Careers advice UK

[Hooked]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice about setting up a little home business offering services setting up interactive forms and spreadsheets. I have in mind to aim at the healthcare industry because it's what I know. I'm a registered nurse currently working for a charity in the West Midlands area of England.

To make use of the quiet hours when my patients were asleep, I started designing interactive forms and spreadsheets for use by the charity (first using Word and more recently Excel). It quickly developed from a general interest to a hobby and then an obsession. I really love doing this and the users seem delighted with what I produce. If I could do this for a living I'd be happy as a pig in muck!

Does anybody here have advice on how I might go about this? Do I need to get formal skills qualifications or is it possible for a skilled, self-taught amateur with a couple of useful, adaptable products to set up shop and make a living? What kind of fees could I charge starting out? (That last question is similar to the previous post on this board but that poster is in the USA and I'm interested in the UK.)

Any advice at all would be appreciated.

Or if you have job on offer... just show me to application form!

 

[Smitty]

I can't help you on the wage part, but I'm sure that a few of the guys across the pond will chime in shortly.

To start building your business, it's often easiest to start with what you do and who you know, which is in line with you sticking to health care.

Then you need to start building your reputation, often times cutting what you ideally want for a consulting wage just to build a customer base. As you saw in the other post a reasonable fee for starters may be around $40/US or less. Probably more if you have a niche.

I really love doing this and the users seem delighted with what I produce.

Then stick with it, and ask those people to refer you to others. You'd be surprised what a referral can do for your spirits and volume. And keep track of your work, to the point of asking if you can keep projects for your portfolio.

Noting that I don't make my living as a consultant, but the normal good sense business management precepts apply: you have to sell yourself first and foremost, then follow it up with excellent customer service. If you're used to dealing with patients and not killing them, then you probably have a good head start.

Good luck,

 

[Jon von der Heyden]

Hi

I suppose it often depends on whether or not you can forfeit much of your current earning... I don't think it's as simple as registering a company, building a website, place an ad in the paper and then be inundated with orders.

Unless you can afford to forfeit earnings I think the best way is to look for some assignments that you can do in your own time. These not only offer some extra income, but help you establish a reputation and give great learning. By learning I mean things like getting your estimates correct, both in terms of time and money! Well... time is money but I mean about learning that what you assume to be a 2-3 day job might actually be 2-3 week. You also learn lessons like the importance of collecting a really comprehensive spec. Customers can often change the scope and unless you have a decent spec you may strugglle to convince that the 'extra' work was never in scope and therefore should attract more revenue.

Then perhaps, if you find you are getting enough orders, try and move into a part-time position in your current employment so that you still have the security of a salary but also have time to expand your business. And hopefully you'll get enough business to eventually resign completely and spend your days building spreadsheets for customers...

I can't comment on the wage because I think it will be quite specific to the healthcare industry...

Hey??!!! I shouldn't be telling you this, you're potential competition.

BTW - just so that you don't think that you are getting advise from an established consultant: I still have full time employment from another company but I do development work on the side. But I'm making the move to become full time consultant in a few months time...

 

[Hooked]

Dear Smitty,

It was kind of you to reply. Thanks very much for your advice and tips.

I am quite experienced with providing customer service but if anything is daunting in this, it's the self-promotion/selling part.

Hooked

 

[Hooked]

Thank you too Jon,

I doubt you have much reason to be worried about me as a competitor - I'm not in your league!

I can closely relate to what you said. I've spent a lot of my own time on the projects I've worked on. At the start my aims were quite basic but each time I learned something new it gave me courage to have a go at some of the things I'd originally thought were beyond my skills. My projects ended up more sophisticated but they took way longer than I expected. I'm tenacious but not particularly speedy which is OK when I'm doing this as a hobby but not so good if a paying customer wants the work done yesterday!

Forfeiting current earnings is not something I can afford, more's the pity. I'm the sole earner for my family. Right now I'm spending time feeding my passion. My family have been very tolerant. If I could repay their tolerance by making my passion pay for a few luxuries - well I think they'd like that a lot. I think your advice about keeping my current job, starting small and building a reputation is very sound - it's all I feel equipped to do.

Thanks.

 

[Norie]

Aren't there schemes/courses out there that help people set up businesses?

I'm pretty sure I've seen them advertised.

Also I think bank's have business advisors but you probably wouldn't want to consult them since the bank's can't seem to keep their own houses in order.