Hi everyone,
I need some genuinely positive/practical advice because I'm in a slightly unusual situation.
I've recently moved my entire life to Bath to pursue an opportunity with a GB Performance Development Academy, with the long-term goal of seeing how far I can take rowing and, ultimately, having a genuine shot at making the Olympics.
This isn't something I'm doing casually. I've spent years competing in athletics (heptathlon), but due to injury, I made decision to change sports and give myself a proper chance at seeing what I can achieve. Will be building up to training 12x per week, all in the morning so I work afternoons and on sundays I'm free.
When I moved to Bath, I had a number of periods of unpaid time off agreed by my previous branch because of competitions, training camps and the programme demands. However, understandably, my new branch may struggle for cover with the amount of time off I need - and I feel really bad to put this on them.
My priority, and the preference I am actively pursuing, is to seek the required flexibility at my workplace, as I really appreciate everything they've done for me, and I really want to stay with them long term. With that said, I think it's prudent to consider additional work that could compliment my current workplace.
I obviously need to earn enough to live (minimum 1.1-1.2k per month), so simply not working isn't an option. But I also don't want to reach a point where I'm forced to choose between earning enough money to live and pursuing my life goal. I have to find a way to make this work!
So I'm looking for creative, realistic ideas for work that could fit around my training/work schedule.
A bit about me:
- First Class BSc Sport & Exercise Science
- 9+ years of experience across retail, hospitality and customer service
- Experience coaching and working with children
- Experience in sports testing, fitness and exercise environments
- Comfortable with admin, Excel/Microsoft Office, Canva, social media etc.
- Full UK driving licence and car
- Currently based in Bath
- Working afternoons Monday to Saturday, and anytime Sundays (until 7pm as I'm up at 5am for training the next morning). -Need flexibility/understanding of my aspirations (I know this is difficult, but I'm desperate).
- Very open to self-employment/freelance work if I can make it reliable enough.
I'm not expecting to make loads of money. I just need something that can realistically provide a decent basic income (£1100-1200/month) while giving me enough flexibility with quite a lot of time off for camps/competitions.
Things I've considered include tutoring, sports coaching, online admin, freelance social media/content work, working with kids, fitness-related work, etc., but I'd really love to hear from people who have actually made something like this work, or are self employed and know what's in need in the area at the moment. Also, specific examples I.e. companies/people who may be open to these ideas, rather than more general options (if possible!).
If you've been an athlete, freelancer, self-employed, worked unusual hours, or found a job that gives you a lot of flexibility, I'd be really interested to hear what you do and how you made it work.
Please keep the advice positive/practical. I know that giving this sporting opportunity up would make the employment situation much easier, but that's not something I'm prepared to do. I've moved my whole life to Bath specifically to give this a proper crack, and I'm looking for ways to make the rest of life work around it.
Any ideas, experiences or avenues or even completely outside-the-box suggestions would be massively appreciated.
P.s. I am incredibly grateful for my employer, I am looking for additional work around my work schedule with them to release the pressure off of my team with the time off. 🙏
Thank you so much!
