I am 32, divorced and have 2 children(joint physical custody). I had a janitorial business when married, but closed it down and went back into my previous profession to fit my new lifestyle. My kids are turning 11 and 10 and I am worried about their education.
My current profession is auto sales. I had sold cars for 3 years prior to opening my business, and have been selling again now for 3 years now. I make enough to comfortably live on, but it is a not a career that offers great security.
Part of me wants to go back to school and finish my degree and teach (would take 3-4 years to finish while working). I also think about starting another business part-time in sales consulting.
My kids are getter closer to college age, and I worry that finshing my degree would cost impact their ability to go to school. I was never financially able to finish my degree and it's important to me that they do.
Maybe I should stick it out at my job until they are through?
What would you?
Financially, going back to school AND starting a new business are both going to be very expensive.
What do you WANT to do with your life? Would you prefer to be a teacher or a sales consultant? Teachers don't make much, but it is at least a steady check, not risky like sales, and the work is very rewarding.
On the other hand, I don't know much about the sales consulting business, but I do know from personal experience that having your own business means you risk not always getting to draw a paycheck, especially in the first few years. Have you thought about things like - what are your qualifications to do this? Is there a market for it where you are, or would you be willing to travel a lot? Can you AFFORD to travel a lot? How are you going to convince people to use your business, especially if you don't have any kind of degree? Oh and by the way - when you own your own business there is NOTHING part time about it. Trust me. And there's always the chance that you could go bottoms up and fail.
You have a lot to think about, and they are still about 7 years away from being ready for college. What kinds of students are they? If they start working hard enough now, they could apply for all kinds of scholarships when they get to that point. And once both of them are in school, you'll qualify for a lot more financial aid.
I'm not saying to do or not to do one thing or the other. But I would think long and hard about the long-term effects of any decision you make. I'm not trying to discourage you from starting your own business at some point, I'm just saying that it's a huge financial risk, and since you are worried about putting your kids through school maybe you should back-burner it for now.
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Financially, going back to school AND starting a new business are both going to be very expensive.
What do you WANT to do with your life? Would you prefer to be a teacher or a sales consultant? Teachers don't make much, but it is at least a steady check, not risky like sales, and the work is very rewarding.
On the other hand, I don't know much about the sales consulting business, but I do know from personal experience that having your own business means you risk not always getting to draw a paycheck, especially in the first few years. Have you thought about things like - what are your qualifications to do this? Is there a market for it where you are, or would you be willing to travel a lot? Can you AFFORD to travel a lot? How are you going to convince people to use your business, especially if you don't have any kind of degree? Oh and by the way - when you own your own business there is NOTHING part time about it. Trust me. And there's always the chance that you could go bottoms up and fail.
You have a lot to think about, and they are still about 7 years away from being ready for college. What kinds of students are they? If they start working hard enough now, they could apply for all kinds of scholarships when they get to that point. And once both of them are in school, you'll qualify for a lot more financial aid.
I'm not saying to do or not to do one thing or the other. But I would think long and hard about the long-term effects of any decision you make. I'm not trying to discourage you from starting your own business at some point, I'm just saying that it's a huge financial risk, and since you are worried about putting your kids through school maybe you should back-burner it for now.
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