U.K.'s Most Wanted Small Businesses

by Yank Elliott, MBA & IAHBE Staff Writer

 

Note: While the resources cited in this article are for UK entrepreneurs, many of the principles and themes expressed are universal: people everywhere want more meaning in their work.

What do the “most wanted small businesses” offer? The answer, most of you will say, is, “To make money, stupid.” Well, you have given the wrong answer!

The correct answer would have been, “To allow someone to do something he or she always wanted to do, preferably something that helps others.”

All this is revealed in several studies performed around the time Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed his intention to retire at age 54. There is no correlation between the two events, but the worker surveys reveal that over half of British workers want a new career, away from the “rat race” that is more humanitarian than what they are doing now…and they want it by the age of 45.

Most respondents said they felt miserable in their current jobs and are unfulfilled, just drifting around in their daily work. Over half said they would work for less money in a job that made them feel better about themselves. So many workers being dissatisfied means there must be many reasons for this state of mind. A discussion of why this is so is well beyond the scope of this report. A simple explanation may be that British workers have reached a level of prosperity to enable them to indulge in the highest level of Dr. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which is Self Realization (Actualization), the fulfilling of one’s greatest inner desires.

Workers were most dissatisfied in the North East, North West and Scotland; those in the London area said they would take less money for more satisfying jobs. Many workers who are employed by firms offering sabbaticals take them to the tune of £4,800 to £9,000 ($9900 to $18,600 USD) a year. Though this perk is usually given in an effort to retain employees, many return from a gap year trip with a new career. Those embarking on gap trips are often called “denture venturers.”

Other reasons for job dissatisfaction include studies showing half of all working Britons stay awake worrying about not seeing enough of their families, problems at work, and worst of all how they will pay the mortgage and other expenses. They are also realizing their workplace politics involve Machiavellian principles which often help workers reach the top of the cheese pile where they suddenly realize they are the biggest rat in the pack. This goes along with several American studies that reveal those with great wealth are usually not the happiest people around.

All these attitudes are leading to Zenployment where people choose alternative careers more satisfying to their individual desires. Events like the 9/11 terror attack, the London subway murders, and violence in once-quiet neighborhoods have all influenced workers to seek and find meaningful new careers, sometimes by moving away from where they currently live. Frequently this is to free money for a lower standard of living. This phenomenon is also known as downshifting.

It usually takes about nine years to complete the downshifting process, meaning if you want to accomplish this by age 45 you must begin the downshift requirements by at least age 36.

Why is so much time required? There are two main reasons. One is to convince yourself you can live on less income by reducing your funds outflow; the other is time required to acquire skills and experience for whatever you want to do in your new life.

The living expense question is difficult to quantify because if you have been used to living on £31,500 (average UK income after taxes and benefits adjustment--$65,145 USD) it is difficult to realize you can live on about 10% of that amount. I know this can be done, because I was forced to do it during a bad spell in my life. While I’m a bit better off now, that time brought me to where I am now—the happiest I have ever been.

Those British workers who have done this will tell you the same thing. If you manage to get into a situation where you can make or grow much of what you need, you may end up working harder, but you will have much greater personal fulfillment in your life. You will develop a feeling of purpose not usually available in a rat race environment. You need part of your nine years’ preparation to liquidate and gather all your resources for your life change.

People who have made the change made a conscious decision for their career change. One expatriate who actually moved to another country left his well-established family business. I mention this example, because it shows dissatisfaction in all employment areas, not just the corporate rat race. A small family business is often considered a perfect escape from office politics, and usually it is. Business is business, however, and a family operation can become exceedingly stressful just as if one worked for a large corporation. This particular person worked so many hours away from his family in very stressful conditions, he began to worry about health issues, particularly the fact his father died of a heart attack under 40 years of age. He doesn’t mind the reduced lifestyle: he traded for happiness.

