I'm trying to do the same after ten years of running a web agency. I had some successes, but I also made plenty of mistakes along the way since I was learning w

I'm trying to do the same after ten years of running a web agency. I had some successes, but I also made plenty of mistakes along the way since I was learning while doing. Ultimately I couldn't make it into a viable business. At first, it felt like a hindrance, a decade-long black dot that I wanted to somehow hide. Now I'm proud of the period -- provided jobs, mentored, made things, etc. -- so it is easier to talk about. I'm not going the hide that period. I'm going to be frank about it once I hit the streets. I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of hard lessons, lessons that should help in whatever my new capacity is. So I guess my advice is to be honest about those self-employed periods. They are what they are.