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Showing results for tags 'bzness'.
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As I feel more and more like the customers I deal with think of me as some 30-year-old teenage punk, and after being reprimanded over a complaint from some old lady for 'seeming distracted' on a day when every system was going haywire, I'm really beginning to consider the (rather scary) option of doing some kind of self-employment. I would have put this under Rants and Raves, but this is a -little- more serious than that. I know a furry forum probably isn't the best place to ask about fiscally-oriented decisions, but I feel a little more comfortable tossing around the idea here. So I've been working the same part-time job for the past six years about, and getting by just fine. I make no exaggeration when I say I'm probably the most competent person there (employer included), yet at the same time I feel as though I'm on the thinnest ice of anyone working there. I mean, an entire branch of our work typically grinds to a halt when I'm not there, but I'm the one who most needs to act SUPER-MEGA ENTHUSIASTIC to be working a retail job where I deal with bitchy old ladies all day. Nevermind the one who texts in front of customers (who I'm certain I got confused for in that earlier complaint), or the one who can barely do the basic tasks required by our work; the guy who's exit would render thousands of dollars worth of equipment nearly useless is the problem. But the thing is, I seem to get the vote of zero-confidence in everything I've ever done or decided, to the point that I'm certain I can no longer gauge the validity of a decision because the 'default' answer is always "you're a ditz and you shouldn't do that," regardless of the outcome. And if little old ladies are going to complain to higher-ups because I fall just shy of some model youngster from 'Leave it to Beaver,' I'm thinking I may as well quit and do something where I'm answerable only to myself. I don't have tatoos, I don't have piercings, I cut my hair relatively short, and while I do have a beard, I try to keep it trimmed and reasonable - in case some of you are picturing an overly sensitive goth/punk kid not being allowed to wear their lip rings and eyebrow studs. It's not like I make tons of money now, but I'm concerned whether or not I'll be able to come up with a skill to make bank. I can draw, I can build and paint miniatures, and that's about my list of self-employable skills. And while there is indeed a market for painting miniatures (customers are typically people who like to play tabletop war games, but don't have the time to make everything themselves), it involves a lot of social media outreach and striking the right veins, something I feel I'm not exactly competent in. This is one of those scenarios where I have a lot of skill and know-how, but just don't know very many people - for those that know the old adage: "It's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know that determines your success." And of course, I can't organize my thoughts on all this because I can barely sit still for more than half an hour at a time to type all this out. I guess I'm just looking for any advice on self-employment, and how practical/fulfilling it is. I do NOT want to work retail/customer service until the day I die.