I think it depends on a lot of factors...is career really important to you or are you ready to scale down? Are you supporting just yourself or a family? Are you eligible for any retirement benefits in a few years? I would be inclined to keep what you have, cut back to any remaining customers..that is if you are making any money at all..and just supplement with a non-offensive job a few hours a day..a crossing guard at a school or a driver of the elderly for a nursing home..or just something to bring in a few bucks that is not overly demanding..but if you are full of vim and vigor and want to set the world on fire go for it...the world can be unkind to middle aged men but there are a lot of success stories and new careers etc. mg