FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

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  • Mollocephalus
    Custom User Title
    • Jul 2009
    • 2608

    #1

    FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

    I'll start from the assumption that none of you knows me really well, and i never really talked about my personal life on here. The last period has been pretty rough, culminating in something that has happened tonight which shakes me quite a bit.

    Let me explain: In 2009, i was studying at college and my father proposed me to open a graphic design and print studio together. At first, it was supposed to be a part time job for me while i kept studying - he would manage it the rest of the time. After some weeks, it became clear it was impossible to do both at the same time, so i dropped uni to work full time. This job started with great premises! We opened a studio in the center of the city i live in, and started to get known around. I love this endeavoir, there's no job like another one, it's got creativity, variety, and a certain degree of freedom of expression. I spent every day of the last 4 years living with it, however things did not go so well after a while. As you may know there's a worldwide financial crisis going on, and since Italy has always had a shaky ground, thanks to both its inane leaders (laughed at by the entire globe) and the people who ultimately crave for that kind of leadership (i guess we get what we deserve!) things have been going down a lot. While we experienced a small increment in earnings through these years, tax increments surpassed them by quite a while. We lost some customers too, thanks to a massive closedown of businesses, right now it's ~20k a day which close down, an absurd amount for a small country like this. In the end, after so much hardships to barely reach a balance between expenses and earnings, making for around a year some little money each month (by little i mean far less than minimum wage), from the start of 2013 that little money flow has stopped completely. We can only pay off expenses, and that's it, not very cool considering there are major tax increases coming up.

    So this brings anxiety and conflicts inside the workplace, and arguments about the fact that what i do is never good enough, and never enough at all. My father makes plans which all rely on my execution, overlapping them constantly. I am saddened, demotivated, without any money saved at all and still, i am in debt with my father since he spent nearly all his savings on this adventure. Today we argued once again and he prompted me to do more, believe in this or leave altogether. He seems to believe that we should keep doing this even if we make no living out of it, just because he's convinced this could work through the internet or other mediums. But the thing is, i'm exhausted, on the verge of a nervous breakdown and can't take it anymore. I'm probably going to leave, both the work and the city, if not the country. But first i thought about sharing my experience with you. Maybe someone here has good advice on a situation like this and/or has lived one.

    What do you think, FFR?
    Last edited by Mollocephalus; 05-9-2013, 01:34 PM.
  • Oni-Paranoia
    No fucks
    • Dec 2006
    • 2440

    #2
    Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

    I'm honestly speechless and just wish you the best. It's getting rough out there and there's more problems than solutions.

    The only advice I can give, is to tell you to look at family members and take advantage of whatever benefits they may have. A place to stay for cheap so you can save or maybe help you with a part-time job that's less stressful (or at least out of your field) for the time being. Not much, but I hope everything goes right.

    EDIT: The U.S. isn't that great of a place. Work is tough to find here in New England. Only pro is that min. wage is $8.75 I believe, but even that doesn't help when an apartment costs 1,100+ just for renting out space.
    Last edited by Oni-Paranoia; 05-9-2013, 01:45 PM.

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    • 25thhour
      I like max
      • Feb 2007
      • 2922

      #3
      Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

      Come to Canada. Get a job in the oil patch, make bank, get citizenship and go to school here.
      r bae adam bae max bae bridget bae claudia bae trevor bae adam2 bae mayo bae keith bae

      Comment

      • top
        Banned
        • Apr 2012
        • 1907

        #4
        Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

        damn, shit really isn't going well with no hope in sight...

        i'm not very knowledgeable on this sort of thing, but i can wish you luck!

        Best wishes to you man, may life not suck anymore~

        Comment

        • Untimely Friction
          D6 Challeneged
          • Aug 2012
          • 1267

          #5
          Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

          This is exactly how my dad and I are over our photography business, cept 2 years and you actually get clients :L We've reached a brick wall and it's called my hand and I'm moving out and going back to school, I can sympathise heavily with your situation, and would like to congratulate you on at least 4 years of SOMETHING, we've been homeless twice since starting our business and had less than 10 sales in 2 years... yet he carries on and demands more of me when I simply can't do it... I suggest despite him being your father you attempt to finish school, as you need that BIG TIME, You need a fall back point for when businesses fail and you may have made that mistake when you dropped out, school school school school school, then business

          Comment

          • Mollocephalus
            Custom User Title
            • Jul 2009
            • 2608

            #6
            Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

            I am almost 25, finishing school is out of the question. Besides, i don't need any degree cause at least these years formed me in various areas of graphic design, photography, and digital printing process. I know the supports and the right manufacturers for everything concerning print, promotion and art applied to the former. My portfolio, which i plan to expand further once i'm outta here, is a good enough business card (at least here in Italy) - and i could always work as a freelance graphic designer and photographer.

            Comment

            • V-Ormix
              Banned
              • Aug 2008
              • 4677

              #7
              Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

              All I can say much like everyone else is best of luck to you... You just got to meet the right people at the right time btw which ultimately means you have to be in the right place too so I think your going in the right direction. you'll figure it out man!

