Musings from the workshop of Ox Works

I just calculated, I've been in garage, having either my or my wife's car serviced or repaired, fourteen (14) times since the start of October 2023. Fourteen times in mere six months, that is. And 15th visit is due next week's Tuesday, although that's technically already further April then. Okay, my car was getting old. It had been serving faithfully but the mileage caught up with it, and my trusty T31 started requiring more 'extra' work outside regular servicing. But my wife's car, more a victim of contemporary, delicate technology, was more a handful case. For starters, a major powertrain component broke earlier in summer '23. A component we've been used to trust for lasting FAR greater mileage. But the winter and colder weather brought up more annoying problem, an electrical one. And on top of it, the authorised service started solving the problem by swapping a 450eur plastic tube in the system, which did not help. In the end I decided to buy an O...

A while ago, I wrote a blog post about the top things I’ve found less glamorous in my entrepreneurship. I think no one read it, but either way the Con list required a proper follow-up, in the form of the Pros of running your own business. They may vary for each individual, but here’s what I consider the most important ones! I already addressed the time as a prospective issue in self-employment in my previous Top List Post, and still holds very much true. But, if you manage to scrape up some time for your business, you’re pretty much in charge of how you’ll be using it. Given your trade of choice, you can allocate the time to each section of your business the way you need fit. You’re your own boss, literally. If you think you’ll need a break from work, you can take one pretty much when you want. You can go for a walk. Or take a nap, or go to the pub for a pint. I often take a nap, even though a short 15 to 20 minute walk outside might be a smarter idea. I have to reiterate that time...

As we all know, 3D printing was supposed to change everything. Well, has it really? Probably not as much as the most optimistic futurists predicted. Yes, the machines have become cheaper and accessible for regular yobbos like you and me. And yes, unlike the early machines, the output is nowadays a fraction more identifiable to your render as well. The material selection has also grown exponentially. So, what’s the problem then? When I was introduced to early 3D printing a very, very long time ago, I was staggered by the enthusiasm of the users. They expressed overwhelming joy, when an item they had on screen actually materialised into the printer’s bed. After that, I was again staggered by how rubbish quality the final item was, with massive printing lines visible and the blob hardly recognizable as the item on the screen. Sadly, in many ways even today’s FDM printing comes with the same drawbacks. The print will still have visible lines in it. In more expensive machines less visible p...

As you may have seen it, the Interwebs and especially Youtube is full of different Top lists. Were it Good or Bad things listed, either way they seem to be very popular. Hence, here’s my top things I hate about being an entrepreneur. I hope they might turn out helpful for other people, perhaps aspiring to become their own bosses. I narrowed down the list into three key points, though, in order not to make entrepreneurship sound too off-putting! First thing would be money. Because there’s not going to be a lot of that moving around, unless your business idea is rock solid. Mine sucks, because I have to physically manufacture the product myself, and then I can sell it for 50, maybe 100 Euros a pop. And sometimes it takes too long to finish one project, which means you’ll have less time to focus on the next project, and the race against due dates in your monthly bills gets more hectic. Were your business idea more a ‘service’ based one, you’d have a chance to label a 500, maybe 1000 Euro ...

If you’re running your own business, there’s a fair chance you’ll need some form of advertising at some point. Sadly, this is something I’ve always hated, despite the fact I actually have a degree in marketing, and a previous, over 20-year career closely attached to advertising. But I still hate tooting my own horn, due to my personality. I have always preferred being the lone influencer, who toils in the background and makes things happen, rather than vocally promoting it. But in 2020, the COVID crisis stopped my ‘shop entirely, and I realised my business had been relying on one market alone. I had to start experimenting with the ideas of how to develop and expand my business, which meant I needed to get more active with advertising too. When I established Ox Works in 2016, I got off far too easy, advertising-wise. I had already created some reputation on discussion forums and Youtube, so once I had opened my Facebook page, I started getting orders immediately. Back then I still produ...

I live in a country, which turned from an agricultural nation into industrial in a relatively short period, after World War II. This meant people traded working long hours on the fields into working long hours in the factories. Hobbies and pastimes had to be functional and serve the community, or at least the immediate family. Not until the upswing of the 1980s, we started to develop more spare time and leisure activities, kind of, and the world was about to open up. However, with that kind of baggage, not ‘til the very last couple of decades, the only approved hobbies or pastimes here have been endurance sports, golf or getting drunk. The last one is now effectively replaced by getting offended by something someone wrote on the Interwebs, though. Such nonsense as collecting movie memorabilia would be considered as ‘kids’ play’, and surprisingly many people from the baby boom generation actually hate science fiction. My in-laws for example. I can remember us accidentally watching E.T. ...