Not the 9 to 5

When I first set up the website I felt that the name of the site was self explanatory and would be understood by any readers who came this way. Now I am feeling the time is right to explain what Not The 9 to 5 really means.

9 to 5 is a well known phrase, in the west at least, and is a synecdoche, it is a description of a part of the world of work which stands for the whole of work.


Hearing the phrase 9 to 5 will invoke in many people an image of commuters jammed into a train, suited men walking across Waterloo bridge to the City, people head down hard at work in offices. In the USA it will summon the image of the ubiquitous cubicle familiar to anyone who has seen the Matrix or a Dilbert cartoon. In the UK where our buildings are older they may envisage people chained to their desks. 9 to 5 is a fairly neutral statement but it conjures slightly less than positive ideas of work being a chore.

In the pre-Industrial Age 9 to 5 made sense, daylight was available during those hours for most of the year and very little work could be done by candle light. Then the invention of machinery and electricity made it possible to work through the night but tradition and the need to interact with other workers meant that change didn't happen. Now we have connectivity and can interact with workers on the other side of the planet if we wish and 9 to 5 really makes very little sense. People working in London may have to work with people in Tokyo at 7am or San Francisco at 11pm, should they really be asked to work all the hours between? If your colleagues are a thousand miles away is it necessary to be in an office in central London or can you work just as well from home in the country?

In past jobs I have often felt how strange it is that bosses are happy for their staff to clock in at nine and out at five with very little regard for what they did in between. I knew staff who were penalised for not being at their desk on time or for leaving early and yet anyone working beyond those hours was never praised and anyone who achieved a lot in that time was given no more benefit than someone who slacked through the day. Seems a funny way to run a business to me.

I recently wrote on my other blog about ways in which the world of work is changing, hopefully for the better, in that some people believe a business should be measured not just by its bottom line but also on the good, or bad, it does in the world. The way employees are treated and feel about the company would be one of these measures. For now we live in a world in which there is almost nothing that is not business. Your health, wealth and free time are all tied to someone's business somewhere. How you meet, court and marry is now monetised. How you travel is almost never free, even walking costs shoe leather. Without money there is nothing in the modern world.

And yet we are still, by and large, tied to the 9 to 5 day. From shops and schools to doctors and bankers the majority live in the 9 to 5 world. But there are others breaking out.

Teleworkers, using home technology to 'be' at work any time of day. Crafters and inventors working in their sheds building beautiful things, people with big ideas about becoming Free Range, Multipotentialites or Paid-to-Exist. For many people there is no longer a need to be a cardboard cut out, boxed and packaged automaton or cog. And these roles don't need to be for internet geniuses. Any idea, any pursuit, any handmade item can be a success with very little start up funding.

Of course, Yahoo seems to disagree. But I planned this post last night and then saw this on my Twitter feed this afternoon:

Working life isn't 9-5 any more. The world is connected. Companies that do not embrace this miss a trick. Quote of the week @richardbranson
— Part Time Jobs (@timewisejobs) March 1, 2013

 So Not The 9 to 5 is a blog about all those other opportunities, ways of working, places to work and ways to monetise your life for yourself not some remote boss who has nothing in common with you. For anyone sick of being a desk jockey, anyone who wants meaning in their work, anyone fed up of being a nameless cog in a faceless machine, anyone wanting to break out and do things their way, the posts on this blog and the links on the Twitter feed are for you, they may be inspiration, information, advice or other resources but I hope that through them you will find a new way to work - Not The 9 to 5.

Laura. (Don't forget our motto - No Link Is An Island - when you follow a link and arrive at a new website have a clickabout and see what else is on offer.)

Setting up on your own

Leaving the rat race by setting up on your own is a move that is increasingly appealing to people across Britain, as well as many countries around the world. Increasingly, happiness at work is being valued as much as the other benefits of a job.


When your work, or lack of it, doesn't align with your passions and values it can seem that the obvious way out is to find a way to make your own livelihood. Even if you have never worked before you probably have valuable transferable skills.


The first step to this career path is to find inspiration. Do you have a great idea for a business or an invention that you believe can change people's lives? 


Next you need a plan. This might include making samples, testing them out and costing production, or it may consider what admin, accounting and other paperwork you are going to need on a regular basis, and whether you need to outsource that work. Will you need insurance of any sort? Are there licences or certificates for the sort of work you plan to do? 

Then a business plan is vital. There are lots of sites on the web that give advice and templates for business plans, and most banks offer advice as well in the hope you will go to them for a start up loan.


There is also a lot of advice about the whole process of setting up a business, including advice from BusinessLink and HMRC set up by the government.


This American site can help put you in touch with a mentor in your field and The Guardian offers some advice about finding a mentor.


