Currently, I am walking in my life into the stage of late 40s and a school teacher. You must conclude that I am not very sound financially. My family get something. We don’t get a few things.
The life of a middle class is not amazing, but we have our moments. I wished to be a businessman, but I never could. I got married at a very early age and, within a year, became a father. It means, no space to think of my ambitions.
I was in a rut in school, and I was an average teacher, not the best one.
One day I was going through the homework of my student when a small scribble on top of the paper of one of my student’s notebooks caught my eyes.
“Toni’s restaurant”
When I turned the last page, it was written so beautifully that this kid Tony had written plans for his business. It remembered the days of my childhood when I used to make doodles for my own sports company.
Table of Contents
Idea Generated to Switch Career and Manage Finance Accordingly
The feeling hit me. I felt like someone had awoken me from a deep sleep. Working in the day, sleeping at night, providing for the family, where is my life?
So, in my forties, I wanted to build my carrier. Now it wasn’t easy as I had no prior experience in the business. No one in my family ever ran any business, and we are a kind of teacher’s family. My mother and father were teachers, and even my grandfather was a teacher.
I was so motivated to quit my job and begin a business. I discussed with my wife, who is also a teacher. She was surprised or rather shocked to hear me. However, after a lot of talking, she finally came on board.
She suggested I learn a few things about a new trend in sports and sales before jumping into my own business. She had a point. Therefore, it was time for me to get a job at a sports shop. I went to all the sports shops in my neighbourhood. There were no vacancies.
Nevertheless, this small glitch was not going to put me down. I was determined. There were a huge sports shop two streets down from my home. I went and requested to meet the manager.
I gave a full explanation of my situation and really worked hard to persuade him. The manager was a rather young man, probably in his 20s. He was intrigued by my idea.
He said he could not hire me even if he wanted, but he could hire me as an unpaid intern during his shift to teach and supervise me.
Making Tough Decision
Now the problem was his shift was at the same time as my day job. I went home and told him I would think about it. The problem was that I didn’t have any experience in sales and I was quite “old” for the job at the sports shop as they only hired young-looking enthusiastic people.
It was not something I had not considered. Over the years, I’ve seen and known many people looking for work in the latter part of their life. My father’s friend, Uncle Sam, quit his job to become a writer. It didn’t pan out well for him.
A colleague in my school quit his job in his 40s because he wanted a new challenge. People look for new jobs due to various reasons like lost business or being fired from a previous job.
Well, I had a talk with my wife about the situation. She suggested I should quit if I were not happy. We planned everything. How will we manage finances if income is cut short to half, where to cut corners etc?
We Reduce the Budget
We made a new budget and decided where to cut corners. I also decided to try and find some freelancing so we could source some more money. I found few students whose parents were willing to hire me as a private tutor.
The next day I gave my notice to the school, and I was seeking all new way to walk towards the new horizon. It was scary, and I had doubts that I had made a huge mistake for a moment. However, my wife supported me a lot and motivated me.
Two months went smoothly. In the third month, my daughter fell sick, and I needed money. The best option that I thought is to get a loan. I spoke to my manager, and he introduced me to a lender. He assured me of guaranteed loans for unemployed UK.
Soon I learned a lot about sales and business. I was a teacher and knew how to control kids and parents. I have an amazing convincing voice.
The prior experience came in handy. Soon, my manager hired me full-time on a commission basis. I kept learning and evolving.
I never started my own business, but I stayed with the same company. Today I am the VP of this company which has become a well-known brand. So, it is never too late. Let’s discuss more options in the latter part of age and managing finances during the transition.
Conclusion
While switching the careers, you should have faith in yourself. Before switching, make sure you have proper financial management and you know the shortcomings of your move.
Yes, it is risky, but you might be on to something. Update yourself, teach yourself and give it a go.
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