Diary of a future annuitant (84)

The various marketing measures I've taken for my little freelance side business are starting to pay off. I've found myself a new regular customer who seems to want to stick it out this time. Fingers crossed. I'd still like to find a second prospect, which will give me the reassurance that I can find customers fairly easily and keep them, at least for a while. At the moment I can reconcile two customers with my salaried activity without any problems or stress. Once I've got my two regular customers, all that's left to do is to take the final step, which is to say goodbye to my salaried activity. I'll then take on two more customers, which means I'll be busy for a good ten hours a week, which is my ultimate goal.

In the meantime, I've opened an account dedicated to my small independent ancillary activities (coaching, website, publications). Income from these activities is paid directly into this account, as are the respective expenses. So, slowly but surely, I'm seeing an increase in the flow of money I'm able to generate on my own, without depending on an employer. It reminds me of my early dividend income. It gives me an added sense of security, even if the amounts from my ancillary activities are quite modest compared with those from my investments. The other advantage of distinguishing this income, albeit relatively modest, is that it reminds me of the value of money. In the stock market, we sometimes tend to forget that...

I'm glad to have the prospect of leaving my salaried job in the near future, because it's getting harder and harder. There have been several changes in the hierarchy, involving inquisitive working methods and more and more onerous administrative tasks. Not to mention the increasing number of sessions. The fact that my head is already elsewhere doesn't help to motivate me, even if it does keep me going.