We are not an employment service, but let's toss around a few ideas that may help you find a job or alternatively help you start a small business from home to bring in some dollars until you find full employment. In fact many very good business's have started in just this way, so lets be positive and get started.

RETRAINING - Many workers hit middle age and suddenly get the urge for a career change. This could be brought on by necessity, or simply by a desire to leave their mundane job behind and do something quite different. Retraining is not that difficult for most occupations and easy to access learn at home courses are available for anything from a bookkeeper to a travel agent. Naturally there is nothing like on the job training, but if you are changing your career then a bit of prior formal training for your new job is a wise choice. It shows any prospective employer that you have trained for your job, and are dedicated to the change. Best of all it will give you the confidence to take that job and quickly go from the new guy in the office, to someone the staff can rely on.

Learn with personally-assigned, professional industry tutors. Study from the comfort of home, at your own pace, with our assistance. Fast-track your course over weeks, months, or take up to five years.  

Need a hand to identify jobs that you would excel at? Then try talking to the people Discover your ideal career with this online career test! This test will provide career advice and career counseling to help you make a change. The assessment is based on extensive research and provides guidance to people of all ages.

STARTING A HOME BUSINESS - There are so many opportunities nowadays to start a small home based business. The internet has opened the door to many who just want a little extra income, as well as the serious entrepreneur. A website need not cost a lot, and a complete online store can be created to sell anything from fairy dust to tractors. If you have a niche hobby or a serious idea you can find a market online for almost anything. Think carefully about what you are going to sell. Will it be a service? That will probably limit your business to a local area, but not if you enlist others in areas further afield. For example you might start an ironing service in your local area, but later expand it and take on other people looking for a little extra cash on a percentage basis.

Alternatively you may sell items on order to people anywhere in the world. Take into account the weight and size of your product. Something small and light can be sent anywhere at a low cost. Something larger and heavy will cost more and take longer to transport. An expensive item such as jewellery may be small and light, but insurance will add to the cost of transport. Talk to courier firms and your local Postal Carrier to get an idea of likely costs.

An online store is very cost effective as little rental needs to be paid, but you need to know all of your transport costs, website hosting fees, online advertising etc. There will also be a cost for building your website. You may not need a computer, but is an upgrade required. All questions that need answers.

We use a company called I-Tech for our computer supplies, Click Here to contact them if you need a hardware upgrade.

Selecting a website host can be difficult but HOSTING OZ will help you with the Domain Name, developing a website including free templates, setting up and hosting. Their prices are very good and they will even give you some ideas to generate extra income from your website.

BUYING A BUSINESS - Buying an existing business is a way to take on a proven enterprise with earnings from day one. You will pay money to get the benefit of someone else's hard work in building a business from scratch. They have done the hard yards and now for some reason they want out.

There are two basic questions that need to be answered.

1. Question one is - What is this business really worth?
2. Question two is - What does this business really earn?

Actually it is question 2 that is the most important. The function of a business is to earn a profit for the owner. There is no other purpose for that business that will allow it to exist. If a business is not earning anything then it has no value. My view is that a business should pay back the owner within two years, but that does vary depending on the time and effort involved in running the business, where is the business located, and other lifestyle factors.

How do you determine if the business is making a profit? If you need to borrow money to buy the business, then it is a requirement of a bank that accountant prepared business returns be available over at least 12 months and preferably 2 years. MYOB statements or spreadsheets that have not been audited have little value to a bank if they are the sole evidence of income. The owner will have to supply copies of BAS returns and probably tax returns if they want to sell their business. If they are not prepared to do that then you should have doubts about the authenticity of their figures.

The income is calculated on Net Taxable income with an "add back" for interest or other allowable costs. Most people add back depreciation, but that is not strictly correct as all equipment needs to be replaced.

FINDING A JOB - FULL and PART TIME EMPLOYMENT - If you are looking for a job to replace your existing job, then you need a good employment agency to help you find the job that pays well and gives you the work satisfaction that you are looking for.

Getting the right job is a serious matter so best of luck with your job hunting.

EXTRA CASH - Yes there are ways to earn a little extra cash. If you search you may find a casual job close to home, but you could try a small online shop if you have some great ideas, or you can do some online tasks such as: -

• Online surveys where you get paid for your opinions.
• Mystery Sound competition - Yes you do get paid to guess a sound.
• Start a Lawn Mowing Run.
• Work locally as a Handyman or Cleaner. Real Estate agents need these services all of the time. Advertise in your local free paper.
• Start a local bin washing service. A hose, a scrubbing brush and some detergent. That is a low entry cost business.
• Talk with Centrelink about a "Newstart" allowance to help you with re-training costs and assistance with your business ambitions.
• There are many are other ways to start earning some extra cash so put your thinking cap on.

WATCH THIS SPACE