I Am Self-employed And I Operate From A Very Small Office. Recently, A Chance To Expand Was Dropped Into My Lap. I Wasn't Looking For It Although I Have Been Wishing I Could Increase My Client Base And Earn More Regular Income. The Fly In The Ointment Is That I Would Have To Take On A Much Larger Premises With Greater Overheads, More Responsibility, Etc. And I Don't Know If I Want It. Years Ago, I Tried A Venture Like This And It Was A Disaster. I'm Really Confused And Feel I Might Be Buying More Stress In My Life. What Do You Think?

Life is all about trying and running the risk of failing. It's sad when people are ashamed of mistakes and failures in their lives instead of learning from them and recognising that they have their place in the scheme of things.
What you need to sort out now is how far your current reluctance is based on genuine and reasonable concern and how much it's based on fear of failure.
Fear is very crippling and if you allow it to hold you back, you will never live life fully. Risk-taking is a skill as you need to know when you can go for it and when to be cautious.
In this case, i would research the whole proposition carefully. Check out the premises, the market you want to reach and most of all, the people who have made you the offer. Remember there is no room for sentiment in business. Ask as many questions as you need to, stall them off till you're ready to make a decision and if it falls through, so be it.
You also need to think through your priorities. Is lifestyle more important in your life right now or making more money? As a former workaholic and stressaholic, i know i wouldn't go back to living with undue pressure and a heavy workload but you need to consider your options carefully and only say yes if you feel confident about the whole thing. Your own intuition is the best guide in a situation like this. Good luck.

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Hopefully, you have adequate time to make your decision. Weigh up the pros and cons. Making a simple list of the advantages and disadvantages of expanding the business can help. Before you make your list, spend some time thinking seriously about what your priorities are. Is your business a main priority? Alternatively, is another area of you life, like family or education, where you'd like to focus your attention? Try to be honest with yourself. Understanding what your priorities are will help you to figure out whether certain aspects of expansion are pros or cons. If they fall in line with your priorities, they are an advantage! If not, then they could be a disadvantage.

Also, spend some time thinking about what you would need for expansion and how it would work. What would be the financial, time, and stress implications? Have a clear plan before making any decisions. It might be helpful to also have a back-up plan. If you are looking for the impetus to make the move, it can be reassuring to know that if it doesn't work, you have other options in the form of a back-up plan.

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