Posted By Charley Farley-Trelawney Joe Having been a consultant for the last 5 years I can truly say it was one of the best days decisions I ever made, you do not state what area you are in, it will make a difference in many varied ways. Your qualifications would be fine as long as you have kept up on CPD's. As for the 'will I get enough enquiries and subsequent instructions'? That is as they say in the lap of the gods; I can happily confirm that I turn more clients away that what I actually work for, try to secure at least one client for 30 – 50% of your working week, it helps with the bills! Whatever you decide, I wish you well with it, if you do come to a decision to take the plunge, don't forget the old indemnity insurance. As an afterthought there are large consultancies that will let you retain a s/e status, exactly how they work I am unsure; I dare say some kind person may illuminate you further, nothing is free however and I would guess that a 'kick back' would be the order of the day. Teaching is another option but rates are not so good, oh sorry I seem to have my twittering head on, so will now leave others to expand further. All the best Charles

Posted By Adrian Watson Joe, Good luck & have fun! Get some information on on setting up a business and on cash flow - these are essential for long term survival. There are some cheap courses at www.learndirect.co.uk that I found very useful. Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Helen Horton Going independent can be scary - best advice is Don't Panic! Serioiusly do all the free courses from Business Link, Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and so on that you can find. Especially marketing - I couldn't get on a marketing course and had a slow start as I got it wrong to begin with. Pare down the family finances and expenditure - it may not make you popular but cutting out unnecessary expense reduces the cold sweat in the middle of the night factor. Plan your finances carefully, get advice if necessary, be especially careful about tax planning to make sure you can pay up front any payments on account that IR will hit you with. There is work out there all you have to do is find it. As I say I had a slow start but like many others I am now probably going to have to turn work down. The upside of that is that I can choose what I want to do rather than do what someone else is telling me to do. Good luck and see you around some time.