]]>Petey: thank you for the permission but actually you didn’t tell me I was crazy, though you clearly thought it! Anyway, though it hasn’t been all sunshine and light, it’s generally been great and ultimately all for the best. 
Thanks for remembering my wife’s back! She has recovered but gets the occasional twinge of pain.
Her concern with unbillable hours (I think) is really less to do with money and more to do with selling myself short in professional pride.
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That’s what accountants are for. I have the loveliest, most patient accountant.
(But she would prefer I wasn’t a software junkie…)
It can be hard for some people to make the transition from worker to business owner. It’s not the same job at all.
E-Myth by Michael Gerber talks about the “technician” and how many “technicians” love their job so go out on their own and get a rude shock because they’re so busy being a technician that the business side of things suffers and they end up burning themselves out… it’s a good book, “interesting” style of writing but I’m glad I read it when I was just starting out. (And I’m sorry I didn’t read it before… because I was a typical technician who did everything wrong and for the wrong reasons!)
It must be really difficult to try to earn a living working from home with babies in the house! No wonder you felt burned out… time management is hard for me at any time but with babies…! Hopefully it’s all settled down now.
]]>I enjoyed your blog as you talk about most things that are dear to my heart. I admire those who take the plunge and manage their own web business well. I have done it twice (both times after my babies were born). I did feel burned out though after a short while trying to handle it all. I think it was more like a love/hate thing. I loved the work and the freedom to choose which projects to bid and loved the client interaction. I hated the bookeeping part of it though. ]]>
I can understand your wife’s concern, but still you just can’t stagnate in our field, and unless an employer is really supportive and invests a lot of time (and money) into training its staff, said staff would soon fall behind.
Besides, generally speaking, we’re in this line of work because we enjoy it. And speaking for myself, I just love learning.
Thoughtful post. Those unbillable hours are always a point of contention with my wife. It is hard to justify them to someone who isn’t getting the benefit of the knowledge gained. There may not be an immediate return but they nearly always pay off in the long run.
Just to put a face to the words: we met at WE05 (and ‘04 come to think of it). You might remember us escorting Molly back to her hotel.
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