What the hell am I doing here?

[beaker]

I´ve always thought buying a franchise is a good way to buy
yourself a minimum wage job. Most of the people I know in small business work 10 hours a day 6 days a week to earn a decent living. Need to really have quite a few shops/people working for you to make it worthwhile.

The people who make the real money are the sellers of the franchise. No franchised service is rocket science - its all fairly straightforward stuff.

[pisces]

This one. So much of the 'motivational stuff' reminded me of pyramid scheme frenzy - they're hooked into everything - cutting off preferred suppliers, the van hire, IT equipment, clothing, business cards, everything. They tried to charge 2k for an awning - a tent! I'd rather snort coarsely-ground glass than get involved with something like this.

It is a different psychology doing what we do - and I think it prepares us well for breaking out of IT whenever we decide we need a change, doing something as leftfield as opening a chippie eh Threaded?

why would you need an awning to do chip repairs?

According to one of the franchise sites, they have an 88% success rate. I would like to know what their definition of success is!

[Shimano105]

Funny but I used to get all those feelings as a contractor - and now I'm perm you'd expect it to be a hundred times worse.

But even though the pay isn't up to much I feel quite happy here, definitely no morning dread like I used to get.

I think the key is to get into a place with a good bunch of people that have a laugh and like to socialise - proper socialising not corporate team building b0llocks.

I'll never be rich but I'm ok for the minute. Keep thinking of getting back out there though!

[gingerjedi]

According to one of the franchise sites, they have an 88% success rate. I would like to know what their defination of success is!

Its similar to the Computeach and more recently the driving instructor adds, they say you will be earning 30k and guarantee a job if you take their training but the reality is they find you a 5hity 11k PA job and then cut you loose having fulfilled their obligation.

[wendigo100]

why would you need an awning to do chip repairs?

In case it rains?

[Churchill]

In case it rains?

Keep the dust off the paint as it drys.

[bobhope]

Get a similar feeling too. I often wonder why permies stay late: don't they have anything better to do? I can think (and have) a hundred things better / more important than working late.

I keep thinking: what's wrong with them?

[ChimpMaster]

Within the past 6 months or so I've also begun to really hate what I do, and the money means less to me every day. I've found that I've got to start enjoying life outside of "work" to give me that lift to drag me out of the office doldrums. Otherwise all you have is office life, and it's a lonely crappy life as a contractor.

I have recently started expanding my social circle some more - have some good local drinking buddies, more interation with old friends and cousins etc and also take part in some interesting adult activities that I won't mention here. Certainly takes the mind off "work"!!

Sometimes it's as simple as going out on a Friday night as well as a Saturday night (or even instead of)... just makes the week shorter and the weekend longer. Otherwise it's just work <--> home ...

[Murder1]

Sometimes it's as simple as going out on a Friday night as well as a Saturday night (or even instead of)... just makes the week shorter and the weekend longer. Otherwise it's just work <--> home ...

That's been a life long motto.

[Dark Black]

Take a break soon. Remind yourself that you're in control. That you may be where you are right now because of convenience or because you're in a 'comfort zone' and can't be arsed/motivated to escape - but that, at the end of the day, you can simply walk away.
I'm only still with this client because the positives outnumber the negatives - your health is more important than any job, if it's that bad - take a sabbatical or an undemanding contract to give yourself some headspace.
Make sure you're not alone, talk it through with friends.

This is exactly what I did - I'd been a permie for years (been thinking about contracting for so long but need a good kick to do it). In the end after two realy sh1t jobs in a row (stress/pressure, useless managers that just push more stress down instead of doing their job and managing it). In the end I just got really ill, wasn't sleeping, blood pressure went up, depression etc etc. So I walked away. Sent the last ****** manager a really honest in-his-face email telling him exactly what was wrong with the job and walked away.

I intended to take several months off just chillin and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I felt so much better almost immediately - it was like a whole weight of fmy mind. In the end I had two months out then decided to go contracting for a while to pay off some more of the morgage etc.

Best move I ever made. Currently got a nice easy gig with decent staff, management that actually seem to know what they are doing and how to run projects (yeah I know - I didn't think they existed either) and at the same time I'm earning more, take hols when I want, don't get invovled in politics or pressured to stay late etc.

I know this was a lucky contract and I'm not intending do this for ever.

I'm giving it a couple of years and as long as I can get a couple of renewal or so then I'll be off to buy a little cottage in the middle of nowhere.