Oh Dear

[Andy P]

We'll Andy has been a bad boy.

I've been suspended from work, rightfully so for running a business in work time.

So busted not much I can say, the odd trip on here and the inevitable messages, mails and calls from clients etc. Someone there didn't like me and informed the director so its gonna end badly.

This I guess means I am now a full time DJ so question is

what would you do now to take me forward and run this as a full time enterprise. All advice accepted

[funkymook]

We'll Andy has been a bad boy.

I've been suspended from work, rightfully so for running a business in work time.

So busted not much I can say, the odd trip on here and the inevitable messages, mails and calls from clients etc. Someone there didn't like me and informed the director so its gonna end badly.

This I guess means I am now a full time DJ so question is

what would you do now to take me forward and run this as a full time enterprise. All advice accepted

Usually you have to declare if you’re running a business while employed by someone else - I had to and all it consisted of was a statement that there was no conflict of interest and wouldn’t infringe on company time.

Hopefully all that will happen is a slapped wrist (or a disciplinary as it’s more commonly know as) and an undertaking not to do your own work during company time, it’d be very harsh if they said it was a sackable offence. Worth checking with your Union or CB about that.

[Nakatomi]

Do they have records of the times you weren't working but should have been? Did you make the time up? Has it affected your performance noticeably?

Unless your contract says you're forbidden to have a paid hobby you might have a counter case.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

If you're going FT on a whim like I did then prepare to put shed loads of unpaid hours into building up the business. I did it only 5 years ago and only recently matched my income when I left recently.

No security, no pension, no paid holiday...it's not for the faint hearted.

That said I doubt they can get rid unless they can prove it's impacting your performance and you haven't worked there for at least 12 months.

They can of course warn you, and keep a very close watch on what you're doing.

[theoloyla]

Yeah I pretty much agree with the others. You have been suspended not sacked. You will have to attend a disciplinary but if it is your first offence and haven't received any previous warnings for anything else (absence, time keeping, insubordination etc) then I wouldn't see it as a sackable offence. If you have a union consult them or talk to citizens advice. If you want to keep your day job you will have to agree not to neglect your work again. Presumably you get tea breaks and meal breaks when you could attend to phone calls etc for business. No employer has the right to control you having a second job or paid hobby outside of work hours unless it affects your ability to do your job or conflicts with your employer's trade; so it may not be necessary to quit.

[Benny Smyth]

We'll Andy has been a bad boy.

I've been suspended from work, rightfully so for running a business in work time.

So busted not much I can say, the odd trip on here and the inevitable messages, mails and calls from clients etc. Someone there didn't like me and informed the director so its gonna end badly.

This I guess means I am now a full time DJ so question is

what would you do now to take me forward and run this as a full time enterprise. All advice accepted

Suspension for that? Suspension is usually earmarked for either the suspendee being a danger to the business (i.e. someone dipping their hands in the till) or it's not a first offence. Is this a first offence?

With regards to the actual question on where to go from here as a DJ, I'll reply later as I am on my phone in Starbucks right now. :beer1:

[Andy P]

Dont worry about the job part - this is a blessing in disguise.

Truth is I need a kick or will never make the move to full time.

Yes potentially i'll get a royal kicking but the truth is I've had to conduct business at work as thats when it normally comes to me. Ok cheeky forum posts and reads didn't ever impact my work, I did send the odd email to myself with notes and ideas and reminders. I did look at DJ products and youtube songs in downtime but never at the expense of my work load.

However working for council/public sector who are already squeezed and hate to see the public purse hard done by and they need to make cuts it makes me easy fodder. And if I go back how much work will I lose out on being a good boy.

Im more interested in what I do to make the most of the situation.

[funkymook]

Im more interested in what I do to make the most of the situation.

On average how many bookings are you getting per month at the moment? Does this give you enough as a sole income?

[Andy P]

for the last few months ive been booked fri and sat so have been making a good living from it. I have turned down midweek and late sun work due to my other job. I will need to up the price and amount of gigs but do have a good amount of work in my diary till xmas

[funkymook]

for the last few months ive been booked fri and sat so have been making a good living from it. I have turned down midweek and late sun work due to my other job. I will need to up the price and amount of gigs but do have a good amount of work in my diary till xmas

If you keep you job I’d raise your prices and keep a tab on the number of Sunday and mid-week bookings you turn down to test the waters with the aim of going FT in a year or so if the figures add up.

