Of the options you offer, 2, 3 & 6, but I'm also finding the most important benefits of full-time contracting is it's a great way to meet like-minded people who

Of the options you offer, 2, 3 & 6, but I'm also finding the most important benefits of full-time contracting is it's a great way to meet like-minded people who could become collaborators or investors in my business. I guess also, it's good way to stay in a positive frame of mind. In our first go at running a business, we had no idea what we were doing and after 2-3 years killing ourselves on the startup we ended up broke & depressed. If success breeds success equally failure can breed failure, and after enough time spent with that smell of 'loser' about you, you start to lose the respect of your peers and question your own worth. It's taken me 2 years to get back on my feet to a point where life is going really well, and I'm enjoying success both in my day job and my startup. Whilst I'd love to quit full time work and focus on the startup (which I may be able to do soon with funding from some of the people I've worked for), having a day job has been great in getting the startup happening. By not relying on it for your living you have more freedom to do it right for the long term, and even if things are tough with the startup, your judgment isn't clouded by panic.