In defense of young people of whom I was One, ideals and pretty, flowery speeches can sound wonderful and if a person is gullible and naïve, well, there you have it.

That's why I'm already transitioning to non-phosphates. I'd at least like to stay in business.

I'm a handyman (painter/decorator, carpentry, bricklaying etc) & a window cleaner (big earner). I use Glass Gleam 4 from Titan Labs, for window cleaning - it's an excellent detergent. Do you make something similar?

I've worked 70+ hours a week many times. Bring work home on weekends, go in on weekends and catch up on work. Employees don't appreciate it. I realized I was putting in all those hours and stress and falling into a bracket where the govt. was taxing me more. It was a lose lose. Breaks my heart because I love to work. In the Army they called me SSR (super short round) because I could do the work of 3 people. But as you get older you realize you're working so that others can reap the benefits of your hard work.
As Winston Churchill said: “Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.”

I manufacture industrial detergents such as car washes, pressure washing, carpet cleaning. It gets harder and harder every year. It's getting to the point where the govt is going to ban shampoos, toothpaste and deodorant LOL.

Hello SolitudeIsBliss, I'm from the UK & I'm approaching my 3rd year of self employment. We've got a bunch of idiots in Government (they may as well be Labour) & all we've got to look forward to at the next election is Labour getting the vote. If they do get in, as I understand it, anyone earning over £150,000 will be taxed at 50%. Our economy will become worse than it already is.

Fortunately, I fly under the radar. I'm the small guy. I make a reasonable income which keeps the wolf from the door. I doubt I'll be owing much tax this year. All that said, I didn't finish work til 11:30 this evening (about an hour ago). The last two nights on the trot, I've worked til gone midnight. It's a matter of necessity & a labour of love - although I'll be bloody glad when this particular contract is over.

What is it that you do - if you don't mind me asking?

Re compliance, I totally get you. Being self employed, I don't (yet) have to deal with Gubmint enforced bullcrap. If I take on employees, I'll have to - and I'll become a victim of legal theft. That ain't gonna happen.

Working for yourself you find out what your employer was dealing with - producing something that is valued by customers more than what it costs (wages and so many other costs) to produce and sell it. It is true that you can make more money here if successful. But the work is also broader and deeper than what was good enough to keep a salary as an employee. Not all are cut out for it. Most have spent years training themselves to only be an employee, not an entrepreneur. The unlearning is not easy.

Great advice indeed to focus on income! Congratulations or finding your way to relative financial freedom.

I'm in the Chemical industry and the regulations alone have made it virtually impossible to BE in business. That's not counting all the other new regulations that are being rolled out by the EPA.
Example: The EPA came to towns in the area and told councils that townspeople were not allowed to wash either their OWN homes or their cars in their driveways as they didn't want the runoff going into the storm drains. I won't even begin to point out all the absurdities of this requirement.
And look what is being done to the Coal industry. People have worked hard all their lives for generations to lose everything to Govt regulations.
ENOUGH !

I think that a person of action and purpose cannot simply stop without harm to themselves. I do not think the world will improve by simply giving up on it. Yes, it may collapse. But when it does there will not be more room for us but less. The majority of those left know little to nothing of freedom or of purpose. The majority of us will not survive it. At least we will not if we do not make a place for ourselves beforehand and it will be difficult even then. To do so will require more work than ever - work to build our type of world away from or after or somehow beside what lead you to this.

Years ago I ramped my business down to idle mode and have been on strike ever since. I probably work a couple of hours a day, if you can even call it work. We get by just fine and the rotters and looters don't get much out of us.

As a JFK Democrat already doing that.
Plan ahead. Can be done.
Enough of the Socialism.
Good luck to you and your family.

There are times when you read a post like this and wonder. Who is (them)? At what point do you start. The government started these programs before I was born, and now use it for control. I just don't know where the starting line is anymore!

Well, I'll admit, I work hard enough to do the job I was hired to do. But no more than that. In a system where everybody's taking, might as well take what you can get. Just don't waste time sacrificing when you're supposed to be trading instead.

It's a system that works like that old Looney Tunes cartoon with the gangster and his dumb partner, counting out the money: "One for you, one for me, two for you, one, two for me, three for you, one, two, three for me..."

I discovered another "perfect business", although they are more and more difficult to find. When the housing market collapsed and people were sending keys into the bank instead of payments, we started buying those distressed houses for 30-50 cents on the dollar. We did not flip them. Flipping is just a quick way to invite the tax collector into your business. We made very nice rental homes from the properties the moocher system threw away. We only pay taxes on the "net profit" which of course is reduced by operating expenses, country taxes (laid off on the tenant), and depreciation. The thing that really makes investment real estate a good choice are the tax laws that affect it. Why? Because almost everyone in Congress is a land baron, and they are not going to make laws to hurt themselves.

As work goes, it was easy. I gave up my life for 20 years at the Post Office and received may wages. Fair enough, that was my bargain. In real estate investment I worked part time for four years and acquired enough properties to replace my postal income. How is that possible? Because on your day job the employer gets the fruit of your labor and you get a wage. Working for yourself you own the fruit of your labor plus what ever wage you choose to pay yourself. At this point, I will let things settle down into a state of normalcy and determine the amount of income tax we will have to pay. Then we may acquire 1-2 more properties to pay our taxes. By directing the income stream from those properties to our quarterly estimates, we create the effect of being retired and enjoying a retirement income, having the rental income that replaced my occupational income, and having the tax burden paid by 1 or two new tenants in additional properties. An old friend once told me focus on income, there's no limit to what you can make. Whereas, you can only cut so much in expenses. If your down to eating rice and beans, you still have to buy rice and beans.

Very true.

You're right, but you can't let the perfect be the enemy of something that makes your position better.

Welcome to the Strike Solitude.

Excellent points and quotes. Welcome

What makes you think that self employment will rid you of the grubment coercion and interference? It won't. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying you will still have to deal with coercion and interference.

But the harder you work, the more is taken from YOU and given to others who simply watch you work. Is the house on the beach that important right now?
Ken Danagger quote "I'm just feeding the beast that's trying to destroy me."