If you don’t keep your job then you’ll have to do all that without a safety net!

[ukpartydj]

Dont worry about the job part - this is a blessing in disguise.

Similar thing happened to me, I made an error at work - had a meeting about it and I told them the truth. I want to be a full time DJ, mutually we agreed to part ways and they gave me a couple of months to sort out my business... the first year was soo hard to get money in though!! I was advertising literally everywhere and taking on gigs at stupid prices. I signed on for jobseekers for 2 weeks... they told me that I had to apply for jobs though and I couldn't just work my butt off advertising??? go figure!

My advise is as long as you work hard and work smart you'll be alright. When you take your foot off the pedal you diary will reflect it.

Never again will I flyer door to door in January in the rain ... never again!

[yourdj]

Blessing in disguise probably - Get on with the marketing would be first thing. Look at the site, attend wedding fairs, network with local DJ's and other suppliers/venues etc. Get a part time job that has flexible hours. Remove the storm Trooper from the image thing on the website as thats the first thing that pops out. depends on your market, but that would put me off, especially for a wedding. The rest of the site looks amazing, so your sorted there. :p

Good luck :beer1::beer1:

[DazzyD]

I work in the Local Authority as my day job and I declared it early on. They've been really supportive allowing me early finishes when I've had weeknight gigs on. In fact, a good few of my bookings have come via people I work with including the wedding at Crathorne Hall a couple of weeks ago. My department head turned me down for severance twice as I wanted to leave on enhanced terms to concentrate on the business but they couldn't afford to let me go! As a compromise, she allowed me the leeway to take on Christmas season bookings. And she got me to do her retirement party earlier this year. So I've got no complaints.

Mind you, I don't do any business work during day job time unless I'm on my dinner breaks.

[Excalibur]

As a compromise, she allowed me the leeway to take on Christmas season bookings. And she got me to do her retirement party earlier this year. So I've got no complaints.

Nepotism is alive and well, and living in Local Government. :):)

[DazzyD]

Nepotism is alive and well, and living in Local Government. :):)

Every situation is a networking opportunity! ;)

[ppentertainments]

When I had a job I think by the end about 80% of my time there was spent on my disco business.

As mentioned, I don't think this will be the end of your employment, but please don't take the leap blind.

Have you a backup income of some sort ?
What is in the diary 3,6,9,12,24,36 months time ?

Draw up a business plan which you should stick too. Being full time you can't make mistakes and will find your outlook will be totally different. If this is to be your families sole income 'toys' become 'business tools', 'gigs' become 'a weeks income' etc. If you can rely on partners income the pressure is off. My income is my families only income hence why I take things so seriously (sometimes lol).

[Andy P]

A little more background - my wife is a full time nurse and makes enough to cover the bills. The plan always was for me to go full time as a DJ once we had things sorted - and leaving work was a longer term plan.

I actually have no plans to return to work no matter what the outcome as like PPE said - you just can't ignore your business while there - I'd already asked to reduce my hours and was declined - if I return it would be under the microscope and I cant be arsed for that.

- - - Updated - - -


Nepotism is alive and well, and living in Local Government. :):)

you just dont know how true that statement is

- - - Updated - - -


Blessing in disguise probably - Get on with the marketing would be first thing. Look at the site, attend wedding fairs, network with local DJ's and other suppliers/venues etc. Get a part time job that has flexible hours. Remove the storm Trooper from the image thing on the website as thats the first thing that pops out. depends on your market, but that would put me off, especially for a wedding. The rest of the site looks amazing, so your sorted there. :p

Good luck :beer1::beer1:

cheers - more of this type of answer please

[ckpr2]

I did a stint with a company about 10 years ago.
I did a lot of EMC testing and it took ages for the test software to run.
So I surfed the internet a bit and sent a few emails.
I hadn't realised that everyone was being monitored and I got handed a fistful of papers with emails I had sent by my boss.

I told him it hadn't impacted my work but just kept me occupied while my test programs ran.
He just said not to do it any more.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Speak with an accountant, a part time is a lot different than a sole income....

Have you worked out how many gigs a week you need to do at your current pricing? Have you allowed for quiet periods (it takes several years to work out roughly what you can "at least" expect". Most wedding bookings are done far in advance.

It does sound like you're jumping before you're pushed but I can't stress enough how much effort you need to put in at this point to make this work