Almost 6 months down the track

My intent was to write in this blog far more frequently, well - that didn't happen. My private journal has taken a beating however.

I managed to secure a consulting gig with a small Management Consulting and Training firm here in Sydney. Their CEO refers to me as their "defacto Marketing Manager". I have a partner helping me manage their public or open training programs. We launched last week and all seems good so far. Our first program is in about four weeks, if we get 1o people to attend I should be able to bank a few thousand dollars.

I was approached last week by a US based company to interview for a role. That's going well, I have the third interview of five tomorrow morning. I'm very excited about the role, the fact they they approached me was also nice for the ego.

The hardest part about the past six months has been the diminishing cash flow. The jewellery business is going ok, but I need to get more parties.

More updates to follow.

Five weeks down and there's light at the end of the tunne

Here were almost five weeks since the redundancy and things are looking quite positive. Discussion are progressing with a prospective company who would like to take our team of three on board, this will allow us to pick up the ball and make contact with our clients again.

My Jewelry business us underway, I've purchased stock plus have catalogues to show people more of the extensive range of options for both men and women. I have some on display on my website www.derekbell.org 

The past five weeks have been interesting, I've been really busy meeting up with friends, working on my business, meeting with the outplacement firm and maintain contact with my E&Y colleagues as we move towards this new venture. 

One thing I've reflected on are the people in my business and personal networks. I'm really luck to surround myself with amazing people and friends. These people have been supportive and provided encouraged me along the way. I had brunch with a friend this week, she's in her late 20's and owns her own business, a call centre and lead generation team. She's doing well and is aggressive in what she's achieved. She's stunningly beautiful, intelligent and very much involved with a very genuine guy.

Keeping up to date with and in contact with my network has been a motivating part of this process. They keep you focussed and on the ball. 

I've spent the last couple of days really focussing on what it is that I do and how I can turn those talents, skills or hobbies into revenue. So far I'm focussing on photography, my jewelry business and my network.

There are plenty of websites that allow you to upload your photo's and potentially derive income as people buy them. I've narrowed this down to a few sites and will spend this week reading their terms and conditions carefully before I go ahead. These require hosting costs - about US$10 per month and up plus a commission on all sales.

My jewelry business is getting closer, I've spoken with the bank and will open a merchant account which will allow me to take credit card payments. They give me a mobile card machine which I can take into people's homes and to markets etc. I've already invested in some of the jewelry so I have something to show people besides the catalogue. I think I will need to spend about another AU$2,000 to get that off the ground. I've placed the order, I'm just waiting on the stock to arrive.

My previous boss/Partner is looking at alternate homes for our consulting business and things are progressing there. One option there is that we work as subcontractors to which ever business wants to take us in. I'm excited about that.

I had lunch today with friends and told them I'd lost my job and was now looking for alternate ways to make money. They were supportive and provided some ideas and direction. I think there is some shame around being unemployed, but I figure I'm better of sharing my situation with my network because you never know when an opportunity may present itself.

I have a couple of meetings this week with the outplacement firm E&Y has hooked me up with. I'm looking forward to those meetings and the direction they will offer.

More to come...

Goodbye Ernst & Young

I figure there are a lot of people out there who have lost or may in the future lose their jobs. That happened to me last week and my last day was Friday March 13th - what a great last day at the office :-)

I was with Ernst & Young for just under two years. I was part of a small Sales & Marketing consulting group. While E&Y helps maximise earning through tax minimisation of the money you have made, we helped drive revenue up front through defined processes to support the Sales & Marketing teams.

Given the current economic crisis, they lost their courage and closed the unit - they went back to doing what they do best. I don't hold any grudges, they paid me out well and have been very professional about the whole thing. Working at Ernst & Young was a good thing.

But the purpose of this blog is to talk about what next. I thought I would use this blog to both capture my feelings and also the process of finding a new job. Looking at options and looking at different ways to make money. Legally!