Anyone broken free from professional life? Warning: rant

Way ahead of you there. Been keeping my eye on that site for a while. Not much comes up in the Yorkshire area though.

If I'm too impatient to lean my bike up on something do you think I'm going to wait around? I didn't know you were riding.

Anything in particular?

I've been thinking about other options - doing something more positive for the planet. I thought about getting involved in bicycle advocacy but I reckon I'd just resort to murdering any opposition and unlike Dexter I'd get caught.

Not really too sure at the moment. Part of making space for volunteering is to find out what sort of work I might have an aptitude for. I've managed to get on to a taster dry stone walling course in a couple of weeks because that really attracts me. If I'm any good at it I'll see about doing a certificated course and see if anyone is willing to take on a middle-aged apprentice/assistant.

There probably going to be quite a bit of stuff like this, working out what I can do and trying to find a way to get paid to do it.

One of the hard bits is going to be finding work that allows me the time to work out what I'm going to do. Worst case scenario though is I'll sign up to Deliveroo or Ubereats. For all its downsides, the burgeoning gig economy might be something I can work to my advantage.

Lol

I mean, it would be effective, for a while but when all the fucking truck and car lobby people start disappearing... #bloodycyclists

good. good luck! RSPB might be your best bet in that location. or ecological surveying.

getting involved in bicycle advocacy

I wouldn't recommend it at the moment, but if you need any info, PM me.

My bike advocacy for now is riding and riding and riding and riding... and riding and arguing with idiots and riding and riding.

Arguing with idiot cyclists on the interwebz?

There's not that many idiots these days. I think we scared them all off in the early years.

getting involved in bicycle advocacy
I wouldn't recommend it at the moment

Oh - why ? curious

I'm still here

;-)

My first comment was something along those lines but I'm trying to be nicer in my old age...

kicks kitten

Great thread - just stumbled across it and read about half of it.

Having kind of done this twice, these are my quick thoughts. Personal escape story to follow.

• Spend plenty of time thinking about it and planning, in particular researching whether there is a market for what you propose to do. That includes talking to people who would be potential clients and trying to sell to them to test the idea.
  
• Slash your living costs beforehand and save up as much of a buffer as you can. Cut out all the consumer crap and baubles - that is just keeping you prisoner in a lifestyle. Be extreme: better to save 60% of your income for a year than 10% for 6 years.
  
• Don't expect to have all the answers if and when you do go for it: there will always be a leap of faith required.
  
• If you look into it and get scared and decide to stay put, that's a good result that can help you get more comfortable with what you are doing, knowing you've looked at the alternative and taken the decision not to do it.
  
• It's not a one-way thing. If it doesn't work out you most likely will get another job doing what you did before.
  
• Have a realistic plan and also a downside / survival case. Don't spend too much time on the downside but you might need it. There will be times when you will regret having done it and wish you hadn't but your plan will tell you what needs to be done. I remember having in my downside plan a certain point when money in the bank got down to £x, I would put my house up for sale. I got within 2 months of having to do it, but then business picked up and I was ok.
  

Ok, my story. Sorry it's pretty long. I've never written this out before.

It took me two attempts to do this but I now have a business where I earn a similar amount to what I did before but work a lot fewer hours and have very little stress. We had a baby in June and I've been able to spend most of this summer messing around with her, which has been priceless. I've had to work a bit, a couple of hours a day from home, answering emails and stuff and an average of 1-2 days per week in the office. I'll go back to more normal hours in the winter, 30-40 hours per week with the odd busy spell.

Downsides are that some of the stuff I do is a bit boring, I miss the excitement that came out of some things I did before, and the colleagues - but it came at a price. And I can't really switch off on holiday, have to look at emails every day and sometimes do stuff in response.

I used to work as a management consultant, so it was well paid but bad lifestyle. Decided I'd set up on my own. I did, and I thought I had a big project to kick things off.

Just after I'd started my wife decided she wanted to get out of what she was doing so I said 'do some things for me for a while'. She did, but immediately got ill, so we went from 2 incomes to zero in the space of 2 months.

Big project kept getting delayed (then finally went away) and other stuff took longer to materialise. I had 4 months with no revenue, then I got a couple of small things, then two more months with nothing.

My wife's health was deteriorating. She had breast cancer and was going downhill rapidly.
At this point I set deadlines for things like selling the house. I also tried to find a job, but the message was I needed to go for longer on my own to be credible.

Finally work picked up and became more consistent. I had three years of decent revenue.
My wife had an operation then various rounds of treatment so she was mostly in good health, but with a relapse every so often, then another round of chemo. But we both knew things would only go one way. I found that really hard to deal with. Also, while work was ok it was always project to project and I never knew if the next one would materialise or not, so life was stressful all round. Around this time most of my friends were having children so I didn't see them so much and got pretty lonely.

After 3 years, I got an approach out of the blue to do a job in a similar area. I took it. To begin with it was great not to have to worry about where the next month's money was coming from. And exciting getting to know a bunch of new people. But the hours could sometimes be horrendous (not often but a couple of times per year would be 100+ per week, for 2-3 weeks). And I was really shit at the politics, promotions I was expecting didn't happen, etc. Gradually I got pissed off.

My wife's health continued to be up and down, but in 2009 it was more down, and she died in July. Although I'd known it was coming for years, it still knocked me for six. As a result I lost interest in most things, especially work. After just existing for a few months, I decided I'd leave. But what would I do? I spent a year or so trying to figure it out? Got more into cycling: lots of free weekends was great for audax. Had various ideas. Got keen on setting up a bike tour company, but decided against it. Also, as I wasn't interested in anything, apart from cycling, I hardly spent any money so saved most of my salary.

