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Self employed & (extreme) sports

Hi all,I recently broke my fibula due to an accident on the bike. Now it's not too bad as it's not weight bearing bone but still have to take it easy etc. But it's got me thinking with regards to sports. I also windsurf along with mountain bike but thinking of curtailing it a bit. Basically the point being if it was more serious as in casted for 3 months, I think you'd have a job holding onto clients & your business in general. I also realise you can fall walking across the road etc but if your on the bike 3 times a week the percentage of an accident increases substantially.Any thoughts on this ?

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  • It's an interesting topic, and one that the self employed need to consider. Sometimes, looking after yourself is just as much of a business decision as a personal one.

    I met a similar decision head on a few years ago, when my brother was seriously ill and off work for an entire year. He was lucky as his employer paid him his full wage for the entire time he was off work, but us self employed folk aren't so lucky. This was part of the push I needed to change the way I lived and worked, and make sure I could look after myself and my family regardless of what life threw at us (within reason).

    I gave up quite a lot that year. The largest sacrifices for me were selling my motorbikes, and giving up smoking. I then got on with engineering myself a business model that mean't I could earn money as long as I had the capability to hold a phone and type on a keyboard.

    It may seem like I have given up a lot, but in reality the benefits far outweigh the losses. I can now cover all of my expenses by working between 2 and 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, and I can do this from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. I can do what I want, when I want, and my lifestyle is fairly bullet proof.

    I think at the end of the day it's a case of weighing up what is most important to you. if you live for extreme sports, and are young and single, get out there and do it. If, however, like me you are pushing towards 40, and have maybe pushed your luck a few more times that statistics would suggest is safe, there is a lot to be said for knowing you are financially secure regardless of what life throws at you.

  • Cheers for that. How'd u manage to do that work wise. Do u have a large crew that carry out all the work or what? Just but if background, I'm 40 in march & wife & 3 nippers
  • I know what you mean. I'm a bit of an adrenalin junkie but have had to tame things down over the years...apart from the bmx accident at the skate park with my nephew last winter that resulted in a sprained ankle, again.

    A wife and kids, plus a business don't stop me but they do make you think twice and act a bit more responsible! Boring but necessary.

    I still get to swing about in trees with a chainsaw and get paid for it though, so I can't complain.
  • I used to play a lot of squash, but around my 40th birthday I started to look at the guys over 50. Most of them were carrying long-term damage, similar to rugby-playing 50-year-olds.

    I gave it up, and went on to badminton. I play three times a week, and whilst there's still a risk, it's a good compromise between exercise and injury.

    When we move to the Chilterns 5 years ago I planned to get the bike out again. Seeing the narrow roads with 60mph limits, and reading the reports of accidents, it's still sitting in the shed....

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