Help me find a career-- please read

amother

Tue, Feb 22 2011, 10:10 am

Right now, I'm doing home-based sales and am hating every minute of it. I need a job that will make me at least 1000-1200 a month and can be done at home on my own hours. I have a few possibilities but have no idea how much the salary is so any help would be appreciated:

1) Recipe column- I am an awesome cook and can style my own foods. When I send stuff over for a simcha, people always tell me I should have a column. How much do magazines pay per recipe? (I thought to do 3-4 a week)

2) haircutting- I took a course years ago and never did anything with it so I'd need to brush up. I see so many ads cropping up all the time so I wonder if there's still room for more business (I live in Kensington)

3) sell miniatures for simchos.

Which of these has the most consistent pay? How much do these jobs pay? Please please please help me.

JAWSCIENCE

Tue, Feb 22 2011, 4:24 pm

Anything in food service is very tough. You are going to need a mashgiach to be able to get your stuff into halls. In most states you are likely going to be operating illegally unless you have a separate building with your kitchen and are not a cottage business and pay for a license, take some classes in food safety and pruchase insurance. So if one person decides to sue you for food poisoning you are going to be in serious trouble, serious fines (even if you did not give them food poisoning, you have no proof). This market is also really flooded in most areas with women exactly like you. So you are going to need to be really great, have a lot of friends who are willing to advertise and spread buzz for you, and are willing to invest money for several years before this takes off.

Submitting recipes might be a good side thing, but getting a steady column is pretty hard. Even if you write 3-4 per week there's no guarantee a magazine is going to take them, they don't pay that much and usually like you to only have a recipe in their magazine. It sort of takes their edge away if there recipes by you appearing in other columns at the same time. They would not hire you again if that happens. SO do this for fun, not for the great income it will bring in.

Hair cutting might work, but again you will have competition. Try doing something innovative or getting jobs at people's homes, jobs for chassunas etc.

here's my work at home mom jobs website:
http://www.squidoo.com/great-w.....-home

I hope it helps.

TwinsMommy

Wed, Feb 23 2011, 12:36 pm

you say you only need $1200 a month--- I make a lot more than that working at home on my own hours...... but essentially it's home based sales and you said you're already hating that. do you hate selling EVERYTHING or just what you're selling now?

I think it's unlikely to make $1200 a month writing recipe columns unless you're well known. If I were you I'd stick with what I'm already doing even if you're not loving it unless you want to go a different route-- something that pays better than recipe columns. Like others said, food service is HARD to start since you have all the start up costs of a separate commercial kitchen and all the liscencing/kashrus stuff.

superjew

Wed, Feb 23 2011, 12:42 pm

For lack of a better word 'Pull' is so important in self business.
You could start of really quietly & slowly in either choice & climb the mountain slowly. But if you really want to hit a mark you need to become someone people WANT or KNOW.
Sorry, dont have too much advice but wish you lots of luck!

amother

Thu, Feb 24 2011, 9:28 pm

Thanks everyone. So after hearing all of your opinions on the home food for simchos, I nixed that idea. I began seriously looking into doing a recipe column and submitted my recipes and photos to one publication. They seemed to be pleased to have someone alternating with their regular columnists but said they'd have to review it over the weekend. How much can I expect per recipe?