Approaching the Fifth Anniversary

This morning I got a large envelope from my accountant - it's the financial accounts and annual tax return forms... I do hate seeing these every year as they are so complicated and my accountant seems to have a knack of making me feel so inadequate when it comes to finance.

I suddenly realised that it's fast approaching the fifth anniversary of running my own business. I still can't believe that I had the courage in 2001 to quit a job that I liked and set up my own consulting business. One main reason for taking such a drastic step at the time boiled down to one promise I made after I left my first job in 1994 - if I ever took my work-related anger and frustration out on my friends in my personal life, I'd leave the job. Also it's about time to venture out of the big corporate green-house and set myself one of the biggest challenges in my life.

Somehow my staff at the time sensed that I would leave the job before I even sat them down and told them the news - they were so supportive. I still keep in touch with them and I am so glad to see them excel in their professions too.

I must say the last 5 years have been a roller-coaster ride. Being self-employed means that I am detached from office politics, but it brings in other worries such as "will I get enough work in the next few months", "are my clients happy with my work", "am I charging too much / not enough" etc. But certainly the whole experience so far has opened my eyes up a lot, and led me to opportunities that I would never dream of having before. And somehow work just seems to find its way to me. So I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who have helped me along the way (you know who you are), whether it's to recommend me to colleagues/friends, or to give me valuable advice on my business, or to lead a sympathetic ear when I go into one of my venting sessions.

Where will I be in 5 years' time? No idea! Just like the answer I would have given 5 years ago.