Be careful!!!!!!!
I was a desktop manager for a fortune 100 company for 6 years... I've got 400 recommendations from VP’s, senior directors, managing directors, you name it... I was out of work for 3 month where my boat my truck was re-poed and I'm a month behind on the mortgage.. I thought I could make it on my own doing my own PC Company... Yeah good luck... Make sure you have something lined up before you bail... It's still a tough market out their and no matter how good you are there’s 100's of others out of jobs as well... and will do your job for less money. I've gone from $32 an hour to $27 an hour and now I'm down to $20 an hour. Be very careful before you leap.. Especially if you have people that count on you to make the money!
DJ

zuki,bear in mind i live in spain ,some friends of mine (a small band of 6 english musicians) wanted to open a store here so what they did was ,they went to the spanish schools with the intention of teaching kids to play different instruments ,and also be able to sell the instruments to the kids,a great idea but their premises was large and cheap but it was off the beaten track,so after about 6 months of trading they started going down hill because there was no easy transport for the kids to get to the lessons ,and so interest started to fall and now their business is in trouble,so make sure you cover ALL eventualities,i wish you luck,mike

Aw man ! I have to let Fran be MY boss next week !
...... at least he'll buy a few lunches here and there. Hope it's not too cold - we have to work outside!

No way, I might open up a music store.

Zuki

Hi Zuki, I owned a music store for 15 years. You will not have the bad boss any longer, but you will have to deal with the public on a daily basses. So which set of problems is best for you? You see there is no problem free area.
I was taught never to run from problems, or something you do not like---but run to something you want to do, something you love.
I feel that's the way to make a decision.

Keep smiling, John C.

I like that quote a lot.. Run to something you want to do, not away from your present circumstances. I'm kinda in the same boat. I have been an airplane mechanic for just about 40 years now. I can't stand to do it any more. I have been a frustrated musician for the same 40 years. Anyhoo... I'm 59, and can retire in a few years, so I have dusted off the ol' git-fiddle, and getting ready to do what I love to do. I wish I could just quit my job and do it tomorrow, but I am a realist. I'm a better airplane mechanic than I am a musician, so I need to see it through to retirement.

Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, came up with an interesting series of stories based around a character who worked for an fictional agency of the government known as the Bureau of Sabatage. The idea is that government will become too efficient one day and effective internal sabotage increases efficiency by allowing the most thoughtful and creative people to rise to the occasion. Their motto is "In Lieu of Red Tape".

I bring this up because truly creative sabotage (the kind that cannot be traced back to you and will not threaten human life) is a wonderful tool for redefining the chain of command in a business structure. It allows those with crisis-response skills to rise in rank quickly. It can also do wonders for your own sense of balance in the working world. Just a thought, if only to get your mind on other things than your woes...

Wow .... talk about your contradiction of terms !