Hi Mark! Thanks for leaving the first question.

It's a good one because it's been fresh on my mind, since this is technically the second time I've gone independent. I think the basic recommendations are still true: save up a bit of a cash buffer before you do it, have some clients lined up (not necessarily booked in, but interested), and ideally make the jump when you find that having a day job and doing freelance work are no longer compatible.

What I personally found interesting this time around was that I was in a very different position. The first time I left my job for independent life, I was confident I would earn a fair amount more money once I'd gone freelance (and that was true), but this time around my job had a lot of financial security and I faced a different challenge: that going independent was pretty much never going to be a sensible thing to do form a financial perspective. And I hear that a lot from other people in the tech sphere. But there's more to life than money and I think as long as you can make sure you're at least covering the basics you (and any dependents you have) need, then everything else is a bonus if you're happier in yourself.

I hope that helps. I can't extol the benefits of independent life enough. I hope you take the jump and that it works out for you, Mark!