If you have items for sale one place to market them is a market. Find stalls available in markets around the country at Stallfinder. Also try a blog to market your business, the basics are laid out here but there are lots of advice sites for new bloggers. If you are selling online make sure your social media presence does you justice.


Have a look at the post Starting Your Own Business on this blog for more ideas, and this link for tips on success.


And finally, if you are working from home try this design for making a room divider to keep your office separate from the rest of your home.


Don't forget, there is a lot of free information out there, make sure you do your research before you consider paying someone to help you.

Preparing for career change

If you are currently in work or a volunteer role or any other position, but not yet in your dream job, treat it as a stepping stone to your goal.

That is not to say you should spend your hours at work using the internet to find a new job. Look around your offices or workspaces and see what you can learn from it. Even if your aim is to do something completely different, don't forget that a lot of the skills and traits in any job are transferable. Are there opportunities to build relationships appropriate to your dream job? Are there training schemes available, through work or through training providers that will provide extra or essential skills. Can you watch the different arms of your organisation to see how they work and what is or isn't effective, can you learn from managers or directors above and around you? Perhaps some colleagues might even be happy to offer you insight in the field.

Build relationships

It's worthwhile bearing in mind how you are perceived in your job, it may influence references in the future or your working relationships with people who may one become clients or suppliers. Do you have a messy desk,/craftroom/vehicle? Does your personal presentation project the kind of person you want to be? Does your Facebook profile match that image?

Whatever your current position, try to make the most of any opportunities available rather than simply waiting for a better offer.

Dream Job - Hypnotherapist

Who do you work for? What is your job? Where do you work?

Myself, Hypnotherapist, West London

How did you start in this line of work? 

Was in Marketing got bored by soullessness & wanted a new career, looked at Life coaching (was a buzz thing at the time) – thought it looked like marketing but that clients would need hypnotherapy as a back up – did the course, loved it & dropped the idea of life coaching

How did you find out about the job? Or where did you get the idea?
Researched where to do the course on the web, idea – see above

How did you get the job?

Started the business 

What do you do on an average day?
There is no average day – perhaps 2 typical days would be -
Up excercise, breakfast, see clients; 3 ish clients thru day, then go do something fun in the evening
or
Up late, 3 ish clients, listen to training dvds or read training books/meet friend for lunch/coffee/network meeting or business development, do something fun in the evening 
or
I can be lazy & just watch an entertainment DVD if I'm feeling unmotivated

I always answer calls & emails on days off but very light work. Sun/Mon I have off (often do networking meetings on Mondays)

What hours do you work?

About 15 client hours per week, plus client prep, training – courses & home study 
I'm always doing training – I love it so it’s more like leisure activity 
I work Tues/wed am & pm, thurs, fri, sat (some evenings & weekends likely!)

What’s the best part of the job?
Seeing people in crisis get their lives back under control

And the worst?
Not much! – but it’s easy to be lazy re business development

What can you not do your job without - Qualifications, licences, insurance, comfy shoes, eye for detail, sense of humour? 

Qualificationss/Insurance/Empathy/self motivation/ability to focus entirely on someone else/have your baggage under control/life experience/be able to be taken seriously/humility/be unflappable/quiet professional room to work out of/means of burning CDs of sessions/being non-judgmental 

How much initial investment did you have to spend to get started in your career?
About £8K

How does the pay and career path compare to other people you know? Can you support yourself, a family, a house on the income from this work?

Pay is what you make it – it works well for me but lots of people struggle to make enough to work full time. It would be tougher outside big cities where there are fewer people & the hourly rate would be lower
Career path – again what I make it but flexible for the future – I think thats why ongoing training is so important to keep it fresh 

Does your organisation ever advertise for staff? Where?
No

Have you ever seen other jobs like yours advertised? Where?

No, self employed

What would you be doing if not in this line of work?
I’d probably still be being a marketing consultant & be really miserable

Starting your own business

An alternative to finding a job is to set up on your own, there are numerous resources around the web, here are a few of them

Running Your Own Business

• West London Business Network For small businesses.
• Startups For starting your own business.
• Hounslow Chamber For local businesses in West London, provides networking opportunities.
• Articles on own businesses from a site in Canada.
• Find an accountant - find charted and certified accountants from ACCA.
• Invention Intelligence - a blog about developing your ideas
• Achieving your dreams - a lecture on YouTube
• Mums quit work to start businesses - an article from the BBC
• Live Wire -  a resource from Shell aimed at under 30s, but with free advice pages

Under 24 years old? You can now apply for a loan from the Governments Start up Loans fund if you have a business idea.

Once you are in business, networking is a vital tool. Business Connections organises events for SMEs.


But don't assume that advertised Homeworking jobs are as good as they might sound. Bogus homeworking jobs Guidance from BERR (formerly the DTI)