Tough Decisions on the Work Front

30 November 1999

This weather is just crazy! I am back in my long trousers, hat and gloves today. The wind is whipping around and lucky old me is working outside for the next couple of days. I am doing some outside security lights and digging a trench for the lights for a shed.

I was really looking forward to a few days of cool but sunny weather and what do I get? Freezing puddles, mud, sideways rain and flakes of snow! It is supposed to be spring for goodness sake. I don't know what is going on with our weather.

I had the talk of all talks with the wife over the weekend. We sat down and discussed our future and what we want from our lives in the long term. Obviously this new job offer has brought up some big issues. I had to weigh up whether I left my well paid, but stressful job being self employed, only to walk into a possibly more stressful situation.

On balance I had to admit that we have been struggling and that for the short term (until Claire can go back to work) we might just have to accept that I need to work a bit harder. I am still young (ish!) and this sort of opportunity doesn't present itself everyday. It is hard to turn down.

We have reached some compromises though. I am not allowed to work more than one weekend in a month, I must attend every school and playgroup performance, I am not allowed to invest our personal savings, Claire is going to search out some work she can do from home and as soon as we are in a good position financially, we scale back and learn to relax again.

All this comes on the back of a good chat with the developer (Chris, is his name) who I am going to be working with. Although I haven't started on his place yet, he is already very keen to get started on our joint venture. He wants someone he can trust and has a string of properties on the go at the moment. Some are rented and therefore need regular maintenance and others are new builds or renovations.

I am going to start on a smallish scale at first to see how we get on and then in a couple of months, when the first house is complete, I will get myself a dogsbody to help me out and move onto the next property. It is the hiring of an employee which scares me the most. How can I be sure they will have the same skills as me or will work to my standards? It isn't going to be easy! I know I am a perfectionist – I have yet to come across someone I feel I could work with. It is a scary thought...

Claire even offered to give me a few hours a day. I think that would lead to divorce. I have seen her DIY skills and they are in the Carole Smiley category. All fluff and no substance. No offence to her, she is great at what she does and she should concentrate on that...

So it is all go in the Marty household. I hope we are doing the right thing. But for a little piece of mind when it comes to finances, sacrifices have to be made. Being self employed has been exciting and worthwhile, but lucrative it isn't!