Hi Guys, my wife Jane would like to say a few words.......

Reading this I thought I'd give you a different viewpoint. I am (a long suffering) wife of a self employed mechanic. I do the paperwork in between my part time job (legal secretary) and looking after our daughter. The paperwork does take up time - including evenings as whatever I type, invoices and the like has to be checked by Mark when he is home (and I refuse to work in that pigsty he calls an office at the workshop!!). There simply aren't enough hours in the day for him to do this task as well as all the servicing etc. I try to be supportive but sometimes it is difficult.

He puts in long hours and hates to let anyone down so is often late home. I feel he misses out on seeing his daughter growing up but on the flip side I KNOW he would be utterly miserable working for someone else. My dad was the same. So the question is: are you going to be happier working for yourself including the grotty bits it brings with it or do you want to work for somebody else without the pressure? It's a difficult one with no clear cut answer.

Jane