I've never really spoken about my employment, and if I have it's not been recently so I thought I'd talk a little about the problems in the UK with finding a job for me personally.
Before I start I'll run down a list of my education:
- GCSE CC in science (I did badly at school)
- NVQ in Art And Design
- Degree in Games Art And Design
- Masters Degree in Digital Art
So I'm not under skilled in any respects.
Previous work experiences?
I lived in a very rural seaside town in the UK, very small population and mostly populated local owned business. As a result of the downsized nature of my town the opportunities here are very limited, in fact non existent.
Before I finished university I worked in the following fields (In no order):
Chip shop.
Waiter.
Argos Stock assistant (Last employment was here).
Second Chef.
Stock manager at a small paint firm.
Train guard on a small train.
Chocolate factory line feeder.
So as you can see these jobs have nothing to do with Art and Design.
Since I finished University in 2009!
I realised pretty fast that the ONLY way I'd get employment in the fields I'd studied so hard in would be to in fact buy employment. What do I mean by that? I mean make my own business!
So after a brief hiatus I started work on my first buisness plan and concept for "Rocket Punch Web Design" and worked out all the things I knew I could do well. Promotional materials, scout for clients build a system of work and of course make it profitable. Since all I needed was software to make this business work it was a very cheap start-up idea! Low investment with high potential earnings. To make this work however I'd need to cover my weakness which is coding. So I talked it through with a friend at that time and we decided to work together to make this work! We did a test run designing a site and making all the elements towards it and it seemed to work good.
Then as we approached launch the coder dropped out as that person got employment with the rival company in the town.
That was that, all that time and work wasted, there was nobody else to ask for help and I had to take a step back and accept defeat which for me is a hard thing to do.
There was a period of time I sat about thinking about my next move (all this time being supported financially by friends and family since I didn't want to get money from the government for not doing anything) and a year nearly passed. Everything I could think of would require huge initial capital investment and I just didn't have anything to invest.
Mid way through 2010 I saw a video (during my daily search for good business ideas) about a man in the US who designed, printed and heat pressed T-shirts on a religious basis, he made enough to get by, not something I plan to do since I wish to make a buisness successful as oppose to just an employment option.
The initial idea sat with me for a few weeks thinking about the pro's and cons.
Pros:
- Cheaper start up cost than most of the ideas I had.
- I can cut out the middle men and design, print, press and distribute myself saving money and widening the profit margin.
- Requires only a little learning process
Cons:
- If printing onto dark colours, the design has to be simple in shape since you have to actually trace cut the image, the more complex the image is the harder and longer the print process with increased chance of error.
- You have to have a target audience and do some work making sure the products have a place
- You'll need a website OR a shop location (Shop is out of the question on my limited funds)
My grandfather lent me a chunk of money on the premise I'd pay him back when I'm "Rich and famous" in his words. This was greatly appreciated and I set about finding the right equipment that was cheap, effective and reliable.
I also set about looking for a wholesale provider for the raw T-shirts that the designs would be set in. If you've ever looked at wholesale you quickly realise just how much variety there is, and this variety is matched in price.
Eventually I settled for more expensive T shirts that had a denser and stronger quality because I thought that a product had to not only look good but function well also, hard to rip and warm where my choices after all if a T-shirt is comfortable and wears well people will remember that when for if they wish to buy another of your products!
Once I had bought everything, stock, heat press, Printer, industrial heat transfer papers (both colour and clear) inks for the printer I was ready to work on the designs and also start to drum up interest for the products.
I enlisted friends and did a photo shoot for the products, digitally retouched and designed the images like this one (Steak Kitty):
I was on a roll, I had designs, models, stock and started to generate online interest and then rather ironically was underfunded for one aspect of the buisness. The one element I miscalculated and crucially overlooked, the website.
Now while this website fiasco happened my grandfather sadly passed away having never seen a return for his investment which left me heartbroken, but I had to carry one and make something of this, he had left me a little money which immediately most of it was invested into the business further.
Now I'm aware of media's like Etsy and other free online shopping systems but I'll explain why this wasn't an option.
For this buisness stratagem to work it needed a heavily stylised and designed website that was unique to the buisness since I'm more than aware of how important branding is. Etsy and the like are nice and work well for someone after small earnings with it's limited customization and lack of a unique domain with little work but for me I'm after forging my own company that will eventually be quite successful.
So I tried and even called in favours to try and get the site done for as little as possible (I had about £400 available and the lowest quote I could get was £1200)
But alas I had ran out of options, at this time my old friend who now worked for this other company said he would do it for me, for free on the condition I'd pay that person back when I started making money form it all! I just had to pay for a hosting package from where he worked which was about £75 for the year.
I asked what he would need from me so I could speed his work up. Firstly was the core design which took some time to finalize.
This whole process took a year.
12 months.
365 days.
A long time, each monthly deadline he set he had an excuse, I had no money and no option, I believed each excuse before after a year had passed we had an argument about this.
I think he was envious of my idea and combined with being lazy that person let me down for the last time. I cut ties and was left with an incomplete business and no money.
Everyday since I've had to walk past my stock, still there un-moveable.
I really didn't want to end the business and still don't and since September 2012 I've been looking for employment. I can't get employed. and I'll explain why.
I've sent tons of applications, and heard nothing from most I did get feedback from one and regardless to having an Online CV.
www.kikojui.com
And a well designed CV I still don't get a look in, here is why.
Since I left uni I have not got ANY work experience in Art And Design other than my own buisness.They don't care about Argos and all the other jobs, because they have no relevance with a job in the Digital Design field.
My portfolio might be ok, and my CV might be ok.
But right now when people are all clutching for jobs (most jobs I apply for have had well over 100 applicants) there will always be someone with previous work experiences and will require less training and thus money.
I just can't be hired, which leaves me at a dilemma, to continue living in London I'd need a £18,000 per year job to sustain myself, to get into that bracket you need a professional job, I can't make that doing jobs that don't require a skill since there is a whole horde of people more applying for those positions, again with previous experiences.
I can't make the buisness because I don't have any money, and I can't get money because I can't get employed!!
It's a vicious circle. and if I manage to break it I promise to share to you how I did it.
So if you're in a job, even if you're not a fan of working there, be thankful because some people can't even get a job.
If you read this I just wanted ot get this all off my chest and will happily answer any questions you may ask, peace!!
