I became self employed at 53, after taking early retirement from thirty years local government service. It is a very bold step to take, particularly so if you intend to make it your only source of income. Working for yourself does give a feeling of satisfaction when the fee payments come in but there are a lot of unpaid hassles to it as well, book-keeping, tax forms, etc, and would be even more if I rented an office and employed staff. I find that my biggest overhead is professional indemnity insurance. I have never had a claim against me, but the high cost of cover is symptomatic of today's claim culture where some people think its OK to blame other people for all their misfortunes. Yes I do make a small profit which pays for the fun things in life but I certainly couldn't survive without my pension from my former employer which pays for life's essentials. Best of luck Robin.
Regional Director for Scotland for Clan Cunningham International, and a Scottish Armiger.
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