The second reason this transition can take nine years is the training and experience you may need in your new career. Consider the result of many studies showing employees now change career paths at least five times during their working lives. It is possible you may already have some of the qualifications for your new career, but you need to begin investigation at least by age 36 to fulfill your desire to change by your 45th birthday. We will discuss the most desired new careers and your research will tell you how much time will be required to be qualified for the new career you want. Bear in mind most training will take one to three years full time and much more if you do it part time. Then there may be some practical experience you will need. Add this to your financial preparation and nine years goes away quickly.

Here are the most desired second careers. You will note most of them do not seem to be big money-makers, which is just what the survey revealed. People want self fulfillment more than wealth. So decide what is best for you right now, not how you ought to live the rest of your life. See what the future prospects are for your choice and realize this process will be continuing into the future; you may need to shift gears again because of changing technology. Take your pick from among these top second careers from the respondents: animal welfare officer, counselor, yoga teacher, charity worker/volunteer, gardener, alternative therapist, artist, teacher, local political or community representative, climate campaigner, and sports instructor.

For an idea of what an animal welfare officer does, look at this example from the South Northamptonshire Council. Duties defined in their brochure are:
Dog control.

Catching lost or stray dogs and returning to owners or new homes.

Law enforcement.

Patrolling for strays, fouling problems, and advising owners.

Education and guidance.

Providing animal regulation advice to individuals, schools, community groups.

Investigating resident complaints.

One illustration of available training is this two-day course at The University of Bristol.

A counselor works with people on an individual basis to help resolve life dissatisfactions. This is a job description. Training may take from one to three years and is available in the UK at these places.

A yoga teacher designs courses and instruction in movements and breathing habits. Training is available here.

A charity worker can be paid or a volunteer. Paid jobs may require special training which you could already have as a result of your work experience or local community activities. Check here for information about both kinds of work.

For becoming a gardener, here is an online course for learning how to garden. When you think you are qualified, possible employment may be found here.

An alternative therapist has many occupations available depending entirely on her interest. Here is a list of many opportunities, most of which require some training. The opportunities range from Colon Hydrotherapist (you can get appropriate training from one of these schools) to Pilates Teacher. You can find required Pilates instructors here. There are a lot of other alternative therapy options available; you should be able to find one that meets your interest.

In the field of being an artist, environmental art is a subject of current interest. One source of training is here. Cheltenham Tutorial College provides some other art training.

Being a teacher is another popular second career occupation requiring a choice of what you want to teach. This discussion will help you decide. Then you can find everything you need about getting teacher training here.

Many survey respondents viewed being a local political or community representative as a desirable new career. The Institute of Local Government Studies at The University of Birmingham is one place to receive political training. This is a career which requires some in-service practical training. If you want an elective office you need to put in a number of years working for local political groups and some time as an elected official at some level.

A current popular career is that of climate campaigner. Here is one example of what a campaigner might do. This is an example of how to obtain training in climate issues. These particular sessions have already passed, but there is contact information where you can find future seminars.

Last on the list is sports instructor. These individuals help people achieve their full potential in many different kinds of physical activities. You can find details about the UK Coaching Certificate here.

Note that most of these desired second career occupations require one to three years training, and many ask that you gain additional time working in the field. This is why you should begin to explore your options as soon as you can, and it is a major reason why an average nine years are required to make your career change. Also in this time frame is making and working your plan to finance this change as well as the rest of your life. You are going to live for a long time, and there must be some money coming from somewhere as long as you live, even if it is much less than you had in your old life.

These studies about worker dissatisfaction have been directed more at occupations that are not really “businesses.” So what do you do if none of these occupations appeals to you? There is still the possibility of starting your own business; you may not be able to make as much money from your new business as you did in the rat race, but, if you pick the right business and view it as really helping people, you can still achieve your goal of self fulfillment.

If you are in the majority and don’t like what you are doing, get started on your plan for the rest of your life NOW. Get out of what you hate and into something you really want to do that helps people as well. This is a great idea!

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Yank is a home-based entrepreneur and freelance business writer living in Hurricane Alley, North Carolina, USA. His Website is http://www.alternate-choice.com and you may contact Yank at mailtonewideas@alternate-choice.com.