One consequence of our unsuccessful effort to be self employed is that Liz has spent some considerable time thinking about our financial position and her position in particular if I should happen to die before she does. At present, 100% of our income ends when I die, and without an employer sponsored life insurance plan to cover the gap, our current life insurance would only give her a few years at the existing standard of living to figure out how to pay for the costs of life.

As she’s ruminated on this topic over the last several months, she has slowly come to the conclusion that the right thing to do is to go back to school to finish her Piano Performance degree. Finishing the degree means that she will be able to build a piano studio that draws from the serious piano student crowds and lift herself above the cutthroat neighborhood piano teacher market. It isn’t a path to riches, but it is a path to reasonable income doing something she has always loved.

This outcome happened to coincide with the sinking realization by both Liz and I that we weren’t on a track to profitability with the business. We looked at our savings burn rate, looked at the progress we’d made, looked at the work left to do, and realized that we needed to shift gears. Initially, that meant slowing down product development so I could take a part-time job and clear a back log of other projects. A couple of months ago, that shifted to me working part time and using the remaining time playing Mr Mom so Liz could restart her degree.