Well, there we have it, the end of our short time together. I hope that this book has inspired you to do something – hopefully, to become successfully self-employed. If, on the other hand, it has put you off for now, perhaps that’s no bad thing either, because taking the step that leads you into employing yourself can be a momentous one. It is literally life-changing and if you can make a success of it you will, I assure you, never want a ‘proper job’ again.

You may think that at times my messages have been tough, but most of the failures I have seen in self-employment have been because of simple mistakes and unrealistic expectations. If I have alerted you to the pitfalls, hopefully you won’t fall into them.

This book has been a very different one for me to write; my other books have been written by me with a great deal of sweat and effort, but they are about what I know. This book is different because it is about how I feel, who I am, and how I live. Just like the burglar burgles, as a guru I go guru-ing, as it were, but my motivation, my internal machine, is that of a free self-employed person.

I sell what I do – that’s where my customers get value, I don’t sell who I am. The people who pay me don’t possess me. I have been self-employed for most of my life although I have been tempted into proper jobs which all ended in dismal misery on every side.

I was going to make a very dangerous statement which everybody counselled me against, so I will make it but with an explanation that should, hopefully, get me off the hook. Here goes: ‘Employment is for losers.’ Now here is the explanation. I am not suggesting that if you have a proper job you are a loser, but you are losing so many things, some of which are: you are losing by not seeing your kids grow up; you are losing by not resting when the job in hand is finished; you are losing by not being able to do a day’s work dressed only in your underwear or on a tropical beach; you are losing by not being paid what you are worth; and you are losing by not achieving your true value.

The proper job is a construct of the 19th and 20th centuries, a time when we had to be tied to the machine. Before that people thrived, prospered, and grew self-worth and respect from their self-employed pursuits. If you look at a mediaeval town, the various self-employed skills became the family names which are still with us today. Think about it: Farmer, Goldsmith, Baker, Miller, Fletcher (makes arrows), Bowman, Tanner and Weaver – all proud surnames that came from a time when the individual could grow and be proud of what they did with no boss, no appraisals, and no nine to five.

The fascination for me while writing this is how some succeed and some fail. Some stagger by and others become rich and famous, all for doing more or less the same thing. I meet a person who has failed in a catering enterprise one day and then the next day I am talking to a celebrity chef. What separates them? Is it talent? The answer must be that if you can learn that talent then you must, and if you can’t learn it then stay away from catering, but I believe it has rarely got anything to do with talent. I have heard beggars at railway stations who play guitar as well as any rock star I have ever heard, so no lack of talent there then. Is it lucky breaks? Sure, it can be, but it is funny that the people who work the hardest at it seem to get the best luck.

My wife and I work very closely together and she can be my harshest critic (remember how useful honesty can be), so as we started to wrap this book up my paranoia set in and I asked her to reassure me as to what sort of book it was. She thought for a while and said, “I suppose it is a sort of buddy book based on the observations, mistakes, cock-ups and victories that you have had during your long relationship with self-employment.”

Well, perhaps that’s what it is. Whilst I would love you to take on board what I say, remember, I am not your boss, I’m your buddy. This book is based on my mistakes in self-employment, my observations on self-employment, and my personal experiences of self-employment. It is not a book of instructions from on high, it is your buddy, your coach just adding and contributing to your thoughts. Maybe this should be the first lesson – you will not, from this day forward, be told what to do any more, no more commands or orders – stupid or otherwise – no memos or emails of demand. You will, as you do with this book, have to consider the evidence and make your own decisions. Can you live with that? A lot of people can’t and find it too scary.

Self-employment is a great game and one that you can win but, like all games, it has to be played by the rules. Maybe this ‘buddy book’ can help you a bit with those rules by giving tips and hints that will help you to avoid trouble. I suppose my qualification for doing that is because I’ve been in a whole heap of trouble quite a few times myself, so just like the burglar, when you get locked up with me, the old lag, let me share with you the best ways of avoiding trouble. As you take this rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, I will be your buddy.

The excuses, “It just didn’t work out” or “I couldn’t find the work” just won’t wash any more. In this world of outplacement, relocation to the Far East, and outsourcing, our employers can no longer be relied on to keep us in employment. Self-employment is the only safe employment. Put trust in yourself – self-employment is the only place you will achieve true self worth and receive your true personal value.