.

That's only marginally funny after ten pints in the pub. Here it's just crass.