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I am wondering if there are others who have made a similar move, and what advice they have.
Is there any chance of being successful these days in a consulting company where you are the only employee?
Keep in mind that in all likelihood I will be working on one of a couple open source projects, or updating already constructed proprietary software - it's very unlikely that I would be asked to design and construct a new piece of software as it's tens of person-years of effort in this area. As a result, companies that hire me would not be completely screwed if I were to die a horribly tragic death, so being the only person in this consulting company wouldn't have the same drawbacks it might have in other instances.
Also - there tends to be a regular trickle of contract positions in this particular area - I just don't want to work for someone else if I can manage it (although I might be open to that if it's the only way to swing getting out of a full-time gig - take a couple six month contracts a year with a month or so break in between each).
My goals are to be able to work remotely, and take some time off occasionally (more than the 3-5 weeks/year I have gotten in my last couple positions - perhaps more like 6-10 weeks/year), and if possible do a little travel while working remotely (I know, probably pushing my luck on this one). I currently pull down approx $200k + a small amount of stock, and I don't necessarily need to clear that much, but if I am taking care of my own healthcare, etc., I do want to make sure that after all of that I am not too far below that (let's say $140k).
Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.