Does anyone here run there own business?
 

Do you run your own business and if so what is it and how,s it going?
Al theturtleshead
Running his own business.

I do, I translate and it's going fine, everyone needs stuff translating into English it seems.

Cleaner!
 

I run a medium sized office cleaning company in London... and it is doing pretty well really.

I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (marriage fights, domestic violence, bratty kids, and so forth) in private practice. Turns out this is a growth industry! If times get really, really hard I supposed no one will want to pay for counseling. However, until that point I think hard times actually make me busier.

What languages do you know that you translate from?

damn straight
 

Screw this bar nonsense! Ah maybe not! a marriage therapist in Colombia might be a bit tricky.
Al theturtleshead

I would like to start an internet cafe that sells coffee and stuff. I know it would probably die in the ass but I'd still like to try, do you require a working visa to do this?

IT Contractor
 

As an IT contractor I have my own business, but I wouldn't say I run it. My accountant does!

Maybe
 

I recon that to do the old Internet Cafe trick around here.The real question is do they need one? All the hostals now seem to have computers and wireless.But at least here in El Poblado,Medellin there is no dedicated internet cafe and there would appear to be a booming backpacker trade alright.
I,m about to sign a contract in the next days for the house I,ll be renting and for the bar I,m budgeting around 50-70k
I,m guessing that a startup cost you should be looking at 20-30k
Visas and so on you can always work something out in Colombia.
Al theturtleshead

French, and I've just started Italian. Thing is, (and don't tell anyone) the computer does about 85% of it these days, and for the most part a translater isn't translating, they're re-writing. I was once asked to translate a Dutch text, and I speak no Dutch at all, but could still do a reasonable job, with a machine translation, a dictionary and then two re-writes to get it to sound like English.

One day I'll be out of a job though, so...

Can I have a job? I fancy a couple of months in London as I've not lived in the Uk for eleven years now. Part-time would do, and I'm cheap.

Thanks Al, that helps heaps. I look forward to visiting your bar.

Ether
 

Well, don't know what I've been drinking but I read, ( open an internet cafe selling coffe......) I read this as a joke of a virtual cafe selling coffee!!! I'd make a very poor translater! Linzi.

lol, nah a place where you can surf the web, play games etc and buy coffee.

I'd love to run my own business.

I've been at college part-time updating my engineering qualifications and getting certified as a motorcycle technician. I've finally got round to quitting my day job, officially finishing this friday, to go full-time so will be finished around May/June next year.

If anyone out there runs a touring company or is thinking about setting one up and needs support crew (very cheap) starting spring/summer '09, give me a shout.

I'll do you a swap! I also translate French into English, and the funniest one US English into UK English, in Edinburgh, but quite fancy being back in France for a while! Can't afford all the fancy software though so I do it oldstyle with dictionaries.

But anyway that's only a sideline, main business is also my own, freelance lighting tech, until all the banks decided having events didn't look too good. Oh and I've done some travel writing, and about to try and sell some photos.

Best thing about being freelance is you don't run a business that needs you to be there every day in order to get punters, if something takes your fancy you get to do it, only criteria is being able to pay the bills!!! (downside is when everyone entertainment's budgets get cut and no-one wants to give me any money :frown:).

Wouldn't have it any other way though!! Full time jobs do my nut :D