I remember well the day in early 2006 when I quit my job. Handing over the keys to my company car along with my company phone, laptop and credit card was a truly liberating feeling and one of the proudest moments of my life. I had planned to be self employed working on my own terms when I wanted to, around time with my family by the age of 40. Yet I had done it just after my 38th birthday. RESULT!

However it was extremely scary too. A wife, 2 young kids and countless mortgages that I had all previously taken in my stride suddenly seemed a huge burden. Our property portfolio was a long term investment for capital growth only, so that wasn’t going to support us, so the plan was to do adhoc consulting work for about 6 days a month which would keep the wolf from the door and then build up other income sources in between consulting assignments.

This worked very well for 2.5 years and I slowly built up additional income streams. Some worked out, some didn’t and I’ve made plenty of mistakes and more importantly learnt a lot about myself and business along the way. There are many ingredients to success but if anyone is thinking of doing something similar I would say the greatest skill you need to master is Marketing. You can have the best ideas, best team, best plan, best resources etc but if people – and particularly the right people who will turn into your customers - do not know about you then you will fail. End of.

Another key skill is looking after the numbers and that means keeping control of the business costs. I wasn’t sure how good I would be at that side of things but it has been a key part of the success I have achieved. I have expanded and contracted the cost base of my various businesses as required. My 3 companies have always turned a profit from day one, I pay suppliers and staff promptly and the companies have no creditors. My accountant assures me this is unusual for new businesses even in good economic times!

Cashflow is critical and sure there have been lean times, but bumper months along the way too. It has been one hell of a roller coaster and a lesser woman than my Steph would have lost faith and demanded I go back to a proper job for the stability it brings.

So why is it that I am writing this 3 weeks into a new J.O.B in corporate life again?

HAVE I FAILED?

The truth is the decision to go back to work was made last October when we decided to buy our dream home whilst the property market was in a slump. This was important to us on many levels. It meant we could afford a home that would otherwise be way out of our reach in a quiet friendly village and with superb schools for the children.

I knew then that the effects of the global economy were biting our own finances; with my corporate consulting clients booking me less often and my property related business in less demand. We had plenty of assets but little cash as this was all invested in our new dream home. So Steph and I agreed back then that rather than us struggle I would go back to work to give us much needed stability until such time as my residual incomes were sufficient to support us.

However making that decision was one thing but acting on it was quite another! It was just before Christmas when I first sat down and began job hunting. The fact I have only just started a job is largely due to the difficulty I had in truly committing myself to finding one. The truth is that I did at first think I had failed and that it was a backward step. Would I ever get out of having a job again? Would it mean the end of my dream of financial freedom? And could I cope with being answerable to someone else again?

Fortunately a side benefit of the last 4 years is that the freedom has allowed me to spend a lot of time on self-development and as a result I have a totally different mindset and beliefs that serve me very well in situations such as this. I knew that your mindset dictates your results and so got my head around it and from then on things fell into place.

So have I failed? Some may think so, but it matters not. What does matter is that I have given my family stability at an important time during one of the worst economic climates ever and safeguarded everything I have built up so far. Not forgetting I have also safeguarded the futures of the rent back tenants who trusted me when they signed over their property for a discount in return for THEIR peace of mind and security.

Is it difficult going back to work for somebody else? Honestly? It’s been an adjustment for sure but absolutely nowhere near as difficult as I had feared. But I attribute this to 2 major factors:

The first is taking on a job on my terms. I set my stall out and was specific as to exactly what I wanted in terms of money, location, hours and role. It is a Mon-Fri only management role, just 30 minutes commute and the funny part is they offered me more money than the job was advertised at without me even asking!  The lesson for me was that when I became clear about what I wanted and then took purposeful action towards it, it came to me… and some!

The second factor is how I am able to approach it. I have always previously treated a job as a career – a big and important thing. In truth this time, despite it being a high paid management role, I am treating it as if it were just a part time job to bring in a few extra pennies just like my paper round when I was 14 –because that is what it is to me. Don’t get me wrong, I have too much integrity to short change my employers. But unlike when I worked in a job before, this time I have my own additional income streams as well and I continue to build my own businesses in my own time and with the support of my team.

This makes all the difference in the world to my mindset -  knowing that my J.O.B is a temporary phase  to support my businesses. And knowing that those businesses are such that they will bring financial freedom in time is a powerful and reassuring feeling. The J.O.B is just a stepping-stone – a tool to help me get where I need to go.

In terms of the day to day role itself, to be totally honest I am reveling working with a team again. Sure being self employed means you are able to sit at your laptop till lunchtime in your boxers and unshaven. But even that loses its sheen and it can become quite a lonely existence after a while. I’m also enjoying my skills being noticed and appreciated as I make a difference to the lives of the hardworking but neglected team I now manage.  And the funny thing is that overall I am more productive as a result of going out to work and the knowledge that I have to cram everything into a shorter timeframe when I am at home.

So why have I shared this rather personal story with you? It’s because I have lost count of the number of full time investors I have spoken to over the last year that are struggling. But many are struggling and doing little about it. Some I suspect are paralysed by the fear of their situation whilst others appear too proud to do the obvious for fear of it being a backward step.

The interest rate cuts have given many a reprieve – but a reprieve is all it is. So if you are struggling with the decision of whether to return to work and of being seen as a failure, then I hope me sharing my journey will help you move forward on your journey. Please don’t be proud – take action to control your own situation before it ends up controlling you! I have, and as a result I have peace of mind and no regrets – after all it’s just a ‘paper-round’ so it's not forever!

John Recommends

If you are serious about achieving financial freedom then you need to watch this short video and then contact me to find out how to join my team who are already on their way to doing just that. Which would be easier...work part-time for 3-5 years and get financial peace or continue on your existing plan?

Investors such as Glenn Armstrong, Lisa Orme, Juswant Rai, Stuart Ritchie, Rhett Lewis, and myself are working with this FTSE 250 company voted 'Company of the Year' by the Financial Times and regularly recommended by consumer watchdog WHICH? magazine. You DON'T need a big portfolio to succeed - in fact you don't need to own any property. Download your free info pack to find out how it works.

Please Support 'Action for Children'

Some of you know my best mate and fellow property investor Darren Hogg. He'll kill me for saying this, but a nicer bloke you will struggle to find - he's always willing to help others and is a terrific Dad to his own 2 kids who he dotes on. Which is why next week he is attempting to climb the three highest peaks in the UK within 24 hours in support of children's charity 'Action for Children'. The "Three Peaks Challenge" will involve walking up and down Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon. In total he will walk 27.5 miles and ascend nearly 10,000 feet during approximately 14 hours, plus 10 hours driving 900 miles between all the venues. It is going to be quite a challenge both physically and mentally so please consider giving your support however small by visiting his fundraising page

Join Lisa Orme, Paul Galbraith & Myself

TUESDAY 28th JULY from 7.30pm in Central Milton Keynes MK9 3BJ

Hope you can join us and around 60 other like minded investors and entrepreneurs in Milton Keynes next Tuesday evening for our quarterly event. Lisa Orme will be talking about making money from good old fashioned property developing, whilst Paul Galbraith will be sharing how he has carved out a successful niche as a 'Social Landlord'.

For full details visit our events page on the blog at www.pipaforum.com/blog and click on the EVENTS tab at the top of the page.

Look forward to seeing you there!