Had a sabbatical / unpaid leave in summer 2010. Went cycling across France, did a tour around Albania then another in the Himalayas. Was fab but didn't give me inspiration.

By spring 2011 I'd had enough, so just handed my notice in. Had 3 months notice and took the piss, probably only worked 3 weeks. Mostly stayed at home or went cycling for 6 hours over lunchtime. Finished in August, right before PBP. Did that, then got home and thought 'what am I going to do now?'

A guy who had worked with me got in touch and said he was bored and wanted to leave, did I want to do something together. Yes, but I needed a different model so it wasn't like last time, constantly chasing clients to get work.

I decided I'd write reports on half a dozen industries I knew well from my work. This took me a few months and I put up a website to sell them. People bought them and some of them wanted me to do consulting work. The model didn't work for the other guy so he moved on. But it was great for me as I could live on the low but regular income from selling reports so had no stress. And when the projects came along it was hard work for a few weeks but I got well paid for it.

Things gradually built from there. I now have a few people who write reports so I don't have to do the basic stuff any more: one who works full time for me and others on a freelance basis, plus others I pull in for consulting work. And married again, had baby, etc.

Key things were:
It didn't work out for me first time, I had bad luck, but I'd also got the model wrong. But I was able to get back into work so I could later have another go.
It was really important to save money as it took me 6 months to get going. I'm very lucky that our economy values what I do so I was able to save a good cash buffer.
I found a way to use my existing skills but for my own benefit, and arrived at a model that was a bit different but works well for me.
Even though the other guy didn't work out, I needed his involvement to develop my idea, and he wouldn't have approached me if I hadn't handed my notice in.

Impressive fortitude in the face of adversity.

Probably therapeautic getting it all down in writing. I couldn't do that.

You can now officially tell anyone you like to HTFU.

How’s this for being Mary Mary Quite Contrary:

I’m self employed, quite successfully, and not enjoying it.

The hours are long.
The responsibility of having 7 staff depend on me makes me tired and stressed.
We keep getting too busy and then not being able to look after customers properly, which stresses me out, but the idea of employing more staff stresses me out too.
I’m constantly nervous about one thing or another. When I’m not nervous about a specific thing I’m nervous I’ve forgotten what I should be nervous about.
I have months where I make more money thank I can think what to do with. Then other months where I lose more than some people earn in a year. In the good months I quite regularly flick about the internet for a couple of hours in the evening trying to think of something to buy to cheer me up, but it never works.
I’ve tried having holidays, which are fun to be on, but I always know that the week I get back will be horribly busy.

I’m not sure I enjoy any aspect of what I do now.

But...

I don’t think I’ll ever go back to working for someone else.

Doing something for yourself gives you so much confidence in your ability, so much pleasure that you made a thing that people like and so many more varied challenges.

I reckon my issue is that I left a job I didn’t like to set up doing the same job I didn’t like. 2.5 years in I’ve finished the fun and challenge of setting up and the only thing I’m left with is trying to make more money by doing the job I don’t like. And as established above, I can’t really think of stuff to spend money on anyway.

So plans are afoot. Plans to start a new thing that I will enjoy. If that works out I can maybe get some money for my current company, or not, either way I’ll be happy.

My advice is that if you want to break free try to be sure what you’re breaking free from - working for someone else or the work itself.

Then break free.

I enjoyed typing that out, it’s made me feel better about the whole thing.

Making loads but running the show stressing you?

Sounds like you need an ops manager type person

Not loads.

But, yeah.

That’s an inspiring story thanks. What’s your website?

It's not a one-way thing. If it doesn't work out you most likely will get another job doing what you did before.

Not if you have been a miserable prick to your colleagues for years :)

Anyway, touching story mate, your wife story put things in perspective...3 years ago I got hit by a car while riding back home, it was bad, could easily have died. Only lost a kidney instead and broke a few things. It has put things in perpestive. The physical part was the easiest to overcome, the mental effect was the most difficult even if around you people think otherwise. At the time I was single, had a small flat in hackney and I spent 6 months wonderind wtf I was doing, thinking my life was fucking meaningless...seriously considered packing and going for undetermined destination on my bike, on my own....one of those solitary thing.

you guessed it, never done it, ended going back to work and in the same stupid city routine, bought a house, met my gf, sold my house, bought a bigger one that need shit lots of work (and money spent)....but the thoughts haven't gone away....there ismore to life than sitting at a desk and pretending to be super keen on something you truly have no fuck about because it's not your thing, it's not your money and when you go home, the last thing you want to think and talk about is your stupid job....

I don't wanna have any regrets so I have started selling all my expensive shits and cutting cost as you said. Still going ahead with the house because my future family will thank me for it and it's an investment anyway but if worse come to worse we will sell and move on.

I hope things will work out and I do believe they will with time and effort. Your post reminds us that it won't be easy but there is always a solution to a problem and perhaps the hardest part is to do the first step. Once done, you deal with the situation until you work something out.

I finish my 'professional job' at the end of next week. What I am going to do next, i have no idea. I just got to the point that getting up in the morning was difficult and was un engaged. The job was totally ill suited to my skills and personality.

thinking i'll spend the next few months trying some new stuff before i have to leave the UK in a year (on a visa). Anyone got suggestions on where to find different volunteer type work around London?

What’s your website

Thanks -
It's http://www.apex-insight.com