Ideas for Self-Employed

[well]

Hello, all! For you, who have known my background, may know that I am frustrated with my job, working in a family business... Well, I am happy to announce that I have apply for resignation, and suprisingly the boss aka my dad said okay, though we haven't discussed the detail...

 

Now, I am thinking about future job, I was a private tutor in English and Mandarin before, so the quickest way to earn should be returning to the old path. However, I have a thought if both my hubby and I can run a small business together, since he is not fluent in Mandarin and English, tutoring may not be an option... But, hey, maybe with creativity we can do that, or is there any other options?  Just collecting ideas here...

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I have heard some teach English live online to Chinese students. They can do as much or as little work as needed. I didn't like making all the course notes previous to each lesson. Takes twice as long, so the money is halved.
But if you have done it before, you are set to go.

Just Older

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

https://tesolau.com/teach-english-online/

This is the Australian link. I'm sure there is one in your country.

Just Older

[well]

1 minute ago, TonyWenz said:

I have heard some teach English live online to Chinese students. They can do as much or as little work as needed. I didn't like making all the course notes previous to each lesson. Takes twice as long, so the money is halved.
But if you have done it before, you are set to go.

Just Older
 

Yeah, pre and post teaching work is quite a lot, but you can save it and re-teach to those similar students...

 

What I am trying to collect here is ideas so both my hubby and I can work together, not just by my own... In the moment, he is not familiar with the subject...

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Over here none of the instructors actually speak the foreign language. We were all 'natural' English speakers. No one in our class spoke Chinese, but most were looking at teaching English to Chinese. Therefore your husband would not need to know any Chinese (or any other language).

But you would need 2 computers and a decent internet connection if you both wanted to teach at the same time.

This is run by a Sister, and all in my class were witnesses. All passed, but as far as I know, not one of us felt confident enough to start teaching. And none of us wanted to pay another $1,000 for the class curriculum course...

 

Just Older

 

 

 

[well]

5 minutes ago, TonyWenz said:

Over here none of the instructors actually speak the foreign language. We were all 'natural' English speakers. No one in our class spoke Chinese, but most were looking at teaching English to Chinese. Therefore your husband would not need to know any Chinese (or any other language).
But you would need 2 computers and a decent internet connection if you both wanted to teach at the same time.


Just Older
 

He's not fluent in English...

 

Another option I am thinking is selling chinese noodle or, we called it as "bakmi" here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakmi

But, he seems disagree as food business require a lot of physic works, and he's worried if we'll get overwhelmed

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

The noodles look great! Hope you find something you both can do together.

Just Older

[Alexa]

Here it is a demanding job to have a new car and apply it to grab/uber, or as a public utility vehicle. If you can go to registry yourself and also apply it by not asking someone to register, you will save yourself of lots of time and burden

[MJL]

6 hours ago, ivy said:

He's not fluent in English...

 

Another option I am thinking is selling chinese noodle or, we called it as "bakmi" here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakmi

But, he seems disagree as food business require a lot of physic works, and he's worried if we'll get overwhelmed

hi hi my husband and i try the food business together it was great! We made some quick money first what we did we pray for jehovahs guides and after get started thinking of different menu we can present to the witnesses we created a menu listing on google drive. And sent it via whatsapp on it we ask anyone that want there meal deliver to there home or work  with a free drink! we will deliver for this price. And those that wish to pick up meal at our home is this price. So we had 1 day for delivering meals and another day for people to pick up meals. So sis we did it sometimes 1time a week  each month or 2weeks for the month. And it can make money if u are consistant and also if you have different ideas for different meals. And its a flexible job and its all about how simple u make the meal or how expensive. Because its the preparation that takes up the time. Whatever effort u both put into the small business. U will get success out of it.....

jehovah's blessings and success.

[MJL]

Hi we have  a world of ideas when it comes to self employ! my husband and I we also did cleaning of vacation homes or apartment. We had all our cleaning stuff with us we made out our schedule and off we went to clean the homes its a nice flexible job and u can balance the preaching work with it. Another idea we did we made our own homemade wine and natural sorrel juice  a healthy juice get a design label and sold it. We start the juice business in year 2015. And another idea my husband did tours show tourist around the island. But now we are not doing the tours anymore. We need time for the ministry matt6:33.

[well]

Cool! That's what I want to hear... @MJL  Some creative ideas... Seems you are trying various ideas, do you like them all?

 

Hey, is that sorrel the same as roselle? They look alike and so as the name, I love the juice as we have it here... The sour one... 

