Plan B

[BrilloPad]

ah........well if we're talking about "lamenting ideas"

when I was 17ish my dad got Beebug (BBC B) magazine and in the back were a few wanted adverts for those machines, mostly schools and labs needing spares. There were a few for sale too around the 100 - 150 mark. That afternoon I saw one advertised on the noticeboard at Gateway, 50 quid.

Bought, washed, stripped of games and accessories, packaged and sent, 125% profit!

They wanted more, so I bought more. £400 profit in about 2 weeks until I tried to sell my family's one that my dad spent a good few months salary on 10 years earlier. He kicked up a fuss, told me what I was doing was stupid and I should get a REAL job. So I stopped, disheartened and with my main customer pissed because I promised something I couldn't deliver, I even had his cash.

If I'd stuck to it lordy knows where I'd be now but def the sort of thing that could have spiralled nicely with a bit of adult encouragement.

Not had any good ideas on the 13 years since then.

I washed cars between ages of 12-16 for a garage. Me and a friend wanted to print some leaflets for car washing. My Mother said "no-one will ever pay to have their cars washed". Nor car washes are so ubiqutous that when I went to one at Llandudno recently I had to queue. I intend to make sure my kids get all the encouragement to try things out.

The friend now runs one of the South-East's biggest courier companies. Whilst I am still stick in an IB surrounded by kn0bs.

[rootsnall]

You got it. I was hoping that people might discuss what it takes, psychologically, to implement a Plan B, or what prevents one from doing so. I don't mind if it hangs off the theme of my own stupidity and character defects.

The Plan A of IT contracting has provided a good cushy living for the past 20 years so there wasn't much motivation to implement a Plan B. Infact it was probably the right decision to not do it. If Plan A is currently stuffed and possibly stuffed moving forward then you've now got what it takes to implement Plan B.

[meridian]

I had the same idea as Tarquin about 7 or 8 years ago.

I had a number of 35mm negs I wanted digitised so I could work on them in photoshop. Sent them off to an online scanner to get them done at 4000dpi. After I got them back I thought, hang on a minute, I can do this as a sideline...

Spent 400 quid on a decent scanner, and spent a few days learning how to get the best results in the quickest time from it. It still took far too long to get good results than I was prepared to spend, especially compared to the price others were offering for the same service.

I figured it was cheaper to find another Plan B that paid enough so that I could send my negatives off to get them done elsewhere!

Just looking at a slide scanning website now to check out prices - 1 pound per slide for 4000dpi including ICE, cropping, rotation, colour correction. Cheap as chips.

[n5gooner]

I had the same idea as Tarquin about 7 or 8 years ago.

I had a number of 35mm negs I wanted digitised so I could work on them in photoshop. Sent them off to an online scanner to get them done at 4000dpi. After I got them back I thought, hang on a minute, I can do this as a sideline...

Spent 400 quid on a decent scanner, and spent a few days learning how to get the best results in the quickest time from it. It still took far too long to get good results than I was prepared to spend, especially compared to the price others were offering for the same service.

I figured it was cheaper to find another Plan B that paid enough so that I could send my negatives off to get them done elsewhere!

Just looking at a slide scanning website now to check out prices - 1 pound per slide for 4000dpi including ICE, cropping, rotation, colour correction. Cheap as chips.

well we do all that and charge 30p per slides! even cheaper chips!

[stek]

well we do all that and charge 30p per slides! even cheaper chips!

Six minute abs!!

[MPwannadecentincome]

You got it. I was hoping that people might discuss what it takes, psychologically, to implement a Plan B, or what prevents one from doing so. I don't mind if it hangs off the theme of my own stupidity and character defects.

Try asking more directly - "What does it take to be brave enough to go ahead with Plan B"?

[MrMark]

oops

ignore

[TriggerHippy]

Try asking more directly - "What does it take to be brave enough to go ahead with Plan B"?

Sometimes bravery just isn't enough ... Insanity helps too