              Comment

              • 04im
                FFR Player
                • Apr 2013
                • 863

                #8
                Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                there aren't many options really

                if you choose to stay in italy
                1) you&your father work hard for no result - no question about the economy, it's going down in italy

                2) you say no to working with your father and look for your own job in italy - this turns out badly because not only did you not finish your degree, the economy is also garbage

                if you choose to leave italy alone:
                you'll still have a hard time getting a good new job because you do not have a college degree, but your work experience has something to show for it
                then if you fail to find a reliable/stable job within a reasonable amount of time, since you've left your parents in crumbling italy, your parents will not be able to support your endeavors financially - thus it will be extremely hard for both of parents & you

                if you choose to leavy italy with your parents:
                you guys must start fresh and gather all your resources, this can't be helped and this is probably what's happening to a lot of other businesses - closing and gathering all their finances and looking to start somewhere anew


                if your parents refuse to leave you're either gonna have to go down fighting for finances in italy along with your parents, and if you decide to leave while they stubbornly refuse to let go of italy then you cannot rely on your parents at all for financial support, they'll have a hard time just keeping their business going

                so either you move out on your own and expect zero help
                or you go down fighting in italy

                either way this seems pretty grim for you and i don't want to sound pessimistic but without a college degree this is not looking good at all, you need to start sending out a resume & portfolio to companies all over europe & north america ASAP

                keep all your options open, don't come on FFR anymore (you don't have time for this shit), just keep phoning & contacting companies for potential job opportunities
                you have to do this regardless of college degree or not so get to it dude pce gluck
                "Blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than hell itself... that is coffee." 2diep4yuo
                #teamtwerk #bootyhunters

                Comment

                • Xiz
                  TWG Chaos
                  FFR Simfile Author
                  • Feb 2012
                  • 3399

                  #9
                  Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                  I give you much respect for opening yourself up to this community like this. I was in a similar situation. For the sake of this thread, I won't go into details. I'll keep this short and to the point.

                  Do what you love for yourself. The day you go to your job to work instead of to create is the day you will hate it.

                  It's hard to start new, but you are young. You can make things work, really anything work if you believe in yourself. (I know, corny as FUCK but there is a level of seriousness to it.) Do it before you are tied down with your own family.

                  I know I am perhaps not the biggest help...but...
                  I wish you the best man...

                  Comment

                  • Reincarnate
                    x'); DROP TABLE FFR;--
                    • Nov 2010
                    • 6332

                    #10
                    Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                    IMO, keep sending out those resumes.

                    Comment

                    • 04im
                      FFR Player
                      • Apr 2013
                      • 863

                      #11
                      Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                      Originally posted by Reincarnate
                      IMO, keep sending out those resumes.
                      this

                      and more of this

                      none of the emotional bs, u gotta work to live and if there's no work in italy then italy = no go
                      "Blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than hell itself... that is coffee." 2diep4yuo
                      #teamtwerk #bootyhunters

                      Comment

                      • Reincarnate
                        x'); DROP TABLE FFR;--
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 6332

                        #12
                        Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                        I made a similar decision, myself -- sent out resumes like crazy, willing to relocate anywhere. Landed a gig in NYC and I've lived here ever since.

                        Comment

                        • Nullifidian
                          ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
                          FFR Simfile Author
                          • Sep 2007
                          • 1837

                          #13
                          Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                          Originally posted by 04im
                          either way this seems pretty grim for you and i don't want to sound pessimistic but without a college degree this is not looking good at all, you need to start sending out a resume & portfolio to companies all over europe & north america ASAP
                          In the graphics world a college degree does not mean a lot. There are no creative companies that will ask you for your college degree, only your portfolio. They hire you for your capabilities, not for a paper saying you've graduated because the paper does not tell a client how good that person is at graphics/art or if that's what the client is looking for, the result is all they care for.

                          My tip is to promote yourself everywhere possible. Show off your work as best as you can to as many people as you can, nationally and internationally (many companies outsource work to overseas companies so international assignments opens up a whole world of opportunities). Make awesome shit that appeals to many people (even if it's fan art or whatever) to get your name out there and post it on various media websites that generate a lot of traffic (imgur, reddit, deviantart, big design/arts forums etc.). Not only do you get pointers on the design/arts forums as well, there are many people browsing those forums looking for potential.

                          I'm curious to see what your company website looks like and how everything is presented, because I can definitely give some feedback on that as well.
                          I'm also curious to the level of skill and how fast you deliver assignments because improving this can help improve word of mouth as well.
                          Last edited by Nullifidian; 05-9-2013, 07:21 PM.

                          Comment

                          • DotKritic
                            Forum User
                            • Jun 2009
                            • 2974

                            #14
                            Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                            If you're willing to change careers, I'd say do it and finish your degree. Move to the States or Canada and look into applying for scholarships and grants. The opportunities are endless.

                            Also, starting over in a new part of the world (let alone a new country) is better than staying somewhere that won't get you anywhere.
                            Last edited by DotKritic; 05-9-2013, 09:15 PM.

                            FFR Member Since December 17th, 2004
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                            • Spenner
                              Forum User
                              • Nov 2006
                              • 2403

                              #15
                              Re: FFR, i am at a crossroads in my life. Need some opinions.

                              Take your resume to agencies and move up to creative director status. One option of course.

                              Freelancing sucks in the long run, being every other agency's bitch and getting the crumbs of the real profit. Try your hardest to get into a line of good work (i.e. Procter and Gamble (though that's in canada), things like that)

                              Best of luck though, spread your work as far as you can. But make sure to brand yourself strongly in the process.

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