 

 

 

[MJL]

Hi we had a world of ideas when it comes to self employ my husband and I we also did cleaning of vacation homes or apartment. We had all our cleaning stuff with us we made out our schedule and off we went to clean the homes its a nice flexible job and u can balance the preaching work with it.

[MJL]

Yes its the same juice but I don't make mines SOUR I make it mild within flavor the sorrel flavor and people love it. We enjoy all the new ideas we tried its Jehovah directing us. So now we are in the process off moving to another country so there we will have more new ideas and new self employment jobs. So what ideas u come with. What did u and your husband decide to do as a self employment?.

[well]

We are still collecting ideas, still no decision yet...  

[Katty]

I know it's probably not something you can both do, but have you looked for jobs in translation? It seems like English-Chinese/Chinese-English translation work would be in huge demand right now.
Also, Since your label says you live in Indonesia, and you can write/speak English, you can try to maybe set up a wholesale business and try to market to Americans. The exchange rate of the US Dollar to the Indonesian Rupiah would be in your favor, most likely. If you do something like that, however, don't use Wish. I have heard HORRIBLE things about Wish.  They treat their sellers horridly.  Edit: does anyone have experience selling on Ali Express? because that's another popular place to sell wholesale.

Ebay would be a good place. Some ideas of what you would sell:
if you're crafty you can make things. If not, maybe seek out wholesale suppliers, and find a niche (either clothes or electronics or hobby supplies). If you can find a supplier that drop ships to customers, you wouldn't even have to purchase an item until the customer does, but that would make a trustworthy supplier necessary.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Katty

[well]

1 hour ago, Katty said:

I know it's probably not something you can both do, but have you looked for jobs in translation? It seems like English-Chinese/Chinese-English translation work would be in huge demand right now.
Also, Since your label says you live in Indonesia, and you can write/speak English, you can try to maybe set up a wholesale business and try to market to Americans. The exchange rate of the US Dollar to the Indonesian Rupiah would be in your favor, most likely. If you do something like that, however, don't use Wish. I have heard HORRIBLE things about Wish.  They treat their sellers horridly.  Edit: does anyone have experience selling on Ali Express? because that's another popular place to sell wholesale.

Ebay would be a good place. Some ideas of what you would sell:
if you're crafty you can make things. If not, maybe seek out wholesale suppliers, and find a niche (either clothes or electronics or hobby supplies). If you can find a supplier that drop ships to customers, you wouldn't even have to purchase an item until the customer does, but that would make a trustworthy supplier necessary.

Selling stuff online shipping international seems interesting, need to find out the custom procedure though... I notice one sister by instagram who sells jw planner and she does international shipping... I'll try to DM her finding more information... Thanks for the idea 

[Bek]

Starting a small family business is a good idea. 

 

Since I don't know what is what in Indonesia, I will give you some business ideas that I would do in my region:

 

1. We always eat our meals with bread. So there is always a big demand for it. Starting a small bakery is a good option. You can try baking European style breads or Central Asian tandoori breads. You can look them up on Google. There is also a trend in our region to eat healthy breads that were made without yeast, which is known to cause some gut issues. There are some German bakeries in my town where they make German breads and use their "non-yeast" feature as a selling point. 

 

2. I would also try selling samosas. I don't know if you are familiar with them. They are a small round piece of dough filled with meat, unions and spices. They are a staple snack in our region. You can combine it with the bakery business if you opt for Central Asian breads, as both are made in a special mud tandoori oven. 

 

3. If pets are a big thing in your country, you could also consider starting a pet shop. Since China is not far from you,  you can import many things in bulk like pet clothes, food, toys, leashes, cages, grooming stuff etc. Surprisingly, people are ready to spend a fortune on their pets. 

 

4. I would also try breeding quails. They are always in big demand. You can sell their meat and eggs, which are thought to have medicinal properties. They multiply really quickly and do not require much space and feed. 

 

5. I would also try to learn some practical skills like carpentry, construction, plumbing or web/app programming as part of long‐term planning. You never know if your business will take off and survive for long. So backup skills are a wise investment. 

 

Personally, If I were you, I would not put all my eggs in one basket. So I would try a combination of ideas and carry on teaching English and Mandarin just to be on the safe side until you see which is more promising. 

 

 

 

 

[well]

3 minutes ago, Bek said:

Starting a small family business is a good idea. 

 

Since I don't know what is what in Indonesia, I will give you some business ideas that I would do in my region:

 

1. We always eat our meals with bread. So there is always a big demand for it. Starting a small bakery is a good option. You can try baking European style breads or Central Asian tandoori breads. You can look them up on Google. There is also a trend in our region to eat healthy breads that were made without yeast, which is known to cause some gut issues. There are some German bakeries in my town where they make German breads and use their "non-yeast" feature as a selling point. 

