What's your day job?

[AJLA]

A good thing maybe to moan at yourself, Joe public can be such a chore and unfortunately I have a lot of strange ones. Oh well they've kept me going all these years.

[Karen.]

I started in the promotional stuff back in the early 90s while working as a band manager. Started off just designing the stuff for the bands I worked with. I then moved 180 miles north and started working with a small film production company as well as a large party plan company. I ended up do a lot of the promotional stuff for the film company and for myself in the party plan field. More and more of the company's reps heard about our stuff and we grew and grew. This then went on to other companies (at this time it was keyrings, vinyl T shirts etc). By this time I had risen to one of the top managers in the company and I was 'head hunted' by another company. Once there I started meeting with the owners and the other top staff and they got wind of my 'second business'. Again it grew rapidly and this is when we looked into the sublimation side of things as they were interested in expanding the ranges. Within a year I had left the company as the printing business had grown so much that something had to go. Last year was a slower year for us so I decided to return to my 'career' or nursing, so now am just running the business alongside that again.
Although at the moment the business is changing direction again and going back to the flock etc being the biggest seller.
The problem I find atm is that to offer the wide ranges we offer we either need to work full time to make the postage from the suppliers worth while or drop the sublimation. I know that I could build it straight back up to where it was and have the huge orders through again, but I with working full time, doing a degree and running around after 5 children I suppose I am at the point where I would like to start getting some sleep at night again.

[Karen.]

Sorry - to add - AJLA - I did it full ime for around 3 years. Loved it and it paid the bills.

[GoldRapt]

X copper

Your not alone there.
Started my own business in mid 2006, bit of the old MCSO for old bill whilst doing signs on the side mainly for motor sport affiliate people.
Went sort of like broke, but without creditors after me, mid 2008.
Wrapped my newly bought gear up and put it in the rafters.
Eventually managed to get a little job in July 2009 and that got the taste buds back for what I really want to do, running and owning my own promo print business.
Fingers crossed

[accdave]

I've always had a fascination with personalised products, no idea why. I started dabbling with sublimation about 2 years, buying bits and bats off e-bay. Produced a few bits for people I knew but as I was working full time it didn't get further than that.

I've been working in IT for 20 odd years and for the last seven years,to fit in with my role as a single parent at the time I worked as a contractor. My last contract ended in October 2008, and when you reach the antique age of 50 in the IT industry your past it.

Rather than drag myself through the misery of going to the jobseekers I decided to try the printing part time on a market stall. First week on we took £18, and the rent was £34 Since then things have built up and in July we had to leave the market stall and rent a shop to cope with the work. Thank god for chav hoodies

It's still a struggle to make ends meet but we are surviving. Main work is vinyl ( t-shirts and hoodies), subli stuff, mainly mugs has just started to pick up this past week or so. Our main objective is to be as diverse as possible, hopefully canvas and sign stuff will come on board soon, but it all takes time

[The Phoenix]

Hi all - I'm a Maintenance Technician working on the automated link between Birmingham International Airport and the NEC. It's not so much of a day job as a night job. Previously I had worked in the steel industry.

I used to work 15 shifts out of 16, 12 hours, and as my work entails fault finding and repairing broken down equipment, which in a factory could be quite intensive. This used to give me adrenaline rushes and I could not sleep: I was on a permanent high. In 1998 I wanted a vinyl logo cutting for my car. Seeing how it was done, I invested in my own cutter and took to vinyl cutting pretty well. Gradually I improved my techniques, bought professional software, and did quite a bit of work for a local car tuning centre.

Not everything could be done in vinyl so I bought a printer and equipment to produce number plates, which after seeing an adverty for an exorbitantly priced house number, also doubled for making house numbers/signs, and various other hard signs not suitable for vinyl cutting.

Continuing with the idea of being able to supply just about anything personalised or corporate I bought an embroiderer and dye sublimation equipment. Embroidery has not been quite so easy and straight forward as I expected so I have not done so much with it. I have my logo on a shirt and a tie! The dye sublimation has taken off reasonably well, with mugs being quite popular, and recently my brother has been interested in some t-shirts for his rock-it-ball team. Another team is also expressing interest.

As well as all of this, I am attending university part time studying for a degree in Web Computing so that I can upgrade my own site from a static one to a much more professional dynamic one. For that, the appropriate knowledge was needed.

I am rapidly approaching retirement and I am hoping that my endeavours will ultimately help me financially into really old age.

[mrs maggot]

still working in the big corporate world, hating every min of it -even teh paycheques - as theya re what keeps me tied to it. hubby has his own motorbike workshop - which pays for itself - but with nothing left over, not even for a wage.

we are starting the process of downsizing, im lucky i have a small mortgage, and this year, i hope to leave all the corporate bs behind me and do what i love, selling to the public, at shows and events and markets

[Flash]

This is it! This is what I do! I guess i'm a professional 8)

Phil

[steve dee]

hi there - ive been running my own karaoke/disco buisness for 13 years from big holiday camps to little corner pubs they all paid the bills but a couple of years ago i was sick & tired in paying out every week for posters & got into that side of it printing then i started to supply pubs/clubs with there posters then moved onto the vinyl side making money from the pubs doing etched vinyl windows & vinyl signs which i still do,then went onto selling car signs at bootys made a few bob out of that,also still work on karaoke three nights a week so i can still have a pint (or two ) & work at the same time, (brilliant in one way,but you can only hear "i will survive" so many times ).ill try anything really.anyway off to work to hear another cat squeeling version of angels...& hopelessly devoted to you...bye for now.

[R.Prints]

Hi folks,
Ex forces myself, 27 years in the RAF upto Jan 2007. Needed a job which can fit around me, so a friend of mine suggested sublimation from home. Bought the kit required and started advertising June 2006 but had to move Nov 2007 so back to square one in a new place, takes time for locals to know about your products but there's plenty of interest around. Well I think that's enough about me.
Cheers
Ray