ICWales & Western Mail (Cardiff) – 8 December 2005
This Time Next Year, You Could Be A Millionaire
Job getting you down? Fed up with slaving away for other people who just don’t have a clue? You’re not alone.
Dissatisfaction in the workplace is rife, fuelled by low pay, pitiful opportunities and companies run by monkeys!
I suspect that such feelings peak at this time of year, aided by seasonal stress, the lack of daylight and the long slog since your last holiday.
Thankfully, most of us will feel better in the New Year … but this time next year we’ll be back with the same grumbles in the same job.
There’s only one way out, short of mowing down the MD in your company car or bumping off the Board with poisonous punch at the office party.
Turn your back on them, say goodbye and walk off into the sunset to run your own business. “But what business?” is the question that stops most would-be entrepreneurs in their tracks.
A few of us have brainwaves, true eureka moments, like Julia Pankhurst, who founded Friends Reunited. This week she and her hubby sold up for ₤120 million. Others manage one-off windfalls, like selling a crisp that looks like the Madonna on eBay for a small fortune.
For the rest of us there is a handy little site called BusinessesForSale.com, listing established opportunities in every corner of the country. But smart operators may pass on location to take advantage of the online businesses boom – and there’s plenty listed.
The current crop of businesses for sale includes the usual online second-hand car dealers and cuddly toy retailers.
There are internet specialities, such as an online gambling site (yours for ₤300K), an electronic games retailer with an annual turnover of ₤90K and an “adult accessories” site (available with training!).
Then there are the topical, such as a website “helping students with their coursework” and even a Christmas retail site – if you could hack it.
Finally, the downright unusual include an online art gallery for just ₤6,500 and a film review site with full e-commerce functionality.
If you can’t afford to buy a business you can always start your own. A multitude of “independent traders” earn a crust on auction sites like eBay and, to borrow Del Boy’s mantra, this time next year some really could be millionaires.
But even those that aren’t won’t have had a monkey in a suit telling them what to do!
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