 

2. I would also try selling samosas. I don't know if you are familiar with them. They are a small round piece of dough filled with meat, unions and spices. They are a staple snack in our region. You can combine it with the bakery business if you opt for Central Asian breads, as both are made in a special mud tandoori oven. 

 

3. If pets are a big thing in your country, you could also consider starting a pet shop. Since China is not far from you,  you can import many things in bulk like pet clothes, food, toys, leashes, cages, grooming stuff etc. Surprisingly, people are ready to spend a fortune on their pets. 

 

4. I would also try breeding quails. They are always in big demand. You can sell their meat and eggs, which are thought to have medicinal properties. They multiply really quickly and do not require much space and feed. 

 

5. I would also try to learn some practical skills like carpentry, construction, plumbing or web/app programming as part of long‐term planning. You never know if your business will take off and survive for long. So backup skills are a wise investment. 

 

Personally, If I were you, I would not put all my eggs in one basket. So I would try a combination of ideas and carry on teaching English and Mandarin just to be on the safe side until you see which is more promising. 

 

 

 

 

Talking about skill, I am interested in learning make up, which is also in my list, add to selling noodle, selling stuff online, teaching mandarin or english 

[Bek]

13 minutes ago, ivy said:

Talking about skill, I am interested in learning make up, which is also in my list, add to selling noodle, selling stuff online, teaching mandarin or english 

Since you seem to be a polyglot, I would also try learning translation/interpreting and set a website to offer my services. 

 

As you know, Mandarin and English are one of the widely‐spoken languages today. So there is a big demand for translation/interpreting. 

 

There are many opportunities to earn in this area. For example, with the explosion of media content, you could do translate blogs, YouTube videos (subtitling), interpret business or any other talks over Skype/phone. 

 

The good thing about this is that it all can be done from the comfort of your home.

 

 

[well]

2 hours ago, Bek said:

Since you seem to be a polyglot, I would also try learning translation/interpreting and set a website to offer my services. 

 

As you know, Mandarin and English are one of the widely‐spoken languages today. So there is a big demand for translation/interpreting. 

 

There are many opportunities to earn in this area. For example, with the explosion of media content, you could do translate blogs, YouTube videos (subtitling), interpret business or any other talks over Skype/phone. 

 

The good thing about this is that it all can be done from the comfort of your home.

 

 

Yes, I did easy translating/intrepreting for a company before, yet translating is truly not my favorite, it's not only knowing about two languages, translation is another skill, and so as intrepreting, you need to master it, or in my experience, I was stucked with few sentences, and I can't move on, then I got frustrated, ending: a rough translation ... I heard professional translator use a software to ease their job. 

 

However, thanks for reminding me, I will consider it as one more skill to learn, I prefer intrepreting than translating... Lazy me... 😂

[Bek]

13 hours ago, ivy said:

Yes, I did easy translating/intrepreting for a company before, yet translating is truly not my favorite, it's not only knowing about two languages, translation is another skill, and so as intrepreting, you need to master it, or in my experience, I was stucked with few sentences, and I can't move on, then I got frustrated, ending: a rough translation ... I heard professional translator use a software to ease their job. 

 

However, thanks for reminding me, I will consider it as one more skill to learn, I prefer intrepreting than translating... Lazy me... 😂

That's correct. Knowing two or more languages does not mean you can automatically translate/interpret. You need to train for quite a bit to be able to do that.

 

I too have worked as a translator and an interpreter. Both of them require different skill sets. Not all translators can work as interpreters and vice versa. Translation requires good writing skills, 100 percent accuracy and patience whereas interpreting - fast/analytical thinking, good/clear speaking (including in public), good listening, excellent memory and if memory is not good, then shorthand note‐taking skills. 

 

If you find translation a bit hard going, I understand you. Then I would focus on consecutive and/or simultaneous (conference) interpreting. Interpreting is more challenging, but you should not give up, as it takes time to build up confidence and skills - I would say at least about a year. The good thing is it is usually better paid. You can work for 5 months or less and live off your earnings for the rest of the year. 

 

I don't know about your country, but in my region, you can find interpreter courses that give you some theoretical grounding to get you started. 

 

There are also YouTube videos that teach you the rules of interpreting at major international orgs. I have watched one or two and they were great. I wish I had watched them when I was just learning. In those days, many of today's top online resources did not exist or were only just developing. So I had to learn things the hard way - by trial and error. 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Bek